I hate shoddy journalism

[Pell City Tiger]

Errors such as this really grate my cheese.

This is a photo the NY Daily News used to explain the great Easter pirate shoot. Notice the ship erroneously labeled the USS Bainbridge. It's not. This is the USS Boxer, I believe.


This is the USS Bainbridge.


Totally different class of warship - one (Boxer - LPH) is really big, the other (Bainbridge - DDG) is relatively small. Makes a big difference in the eyes of someone who knows anything about ships and hitting moving targets. A steady shot, such as the ones made that made pâté out of the pirates skulls, would have been significantly easier had they been taken from the LPH. Fuck, I could have probably made the shot from the LPH.

The marksmanship displayed by the SEALS from the DDG was even more remarkable, given the effects of waves on the steadiness of the firing platform and the even smaller target. Imagine it like this. You are on a 30' pontoon boat on a choppy lake. Now, envision yourself on a 10' flat bottom boat under those same conditions. Makes all the difference in the world.

Google can be a very helpful research tool.

[Saniflush]

I agree about the journalism portions but as I told someone else.  It's a 100 fucking feet.  Most people I grew up with shooting a running deer could make that shot.

I hope everyone who is creaming their pants over this remembers what a great distance it is when Kodi Burns misses a 30 yard pass. 

[JohnDeere]

LPH, DDG, SEAL.....my first thought, "I don't speak 'squid', I don't understand WTH he is talking about."

Then the image of the Bainbridge loads....."I should have joined the Navy, cruising around the world on a mean looking ship like that."

[Thrilla]

It still blows my mind at how impressive our warships are.  Thanks for the info, PCT.

[Tarheel]

I agree about the journalism portions but as I told someone else.  It's a 100 fucking feet.  Most people I grew up with shooting a running deer could make that shot.

I hope everyone who is creaming their pants over this remembers what a great distance it is when Kodi Burns misses a 30 yard pass. 

Interesting take on this Sani; never thought about it from that perspective.

It's just a tad off-topic (no offense to the moderators) but during the War of Northern Aggression, Southern snipers (and some yankees with Berdan's quaint little unit) were using Whitworth rifles to hit targets nearly 3,000 yards away (almost 2 miles); that is remarkable with a percussion, muzzle-loader.  (Sorry I don't have a source handy...just heard a presentation on this in my Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting last month.)

Just some useless trivia.

PS: Forgot to thank you PCT for clearing up that article...you've got to study the sources of anything nowadays.

[Thrilla]

Interesting take on this Sani; never thought about it from that perspective.

It's just a tad off-topic (no offense to the moderators) but during the War of Northern Aggression, Southern snipers (and some yankees with Berdan's quaint little unit) were using Whitworth rifles to hit targets nearly 3,000 yards away (almost 2 miles); that is remarkable with a percussion, muzzle-loader.  (Sorry I don't have a source handy...just heard a presentation on this in my Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting last month.)

Just some useless trivia.

PS: Forgot to thank you PCT for clearing up that article...you've got to study the sources of anything nowadays.

Can you imagine how long it would take for the bullet to hit the target?  I would think that the Rebel Soldier would have time to fire, pinch off a plug from his tobacco rope, take a piss, and then look back through his scope, just in time to see the Union Soldier crumple into a heap.

This entire thread makes me think about the mathematics of sniping.  Not to pull HollyWeird into this, but have you seen the movie Sniper?  I think it gives a glimpse into the world of sniping, including taking trajectory, wind speed, speed of the target, and other things into consideration before firing.  If I'm not mistaken, the sniper has a soldier that assists him with these calculations. 

Quite fascinating...I would pay some serious dough to get a chance at shooting a sniper rifle like the ones that are used today at a moving target...perferable one of Haji descent.

[Tarheel]

Can you imagine how long it would take for the bullet to hit the target?  I would think that the Rebel Soldier would have time to fire, pinch off a plug from his tobacco rope, take a piss, and then look back through his scope, just in time to see the Union Soldier crumple into a heap.

This entire thread makes me think about the mathematics of sniping.  Not to pull HollyWeird into this, but have you seen the movie Sniper?  I think it gives a glimpse into the world of sniping, including taking trajectory, wind speed, speed of the target, and other things into consideration before firing.  If I'm not mistaken, the sniper has a soldier that assists him with these calculations. 

Quite fascinating...I would pay some serious dough to get a chance at shooting a sniper rifle like the ones that are used today at a moving target...perferable one of Haji descent.

Funny you should write that comment, Thrilla, but it's almost exactly what the speaker at my SCV meeting said; except many of the Confederate snipers had NO scopes!

[Pell City Tiger]

I am reminded of the infamous last words of union Major General John Sedgwick at the battle of Gettysburg> After a warning given to him by his troops of the accuracy of the southern snipers, he replied, "Boys, they couldn't hit an elephant from that distance!" If I recall correctly, the last syllable of "distance" was never finished. Caught a bullet in the center of his noggin.

[Snaggletiger]

You people talk like Bill Brasky was fightin' that war.

[Pell City Tiger]

You people talk like Bill Brasky was fightin' that war.

I don't know about Gettysburg. Records are somewhat sketchy at best. I do know he served 3 tours in ‘Nam. I was in Corpus Christi on business a couple of months ago. I had this eight foot tall Asian waiter, which made me curious. I asked him his name. Sure enough it’s Ho Tran Brasky!

[Tiger Six]

That first picture looks like a bad photoshop.

[Tiger Wench]

This entire thread makes me think about the mathematics of sniping.  Not to pull HollyWeird into this, but have you seen the movie Sniper?  I think it gives a glimpse into the world of sniping, including taking trajectory, wind speed, speed of the target, and other things into consideration before firing.  If I'm not mistaken, the sniper has a soldier that assists him with these calculations. 

This book is fabulous:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Trigger-Men/Hans-Halberstadt/e/9780312354565/?itm=5

After reading this book, I have concluded that the snipers in our military are not human beings, they are lethal weapons that ocasionally breathe.  Cannot recommend it enough.  It cover all of those things Thrilla mentioned, along with some great stories.

[Tarheel]

I am reminded of the infamous last words of union Major General John Sedgwick at the battle of Gettysburg> After a warning given to him by his troops of the accuracy of the southern snipers, he replied, "Boys, they couldn't hit an elephant from that distance!" If I recall correctly, the last syllable of "distance" was never finished. Caught a bullet in the center of his noggin.

Excellent!  You're recollection is correct.  That was another occurrence of Southern sniper skill that was brought up at my recent SCV meeting.  Glad that you mentioned it PCT.  As I recall that sniper was using a Whitworth rifle.

[Tarheel]

This book is fabulous:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Trigger-Men/Hans-Halberstadt/e/9780312354565/?itm=5

After reading this book, I have concluded that the snipers in our military are not human beings, they are lethal weapons that ocasionally breathe.  Cannot recommend it enough.  It cover all of those things Thrilla mentioned, along with some great stories.

Thanks for teh recommendation, Tiger Wench.  I'll have to add that book to my reading list.