I find myself agreeing with you there, fooman. On the basis of a conversation at the local gun club last week....
We had finished up our e-board agenda, and then settled back for a discussion of the breaking events in MD/VA/DC.
Most of us who participated in that discussion are hunters, or (like me) sporting pistol shooters. But on this subject, such folk quickly realized we needed to just shut up and listen to the "resident experts."
Which were V, a retired Special Forces type; S, a federally-licensed firearms dealer and master gunsmith (who knows just about everything pertaining to firearms that can be learned in a single lifetime); and D, a law enforcement officer with the INS who carries for a living.
Just some of the salient points brought out by V, S, and D:
(1) These shootings bear all the hallmarks of a military style operation. There is a regular tactical plan in force, seemingly involving two individuals each time, one the shooter, the other the driver/"spotter".
(2) The firearm(s) used by no means had to be of the class of a "sniper" or "assault" rifle. There are literally thousands of firearms types that can chamber the .223 FMJ round.
(3) The person(s) doing the shooting did not necessarily have to be a skilled marksman at the ranges indicated; nor was a high-powered scope necessary to obtain the "kills" chalked up so far -- IF the shooter was firing from a bench rest, even iron sights would be good enough at the indicated target ranges.
(4) The assumption was that the shooter(s) was firing from within the vehicle -- which would provide both a bench rest to steady the shot, and acoustic attenuation of the report.
Just to make his point, V. told the story of how once-upon-a-time he took his grandmother down to the gun range, and set her up with a FAL carbine firing the .223 FMJ round. At three hundred yards, using iron sights, never having fired a gun in her life, she "took down" a man-size target 3 out of 5 times.
So, I'm thinking we aren't talking so much about skill here, so much as people executing a set, detailed plan with unfailing rigor. Which may involve a variety of vehicles and safe houses short distances away from the scene in which to hide the vehicles. Conceivably, we may be dealing with different shooters and even different firearms.
For whatever it's worth.