I don't mean to be too sceptical, but is something like this even possible? I honestly can't picture it. I realize the implication that there's a conspiracy to invent this guy as a hero is equally difficult to believe, but I just can't imagine a shot like that is possible, let alone two in a row.An army sniper has earned a place in military history by killing two Taliban machine gunners from more than a mile and a half away.
Craig Harrison's record breaking shots felled the insurgents with consecutive bullets - even though they were 3,200ft beyond the official range of his rifle.The Household Cavalry veteran's kills from a distance of 8,120ft beat the previous record by 150ft.
He was using the British-built L115A3 Long Range Rifle, the Army's most powerful sniper weapon.
He was so far away that the 8.59mm-calibre bullets took almost three seconds to reach their target. Scores of Taliban gunmen h-ve fallen to the gun which has been nicknamed The Silent Assassin.
It is only designed to be effective at up to 4,921ft - just less than a mile - and capable of only ' harassing fire' beyond that range.
But Corporal Harrison took his record-breaking shots after his commander and Afghan soldiers were attacked during a patrol in Helmand in November last year.
His vehicle was further back on a ridge, with his sights trained on a Taliban compound. He said: 'We saw two insurgents running through its courtyard. They came forward carrying a machine gun and opened fire on the commander's wagon.
'
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
This is far from typical. That is why it is an entry in the record books.
ReplyDeleteAnyone that kills Taliban machine gunners is a hero no matter how close they were when they did it.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRuffRidr: "An interesting sidenote is that the round used in this gun is the .338 Lapua, and not the .50 BMG."
ReplyDeleteOf course, if anti-gunowner advocates ever got their ban on .50 caliber rifles, they would then "discover" other calibers and types of rifles that also "need" to be banned.
I see the usual cast of characters are spinning their fantasies into full-smoothie mode.
ReplyDeleteHere's the equivalent of a sergeant--from the UK--who just pulled off an amazing shooting exploit. Of course, gunloons enjoy telling us that the UK is the most dangerous place on earth (despite having a per capita murder rate less than half that of gun-utopia Vermont) because the UK bans all guns (of course, the UK doesn't ban all guns but gunloons don't let facts get in the way).
That aside, what the gunloons forget is that takes quite a bit of training to become an elite sniper. Gunloons believe all that's necessary is to take money to WalMart and -voila-- instant sniper. Ah well, that's the fantasy.
--JadeGold
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJadegold: “Gunloons believe all that's necessary is to take money to WalMart and -voila-- instant sniper. Ah well, that's the fantasy.”
ReplyDeleteWhy? Why would we even say such a thing? If it were remotely true it would be something for the gun control side to use against our rights. Sometimes you exaggerate what we say (like UK having all guns banned), and other times claim something that is the exact opposite of what we say. Rarely do you ever get it right. I think the “gunloon” is a figment that exists in your head of what you want the gun rights activist to be. It is better than trying to argue against reality.
RuffRidr said, "He beat the previous record only by about 150 feet."
ReplyDeleteI wasn't expressing skepticism about the new record and accepting the old one. I was wondering if the whole story could be bullshit. Does it sound reasonable to you that a sniper, no matter how good, can make two kills with two shots at that range? It doesn't to me, but I readily admit very limited knowledge about the matter.
I remember shooting a rifle in the prone position on Parris Island at, I think 500 yards. The man-sized target was like an ant. So this guy uses a super scope, maybe one of those with the bible references on it, but still.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Truly an impressive feat, my initial gut reaction notwithstanding.
ReplyDeleteJadeGold brought up some interesting ideas though. I saw quite a number of pro gun blogs with this British soldier's picture on them. It was almost as if they associate themselves with this guy in some way. Yet, when I write about some legitimate gun owner acting badly, they disassociate themselves from him. It seems to me they've got it backwards. The average gun blogger has much more in common with the gun owner who blows his stack and shoots the neighbor over the leaves than he has to do with the super British sniper.
ReplyDeleteWe put LeBron James on the cover of magazines without being able to do what he can do.
ReplyDeleteIf someone were to set a new record for 18 holes at the Augusta National Golf Club...
ReplyDelete...wouldn't many golfing blogs have a picture of the golfer who did it?
"...wouldn't many golfing blogs have a picture of the golfer who did it?"
ReplyDeleteA golf blog has a lot more in common with a professional golfer who sets a record than the typical gun blog has with this sniper. That's the point.
mikeb: "A golf blog has a lot more in common with a professional golfer who sets a record than the typical gun blog has with this sniper. That's the point."
ReplyDeletePerhaps, but just as many gun blogs would report (for example) the biggest bear ever shot by a hunter if that were to happpen this week.
In either case it's a record breaking achievement with a gun, and THAT'S the point.