the movie "shooter"

[jserio]

so, we rented this movie the other night. "shooter". it was actually good. i liked it anyways.  so i've got some questions. prolly aimed at the military folks on here, past and present.
   
       1: what is the weapon of choice in the movie? (the main character's weapon)
       2: how realistic are the shots they talk about taking?
       3: and what did he mean when he asked the guy if someone could take a "cold-bore shot at _____ yards"?

thanks in advance! 

[nightrider]

google:

CheyTac M200 .408

fairly unrealistic

cold bore shot: shot fired while rifle barrel is cold, rather than warmed up.

[nastynate6695]

so, we rented this movie the other night. "shooter". it was actually good. i liked it anyways.  so i've got some questions. prolly aimed at the military folks on here, past and present.
   
       1: what is the weapon of choice in the movie? (the main character's weapon)
       2: how realistic are the shots they talk about taking?
       3: and what did he mean when he asked the guy if someone could take a "cold-bore shot at _____ yards"?

thanks in advance! 

since the first two were answered correctly i will elaborate more on the third.

Like mentioned a cold bore shot is the first shot taken (kinda)..  Like any metal when heated it expands and distorts.  When you fire multiple rounds through the muzzle of any weapon it will heat up do to the friction of the bullet rifling through it.  Do to the expansion the barrle is no longer pointed in the same direction as it was when it was "cold".  And..since a bullet doesnt fly strait it arcs up and then falls..every change has a major effect.(especially at those ranges)  Certain companies makes thicker barrles to help steady aim and prevent expansion.  Machine guns use air and water to cool down  their barrels.  If you you could have a preignition of the round do to the excessive heat.. not fun...

[frankieG]

2km acknowleged kills are rare but not unheard of

[jserio]

i believe the first few shots he took in the movie were around 800-900 yds. is this unrealistic? i'm a little skeptical though of a head shot at over a mile and a half. 

[nastynate6695]

nothing beets taking out the main rotor assembly with a .50 cal round

[jserio]

all in all i thought it a good movie. i suppose movies like this is why many people feel that your average citizen doesn't need access to a .50 cal. i don't feel it's that big an issue really. i mean, the gun itself is almost 5ft long. (feel free to correct me if i'm wrong, i don't know everything). and honestly, when was the last time one was used in a crime? do people knock over 7-11's with .50 cal rifles?  i doubt it. 

[Revere2]

Yeah, my son told me about that movie and we rented it. It was a pretty well done movie in spite of Hollywood's pretentiousness.
One scene was pretty unbelievable, the one with him wasting that dude with his deceased buddy's .22 rifle using a coke can for a silencer at a distance of 200 yards. While entirely possible, there could not have been a BREATH of air stirring, no barriers anywhere, and not even a twig "in the way". A nice clean "bench rest" would be in order too. And yes things get done sometime by plain ass luck. But anyhoo................. I thought you might be interested in this......................

McMillan TAC-50 long range sniper rifle (USA)

McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle
Caliber: .50BMG (12.7x99mm)
Operation: manually operated rotary bolt action
Barrel: 736 mm
Weight: 11.8 kg
Length: 1448 mm
Feed Mechanism: 5-round detachable box magazine

TAC-50 sniper rifle is produced in USA by McMillan Bros. Rifles Co. This long range anti-material / anti-personnel weapon is based on previous designs from the same company, which first appeared during late 1980s. McMillan Co makes several versions of .50 caliber rifles, based on same proprietary action, for military, law enforcement and civilian use. TAC-50 is a military / LE weapon, which is standard Long Range Sniper rifle of Canadian Armed Forces since 2000. Rifles of TAC-50 family is capable of outstanding accuracy and guaranteed to provide 0.5 MOA groups with match grade ammunition. TAC-50 rifle is also credited with longest range documented kill on enemy soldier: In 2003, a Canadian sniper shot and killed an Afghani taliban insurgent from the range of 2430 meters (nearly one and a half miles).
McMillan TAC-50 is manually operated, rotary bolt rifle. Huge, full-size bolt has dual front locking lugs, and its body has spiral flutes to reduce weight. Heavy match-grade barrel is also fluted, and fitted with effective muzzle brake. Rifle is fed from detachable box magazines, holding 5 rounds each. Stock is made from fiberglass by McMillan Stocks, and is designed to be used from bipod only. Buttstock is adjustable for length of pull with rubber spacers, and can be folded to the side or removed for compact storage. Rifle has no open sights and can be used with a variety of telescopic or night sights; in Canadian service, standard sight is 16X telescope

[spc]

Wow, how'd I miss this thread.
Revere, or should I say Wilson: While that shot was made, I doubt it was a head shot.  A torso shot with a .50 at those ranges is not unheard of.

Jserio: 800-900 yard shots are very doable.  I can't remember exactly, but I believe the US Army Sniper school trains 800-1100.

Nate:  Efficient 'Machine Guns' (I'm not fond of that term) rely on much more *gasp* efficient means of cooling.  For example: The 240 is oil-cooled and in my opinion one of the best automatic weapons available.  On the other side of the spectrum: The 249 Squad Automatic Weapon, was designed with the focus of being a more 'squad friendly' weapon.  The designers shaved weight wherever possible and the reliability suffered.  Though it is capable of firing 5.56 nato from a standard M-16/4 magazine it does so very unreliably, sorry for that stint off topic.  The main issue I have with the 249 is it's inability to continually fire without having the barrel swapped.  Having the barrel of a weapon go nuke on you sucks, end of story, and it will never happen with a 240.  The Army needs to stop pussying up every goddam thing.

[Kasumi]

Plus you shoot most things with a .50 high caliber long range rifle you will petty much put a gaping hole in them regardless of hitting in the head or torso. Infact im suprised it didn't take his head off.

Although the statistics are technically true and possible, it is unlikely in real life it could be done one demand every time. If you think of shooting over a mile and half. In a mile and half you can go from shooting from a location with no wind to a high wind location throwing the bullet of course completely. Also i imagine even a single degree of shake by the sniper could relate to 60cm difference at the target location. No doubt its a ridiculously hard shot, not impossible but unlikely to be able to just do it first time. I enjoyed the movie too though

[frankieG]

gotta love the armchair quarterbacks...no u terry

[bombadillo]

800-900 yard shots can be had with a nato 5.56 with a 24" bull barrel precision ar.  Go to ar15.com and check it out if you don't believe me.  The new BMG .50 is an insane gun and you can take out some serious objects at a huge distance with one.  Explosive tipped bullets will literally explode animals.   

Disregard the vid of it saying taliban hunting.  Its a bunch of small game: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6734239506447371519&q=bmg+sniper&total=75&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=7

"a mile away is an easy shot for a barrett" These guys are shooting at 2000 meters away!!!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5929998056652901648&q=.50+bmg+future+weapons&total=8&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=5

[Kasumi]

I wana see em shoot a damn explosive round. That was insane truely amazing weapon.

[spc]

800-900 yard shots can be had with a nato 5.56 with a 24" bull barrel precision ar.  Go to ar15.com and check it out if you don't believe me.  The new BMG .50 is an insane gun and you can take out some serious objects at a huge distance with one.  Explosive tipped bullets will literally explode animals.   

Disregard the vid of it saying taliban hunting.  Its a bunch of small game: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6734239506447371519&q=bmg+sniper&total=75&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=7

"a mile away is an easy shot for a barrett" These guys are shooting at 2000 meters away!!!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5929998056652901648&q=.50+bmg+future+weapons&total=8&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=5

A mile away is an easy shot for a barret.......................with an experienced marksman

Just as with bikes- 90% is the operator, 10% is the equipment