# Sniper stops insurgents from 950 yards



## D-n-A (30 Nov 2004)

http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/FC5A47CDD0C4BAB485256F5B002F0158?opendocument

Sniper stops insurgents from 950 yards 
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division 
Story Identification #: 2004112933325 
Story by Lance Cpl. Miguel A. Carrasco Jr. 



FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 27, 2004) -- A U.S. Marine sniper waited patiently inside a one-story house deep within the city. Lying in the prone position for several hours, he scanned the area through his scope before he finally found the three insurgents responsible for two previous mortar attacks. 

Sgt. Memo M. Sandoval, a platoon sergeant with Scout Sniper Platoon, Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, needed to positively identify the insurgents before he could take his shot. 

Sandoval, 26, saw that one of the men was about to place a mortar in a mortar tube. He knew he had to make a well-aimed shot before the insurgent gunner launched the deadly round. Sandoval cleared his thoughts and slowed his breathing as he gently squeezed the trigger of his M-40A3 sniper rifle. The 7.62 mm round covered the 950 yards in a flash, slamming into the chest of the first insurgent. 

"The battalion (executive officer) ordered me to 'make the mortars stop,'" said Sandoval, a native of El Paso, Texas. "I took it personally and went out specifically to stop the insurgents." 

With two more insurgents still alive and ready to continue the mortar attack, Sandoval composed himself for the next shot at the assistant gunner. The last two shots took out the driver of the vehicle that carried the weapon. 

"When I finally spotted them along a tree line, I realized how far they were but it was surprising how easy it was," said Sandoval. 

Those four shots were the longest in Sandoval has taken since he became a scout sniper. 

"It was very impressive of Sandoval to shoot from so far away and be on target with all four shots," said 1st Lt. Samuel Rosales, a platoon commander with Scout Sniper Platoon, H&S Co., 3/5. 

"When you are being mortared you never know where they will land, to be able to stop them from shooting anymore felt good," said Sandoval. 

He joined the Marine Corps straight out of high school in 1997 and has been with 3/5 since April. His leadership ability has reflected on the Marines around him and allowed Sandoval to accomplish his mission. 

"(Sandoval) is filling a staff noncommissioned officer's billet, He is a great Marine to work with," said Rosales, 32, a native of San Clemente, Calif. 

After recently reenlisting for four more years, Sandoval, who has been in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since September, hopes to represent the United States in the Olympics in competition shooting. 

Sandoval says a fellow Marine, Staff Sgt. Jared M. Casanova, with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, helped him improve his skills with the rifle, which has become a valuable commodity in Iraq. 

"We have always been in competitions against each other, one day he would win and the next day I would win," said Sandoval. "Out here in Iraq it is a two way rifle range, with insurgents shooting at you. You have to make well aimed shots."


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## Spr.Earl (30 Nov 2004)

Good shooting. 

But I'm still amazed how the U.S. publishes the names and photo's of their Snipers .
On Duty,Truth and Valour,the episode about the sniper competion,the Cdn and Brit. snipers face's and identities were hidden but the U.S. snipers were not.


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## hiv (30 Nov 2004)

Spr.Earl said:
			
		

> Good shooting.
> 
> But I'm still amazed how the U.S. publishes the names and photo's of their Snipers .
> On Duty,Truth and Valour,the episode about the sniper competion,the Cdn and Brit. snipers face's and identities were hidden but the U.S. snipers were not.



Perhaps because they are so many of them there's a bit of safety in numbers.


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## jrhume (30 Nov 2004)

Earl, I was thinking the same thing TJ pointed out.  There are a lot of snipers in the Army and Marines.

However, I wouldn't want to be taken prisoner by the terrorists and have them know I was a sniper from an article like the one posted.  On the other hand, given the actions of the present bunch of terrorist thugs in Iraq, it might not make any difference.

Jim


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## D-n-A (30 Nov 2004)

I have seen some US Army snipers have their faces an names concealed, but they were with the Special Forces.

On the documentry Canadians in Afghanistan, some of the Canadian snipers were talking about what they do, etc and their faces weren't covered up, plus all the newspaper write ups on them aswell.


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## 1feral1 (5 Dec 2004)

950 yds. Bloody good shooting! Good on him for doing a good job, and possibly saving the lives of other Marines from the mortar attack.



Wes


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## Scoobie Newbie (5 Dec 2004)

950 yard = 868.68 meter


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## Mike-2799 (5 Dec 2004)

950 yard = 868.68 meter...thats not that much. A Canadian sniper in Afghanistan made a shot from over 2400meters away.


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## 1feral1 (5 Dec 2004)

Mike-2799 said:
			
		

> 950 yard = 868.68 meter...thats not that much.



The CF .50 sniping of a target at the 2,400 metre distance is again outstanding shooting. There is no doubt this soldier is credited with saving lives of Allied soldiers.

I do hope the 'thats no that much' is"  toungue in cheek".

A hit on a target from a 7.62mm rifle from this distance is great shooting, even on a standard rifle range, but it is outstanding in a combat environment. 

Mike 2799, Its a far cry from a cadet air rifle in an indoor 25 metre range in a Armoury basement.

Not much, eh? I see with all your military experience you have done lots of shooting, and of that in an operational environment   :.

Think before you post.

Another case of 'boot in mouth disease'.


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## Drummy (5 Dec 2004)

Wesley H. Allen said:
			
		

> I do hope this is" toungue in cheek".
> 
> A hit on a target from a 7.62mm rifle from this distance is great shooting, even on a standard rifle range, but it is outstanding in a combat environment.


\

Hi Wes,

I think you'll find that this was not "tongue in cheek". He actually made the killing shot from either 2340 or 2430 meters with a 50cal sniper rifle(which I know nothing about). He had American witnesses, and apparently used their ammunition.

All the best     Drummy


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## 1feral1 (5 Dec 2004)

Drum, don't get me wrong, I am totally aware of the classic .50 kill by the CF member in AStan. Its the quote by Mike 2799 about the 7.62mm shot from 950 yds what got my feathers roughed up.

Cheers,

Wes


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## Infanteer (5 Dec 2004)

> 950 yard = 868.68 meter...thats not that much.



And how many moving targets have you hit at 858 meters, cadet?


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## Drummy (5 Dec 2004)

Wes, to be honest, I hadn't really noticed that part of it(or didn't put 2 and 2 together)   :-[

I'll pay more attention next time teacher, I promise    ;D

Drummy


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## 1feral1 (5 Dec 2004)

No worries,

Cheers mate.

Wes


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## McG (5 Dec 2004)

I fired  7.62 mm from 1000 m in a PQRA match several years back.  Typically the ranges I'd fire were 600 m t0 900 m.  You had better believe that 800+ m is a long range to hit a man sized target.


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## Big Foot (5 Dec 2004)

that's bloody amazing. I have a hard enough time at 100m, with a stationary target. two thumbs way up for that guy on some superb shooting.


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## 1feral1 (5 Dec 2004)

I was on the MAPSAT in 82, and shot C3 at CFSAC in Connaught. There was one 900 metre match, and target baloons were used. Sure was difficult with wind and heat waves, etc.

We were even betting 1/2 of a moustache and one eye brow to be shaven on a miss, so the odds were full on.

From the end of Jun to Mid Aug in Dundurn, Saskatchewan on the Class range. 6 days a week.


Those were good days.

Cheers,

Wes


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## the 48th regulator (5 Dec 2004)

damn great shooting,

but I think Mikes comment was tongue and cheek, just like the old battles in the mess..... 

"that's nuthing I got this scar rassling alligators!!!"......

tess


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## Andyd513 (6 Dec 2004)

Ridiculous, 868 m "isnt that much"?

The effective range of a C7 isn't even that far, even with a section. I've never fired past 300 yards and only with 5.56 but that was challenging enough, especially with a rundown.

Combat situation + 950 yards, 4/4 hits. Amazing shooting.


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## Acorn (9 Dec 2004)

Andy_d said:
			
		

> The effective range of a C7 isn't even that far, even with a section. I've never fired past 300 yards and only with 5.56 but that was challenging enough, especially with a rundown.



 :warstory: Sonny, back in the day, with the C1, part of the shooting programme was targets 600m. At that range the front post sight covered a fig11 target.

Acorn


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## Kirkhill (10 Dec 2004)

As I recall one of the reasons the Marines pushed the M16A2? with the higher twist and the SS109 round was that they were looking for a weapon that a rifleman could hit a man at 800m.

This from someone who completely missed a fig11 at 300m -  did a heck of a job on my buddy's target though .


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## Marine (13 Dec 2004)

Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Norman Hathcock II


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## Marine (13 Dec 2004)

Stories like this one were released to raise the morale of the troops. I hope to see more stories like them. We hear to much of what we are doing wrong.


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## Scoobie Newbie (13 Dec 2004)

"We hear to much of what we are doing wrong."

That goes for both militaries.


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## ibucephalus (13 Dec 2004)

Making four consecutive shots at a range of 950 yds (869 m) is indeed very good shooting, but is not in any way _magical_. Clearly, this marine was _consistently_ applying the principles of marksmanship to make those shots. 900m (1000 yds) is generally considered the maximum effective range of .308 based sniper systems. The biggest weakness with the caliber is its vulnerability to get pushed around by the wind. Snipers shooting at that range require spotters with _excellent_ wind-reading skills for consistent performance. A point of interest, the article makes no mention of his spotter.

The system the marine was using, the M40A3, seems a decent system with the obvious weak point being the Unertl scope. If it is the same model used on the Canadian C3, which I think it is, then it is crap. It has a very limited windage adjustment, something like 9 Minutes Of Angle (MOA). If you are shooting into a 12 MOA cross-wind you need to use a comination of sight-adjustment and aiming-off. Hardly the ideal. There are a number of other problems as well. 

Regarding sniper identification; The British Army started concealing the identities of their snipers in the late seventies after it was found that the IRA was reading copies of the base newspapers back in England and determining the identities of new snipers from photo-laden course graduation articles. When the sniper's unit would deploy to Northern Ireland, the IRA would send threatening letters to their families. The CF Sniper School adopted the same security policy in the early 80's (I think) as a result of the British Army's experiences. I can't imagine why the US doesn't do the same thing.


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## Q.Y. Ranger (30 Dec 2004)

Good job Marine. You saved a lot of lives with that shot.


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## Spr.Earl (2 Jan 2005)

The furthest I have fired from was 600 yds. and that was with the old F.N. and the target was small and that was when I had good eye sight hate to try it now wearing testicles.

I did fire the C7 (iron sight) from 400 at Slesee Range at the old annual Blair Shoot for Militia Units in B.C. and I did score 28 out of 35(not sure of the total points) which amazed me but alas a Seaforth/Can.Scot.? got a perfect score from 400m. with the C7.
Prone position mind you.


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## Infanteer (2 Jan 2005)

Spr.Earl said:
			
		

> hate to try it now wearing testicles.



Good God man, when do you "wear" these?!?


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## Jungle (2 Jan 2005)

;D ;D
How do you wear them when firing ??    And how do they affect your results ?? ;D ;D


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## Ex-Dragoon (2 Jan 2005)

Nick when you started out I thought they issued you the old Lee Metford


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## Farmboy (3 Jan 2005)

> The effective range of a C7 isn't even that far, even with a section.



 .308 vs .223   (7.62 vs 5.56)

 "Effective range" I always laughed when that term is used considering the round was made for varmits not humans.   :

 It's very effective on ground hogs at 600yds   ;D


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## 407QOCH (3 Jan 2005)

I have shot an 5.56mm at 600yrds on the cannought ranges. I have also shot a 7.62mm at 900yrds.
(this was all within cadets at the cannought ranges with target rifles.)


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