I've decided what my main weapon will be - a Ruger M77 bolt action rifle in .308 caliber. It's got a 26" barrel, a 10X fixed power scope and a Harris bipod that clips onto a swivel stud. I got the high 30mm rings so I can go a bit larger on the diameter of the suppressor. I can regularly do 7" groups at 500 yards. I know others get tighter groups but I'm trying to keep things generic and the Ruger M77 is a fairly popular gun - I imagine several hundred thousand have been sold.
Bottomline, I am very comfortable with this setup and that's a significant thing. Oh yeah, I've also practiced on windy days and have a decent feel compensating for wind drift.
This caliber is also very widely used and available - .308 is also known as NATO 7.62x51. Most Western medium machine guns and "Battle" rifles are this caliber. Depending on who you talk to, the specific type of ammunition and barrel used, the effective range could be from 500-800 yards up to even the 1000 yard Palma competition. I've been pleased with the Federal brand 168 grain Gold Medal Match ammo.
I've already discussed why I decided against using the significantly more powerful, longer range Browning Machine gun .50 caliber because it's relatively rare compared to the .308. For similar reasons I decided against the .338 Lapua and for now, the .300 Winchester Magnum. Remember, I don't want to get caught and the .50 and .338 are sort of memorable. If I really had to deliver some solid hits at 1000 yards, I'd consider the .300 Win. Mag.
Don't get me wrong, if "Gun Santa" left a big caliber gun and a bunch of ammo under my tree I'd consider using it. One gun that intrigues me is the Bohica Arms .50 caliber upper that fits onto an AR-15/M16 lower. An upper with 24" barrel is 37" overall or 43" with a 30" barrel. Most .50 caliber rifles are very long and pretty heavy and this makes transport and concealment difficult.
Another interesting regulatory angle is that in the eyes of the Federal government, only the lower is required to be registered so you can buy the upper with minimal paperwork. However, I figure less than 2000 of the uppers have been sold so they wouldn't be that hard to trace if the Feds court ordered sales records.
The last 2 equipment items are my Leica Rangemaster 1200 Rangefinder and my Litton night vision light amplification binoculars. More later on the various bags and cases I'll be using so it doesn't look like I'm out to snipe pinstripers. Oh yes, I'll also give an update on my suppressor design and construction - remember don't try this at home!
-Pinstripe Sniper
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
And that's what it's all about...
I have no desire to get caught. My goal is to stir things up so these finance types will think long and hard about their line of work and that bad PR, fines or even jail time will seem like the good old days. Then, after I've shaken things up, I'll disappear. So what am I going to do and how am I going to do it?
I figure I'll start with a top-level executive. Lots of these types have public profiles - online biographies with pictures, interviews, magazine articles, speaking engagements. So it will be relatively easy to id who I'm gunning for. Believe it or not, I would feel bad if I shot the wrong person. Remember that line from the movie "True Lies?" When Jamie Lee Curtis find out her husband (Governor Arnie) is actually a secret agent she asks him if he killed anyone and he replies "Yah but they were all bad people." That works for me. I also figure once what I am doing gets into the news, the highest profile guys will go to ground with beefed up security, fewer public appearances and no more sitting by windows or public appearances.
I know it's going to be tough to find a high profile target that will also have either the travel profile or office location that makes him vulnerable. Yeah, I guess I am sexist. I'd have some qualms about shooting a woman. Fortunately for me, glass ceiling or no, it's still a male-centric club. Anyway, I know it's going to take a lot of legwork to sift through the list of possibilities and build the list of probables.
Just thinking out loud here, if I find a target with a corner office and a good firing location for me I'd jump on it. So what's a good firing location? It's easy to get to (and away) it has good concealment and is less than 500 yards away. If I'm close to perpendicular to the window glass, that will reduce the amount of deflection when the bullet hits the glass. To boot, the glass could be strengthened and have a ballistic film treatment. Better still, if the target has a country estate with no neighbors, likes to spend time outdoors and there's some high ground within a 1000 yards, I'm golden.
You can take it for granted that I am good with guns. I've shot for most of my life and I know how to keep things simple. While I like "exotic" guns, I'm definitely not going to use them because it would make it easier to track me down and catch me. Remember I have no desire to be caught. For example, if I used a .50 caliber BMG rifle, I'd easily have a 1000 yard killing range and be able to ignore most ballistic protection. But there aren't that many .50 cals out there compared to medium caliber hunting rifles. And if I'm at the range with a .50, people take notice. If I'm shooting a generic hunting rifle, I'm just another guy at the range. Ammo is easier too. I can just buy hunting ammo a box at a time here and there. I figure 3 shots tops at the target and 40-60 rounds for practicing and zeroing.
I've also started building "silencers." Building a decent suppressor or "can" is actually pretty easy to do, especially if you don't need it to be compact, long lasting or dry. Most of the technology is pretty old school and really good suppressors were being made about a hundred years ago. (look up Hiram Percy Maxim) And yes I know homemade cans are illegal but what's that on top of a murder rap? You can bet your ass I'll be obeying speed limits though. Oh did I mention I have a degree in Engineering?
-Pinstripe Sniper
I figure I'll start with a top-level executive. Lots of these types have public profiles - online biographies with pictures, interviews, magazine articles, speaking engagements. So it will be relatively easy to id who I'm gunning for. Believe it or not, I would feel bad if I shot the wrong person. Remember that line from the movie "True Lies?" When Jamie Lee Curtis find out her husband (Governor Arnie) is actually a secret agent she asks him if he killed anyone and he replies "Yah but they were all bad people." That works for me. I also figure once what I am doing gets into the news, the highest profile guys will go to ground with beefed up security, fewer public appearances and no more sitting by windows or public appearances.
I know it's going to be tough to find a high profile target that will also have either the travel profile or office location that makes him vulnerable. Yeah, I guess I am sexist. I'd have some qualms about shooting a woman. Fortunately for me, glass ceiling or no, it's still a male-centric club. Anyway, I know it's going to take a lot of legwork to sift through the list of possibilities and build the list of probables.
Just thinking out loud here, if I find a target with a corner office and a good firing location for me I'd jump on it. So what's a good firing location? It's easy to get to (and away) it has good concealment and is less than 500 yards away. If I'm close to perpendicular to the window glass, that will reduce the amount of deflection when the bullet hits the glass. To boot, the glass could be strengthened and have a ballistic film treatment. Better still, if the target has a country estate with no neighbors, likes to spend time outdoors and there's some high ground within a 1000 yards, I'm golden.
You can take it for granted that I am good with guns. I've shot for most of my life and I know how to keep things simple. While I like "exotic" guns, I'm definitely not going to use them because it would make it easier to track me down and catch me. Remember I have no desire to be caught. For example, if I used a .50 caliber BMG rifle, I'd easily have a 1000 yard killing range and be able to ignore most ballistic protection. But there aren't that many .50 cals out there compared to medium caliber hunting rifles. And if I'm at the range with a .50, people take notice. If I'm shooting a generic hunting rifle, I'm just another guy at the range. Ammo is easier too. I can just buy hunting ammo a box at a time here and there. I figure 3 shots tops at the target and 40-60 rounds for practicing and zeroing.
I've also started building "silencers." Building a decent suppressor or "can" is actually pretty easy to do, especially if you don't need it to be compact, long lasting or dry. Most of the technology is pretty old school and really good suppressors were being made about a hundred years ago. (look up Hiram Percy Maxim) And yes I know homemade cans are illegal but what's that on top of a murder rap? You can bet your ass I'll be obeying speed limits though. Oh did I mention I have a degree in Engineering?
-Pinstripe Sniper
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