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I shot 7 Taliban fighters in a day
newsoftheworld.co.uk ^ | Jan. 1, 2010 | Douglas Wight

Posted on 01/02/2010 7:54:24 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY

The army's best shot watched in delight down the sights of his L96A1 rifle as the launcher bobbed along for 20 yards behind the wall... and paused.

The point of the rocket dipped and aimed towards him. The enemy's face bobbed up into the crosshair. And Steve squeezed the trigger.

He saw the face wobble with the impact. Half of it blew away. The grenade launcher fell back over the wall and disappeared... but only briefly.

Seconds later it was back up, bobbing along the wall. Steve watched it until it stopped, and fired again as a second Taliban face appeared. "Looked like someone bounced a football off his head, the way it snapped backwards," says the L Cpl. Throughout that day Steve shot dead another five insurgents from the snipers' nest he shared with fellow crackshot Frank "The Yank" Ward.

Steve, 29, says it's their "job to kill people and there's no other way of saying it".

And award-winning writer Sam Kiley, who followed their exploits, believes the pair epitomise the desire of the British Army to get the job done. "Afghanistan is in many ways a sniper's war," he says. "Most insurgent attacks are conducted by up to a dozen men who can tie up a whole company.

"If a sniper can kill or injure two or three, he drives down the ability of the Taliban to suck energy out of the British."

In their snipers' nest on the roof of forward operating base Gibraltar, Steve and Frank used a bizarre decoy to draw the Taliban from cover... a blow-sex doll in uniform.

(Excerpt) Read more at newsoftheworld.co.uk ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: blowsexdoll; headshots; sniper; superiorfirepower; talibunnies; victory
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Most snipers when asked what they feel when they shoot someone from thousands of yards away reply, “Recoil.”


21 posted on 01/02/2010 8:19:45 PM PST by Harley (Life is Tough, But It's a Lot Tougher When You're a Liberal. Stop Global Whining Now.)
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To: Harley
Marine Snipers: Don't Run, You'll Only Die Tired!
22 posted on 01/02/2010 8:23:44 PM PST by CT (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slx8CCjoL4E&feature=related)
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To: chadwimc

That’s not an assault rifle. This article is about the limeys and it says what rifle they are using.

The one I was thinking of was the SA80. And it’s a bullpup of the ar18, not the ar15. Appears I got the caliber wrong too. It’s a standard 556 nato cartridge. Now I just need to figure out what rifle I was thinking of that shot a tiny 20 caliber round. Pretty sure it was a bullpup style.


23 posted on 01/02/2010 8:24:32 PM PST by mamelukesabre (Veni, Vidi, Vicki: "I came, I saw, and I'm like, Omigod!")
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To: Harley

How was it said? It takes 43 muscles to frown, 17 to grin, and 2 to pull a trigger. I’m lazy.


24 posted on 01/02/2010 8:28:42 PM PST by Cvengr (Adversity in life and death is inevitable. Thru faith in Christ, stress is optional.)
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To: mamelukesabre

it’s an Enfield SA-80: L85 A1 or A2 and it fires NATO 5.56


25 posted on 01/02/2010 8:32:14 PM PST by mombyprofession
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Grateful to these guys..imagine how many lifes are saved for taking these down...


26 posted on 01/02/2010 8:34:13 PM PST by caww
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Its always a pleasure to hear about somebody who loves his work and is so good at it.


27 posted on 01/02/2010 8:34:36 PM PST by Little Ray (Madame President sounds really good to me...)
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To: mombyprofession

The predecessor to the SA 80 was the EM2 or rifle no.9 MK1 or “Janson rifle” which fired a .280 round but never entered service because the US wouldn’t standardize on that weak of a round.


28 posted on 01/02/2010 8:38:14 PM PST by mombyprofession
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Comment #29 Removed by Moderator

To: mamelukesabre

The Brits toyed with a smaller caliber with the SA 80, but when NATO went with the 5.56 they rechambered the rifle.


30 posted on 01/02/2010 8:42:23 PM PST by yawningotter
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To: mombyprofession

556nato is smaller than .280.


31 posted on 01/02/2010 8:48:17 PM PST by mamelukesabre (Veni, Vidi, Vicki: "I came, I saw, and I'm like, Omigod!")
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Could someone kindly explain this to me? I thought snipers use a laser for targeting. And that this laser can be used by the bad guys to identify the location of the sniper, which makes being a sniper a far more dangerous job than it would appear. Is this still true? I’m wondering why these guys are able to keep doing what they do without getting knocked off themselves.

(I ask partly because I have a teenage son who spends a lot of time in target practice and wants to become a sniper.)


32 posted on 01/02/2010 8:51:21 PM PST by ottbmare (I could agree wth you, but then we'd both be wrong.)
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To: ottbmare
I think the sniper has a spotter that determines the range to the target using a laser range finder. Then the sniper will know how to adjust his aim.


33 posted on 01/02/2010 8:59:53 PM PST by smokingfrog (Don't mess with the mocking bird! - http://tiny.cc/freepthis)
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To: ottbmare

I think its an infra red laser and is invisible. Read by instrument for range.


34 posted on 01/02/2010 9:06:26 PM PST by Diggity
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To: Free ThinkerNY
"Looked like someone bounced a football off his head, the way it snapped backwards," says the L Cpl.

Now that's my kind of football!!
35 posted on 01/02/2010 9:09:48 PM PST by steel_resolve
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To: steel_resolve

You mean the old “pig skin”. LOL


36 posted on 01/02/2010 9:12:23 PM PST by fish hawk (It's sad that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. Isaac Asimov)
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To: Free ThinkerNY
Damn... that was so enjoyable I wanted to read about all 7 episodes.... damn... damn

2 is like discovering there are only 2 potato chips left in the bag. You enjoy them of course but... you ALWAYS crave more.

37 posted on 01/02/2010 9:18:35 PM PST by Bob Eimiller (appeasement "it's the idea that if you feed the alligator he will eat you last." Winston Churchill)
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To: Jet Jaguar

Sweet........ use of these professionals is very effective against this islamakazi trash !

Send in 10,000 more to the stan and get it done ......

Stay safe JJ ! Merry New Year Bud !


38 posted on 01/02/2010 9:31:21 PM PST by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet)
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To: smokingfrog; Diggity

Thanks, gentlemen.


39 posted on 01/02/2010 9:33:04 PM PST by ottbmare (I could agree wth you, but then we'd both be wrong.)
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To: Crapgame
I love a happy ending...but I also note the author couldn’t avoid getting in a political dig at the end

You mean this?:

'And their determination "has meant that they have managed to survive the poor political decisions that have taken them to Helmand under-equipped and under-manned."'

-----

It's absolutely true! It's not even a dig.

I had to look up Helmand. It's a province in Afghanistan.

40 posted on 01/02/2010 9:40:06 PM PST by my_pointy_head_is_sharp (Romney, Romney, Romney - on every thread - I'm sick of it! :P - is he gone???)
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