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Pastimes : DC Sniper - Theories? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dannobee who wrote (218)	10/11/2002 1:55:03 PM
From: Cage Rattler	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 2746

A few inaccuracies have surfaced concerning the nature of of the .223. First, the .223 is customarily a supersonic round and associated with a sonic boom; it can not be effectively silenced like a H&K submachine gun firing subsonic 9mm. Muzzle flash can be modified by using less of a faster burning powder, a longer barrel and a flash suppressor. The police have suggested bullet fragmentation, and if it fragments within the body, that fact would not suggest parabellum or military ammunition. This fragmentation is consistent with a bench-rest hollow point bullet or a "Blitz" (Sierra I believe) projectile. A bench-rest hollow point also yields improved accuracy. Finding .223 cases does not mean the rifle was a .223 although it would seem to be the case it could be a distraction. We lack ballistic information defining the rifling twist, etc. Without that data we can not rule out a higher caliber rifle, such as .308 or 30/06, just because the bullet is not .30; the .223 projectile can be fired using plastic "zipper" (I think that's what it is called) which yields very high velocity. The .220 Swift would seem to be a very poor to me. Although it is one of the fastest rounds at 4100 fps+/-, with a flat trajectory, it makes a horrendous noise. Hitting a pumpkins at 200 plus yards does not qualify one for Camp Perry – any marginally accomplished shooter could set up a bench-rest situation, inside a van for instance, and simply wait for someone to enter his kill zone -- hence the common gas-pump location, a door way, etc. yielding a stationary target or one moving directly in line with sight alignment is preferable. The single exception to these targets generalizations might be the poor man shot on his lawn mower -- that seems a bit out of line. The crucial variable is the discipline alluded to in several comments. The mental make-up of a successful sniper, IMHO, is much scarcer than qualifying marksmanship. Yes the individual man or woman can be a true sociopath or a dedicated terrorist on a mission -- either one fits the bill. Good marksmen do not like to change rifles -- so I doubt he/she/it will be caught at the Wall-World checkout line – new gun in hand. To the anti-gun nuts out there – do you think disarming the American citizens would have prevented this?