Hotshot sniper in one-and-a-half mile double kill

[alienlovechild 75]

A BRITISH Army sniper has set a new sharpshooting distance record by killing two Taliban machinegunners in Afghanistan from more than a mile away.

Craig Harrison, a member of the Household Cavalry, killed the insurgents with consecutive shots — even though they were 3,000ft beyond the most effective range of his rifle.

“The first round hit a machinegunner in the stomach and killed him outright,” said Harrison, a Corporal of Horse. “He went straight down and didn’t move.

“The second insurgent grabbed the weapon and turned as my second shot hit him in the side. He went down, too. They were both dead.”

The shooting — which took place while Harrison’s colleagues came under attack — was at such extreme range that the 8.59mm bullets took almost three seconds to reach their target after leaving the barrel of the rifle at almost three times the speed of sound.

The distance to Harrison’s two targets was measured by a GPS system at 8,120ft, or 1.54 miles. The previous record for a sniper kill is 7,972ft, set by a Canadian soldier who shot dead an Al-Qaeda gunman in March 2002.

In a remarkable tour of duty, Harrison cheated death a few weeks later when a Taliban bullet pierced his helmet but was deflected away from his skull. He later broke both arms when his army vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.

Harrison was sent back to the UK for treatment, but insisted on returning to the front line after making a full recovery.

Harrison and his colleagues were in open-topped Jackal 4x4 vehicles providing cover for an Afghan national army patrol south of Musa Qala in November last year. When the Afghan soldiers and Harrison’s troop commander came under enemy fire, the sniper, whose vehicle was further back on a ridge, trained his sights on a Taliban compound in the distance. His L115A3 long-range rifle, the army’s most powerful sniper weapon, is designed to be effective at up to 4,921ft and supposedly capable of only “harassing fire” beyond that range.

“Conditions were perfect, no wind, mild weather, clear visibility. I rested the bipod of my weapon on a compound wall and aimed for the gunner firing the machinegun.

Harrison discovered that he had set a new record only on his return to UK barracks nine days ago. The previous record was held by Corporal Rob Furlong, of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, who was using a 12.7mm McMillan TAC-50 rifle.

News of Harrison’s success comes amid concern over a rival insurgent sharpshooter who in a five-month spree has killed up to seven British soldiers, including a sniper, in and around the Taliban stronghold of Sangin.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7113916.ece

[Niels Bohr 72]

Wow! 3000 feet outside the range of his sniper?

How can they confirm that he actually hit them?

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

Wow! 3000 feet outside the range of his sniper?

How can they confirm that he actually hit them?

dead bodies is usually it.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Dead bodies, but, how is it that it his kill and not someone else?

dead bodies is usually it.

[mawilson 2,133]

Dead bodies, but, how is it that it his kill and not someone else?

Just a guess.

[payxibka 10,045]

eyewitness? a sniper works in tandem with a spotter...

[Obama 2012 1,714]

nice.

makes you think about the perimeter that is needed for important officials now days.

[Heracles 417]

nice.

makes you think about the perimeter that is needed for important officials now days.

With the technology available today, who is really safe. A tank can shell from 20 to 30 miles away. Let alone using a UAV.

Edited May 5, 2010 by Booyah!

[alienlovechild 75]

makes you think about the perimeter that is needed for important officials now days.

John Hinckley nearly did in Reagan with .22 caliber handgun. It's not the size of the perimeter but how well it works.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Sweet! Two more extremists EXTERMINATED!!

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

I'm surprised by the size of the round!

[alienlovechild 75]

I'm surprised by the size of the round!

So were the 2 Taliban machinegunners.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

So were the 2 Taliban machinegunners.

Just for a split second, though.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

I'd like to know what kind of optics are used at this distance.

[Peikko 1,575]

This has to be one of the more bizarre 'records' that people monitor.