The Sniper: For shooters

plausable and logical, no wonder the media isnt covering that idea...

Shhhhhh...
Don't say it too loud the gun-grabbers may go after T/C.

That's all very good, but NBC says the cops have a witness who identified the weapon as an AK-74!

Could this guy be using a Contender?

Sure, or a Remington XP-100.

They make them all the way up to a 21" barrel and there are numerous methods to dampen the sound. I won't go into them here but it is possible to shoot a .223 with no sound whatsoever.

The reports of sound being heard have convinced me these guys don't know how or else they would do it everytime.

For goodness sake don't let the bedwetters know there is a long range center-fire hand gun.

Short list of known .224 factory loaded and wild cat cartridges. Is it a .223, probably, but I wouldn't get stuck on it.

.219 Donaldson Wasp

.219 Zipper

.219 Zipper Improved

.22 Benchrest

.22 Carbine

.22 CHeeta Mk II

.22 Eargesplitten

.22 Newton

.22 PPC

.22 Waldog

.22 WCF

.22/06 Easling

.22/30-30 Improved

.22/6.5x54

.22-15-60 Stevens

.22-243 Middlestead

.22-250 Remington

.22-250 Remington Imp.

.22-284 Winchester

.22-303 Falcon

.22-303 Sprinter

.22-303 Swift

.22-350 Remington

.220 Jaybird

.220 Russian

.220 Swift

.220 Weatherby

.220 Wotkyns-Wilson

.222 Remington

.222 Remington Magnum

.222 Rimmed

.223 Remington

.224 Clark

.224 R-C Maxi

.224 Stark

.224 Weatherby

.225 Winchester

2R Lovell

5.56x50mm Magnum

5.6x35R

5.6x50R Magnum

5.6x57mm RWS

5.7mm MMJ

.22 Hornet?

What's an AK-74?

"For goodness sake don't let the bedwetters know there is a long range center-fire hand gun."

Correction: MIGHT, BUT ONLY THEORETICALLY BE A LONG-RANGE CENTERFIRE HANDGUN.

Know what I mean?

This guy (or guys) probly dont have the class or want to spare the expence of a truely high class weapon. Any AR-15 style psuedo-military assault sniper extreeme death gun are a dime a dozen and accurate enough to do this kind of damage with very limited training and practice. ..and its not that hard to evade the cops with a little forthought and planning. Remember the smily face bomber? He got half way across the Country before they caught him and the cops knew who he was befor they arrested him. If this guy (or guys) doesnt want to be caught...(Duh!) its going to be hard to catch him (them). If it is a band of terrorists, trained in urban assault, military tactics and weapons and are highly motivated-- the LA bank robbery that turned full auto will be a walk in the park when these guys are cornered. Im beginning to think that maybe it is a terrorist cell...but I would be cheering the ever vigilant American Hero that witnesses this thug about to cap some one and pulls out his own carry piece and blows him away.

BAMB ! !

Game Over

AK-74

Description: The AK-74 is basically an AKM rechambered and rebored to fire a 5.45-mm cartridge. Externally, it has the same general appearance as the AKM, with two noticable differences. It has a distinctive, two-port muzzle brake, giving it a slightly greater overall length than the AKM. It also has a smooth plastic magazine which is slightly shorter and is curved to a lesser extent than the grooved metal AKM magazine. It uses the same type of bayonet as the AK-series weapons.

There is also a folding stock version, designated AKS-74, which has a Y-shaped tubular stock. The stock has an extremely narrow buttplate, as opposed to the T-shaped, stamped-metal buttstock of the AKMS.

Capabilities: The AK-74 fires 5.45 x 39-mm ball, ball-tracer, and incendiary-tracer rounds. The 5.45-mm round of the AK-74 has a considerably higher muzzle velocity than the 7.62-mm round of the AKM; this eliminates the range-limiting drawback of it predecessor. Like the AKM, the AK-74 has a maximum sight setting of 1,000 meters, but the effective range is 500 meters (versus 300 meters for the AKM).

The muzzle brake of the AK-74 a fluidic device to minimize recoil and muzzle climb. Although the AK-74 is somewhat heavier than the AKM when empty, its loaded weight is slightly less than that of the AKM; this is due primarily to the plastic magazine and its smaller-caliber ammunition. Like the AK and the AKM, the AK-74 can mount a grenade launcher and a passive image intensifier night sight.

Limitations: The gas cylinder, like the cylinders on the AK and AKM, is in a valunerable position; if dented, it may cause weapon mulfunction. The reddish-brown or orange color of the plastic magazine does not lend itself to camouflage.

Remarks: The Soviets fielded the AK-74 in 1974, as indicated by the weapon's designation. The folding-stock AKS-74 was first seen with Soviet airborne troops in November 1977. The Ak-74 is also the basis for other 5.45-mm small arms, including the AKSU-74 submachine gun and the RPK-74 light machine gun.

The following data comes from Janes Infantry Weapons 1995 - 1996.

Cartridge: 5.45 x 39 mm Operation: gas, selective fire Locking: rotating bolt Feed: 30-round plastic box magazine Weight: 3.3 kg unloaded; 3.9 kg loaded Length: 943 mm Barrel: 415 mm Rifling: 4 grooves, rh, 1 turn in 196 mm Sights: fore, post; rear, U-notch Muzzle velocity: 900 m/s Rate of fire: cyclic, 600-650 rds/min Effective range: ----

The AK-74 is a newer version of the AK-47. The AK-47 fires a heavy larger round: 7.62 x 39 mm While reliable the AK-47 had problems with competing with the accuracy of the American Made M-16's and it's 5.56 x 45 MM round (.223) The 5.56 x 45 MM round in the M-16 used a smaller bullet that had a very flat trajectory and great accuracy. It was designed to tumble when it hit flesh and cause a great deal of damage. The AK-74 was developed with the 5.45 x 39MM round to acheive better results with .223 like ammuntion in the old AK-47 design.

Russian 22cal ver. of AK. Uncle binny's favorite play toy.

Or .224 boat tails shot out of a sabot (ACEL & others).

Actually it's a next-generation Soviet Assault Rifle chambered for a high-velocity smallbore (about a .21 caliber, iirc) cartridge comparable to the .223...

But knowing the ignoroids at NBC they probably meant to incite panic with the term "AK-47".

The following extract comes from US Army Field Manual 100-2-3 - The Soviet Army; Troops Organisation and Equipment published in June 1991. The publication was approved for public release with unlimited distribution (ie may be freely used). The entry provided covered the AK-74 and the AKS-74 military assault rifles.

Description:

The AK-74 is basically an AKM rechambered and rebored to fire a 5.45-mm cartridge. Externally, it has the same general appearance as the AKM, with two noticable differences. It has a distinctive, two-port muzzle brake, giving it a slightly greater overall length than the AKM. It also has a smooth plastic magazine which is slightly shorter and is curved to a lesser extent than the grooved metal AKM magazine. It uses the same type of bayonet as the AK-series weapons.

There is also a folding stock version, designated AKS-74, which has a Y-shaped tubular stock. The stock has an extremely narrow buttplate, as opposed to the T-shaped, stamped-metal buttstock of the AKMS.

Capabilities:

The AK-74 fires 5.45 x 39-mm ball, ball-tracer, and incendiary-tracer rounds. The 5.45-mm round of the AK-74 has a considerably higher muzzle velocity than the 7.62-mm round of the AKM; this eliminates the range-limiting drawback of it predecessor. Like the AKM, the AK-74 has a maximum sight setting of 1,000 meters, but the effective range is 500 meters (versus 300 meters for the AKM).

The muzzle brake of the AK-74 a fluidic device to minimize recoil and muzzle climb. Although the AK-74 is somewhat heavier than the AKM when empty, its loaded weight is slightly less than that of the AKM; this is due primarily to the plastic magazine and its smaller-caliber ammunition. Like the AK and the AKM, the AK-74 can mount a grenade launcher and a passive image intensifier night sight.

Limitations:

The gas cylinder, like the cylinders on the AK and AKM, is in a valunerable position; if dented, it may cause weapon mulfunction. The reddish-brown or orange color of the plastic magazine does not lend itself to camouflage.

Remarks:

The Soviets fielded the AK-74 in 1974, as indicated by the weapon's designation. The folding-stock AKS-74 was first seen with Soviet airborne troops in November 1977. The Ak-74 is also the basis for other 5.45-mm small arms, including the AKSU-74 submachine gun and the RPK-74 light machine gun.

The following data comes from Janes Infantry Weapons 1995 - 1996.

Cartridge: 5.45 x 39 mm Operation: gas, selective fire
Locking: rotating bolt Feed: 30-round plastic box magazine
Weight: 3.3 kg unloaded; 3.9 kg loaded Length: 943 mm
Barrel: 415 mm Rifling: 4 grooves, rh, 1 turn in 196 mm
Sights: fore, post; rear, U-notch Muzzle velocity: 900 m/s
Rate of fire: cyclic, 600-650 rds/min Effective range: ----

He's not using night vision because all of the victims have been in lit areas. Parking lots with lights or under a gas station roofed area. I doubt this guy has actual sniper training, he'd use familiar stuff from the school if he had the training. (.30 cal or 300 magnum) Possibly using a scope but the shots have all been taken within easy range of standard iron sights. An AR-15 or Mini-14 is probably a good guess as to what he's using, they're both plentiful and not too expensive with lots of accessories, mags, and books available. My guess is a middle eastern sleeper, a whacko anti-war lefty enviroMENTAList, or a pissed off wanna-be specops loser.

>Im beginning to think that maybe it is a terrorist cell...

That was my first thought. I've expected this kind of attack from the "terrorists", only I thought it would be more along the lines of a single, suicide shooter on a crowded subway.

He's walking to where he needs to be to get his shot off without anyone seeing a long gun. Ballistics claim they can tell that each shot is from the same gun. If this is so, I assume they know it's a .223 and not a .220 Swift, etc.

I'm starting to think Contender with night vision optics. How many .223 Contender barrels are there out there?

Here is what FReeper Flyer scored with my stock Glock 27 with a sandbag rest at 50 yards using 10 rounds. Note: the picture only clearly shows the hits in the orange. All 10 rounds would have been torso shots.

I think he could shoot the same pattern with a T/C at 100 ~ 150 yards with little or no practice at all.

Stay safe; stay armed.