Question about the 50 cal

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M2 as sniper rifle
The M2 machine gun has been used in a single instance as a long-range sniper rifle, when equipped with a telescopic sight. This use was discovered by US Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock during the Vietnam War. Using the Unertl scope supplied on his Winchester Model 70 .30-06 sniper rifle and a mounting bracket of his own design, Hathcock could quickly convert the M2 into a rifle that, when firing semi-automatically, could accurately hit targets at up to 2500 yards--twice the range of the Winchester sniper rifle. The success of the M2 in this role led to the development of purpose-built sniper rifles, generally bolt-action, designed to fire the same .50-caliber round.

The M2 itself had two traits that made this possible. Firstly, the M2 has a full automatic mode activated by locking down the bolt release lever between the butterfly triggers. Full automatic fire mode is achieved by rotating a snap spring on the exterior of the buffer housing to hold the bolt release down. The M2HB can be fired dependably in semi-automatic mode with the bolt release up and pressing it to load each round. A skilled gunner can fire single rounds by quickly releasing the butterflies on full automatic mode. In either mode the gun is fired by pressing the butterfly trigger. Secondly, Its traversing-and-elevating (T & E) mechanism attached to the tripod made accurate aiming possible, by turning the traversing handwheel and elevating handwheel until the target was in the sights.


[edit] Variants and derivatives
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M2_Browning_machine_gun#M2_as_sniper_rifle

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the M2HB is in no way suitable for "sniping" because it is designed for automatic fire. because of this, key components such as the barrel and bolt can move freely upon firing. this, combined with the heavy vibrations caused by the moving mechanism means that the accuracy of the rifle is probably no better than maybe, 10 MOA.

an M82, a Semi-auto .50 is accurate to about 2 MOA (2 inches at 100 yards)
a proper sniper rifle needs to be capable of less than 1 MOA. the barret M82 is classified as an antimaterial rifle. the McMillan TAC-50, which is what the canadians use is capable of .5MOA groups, which is why its used.

the TAC-50 was used to kill an Afghani insurgent (by a canadian sniper!) at 2400 meters in afghanistan some time ago.
 
Aod said:
the M2HB is in no way suitable for "sniping" because it is designed for automatic fire. because of this, key components such as the barrel and bolt can move freely upon firing. this, combined with the heavy vibrations caused by the moving mechanism means that the accuracy of the rifle is probably no better than maybe, 10 MOA.
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Wiki says otherwise? :confused:

Does the 'Heavy Barrel' make any difference?
 
So how does the new Accuracy International rifle that was in the news a while back compare to stuff our counterparts are using?
 
its mot the most portable of weapons. Are the rounds fired super or subsonic from this weapon on standard ammo?
 
33L said:
its mot the most portable of weapons. Are the rounds fired super or subsonic from this weapon on standard ammo?
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Supersonic of course...

The only time you would use sub sonic ammunition would be when combined with a supressor on a rifle or SMG if you wanted to properly silence the shots. The obvious drawbacks are the range is much less and it packs less of a punch, which isn't something you want in a gun designed for supressing enemy forces and/or taking out light vehicles and structures at a distance.
 
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mp3kla said:
Wiki says otherwise? :confused:

Does the 'Heavy Barrel' make any difference?
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at 2500 yards the M2HB will have a group size of 6.3 meters.

the heavy barrel is mainly in place so that the continual firing duration is extended. a heavier barrel can be fired longer and for more total rounds before requiring cooldown or replacement.

inferno said:
So how does the new Accuracy International rifle that was in the news a while back compare to stuff our counterparts are using?
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New AI rifle? not for some time. the AIAW-50 is a relatively rifle that delivers accuracy of about 1.5MOA
 
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Im sure there was some sniper in the Vietnam war who used a scope attached to a .50 cal in single shot, for long range-kills. I'll try and find the page on wiki.

edit - ahhh i see its already been posted.
 
Just out of curiousity, some of you may have seen the movie "Shooter" in which the main character (played by Mark Wahlberg) fires what looks like a M40 from a hill top miles away and headshoots someone on a moving jeep. He has a guy spotting for him and they show some random calculations on a notepad.

I know it's hollywood, but is something like possible in real life?
 
Not really. In that scene he takes peoples heads off out of moving vehicles from 800 yards away. Not only that, but he does the same thing over and over, never missing a shot, even when the vehicles are moving over uneven terrain.
Snipers are highly trained and highly skilled. They arent super human.

The shot mentioned above where a Canadian Sniper shot an insurgent at 2400 yards took 3 attempts. He didnt LOLPWN AWP!¬!!£ in one shot, although the second shot did hit the guy ;)
 
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