aside from focus, windage and elevation adjustments, each scope has a built in cam that is calibrated for a given round/bullet so that a scope for a .308 put on a .223 or vise versa would not shoot on target point of aim.
Posted on 11/30/2004 3:35:05 PM PST by InfantryMarine
USMC Sniper stops insurgents from 950 yards
http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/m...58?opendocument
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 27, 2004) -- A U.S. Marine sniper waited patiently inside a one-story house deep within the city. Lying in the prone position for several hours, he scanned the area through his scope before he finally found the three insurgents responsible for two previous mortar attacks.
Sgt. Memo M. Sandoval, a platoon sergeant with Scout Sniper Platoon, Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, needed to positively identify the insurgents before he could take his shot.
Sandoval, 26, saw that one of the men was about to place a mortar in a mortar tube. He knew he had to make a well-aimed shot before the insurgent gunner launched the deadly round. Sandoval cleared his thoughts and slowed his breathing as he gently squeezed the trigger of his M-40A3 sniper rifle. The 7.62 mm round covered the 950 yards in a flash, slamming into the chest of the first insurgent.
"The battalion (executive officer) ordered me to 'make the mortars stop,'" said Sandoval, a native of El Paso, Texas. "I took it personally and went out specifically to stop the insurgents." With two more insurgents still alive and ready to continue the mortar attack, Sandoval composed himself for the next shot at the assistant gunner. The last two shots took out the driver of the vehicle that carried the weapon.
"When I finally spotted them along a tree line, I realized how far they were but it was surprising how easy it was," said Sandoval.
Those four shots were the longest in Sandoval has taken since he became a scout sniper.
"It was very impressive of Sandoval to shoot from so far away and be on target with all four shots," said 1st Lt. Samuel Rosales, a platoon commander with Scout Sniper Platoon, H&S Co., 3/5.
"When you are being mortared you never know where they will land, to be able to stop them from shooting anymore felt good," said Sandoval.
He joined the Marine Corps straight out of high school in 1997 and has been with 3/5 since April. His leadership ability has reflected on the Marines around him and allowed Sandoval to accomplish his mission.
"(Sandoval) is filling a staff noncommissioned officer's billet, He is a great Marine to work with," said Rosales, 32, a native of San Clemente, Calif.
After recently reenlisting for four more years, Sandoval, who has been in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since September, hopes to represent the United States in the Olympics in competition shooting.
Sandoval says a fellow Marine, Staff Sgt. Jared M. Casanova, with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, helped him improve his skills with the rifle, which has become a valuable commodity in Iraq.
"We have always been in competitions against each other, one day he would win and the next day I would win," said Sandoval. "Out here in Iraq it is a two way rifle range, with insurgents shooting at you. You have to make well aimed shots."
An excellent film on snipers in Stalingrad in WW II: "Enemy at the Gates" (2001) starring Jude Law and Ed Harris.
aside from focus, windage and elevation adjustments, each scope has a built in cam that is calibrated for a given round/bullet so that a scope for a .308 put on a .223 or vise versa would not shoot on target point of aim.
3Batt5Mar ROCKS!
BUT - that's based on a 600 yd "zero".
Further examination of said table shows the bullet will rise 17.4 inches at 100 yards, which means that the initial trajectory of the bullet is heading at a point 174 inches above the point of aim at 1000 yards (for the 600 yard zero).
Adding that 174 inch (approximately 15 feet) rise initial trajectory to the actual drop of 16 ft puts the actual drop from the boresight at about 31 feet.
By my calculations, anyway.
Set the cross hairs on the scope to compensate for the computed range.
As a darts player I say, good arrows sir!
To set up an old joke, I wonder what the last thing to go through his head was after seeing his two co-terrorists get splattered.
To set up an old joke, I wonder what the last thing to go through his head was after seeing his two co-terrorists get splattered.
Granted Buffalo are large but Buffalo Hunters made kills at 1,000 yards using iron sights.
The other Marine Corps Motto?.....
"One Shot, One kill!"
Semper Fi!
My thought exactly - and they also give his home town. This is a very bad practice....and should be stopped.
We probably have a number of "Islamfacists" in America that might attempt revenge.
Yes, it's two par-5s end to end! Astounding! Great telsight obviously.
Yes, it's two par-5s end to end! Astounding! Great telsight obviously.
to finsh that joke.... A 7.62 mm round? :)
Yes it is!
The M40A4 scope has cams that you use to dial in the estimated range and windage. These cams change the point of aim by moving the vertical and horizontal crosshairs. That causes the shooter to elevate and/or traverse the rifle barrel to again place the crosshairs on the desired part of the target. This compensates for the drop of the projectile during it flight to the target.
Not sure if they are used by Marine snipers, but the Marine Corps does have handheld laser range finders available that could help help with range extimation.
Wind direction and it's estimated speed comes through experience gained through making lots of long distance shots on the range.
Among the many prerequisites for eligibility to become a Marine sniper is the obvious one of being a high scoring expert shooter with the standard M16A2 service rifle. So these Marines are already very consistently making accurate shots out to the 500m range required on the standard rifle qualification course. Their training in the Scout-Sniper Course increases the ranges that they can acheive consistent hits under varing conditions of weather and lighting.
However, combat introduces alot of variables (e.g., the targets are moving around alot while they set up the mortar for firing). The real skill shown in this series of shots is that the Sergeant Dandoval probably had only a few seconds where the targets were still enough to apply his marksmanship skills and get the shots off. He proobably was cycling the action and making his successive shots as fast as he could to take advantage to the slight delay the targets would have before realizing they were under attack. With a one second time of flight, I suspect that the loader (1st shot) and the gunner (2nd shot) were both hit before they realized they were under sniper attack. The driver (3rd and 4th shots) probably did know something was happening but was wounded before he could take cover. And then Sergeant Sandoval sent him to meet Allah and collect his 72 virgins.
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