British Rifle Can Hit Target A Mile Away


Geoff Meade
Defence correspondent Updated:10:02, Friday March 07, 2008
Britain's military is spending £11m equipping its top shots with the world's best sniper rifle




Weapon is lethal to 1,000 metres
At £23,000, the UK-made Accuracy International L96 is also the most expensive individual weapon ever issued.
They are already in service in Afghanistan and more guns and marksmen are leaving for Helmand this weekend.
It spells a turnaround in tactics. Sniping was being replaced by so-called smart weapons - laser or GPS guided, and claimed to be accurate within metres.
But Nato commanders have found to their cost that air strikes and artillery can inflict so-called collateral damage, killing civilians as well as insurgents.

So the record investment reflects a revival in demand for the skills of a lone marksman, the most discriminating of killing machines.
"We're definitely seeing a renaissance in sniping," said the colonel in charge of sharpshooter training at the Britain's Land Warfare Centre in Wiltshire.
Like all those involved, he asked for his name to be withheld.
Stealthy and deadly, snipers are feared and detested by the enemy. The worry is that marksmen's families could be targeted at home by extremists.
Sniping making a tactical comeback
Equipped with silencer, infra-red night vision and a 25x magnification, the new weapon is lethal to over 1,000m. In expert hands, its high-calibre round will stop a target at nearly a mile.
"It gives us an extra reach to strike much further out. The enemy won't know we're there until we've hit him," said one sniper with 17 years' experience."
Snipers are effective and punch way above their weight in numbers. In the Vietnam War, American forces expended 30,000 bullets for every enemy downed. Its marksmen used just three rounds per kill.
The work is among the toughest. Small teams in Helmand will typically spend six weeks in the field, with only two or three days off between duties.
Most combat units have added a sniper platoon to their strength.
The RAF regiment fields one as does Prince Harry's unit.

sweet.........

I thought you'd use the L115A1 (Arctic Warfare Super Magnum) to shoot at a target a mile away. .338 Lapua Magnum is vastly superior to 7.62x51mm at those ranges.

OK Major - I'll tell 'em. We have to replace our bows and arrows with something. Actually though, it is 8.59mm calibre - the old rifle was 7.62mm.

Here it is:-

Calibre 8.59mm
Wt : 6.8kg.
length 130cm.
muzzle velocity : 936 metres per second.
mag : 5 rounds.
Effective range : 1,500 metres.
Sight magnification: x 25.
Single bullet cost: £2.

Single bullet cost only 2 pounds, wow.

The high caliber sniper rifle the Americans use is the Barret 50 (.50cal sniper rifle effective of about 2 miles). A single .50cal bullet costs $50 from what I last saw (I believe the plain one).

In Canada we use the MacMillan Tac 50. Also a .50cal and has recorded kill of up to 2430 meters.

Glad the brits got a good sniper.