The Taliban Terminator

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Drizzt

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The Taliban Terminator
By VIRGINIA WHEELER
and TOM NEWTON-DUNN,
Defence Editor

A BRITISH sniper waging war on the Taliban is so deadly he has earned a chilling nickname — The Man Who Never Misses.

The unerring Army sharpshooter has killed 39 rebel fighters single-handedly.

His marksmanship is so lethal that rumours have spread like wildfire through insurgents’ camps, causing panic and confusion.

The sniper — who The Sun is not naming to prevent him becoming a target himself — is a member of elite 3 Para.

Described by sources as “the best shot in the Army” he is responsible for over five per cent of the 700 insurgents killed by Paras since British forces returned to Afghanistan.

He is based in the wild Helmand province, where our troops launched a massive assault on the Taliban this week.

A source said yesterday: “This sniper is truly something else — a silent assassin.

“In the deadly terrain of southern Afghanistan, where guerilla warfare rules, he has been invaluable. The rumours are sweeping enemy camps that he is the man who never misses.”

The sniper’s actual toll is probably higher than 39 but the Taliban’s tendency to reclaim bodies makes deaths difficult to confirm.

His lethal L96A1 rifle has a range of 1,000 yards and is fitted with electronic sights and laser range-finders.

He works with a partner called a spotter, who locates the target and helps judge wind speed and distance so the bullet travels accurately.

Each day the pair risk their lives away from fellow Paras, taking up covert positions and often lying hidden for as long as ten hours at a time. Once the shot has been fired they need nerves of steel to stay concealed while Taliban rebels wielding rocket-propelled grenades and machine-guns desperately try to hunt them down.

The Ministry of Defence would not discuss the crackshot for security reasons.

But he is regarded as one of the most successful British snipers since World War Two.

Earlier this year it was revealed that the Army is creating an elite force of almost 700 snipers, with all 38 infantry battalions required to have an 18-man platoon of sharpshooters by 2008. It will be the first time formal sniper platoons will have existed since the end of the First World War in 1918.

The decision follows the success of British and US sniper teams who have killed dozens of terrorists on recent operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In 2003 Royal Marines sniper Corporal Matt Hughes killed an Iraqi gunman from 900 yards with a “wonder shot” in which he aimed 56ft to the left and 35ft high to allow for wind.

The bullet’s trajectory was calculated by his spotter after he studied the movement of dust in the breeze. And Irish Guards Sergeant Eddie Waring lay on a roof for hours to take out three Iraqis who were laying mines in Basra.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006350757,00.html
 
56 ft to the left and 35 ft high, what was he using a bb gun. 900yd wonder shot for a sniper? wow. EVERY u.s. marine shoots at a man size target at 500 meters with an open sited m16 just to qualify. ive known brit marines and to say that is a insult, they are trained very well.
 
56 ft to the left and 35 ft high,

i suspect it was a "wonder shot" because if he were aiming 56' to the left, he was probably aiming at someone else.
 
Actually the elevation is very close to what I used when shooting 1000 yard
Matches.

I shot an M-1 Garand and an M-14, both in 7.62 nato. The M-1 sight setting for 1000 yds. was up about 47 clicks. (if I remember correctly) That is 39 ft. of hold over with out sight corrections.

Also with out telescopic sights it would be near impossible to see a man at 900-1000 yds even if he were to stand up and wave at you.

The aiming bull is 48 inches in diameter for the 800-900 & 1000 yd. targets. That makes it appear to be as wide as a 1/16 inch wide front rifle sight of a match m-1 or m-14.

Guesstimating the wind is a whole other matter.

My hats off to a man or team of men who accomplish what they do, no matter what equipment they use.

Vern
 
Man, we can't let those Brits outshoot us. :(
Brits and Canuks ... they both have some of the best snipers in the business. Too bad the rifleman mentality doesn't extend to their civilian populations.
 
The US military has always had a love-hate relationship with its snipers. The Brits learned early on in WWI that they were invaluable, but they've been considered unclean by our own brass and civilian leadership. The Army built up some expertise in WWI out of necessity, then promptly discarded all of it and had to re-learn the art in WWII. There are still a lot of general officers and administration high-ups who do not like the idea of American soldiers blowing the head off an enemy while he's sipping tea or praying. Thankfully we now have an excellent sniper training program, but we still have far more reliance on jets, missiles, CIA drones and artillery than we do on sniper teams. The Brits, perhaps because they lack the money our DOD has, are more willing to rely on a $1 cartridge than on a multi million dollar missile. And the old attitude is still out there. I remember "Stormin' Norman" during the Gulf War distrusted the SAS/Delta teams and wanted to attack the SCUD bases with higher tech means. He didn't use them nearly as much as he could have or should have.
 
i stand corrected freedomv, did a little reseach and for a 155gr .308 matchking,somewhere around 400inches at 1000 meters if zeroed at 200meters. thats what 33.3 ft. as for windage, on same bullet 20 mph crosswind around 200inches. 16.6 ft. at 1000meters. these numbers may not be exact, i pulled it off a nra highpower webpage. it doesnt say what he was using .308 or .223, but the windage still sounds far fetched.
 
At 1000 yards, my .308's dope is 41 MOA up, or 410 inches, or a little more than 34 feet.

hillbilly
 
(.223 or .308) i was talking about the brit marine sniper cpl matt hughes from 2003 not the army sniper(man who never misses) from the elite 3 para.
 
Recommended read: Shooter by Gunnery Sgt. Jack Coughlin, USMC and Capt. Casey Kuhlman, USMCR with Donald A Davis

Good read, action and some political insight.

Zundfogle: Oh, but the rifleman mentality DOES extend to the civilian population!
 
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