The single guiding principle to armed conflict.

[hankdatank1362]

I'm with you up until this:

K. Sidearm. I recommend the Ruger Mark III.

Other than that, civillian snipers, utilizing well-made makeshift hides, fighting guerilla-style, can inflict massive casualties to any army.

Heck, guerilla warfare is the reason we're not a British territory any more.

As much as we love to posture with our ARs and AKs and scream "MOLON LABE", if civilians ever again have to take up arms against an army (ours or someone else's), it will be the common hunting/deer rifle that makes or breaks our success.

No force could withstand the losses that would be incurred by hundreds of hunters playing "shoot n' scoot" in every town and city. Add the fact that most will be well camoflagued, and some will be knowledgable enough to set up sniper hides (especially vehicle hides, my personal fave... remember the DC sniper?) and America will put up one helluva fight.

 

[JImbothefiveth]

Since its not PC to just drop a huge bomb on a city nowadays

He seemed to imply it was meant to fight the Russians or some developing nation's army in some hypothetical war, in which case, they aren't going to care.

 

[HeavenlySword]

He seemed to imply it was meant to fight the Russians or some developing nation's army in some hypothetical war, in which case, they aren't going to care.

Jimbo, you make sense, but most 3rd world nations don't have nukes. Or MOABs. Or advanced jet bombers able to carry Very Large Bombs. Or cruise missles.

The russians... hopefully we will be fighting conscripted soldiers and pilots, instead of Spetznaz and elite aces.

That way, the conscripts get slaughtered, and the incompetent pilots get blown out of the sky, instead of Spetz picking off the hunters and the MiGs shooting down our fighters.

 

[shaka]

General Geoff writes:

I highly doubt that the sights of a SAW only go out to 400 meters. Even if that's true, however, it's irrelevant. Standard operating procedure for hitting targets that far away with a machine gun is to "walk" the stream of fire out to your target (this is what tracers are for). 90ft-lbs of energy might not seem like much, but when you're getting hit with a barrage of anemic bullets, I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference.

I reply:

Yes, the sights do only adjust up to 400 yards.

And it is hard to walk bullets anywhere when the fore-end keeps lifting off the bench. It's a light machinegun - heavy machineguns don't bounce around like that, but they also take time to set up.

If you don't believe me, visit Pheonix, AZ and we'll have a 400-yard match on 8" Shoot-N-C targets. You get a SAW (I can arrange for you to use a military one) and all the ammo you can afford. I get a Remington 700ADL. I'll bet you a steak dinner I can put ten rounds in my target before you put any in your target.

It's not a "barrage" of bullets if they all miss.

 

[General Geoff]

If I get to use tracers, you're on.


edit; an 8" target is significantly smaller than man-sized, you know. a 24"x36" target would more closely replicate what you're getting at.

 

[shaka]

Hankdatank1362 writes:

I'm with you up until this:

Quote:
K. Sidearm. I recommend the Ruger Mark III.

I reply:

I based this advise on a trainer of guard dogs I know who carries a Mark III when he goes to get a dog that has killed an intruder or has gone off its training.

Many of his customers have had one of his dogs kill an intruder (he is American but mostly sells dogs to Latin American customers) and, he says, the dead intruder was invariably carrying either a machine pistol or a magnum revolver.

Obviously, that did not work for the intruder.

I think my dog-trainer friend knows what he is talking about - follow his advice.

 

[General Geoff]

Also:

Elevation. Adjustments for elevation (range) require the automatic rifleman to turn the elevation knob (closest to the buttstock) on the rear sight to the desired range setting. Range settings are graduated increments from 300 to 1,000 meters. Even numbered settings are on the left side of the scale wheel and are numbered 4, 6, 8, 10, which represent 400, 600, 800, and 1,000 meters, respectively. Odd-numbered settings are on the right side of the scale wheel and marked with the number 3 and three index lines, which represent 300, 500, 700, and 900 meters, respectively.

 

[shaka]

General Geoff writes:

If I get to use tracers, you're on.

edit; an 8" target is significantly smaller than man-sized, you know. a 24"x36" target would more closely replicate what you're getting at.

I reply:

PM me a month in advance - I'll need time to arrange things.

An 8" target is man-sized if the man is lying prone. And of course he's lying prone if you're shooting at him with a machinegun.

 

[JImbothefiveth]

a machine pistol or a magnum revolver.

I think what he's advocating is a controllable gun, that allows good shot placement. I think the general standard for picking a self-defense handgun is "the biggest you can shoot well".
Edit:Woo-hoo, 800 posts!

 

[shaka]

I gotta go, guys. I'm at an internet cafe and they're closing. I'll pick up this thread tomorrow.

 

[General Geoff]

Anyone who lives closer to Arizona want to take up this little challenge of his? I don't have enough time off work to justify a trip to Phoenix.

 

[Kind of Blued]

1) Have ammo.

 

[hankdatank1362]

Dude. I just read the fictional "story" of his Sniper flash cards on his webpage.

That's... ummm... very imaginative.

 

[jeff-10]

As someone who carried a SAW, I can verify it is easily effective well beyond 200 meters. You even qualify with a M-16 at 300 meters. 30 Caliber machine guns, IE M240s, are effective past 800 meters.

The Shaka/HeavenlySword duo is reminiscent of gunkid.

 

[maddog1775]

A deer rifle is most effective at ranges of 300 to 500 yards. If civilians never close within the 200-yard maximum range of machineguns and RPGs or stand-off farther than the 600-yard minimum range of artillery and air strikes, they can defeat even professional infantry. But lose control of distance for even an instant and defeat is imminent. This is why motorcycles are so important to civilian snipers; distances can change in a matter of seconds and only a motorcycle is fast enough to close in on or withdraw from enemy troops.

What expertise do you claim, exactly? The maximum effective range of an M240G medium machinegun is 1800 meters and it is not difficult to use at that range. Air strikes and artillery can hit as close as you have the guts to get them. Attack helicopters can hit targets across the street from you without significant danger. I have personally witnessed accurate hits out to 400 meters with RPGs.

A SAW is not particularly dangerous outside of 200 yards - try holding on a man-sized target and see how many hits you get.

The hell it isn't. The M249 can suppress targets out to a thousand meters, and my company used them to deadly effect at 600 meters and beyond several times in Afghanistan.

At 300 yards a bolt-action rifle will almost always win and at 400 yards (the maximum range that SAW sights can be set for) it is no contest.

If you had ever seen the sights on a SAW you would know that this is not true, so I once again call shenanigans on your knowledge of military equipment.

You, sir, are an IDIOT! Professional infantry would wipe the floor with anyone trained by you.

 

[yokel]

Violence is best achieved by gaining surprise, by using massed fire, and by attacking aggressively.

 

[moooose102]

shaka, i understasnd your intent of this post, and i partially agree with it. but i see some mistakes, and some other opinions. there is always at least one other factor in a firefight, it is called skill. if you have two opponents with way different skill levels, the person with the higher skill level will win. at some point, in a personal atack there will be a point where both weapons (no matter what the weapons are) are withing their maximimum effeiciency range. when thie happens, the person with the most skill and experience will take advantage of his knowledge and strike. and that will probably be the end of the assault. the other thing i disagree with you is your deer rifle effective range. most deer are shot at distances of LESS than 100 yards. and if you think about it, ANY firearm cartridge had the potential to do its most damage as it exits the barrel, not 300 yards later.

 

[beatcop]

I can't pull up his site from the desert, rats! I was hoping to read some good fiction...

...yes, a 249 will cause trouble at any range. Sure it becomes an area weapon at a point, but that will be further than the average yahoo can shoot.

The "civilian sniper" is being addressed by a modern army as we speak. He wins a few battles, but is generally eliminated.

 

[1911Tuner]

Infantry weapons work a LOT better in a rural environment, which is why I would never advise anyone to engage infantry with a deer rifle out in the country.

Permit me to introduce GySgt Carlos Hathcock.

In the past - the distant past - snipers were advised to pile sandbags up in the house they were hiding in.

Those weren't snipers. They were sharpshooters left behind to slow the advance of a unit that was hot on the trail of their main force, and it was assumed that they would die in place. Snipers fire and change locations.

(Refer to the story of Able Seaman Brown.)

A single sniper...a real sniper...can present a serious problem for an infantry company...but he must be good at what he does. He operates on the "Ali" premise. "Float like a butterfly...Sting like a bee...You can't hit what you can't see."

Very often, he will "Jackal" his opponents, moving parallel to them...occasionally slipping in to take a shot...and disappearing again, only to resurface hours or even days later.

 

[expvideo]

Is there a single guiding principle to armed conflict? What one aspect of combat is essential to victory and, if control of it is lost, ensures defeat in spite of all other advantages?

I think what you meant to say was:

Is there a single guiding principle to armed conflict against 3rd world armies, assuming that you only have a deer rifle with high quality ammunition, and also assuming that you are "attacking a convoy as it moves through one's city".



Even then, I completely disagree with you. The single guiding principle of armed combat is always to be more agressive than your enemy.

Oh, BTW, your Q&A is childish and hostile. It makes you sound like you can't make your arguements to someone's face. It seems like you have the mentality of "I have a website, so I can post why you're wrong somewhere and you can't respond to it". That's pretty pathetic. I get the feeling that the most combat you've ever experienced was in call of duty. Which isn't to suggest that I have seen combat, because I haven't. But I'm not the one pretending to have all of the answers either.

Can you answer the question you were asked earlier in this thread? I was kind of annoyed that you didn't address it, since it is important:

Have you ever fired a machinegun?

ETA:

I based this advise on a trainer of guard dogs I know who carries a Mark III when he goes to get a dog that has killed an intruder or has gone off its training.

Many of his customers have had one of his dogs kill an intruder (he is American but mostly sells dogs to Latin American customers) and, he says, the dead intruder was invariably carrying either a machine pistol or a magnum revolver.

Obviously, that did not work for the intruder.

I think my dog-trainer friend knows what he is talking about - follow his advice.

So basically what you're saying is, "I have no reasons or examples to back up my recommendation of this pistol, but my friend uses it and he's a badass, so it's the best sidearm there is". You're a real master of combat, aren't you?

I would however agree that if you have a deer rifle and you are engaging an army, the best sidearm is a supressed .22 pistol. In the event that someone enters your pistol's range, you're about to get ****ed pretty hard if you give that position away with an unsuppressed shot. Very few weapons can be effectively "silenced" but a suppressed .22 pistol is pretty damn quiet.

 

[Owen]

shaka, which mfg's reticle are you using for the overlay?

 

[General Geoff]

Many of his customers have had one of his dogs kill an intruder (he is American but mostly sells dogs to Latin American customers) and, he says, the dead intruder was invariably carrying either a machine pistol or a magnum revolver.

I know a guy who is a professional race car driver. He drives a Mini. He often drives past wrecks of Corvettes and Porsches on the track. Obviously, that did not work for them.

Follow my friend's advice, and drive a Mini.

 

[JImbothefiveth]

or some developing nation's army in some hypothetical war,

I think I just figured it out, we're being invaded by Chicago!
Edit: (No politics intended.)

 

[Just Jim]

You got it right Jimbo LOL

jj

 

[shaka]

Owen writes:

shaka, which mfg's reticle are you using for the overlay?

I reply:

The Leupold VX-II 3-9X Tactical Scope.