Sniper tells of long-shot success(1/2 mile shot in the chest)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk ^ | 4-06-03 | OXENinFLA

[OXENinFLA]

Sniper tells of long-shot success From Nick Parker with the Royal Marines in southern Iraq

A BRITISH sniper told yesterday how he killed an Iraqi gunman from more than half a mile. Corporal Matt Hughes, 28, a Royal Marines marksman, was ordered to “take out” an Iraqi holding back a vital advance during a fierce gale. He pulled off an incredible feat of marksmanship by gauging perfectly the wind speed to bend the bullet to its target. The 7.62 calibre round from his L96 sniper rifle curved 56ft in the air before striking its target in the chest, killing him instantly.

Next to him, another Royal Marines sniper killed a second Iraqi at exactly the same moment.

Corporal Hughes, of the Marines’ spearhead brigade patrol troop, said yesterday: “It was a bit like David Beckham taking a free kick. I knew I only had one shot and had to get the angle exactly right. It was hot and the wind was blowing strongly from left to right as we crept up to a vantage point about 860 metres from the target.

“I saw I had a clear shot at my man — he was in what he thought was a secure position, but his head and chest were exposed. He was still wearing his green Iraqi uniform and was holding the rifle he’d been using to shoot at Marines.

“My training then took over and I got myself quickly, but calmly, into the perfect sniping position. We follow a set pattern, placing parts of our bodies in the optimum position, starting with the left hand followed by the elbow, legs, right hand and cheek.”

His sniping partner fixed a separate sight on the target, then the pair calculated the bullet’s trajectory by studying the movement of heat haze and dust across the arid desert landscape.

“I was concentrating so hard that I didn’t have time to think about him as a person or the fact that I was about to kill him. He was just a distant shape magnified ten times in a telescopic lens. He was a target — the enemy.”

[Charles Henrickson]

[green team 1999]

is inches,and the bullet arc upwards at mid-trajectory.
also he aimed right or left of his target to compensate the wind.

[F-117A]

This was covered on another thread. I believe the conclusion there was that the numbers refered to clicks on the scope, not feet.

[green team 1999]

inches!,and upwards

[spodefly]

This was covered on another thread. I believe the conclusion there was that the numbers refered to clicks on the scope, not feet.

Well, with all the former SEALS, Marines, etc. on FR, we have to find someone to settle this thing ... clicks, inches, or feet! Surely one of us went thru Scout/Sniper school in the Marines, and can settle this once and for all.

[green team 1999]

.....
both books are great,first is fiction,but second is true. highly recomended

[Colt .45]

Gunny Hathcock could've made that shot look easy. He was doing VC from a mile killshots being in the head with a .50 cal. He was one of the best. Snipers ... one shot one kill. Perhaps now folks will realize why no one in the military would've even considered those two clowns in Washington DC as pro's.

[husky ed]

The clicks on the the sights are in M.O.A. : Minute Of Angle

Which can be either 1/4 M.O.A., 1/2 M.O.A., 1 M.O.A., ect.

Of course 1/4 M.O.A. is the finest setting.

Also the scope would be calibrated for the caliber of bullet that is being shot, in this case .308/7.62mm and in meters or yard.

M.O.A. can be describe as 1 inch wide at 100 yards, 2 inch wide at 200 yards and so forth.
Therefore 1/4 M.O.A. would be 1/4 inch guoup at 100 yards.

I realize this is on the simple side, but I'm a simple guy.

Hope it helps.

[Euro-American Scum]

Gunny Hathcock could've made that shot look easy.

Hathcock was in a class by himself. But this guy was good too. Real good.

[husky ed]

I should have said 1/4 M.O.A. is the finest setting in this example. There are others.

[riverrunner]

The clicks in a rifles scope vari from manufacuture. Most scopes used by snipers have 1/4in. clicks at 100 yards. Each click at 800 yards would move the bullet's point of impact 2 inchs. My 06 sited in at 300yards drops 182 inchs at 800 or 15.16 feet. In the desert I would think they are siteing in for 500 yards maybe even 700.

Talk with any varmint hunter 800 yards is very do able. There are people who shot out past a mile for the fun of it.

[rebel]

Laser range finders are commercially available and these guys don't leave home without them....the real good ones!

[SW6906]

Marine Sniper is one of my favorite books - I've read it several times. I'll never forget the passage about Carlos sitting on a ridge in the jungles of Vietnam with his .50 cal watching a column of Viet Cong walking along a trail across the valley. IIRC, the quote was something like: "There's nothing more disconcerting than to have the head of your commander explode followed several seconds later by the report of the shot echoing throughout the valley, not having any idea where it came from."

Tends to cause the column of Viet Cong to disperse in all directions in a hurry......

[spodefly]

I am familiar with MOA and the various manufacturers using different MOA movements per click. My Leupold is 1/4 MOA, I believe ... either way, it took me around 8 shots to initially zero in at 200 yards because I was being too conservative on the number of clicks I was using to move it to the right.

Here in Georgia, because of the thickness of the woods, shots beyond 300 yards are rare. There are a few fields I hunt over where I might have a 400 or 500 yard opportunity, but that has only happened once in 25 years, where I had a buck out at about 500 yards. (I missed, by the way, with the bullet hitting short, and probably going right under him.)

A Marine friend of mine from California came here to hunt once, and he missed every shot because his .308 was sighted in at 500 yards ... he was shooting over everything at the 150 yard ranges that are typical here. He caught all sorts of hell for it too ... ;)

The bullet drop out past 500 yards starts to get really steep, and considering the wind was described as 'gale force' during the shot referenced in the article, I suspect that the 56' arc is not too far from the truth.

[husky ed]

I'm not a sniper, nor do I play one on T.V. However I do read alot and have shot quite a few firearms through the years. I have shot and miss a fair number of deer and elk plus a lot of enemy aircraft (birds).

I have just recently acquired a M1 Garand made in July 1942 with sights in the 1 M.O.A range. I am awaiting a 1903A3 that should be here anyday. With these, I hope to improve on my shooting skills.

[contrarian]

First of all, let me state I AM NOT AN EXPERT, but one of my recreational activities involves a Remington 700 Police Special Sniper Rifle (cal .308 aka 7.62x51)with a Springfield Armory 4 x 14 Scope calibrated to 1000 yards for the 168 boattail match bullet. To determine the amount of rainbow trajectory, you need to know where the rifle scope was ZEROED.IF the scope was zeroed at 900 yards, the bullet would be 52.2 inches high at 800 yards to strike dead on at 900 yards.(high means above the straight line drawn from the bore (hole in the end of the rifle where the pointy thing comes out)to the target.If the rifle were zeroed at 100 yards the bullet would be 228 inches below the bore line at 800 yards. If zeroed at 1000 yards, the bullet would be 110 inches high at 800 yards. Hope this clarifies more than confuses.Several people that I associate with consider 800 yards to be the edge of effective range for the .308 (7.62 x51) YES THIS GUY WOULD MAKE A GREAT SQUIRRELL HUNTER...

[Calamari]

http://www.biggameinfo.com/BalCalc.aspx

At 800 Yds.:

In a 50 MPH cross wind the bullet will move laterally 35.9 Ft

The bullet's drop from the muzzle if fired level with the ground would be 85.1 Ft.

The elevation correction from a nominal "zero" of 500 yards would be 15.8 Ft.

Play with the calculator in the link using different assumptions. The output is given in inches and clicks

[Calamari]

correction At 800 Yds should be at 900 Yds.

[jwalsh07]

The 7.62 calibre round from his L96 sniper rifle curved 56ft in the air before striking its target in the chest, killing him instantly

This is the new boomerang load.

[IncPen]

targeted ping