The 1 & 1/4 mile shot; what weapon would he be using?

British sniper describes moment he shot Taliban commander... from TWO KILOMETRES away

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Corporal Christopher Reynolds has racked up 32 rebel kills during his stint in Afghanistan

A British sniper killed a Taliban leader with the longest-ever fatal bullet shot in Afghanistan - from nearly TWO KILOMETRES away.

Corporal Christopher Reynolds, 25, camped on the roof of a shop for three days as he waited for the perfect conditions to shoot the terrorist commander.

He calculated the range, wind and trajectory before pulling the trigger - and the bullet flew 1,853 metres before hitting the target in the chest.
The warlord, known as 'Mula', is thought to be responsible for co-ordinating several attacks against British and American troops since the outbreak of war in 2001.

Cpl Reynolds, of 3 Scots, The Black Watch, who has already killed 32 rebel fighters, has now been credited with the longest kill in Afghanistan at 1.15 miles away.

The incident happened last week during heavy fighting in the town of Babaji in Helmand Province.

Today he told how the Taliban chief slumped into the arms of a stunned colleague after being hit by the 'lead sleeping tablet'.

Cpl Reynolds, a father-of-one, said: 'We were in a bazaar for days in some very heavy fighting and had taken up a position on a shop roof to observe the surrounding area.

'From the first few minutes after we landed, we came into contact with the enemy.

'We were taking fire all the time. We were observing down the valley and I saw a group of five Taliban.

'I identified one straight away as the commander because I watched him through the scope and when he spoke on the radio, the other one would do what he said.

'I saw that he had a weapon, an AK47. We did all the calculations for range, wind speed and all that.

'I have to admit the first round landed next to him. We were so far away that he didn't even realise he was being shot at.
'We changed our aim and when I took into account different factors like the trajectory of the bullet, my gun scope was actually aiming at the top of a doorway.

'I fired and the bullet went off, coming down and hitting him in the chest.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1206553/British-sniper-tells-moment-shot-Taliban-commander--TWO-KILOMETRES-away.html#ixzz0OOJVLpKL

Caption:

A Royal Marine sniper team from 42 Commando looks for targets during cycle four of Operation Aabi Toorah in Afghanistan. The sniper is using a powerful L115A3 rifle (.338 cal.) whilst his partner covers his back with a standard SA80assualt rifle fitted with a forward vertical hand grip.

The standard British sniper rifle is the AI (Accuracy International) L115A3 in .338 Lapua Mag. 1800 yds is about all the round has in it!

That is an amazing shot guys! Thanks for the post.

There are guys at Camp Perry doing that good or better right now!

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Originally Posted by John Kepler

There are guys at Camp Perry doing that good or better right now!

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Yes, but nobody is shooting back at them. :D

John, what are they shooting? The .50?

NRA rules limit the maximum caliber for Long Range competition at .35 cal. Most people shooting will be firing 6.5mm-.284 or some other permutation of a 6.5, the rest will be shooting .308's with some older "die hards" shooting .300 Win. Mag.....Service Rifle shooters will be using .308 (Garands and M14's) and .223....the AR's are even hard to beat at 1000 yds!

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Originally Posted by Ramboueille

Yes, but nobody is shooting back at them. :D

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Bud....if a sniper is doing his job....ain't NOBODY shooting back at him. BTW, you think a guy with an AK at 1800 yds is actually much of a threat?

You seem to forget that the guy he shot was DIRECTING other taliban who WERE a danger to the troops. I thought you were the guru of long range shooting. Or is it because the shooter was British?

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Originally Posted by John Sukey

You seem to forget that the guy he shot was DIRECTING other taliban who WERE a danger to the troops. I thought you were the guru of long range shooting. Or is it because the shooter was British?

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Heaven's no John....the Brits are damn good at it, that chap in particular.

I "forgot" nothing John. The "art" of being a sniper isn't about being an elite-level marksman.....ordinary marksmanship skills will generally do. No sir, the real "art" of the sniper involves being a ghost. If he's doing his job right, he's NOT being shot at because no one knows he's there until the target is getting acquainted with his 72 Virgins! Snipers rarely waste their time on "low-value" targets. Of course the target prosecuted was a larger threat/higher value individual...cutting the head off a snake is always the best/easiest way to go, and why the sniper exists in the first place....a stiletto in the eye rather than a cutlass-slash to the torso of the enemy!

Occasionally, you get a unique individual that is not only a master at being a ghost, but also an elite-level marksman.....these men, like Carlos Hathcock, become legends.

Hee's another story about Brit snipers, although parts are a little critical of some American actions, they like our ammo. This was done with a "Big Mac" .50 They are real fond of the Accuracy International rifles in .338 Lapua, having some 500 in their inventory. British snipers are about the best there are and their military takes it serioously. Consider the AI rifles run from 30 to 40 thousand a piece.

Killing shot made at distance of 2,430 metres

Hmmm. I would say that a shot like that is difficult, lucky (or unlucky!), though not impossible. But I would say that it definitely requires an "elite-level marksman".

Jim

And those SAME snipers were reprimanded by their government when they told a Canadian chaplain to basicaly "pi*s off" when he complained about their treatment of a dead terrorist.

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Originally Posted by Jim K

Hmmm. I would say that a shot like that is difficult, lucky (or unlucky!), though not impossible. But I would say that it definitely requires an "elite-level marksman".

Jim

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I could teach you the rudiments of how to do it and have you "on-target" in about an hour. I can do it....you can learn...and I'm far from an "elite-level" shooter! What the truly "elite-level" shooters can do is quite a bit different....I know several of them. Oh....and "luck" has NOTHING to do with it!

"The harder I work, the 'luckier' I get!" L. Trevino

He made a fine shot ! And he must had a damn good Scout to.
Good job, and i know something about this. Sometimes they use also the AI AW .50 .

Regards

Gunner

My thought:

he had to be using a 450/577 Martini

jn

Actually that story is not quite correct. The longest confirmed sniper kill was made by Cp; Rob Furlong of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry at 2,430 m (1.51 miles) in 2005 in Afganistan. See wikipedia at Rob Furlong - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And he was shooting a McMillan TAC-50....not QUITE the same thing. And if you want to be REALLY picky....the actual longest "sniper shot" ever was made was probably by Tom Lanphier and Rex Barber on Adm Isoroku Yamamoto in WWII.....THAT was an 1100 mile "sniper shot"!

Can you tell me how many grains of wich powder they used ?:madsmile:

Hi jn : With a 430grs bullet and 400 - 410 m/s and an outgoing angle of 40° -50° and if you send him a email : "be so kindly an dont move !" then it is possible that you hit him after 5 seconds or so. :-)

Gunner

Of all the coincidences, yesterday a man at the range and I were talking and he mentioned his accuracy international rifle. I interjected the tale of the sniper kill and he said, one just like it is in that green box! He pulled it out and let me nail a gong at 300 with it. Saweet, less recoil than a .308, but quite brutal to the bystanders. Nicest $10,000 rifle I ever shot, lol!

Gad! And I thought I did good to "convert" an NVA officer at 816 meters[paced across a rice paddy]with a single shot from a Browning BAR [30-06]Of course, this was in 1964, in the RVN and technology wasn't what it is now.Did I mention that I have had very few moments in my life since when I had that kind of LUCK?Well there have been a few and I remember everyone!. Nick

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Originally Posted by smokey

Gad! And I thought I did good to "convert" an NVA officer at 816 meters[paced across a rice paddy]with a single shot from a Browning BAR [30-06]Of course, this was in 1964, in the RVN and technology wasn't what it is now.Did I mention that I have had very few moments in my life since when I had that kind of LUCK?Well there have been a few and I remember everyone!. Nick

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Excellent! Thank you for your service. Sincerely. BruceV.

If anyone decides they want one now, Accuracy International North Am.(AINA) is located at Tac-Pro in the dinky little town of Mingus TX,population 300.

ATTN:"DRYHEAT"

How's about CORRECTING the fact that CANADIANS ARE NOT BRITS ......

I DO wish that some Americans would learn to differentiate.We WERE after all in Afgh from the getgo and long before the major portion of the US Troops arrived.Our first combat losses were also a result of USAF pilots disobeying direct orders from their controllers and had nothing to do with the Talibs.People who don't know enough to differentiate between Canadians and Brits should do a little research first and THEN comment.Our current issue sniper rifle is made by Prairie Gun Works and is in .338 Lapua Mag and we are also using MacMillans and even a few Armalites.A close friend and former hunting partner who is in charge of Sniper Rifle Procurement and Development at DND/HQ is capable of achieving CONSISTANT hits at 1600m with the .338 Lapua I might add.

I deserve that admonishment. That's what I get for reading about five articles and not keeping them straight. It only says Canadians about ten times in the story. Next time I'll take notes. I had to look up Prairie Gun Works too. They make the Timberwolf in .338 Lapua that is also the C-14 sniper. They get their ammo from Colt Canada. A couple of companies that are making good stuff. Google PGW and there are plenty of articles. I am a big fan of the caliber. Although,in a unrelated area, I work at a co. that is connected to the ammo industry. Here's one link describing the co. and products with a response by the guy who runs it.
PRAIRIE GUN WORKS VISIT -

I understand you wrote that in error Dryheat, but 'Ouch!' https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...tmisc160-1.gif

Hope y'all can shake hands.

What power scope are these guys using?

Please note that the longest measured sniper shot was by a Canadian named Cpl Robert Furlong of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry who shot a Taliban in Afganistan at 2430 metres or 1.51 miles in 2002. Acording to Wikipedia he was using a .50 Cal McMillan Tac 50 which is the Canadian Army's long range sniper weapon.

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Originally Posted by dinki dow

What power scope are these guys using?

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Schmidt & Bender 3-12x50 PM II telescopic sight on the Brit L115A1.

Tac Pro is the distributor. AINA is in Knoxville TN,but you won't be buying one from them. Their representive teaches an armorers course.

"...from TWO KILOMETERS away..." That's only 2,000 meters. Cpl. Rob Furlong made a 2430 metres (2657 yards, or 1.51 miles) shot with a MacMillan Tac-50.
"...ain't NOBODY shooting back at him..." Explain the U.S. Bronze Stars your government wants to award CF sniper teams.