Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Snipers in Iraq
WashTimes ^ | 10 FEB 2007 | Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough

Posted on 02/10/2007 5:23:46 AM PST by radar101

U.S. intelligence agencies have built their own version of the famous Russian-designed AK-47 assault rifle for use by American snipers in Iraq. The snipers are firing at one form of deadly insurgent and terrorist attack, the so-called "spray and pray" method used by those who try to sow terror by emerging from hiding and firing a machine gun randomly into crowds. The special U.S. snipers have used .50-caliber long-range rifles for killing terrorists. Now, they are using the modified AK-47s to kill insurgents without a normal shot to the head. Instead, snipers are killing insurgents with shots to the heart, and creating dissension and doubt in the groups over who is behind the sniping. The 7.62 mm round used by the AK-47 differs from the 7.62 mm sniper round used in normal U.S. sniper ammunition and creates a different wound.

(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...


TOPICS: War on Terror
KEYWORDS: banglist; oneshotonekill; sharpshooting; snipers
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-71 next last
To: tcostell
The AK is inaccurate at over 300 yards because of design. Give me a accurized M-16 any day. The Military channel runs a show pitting the M-16 against the AK in equal footings. AK wins of bullet ballistics but the M-16 kicks it in accuracy.

Remember that we were the spray and pray guys of Nam. Don't remember the exact number but it was in the thousands per kill. Spooky's alone fired over 9,000,000 rounds and there was only about 35 or so of them in action.

41 posted on 02/10/2007 7:18:54 AM PST by mad_as_he$$ (So many geeks so few circuses.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: MaDeuce

He's exposing a weapon we are using against our enemy, that is likely already aware of the fact that we are using it. Honestly, our special forces has long made use of the AK-47 and it's endless variations, this is hardly classified information. Perhaps this article is intended to be read by our adversaries so as to heighten their confusion about exactly who is firing those shots. I must admit, it would be a pretty obvious indicator as to who the sniper is working for when a bad guy's head is turned to a fine pink mist by a .50 round....


42 posted on 02/10/2007 7:18:56 AM PST by GLH3IL (Truth: The remedy for liberalism.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: radar101
This is coming from the Washington Times, guys. Harldy a bastion of liberalism.

The release of this information may actually prove beneficial. If it causes the ragheads to wonder about where the shot came from, knowing that this is not an unheard-of practice, then it accomplished exactly what it set out to do.

43 posted on 02/10/2007 7:22:21 AM PST by IronJack (=)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PUGACHEV
****A Dragunov makes better sense than an SKS. By all accounts, they are wonderful sniper rifles. I once held a Dragunov in my hands (but never fired it) and it appeared to be an evolution based wholly on the AK-47.***

I agree. But the Dragunov is chambered in 7.62x54R. Since the article mentioned the AK round (7.62x39) I went from there.


Sweeeeeeet!!

44 posted on 02/10/2007 7:25:06 AM PST by Condor51 (Where's Attila The Hun when you need him? [Go sit down Rudy])
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: Wilhelm Tell
I think you're right. Gertz is one of the good guys, but that doesn't necessarily mean he knows jack about firearms. Either he got mixed up on the 7.62 thing, or he's providing "dubious" information to the enemy that "we're using your own weapons against you."

Couldn't speculate towards why in the latter case.

45 posted on 02/10/2007 7:26:09 AM PST by OKSooner
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: Kozak
I think they are using the 7.62 x 54 round used in the Dragunov.

You must have skipped over the part where they said using readly available American ammo.

46 posted on 02/10/2007 7:38:17 AM PST by org.whodat (Never let the facts get in the way of a good assumption.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: radar101; All
The 7.62 mm round used by the AK-47 differs from the 7.62 mm sniper round used in normal U.S. sniper ammunition and creates a different wound.

How can the same diameter bullet produce a different wound? Velocity, range, and the locations the bullets hit are going to vary wildly. I would seriously doubt that without a proper autopsy that they could tell the difference between any bullet in that size range. And they would definitely need the bullet,

47 posted on 02/10/2007 7:42:19 AM PST by LeGrande
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kolb
They ought to be using the 416 Barrett round for sniping.

Why, they already us the 300 win mag for an intermediate round between the 308 and the fifty. The cost of new weapon and new inventory would be a waste of money.

48 posted on 02/10/2007 7:42:26 AM PST by org.whodat (Never let the facts get in the way of a good assumption.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: radar101
The agency is trying to reinvigorate its human spying capability, which officials say was gutted after a policy shift in favor of electronic and technical spying during the 1970s and budget cuts during the 1990s.

The era that the author is referring to in the 1970's was the Jimmy Carter years, the head of the CIA at the time was Stansfield Turner. The 1990's brought us the Clinton's ... nothing more needs to be said.

49 posted on 02/10/2007 7:57:16 AM PST by BluH2o
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: radar101
Now, they are using the modified AK-47s...

Seems to me that this means our armorors have have accurized some AK-47s for this purpose. For urban use a 300 yard maximum range is plenty.

50 posted on 02/10/2007 8:10:34 AM PST by CPOSharky (Year = 365 days. muzzy 'most holy' days = 450. Go figure.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: M Kehoe
I believe the head shots are best. Blows the diaper right off with it.
51 posted on 02/10/2007 8:30:01 AM PST by b4its2late (Liberalism is a hollow log and a mental disorder.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: org.whodat; tcostell

The Soviet Dragunov and its copies used for sniping use the old rimmed 7.62x54R cartridge from the Moisin-Nagant. It is a very powerful round, bigger than the 308. Most of the ammo for it is steel core so it just zips on through without expanding, but it can tumble and do lots of damage.


52 posted on 02/10/2007 10:05:48 AM PST by Sender ("Great powers should never get involved in the politics of small tribes.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Sender
Any semi-autos are poor choices for sniper rifles.

Too much accuracy is lost in the inconsistent feeding and poor chamber alignment that semi's are known for.

Most long range sniper rifles are highly refined bolt actions that have been tuned to great levels of close tollerances.

I prefer the M-40A1. (A target version of the Remington 700 BDL) It was capable of consistent 2 inch average groups at 500 meters.

Atmospheric conditions oftentimes dictated the performance and results varied. But for the most part no semi-auto could even come close to the accuracy of such a weapon.
53 posted on 02/10/2007 10:21:03 AM PST by PSYCHO-FREEP
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: radar101

bump


54 posted on 02/10/2007 10:28:40 AM PST by VOA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: FreedomPoster

Correction,Washington Post is the rag.


55 posted on 02/10/2007 11:15:56 AM PST by TET1968 (SI MINOR PLUS EST ERGO NIHIL SUNT OMNIA)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Sender

Now the 91/30 ... there is a sniper rifle. So simple even a Muslim could take care of it, and accurate as hell. Shame about the safety and weak scope though. Put an 8x scope on it and it would probably work well even today. And you can buy 50 of them with 10,000 rounds of ammo for about $5,000 US.


56 posted on 02/10/2007 11:48:47 AM PST by tcostell (MOLON LABE)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: org.whodat
The 7.62 x 51 bullet is .308 diameter and usually 168 grains in weight. The AK 47 round (7.62x39) is actually .311 in diameter and 122 or 123 grains in weight (same diameter as the Brit .303).

The 7.62 NATO even *sounds* different than the AK.

The most likely action is the US troops using AK type ammo --re-loaded for shot to shot repeatability with exacting bullet weight matching and exact powder loads, in a more accurate weapon - Like a Colt AR15 chambered for the combloc round.

The article gives no real details on the way this is done.

And dead bad guys is the bottom line. So now hadji is going to be looking over his shoulder.
57 posted on 02/10/2007 12:50:53 PM PST by ASOC (The phrase "What if" or "If only" are for children.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Sender
rimmed 7.62x54R And did you are did you not read the statement that it used currently available us ammo??? The Russians have been making an AK style sportier chamber in 308 for about ten are so years now. They also have a similarly weapon chambered in 410 shotgun.
58 posted on 02/10/2007 2:51:16 PM PST by org.whodat (Never let the facts get in the way of a good assumption.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: ASOC
The most likely action is the US troops using AK type ammo --

Why don't you try reading the whole article.

I'm at a complete lose as to why you posted this info to me, I've been rolling my own ammo for over thirty years, I know a little bit about it.

59 posted on 02/10/2007 2:55:13 PM PST by org.whodat (Never let the facts get in the way of a good assumption.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 57 | View Replies]

To: org.whodat
I read the article and it says they are using modified AKs because it uses a round that is different from US ammo. That's the whole point...to fool them.
60 posted on 02/10/2007 3:07:59 PM PST by Sender ("Great powers should never get involved in the politics of small tribes.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 58 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-71 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson