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Last updated on August 9th, 2017 at 07:58 am
You don’t ever want to be in Staff Sgt Jim Gilliland’s sights. Even if you’re three-quarters of a mile away.
- Shooting someone in a hospital?
This is an admission that will stand up in the Iraqui War Crimes Tribunal, which will sentence George McChimpler Bu$hMcHalliburtonpretzel-choker to death in absentia. It will also end S.S. Gilliland’s war.
It justifies the Lancet study, and then some!
No, not California, I said absentia.
It will happen! This is so good, I’ve got a warm feeling in the front of my pants (apologies to Allah)
Inshillah, we are proud of this moment.
- way too much info in this press article the usdod is mad to publish this stuff. as for ramadi well a couple of crocodile tanks would soon solve that problem.Posted by Astonished on 2006 01 01 at 08:39 AM • permalink
- Ausdiplomad (#1) knows his weapons. The pic isn’t an M24.
Regardless, outstanding shot at 1250 yards, under any conditions, much less in action.
Glad SSgt Gilliland is on our side.
Posted by Pedro the Ignorant on 2006 01 01 at 09:21 AM • permalink
“The insurgent was one of between 55 and 65 he estimates that he has shot dead in less than five months … All told, the 10-strong Shadow sniper team, attached to Task Force 2/69, has killed just under 200 in the same period and emerged as the US Army’s secret weapon in Ramadi against the threat of the hidden Improvised Explosive Device (IED) or roadside bomb – the insurgency’s deadliest tactic.”
What do you want to bet the Iraq Body Count included these dead insurgents in the number of dead Iraqis?
(by the way, these snipers are good, a very good asset for America, but they’re not nearly as good as the Secret Sniper Squirrel unit that Stooped Davy Dave put together)
Posted by wronwright on 2006 01 01 at 10:15 AM • permalink
- Of course, the Tele couldn’t resist portraying Gilliland as a tobacco-chewin’, ‘coon-shootin’ (that’s raccoon) yokel/cowboy.Posted by James Waterton on 2006 01 01 at 10:17 AM • permalink
- You can see the M24 rifle here.
Open source information. Not classified.
Posted by Pedro the Ignorant on 2006 01 01 at 10:46 AM • permalink
- “Move fast, shoot straight and leave the rest to the counsellors in 10 years”
Words to live by.
And yeah, there is way too much info in that article.
Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2006 01 01 at 11:24 AM • permalink
- #13—not single shot. It has a 5 round internal magazine.Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2006 01 01 at 12:49 PM • permalink
- I seem to recall from reading online Canadian newspapers that Canadian snipers use a larger caliber rifle with a much longer range. They made a difference in a battle in Operation Anaconda. Specifically, Al Queda irregulars were lobbing mortars and waving at American soldiers. American snipers couldn’t reach them. But Canadians had no problem.
I wonder why we don’t use longer range rifles too.
Posted by wronwright on 2006 01 01 at 03:36 PM • permalink
- wronwright — We do; just not attached at that level. Our Spec ops types in Afghanistan use Barret’s and .336’s.
Pedro — remember the unofficial mottos of the sniper: “Don’t run, you’ll only die tired” and “I meant to do that.”
kaboom — I’m assuming you’re practicing pseudolefty irony, and that you really don’t believe you change bedpans with an AK.
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2006 01 01 at 03:56 PM • permalink
- JeffS, it is actually single shot though, in the sense that the bolt has to be worked for each round, no? Even though it has the magazine it can’t be called ‘semi-automatic’.
Hey, it’s not an assault rifle! Maybe the politicians here will let me buy ne?
Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2006 01 01 at 04:31 PM • permalink
- Mr. Bingley — We had a California pol who tried to ban Springfields, Mausers, Enfields, Garands on the like because they had been used in battle, which made them “battle rifles” which, heck, are practically “assault rifles.”Posted by richard mcenroe on 2006 01 01 at 04:35 PM • permalink
- The Canadian snipers in Afghanistan used McMillan .50 cal rifles. US snipers use .50 cals for extreme long range work as well, typically Barret M82s.Posted by Steve Skubinna on 2006 01 01 at 08:49 PM • permalink
- If you go by the Canadian articles’ analysis, the Canadian snipers are a far superior lot of soldier, equipped with a far superior weapon.Posted by wronwright on 2006 01 01 at 09:01 PM • permalink
- Bingley, the scope alone would cost you over $1000. US$.Posted by Jeremy Nimmo on 2006 01 02 at 12:56 AM • permalink
- WW:
“If you go by the Canadian articles’ analysis, the Canadian snipers are a far superior lot of soldier, equipped with a far superior weapon.”
Not quite. CTC has run a sniper competition in the fall for the past six years or so, with competitors from Canada, Great Britain and the United States. The scoring I’ve seen shows no particular advantages either nationally nor equipment-wise. It’s the competitor with his rifle versus the competition scenerio. After that, it is the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences, and thus to improve one’s skills.
That being said, I would not argue against Canadian snipers being superior at their job.Cheers
Posted by J.M. Heinrichs on 2006 01 02 at 02:23 AM • permalink
- The problem with .50 BMG (and for that matter, 7.62×51) is that it really begins to drop beyond about 800-1000m, and when they go from supersonic back to subsonic, they’ll often begin to tumble, harming accuracy.
For some interesting developments, check this page:
http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/blackwater/?s=2004_videos
And in particular, this video from 2003:
rtsp://real.gannett.speedera.net/real.gannett/atpco/blackwater/2003/Cheytac.rm
(open directly in RealPlayer, sadly no QT/MPG/WMV)
and:
rtsp://real.gannett.speedera.net/real.gannett/atpco/blackwater/2004/04bw_cheytac.rm
That round has a higher ballistic coefficient than most other rounds, in which case it’s relatively ‘slippery’ as it passes through the air, and hence is able to stay supersonic for longer. They’re claiming MOA accuracy out to 2500m, which, if my calculations are correct, means (tan(1/60)) x 2500 =0.72m.
SASR in AU apparently had one of their Model 200’s on loan there about 12 months back.
Just on the topic of ‘what they’ll let us have’, Australian Customs, in concert with the various Firearm Registries in the various states, have a fun time deciding what they’ll let in and what they won’t, often on little more than whether they consider that the appearance of the firearm has a passing resemblance to something that’s prohibited. For example, the David Tubb-designed Tubb2000 rifle had for a few years been effectively banned from importation because it simply looked very vaguely like an AR-15, ignoring the fact that it’s a bolt action rifle with no parts-level similarities or interchangeability. That’s since been overcome by threats to take those doing the permits to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal. The Brits are up to some interesting things despite being on their own slow path to a UN-dictated gun-free utopia. They’ve got dudes building up essentially bolt action AR’s and even a bunch of semi-auto rimfire AR-style rifles, both of which they’re apparently OK to have. Of course, Australian Customs knock the first one back because it looks scary, and the latter because it’s semi-auto.
Back to the sniper dude for a final second, though. It’d be interesting, Tim, to see a story in the Bulletin about the lack of esprit de corps, lack of collaboration with target shooting disciplines and general stuffiness about firearms that the ADF seems to suffer from these days, especially considering their current recruiting problems and especially when compared to the US Army and Marines, all of whom join in at big events and with their Civilian Marksmanship Program. For them, it serves three purposes – pressing the flesh, training and recruiting. Out here, the ADF has recently canned the Army Rifle Association and even begun pulling back on all Cadet marksmanship activities back to Singleton.
Posted by ausdiplomad on 2006 01 02 at 02:34 AM • permalink
- Mr. Bingley, strictly speaking, a “single shot” rifle has no magazine, and each round has to be loaded by hand. The M24 is a “bolt operated magazine fed” weapon (if I remember my terminology rightly). It’s still manually fed, but from a magazine.
Semi-automatic means that the bolt is moved onece using the force of the fired cartridge (recoil or gas). Full automatic simply means the bolt moves as long as you have ammo, or you keep the trigger held down.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2006 01 02 at 02:39 PM • permalink
- 7 “Ensign Sincerity” (as we call him behind his back)
(by the way, these snipers are good, a very good asset for America, but they’re not nearly as good as the Secret Sniper Squirrel unit that Stooped Davy Dave put together)
Two things worry me here.
One, Mr Wronwright is saying nice things about me, never a good sign.
Two, he’s talking about a program that I actually know nothing about. That happens a lot, actually, what with my insoucient inattention to detail, but this program I’m supposedly in charge of? Me, a lowly Adjunct Minion, not even on tenure track? Oh this has got to be a set-up, but for what?
I tell you, the way I’m treated in this organization … here’s a case in point:
Mr PW’s disguise department fitted me out with a goat “costume” for that attempted hit on Mugabe last week. Maybe I should have asked more questions up front, I admit it, about how I’d fit into that outfit, but after the surgery it actually fit pretty well! And I especially like the way the head resembled that big mask that Dark Master Karl wears at the induction ceremonies, but I digress. Thing is, ever since I got back from Zimbabwe, I haven’t been able to straighten out either of my legs! You think walking like this is funny? Well you probably do, you evil neocon swine, but it’s not much fun going up and down the ladderways, believe you me!Posted by Stoop Davy Dave on 2006 01 03 at 02:58 PM • permalink
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Nice bit of gear nonetheless, but the ACOG and the suppressor aren’t exactly useful at 1.25km.