Sniper hits

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Video of Canadian snipers wiping out Taliban snipers in Afghanistan. The video shots were not made through the shooter’s telescopic sight — they were made looking through the spotter’s scope. The spotter lies right next to the sniper and helps the sniper find and home in on the target.

Canadian snipers fire special .50 caliber McMillan tactical rifles which are bolt-action weapons with five-round magazines. The .50 cal. round is about eight inches long and about an inch in diameter. The bullet itself is one-half inch in diameter and roughly one and one-half inches long.

Pay close attention to the beginning of the video. A Taliban sniper is laying on top of the peak in front of you…when you hear the shot fired watch what happens. The Canadian sniper is about a half-mile away from the target.







A Canadian sniper in Afghanistan has been confirmed as hitting an enemy soldier at a range of 2,310 meters or 1.434miles, at the time the longest recorded and confirmed sniper shot in history. The previous record of 2,250 meters was set by US Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock in Vietnam in 1967. The Canadian sniper was at an altitude of 8,500 feet and the target, across a valley, was at 9,000 feet. Canadian sniper units often operate in support of US infantry units, which are very grateful for their help. The record lasted only one day, until another Canadian sniper hit an enemy soldier at 2,400 meters (8000 feet or 1.515 miles).

The Canadian snipers were the only Canadian troops operating without helmets or flak jackets as they had too much other equipment to carry. Each three-man team has one sniper rifle and three standard Canadian C7 rifles, one of which is equipped with a 203mm grenade launcher.