“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries.
? Winston S. Churchill, The River War 1899
Several devout Muslims showed up at a Christian celebration with multiple IED’s, body armor, AK-47s and gunned down dozens of people yesterday in an act of terror.
Hours after the shooting, law enforcement officials said two suspects — Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27— had been killed in a police shootout several miles from the site of the original attack.
“Based upon what we have seen and how they were equipped, there had to be some degree of planning that went into this,” Burguan said. “I don’t think they grabbed the guns and tactical gear on a spur-of-the-moment thing.”
AK-47 sales are already illegal in California, so the president concluded that the way to make Americans safe from Islamic terrorism, is to make new laws confiscating guns from law abiding citizens so that they are defenseless against terrorists.
“One of the big questions that will come up repeatedly is: ‘Is this terrorism?’?”
Obviously it is terrorism. They already said that it is.
It is a possibility. But we don’t know that yet. And we are not willing to go down that road yet.”
We can’t say that it is terrorism because it would make Obama look like an idiot.
The solution to World War III that the Islamic crazies have been declaring over and over again since 1947, and maybe before that, isn’t pretty, but it will eventually need to be done.
One thing we all need to keep front and center is the 2nd Amendment is NOT about crime, it is NOT about self-protection THE SECOND AMENDMENTS PURPOSE IS TO SERVE AS A MAJOR CHECK ON A GOVERNMENT HEADED TOWARDS TYRANNY!
All the progressives do is toss out strawman after strawman AND WE LET THEM!
Bingo we have a winner. Gail is exactly correct!
Yes , most importantly ; the premise of the 2nd Amendment is more relevant & important today, than has been for some decades… given the un-American leadership.
This was a distraction so that the American public doesn’t focus on the real terrorist in chief in the White House and his buddies.
https://youtu.be/nMA4B2ZnQ2o
https://cdn.rt.com/files/2015.12/original/565efe81c46188433d8b45b4.jpg
https://youtu.be/aWejiXvd-P8
Ridiculous Robert. You are making a mockery of yourself.
http://images.teinteresa.es/mundo/Kennedy-decisiones-Cuba-Fotos-Getty_TINIMA20130823_0925_3.jpg
What’s the difference ?
Still mocking yourself.
http://glennhenson.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/image001-obama.jpg?w=640
True dat.
Troll warning. Please ignore “Russia revealing something”. Russia does not reveal things, it fabricates lies. Institutionally. Steven, be careful not to leave room for Russian trolls here.
“…AK-47 sales are already illegal in California, so the president concluded that the way to make Americans safe from Islamic terrorism, is to make new laws confiscating guns from law abiding citizens so that they are defenseless against [His terrorists friends]….”
Obama the muslim would not want to see any of his muslim brothers hurt as they invade and subdue the former USA.
This is a chance for Barry to propose that all weapons be stripped from Muslims! And if they’re caught with one, Chop Chop, off with their hands! 🙂 Gun control and Sharia law all in one fell swoop!
I like it! Lets get a Congressman to sponsor the bill.
““One of the big questions that will come up repeatedly is: ‘Is this terrorism?’?”
Of course it is not. Terrorism is someone drawing a cartoon of mohammed.
THIS is REAL TERRORISM:
http://www.islam-watch.org/Assets/Muhammad-sword-pope.jpg
It apparently was a husband and wife team.
So it was domestic violence? Time to ban marrriages.
No, just goes to show that early news reports get a lot wrong. It wasn’t “several” or even 3 devout Muslims, just two. The Muslim link is being edited out by the media for political reasons, which is wrong.
Almost right. The early news reports were of 3 white men, with strong implications of “right wing extremism.”
That reminds me. Has anyone ever heard the phrase “left wing extremism” in American mass media?
Of course not. The ‘Right wing Extremism’ will of course stick in the low information voters tiny little brains and any corrections will never be processed. This is another method of promoting Disinformation. Something The Groniad, Huff & Puff and the NYT are very good at. Heck most of the time they never even bother with corrections.
While the American bodies were still bleeding on the floor having been murdered by the ROP the Islamic outreach prez was blaming the 2nd Amendment, and claiming this type of thing only happens in the USA even though similar attacks just happened in Paris.
Then later on after the FBI new the identities of the perps the Islamic outreach prez’s FBI mouth piece on the scene was trying to obfuscate the obvious ROP connection.
On the “bright side?”; at least this consummately evil, satanic, demon possessed woman did not kill her baby as about 56million American women have done.
I heard those weren’t AK-47’s but look alike semi-auto rifles, still bad.
I’m not aware of what weapons the Muslim terrorists used in San Bernadino, but to clarify AK-47s are legal to sell and possess in California if both the magazine is blocked to hold a max of 10 rounds, and the magazine release is modified to require a so-called “tool” to release it, the tool can be a screwdriver or the tip of a bullet. All private party firearm transactions MUST go through an FFL in California, no gun shows or buying a gun from somebody with no record of the sale as in many other states, plus a 10 day waiting period.
For example
https://www.gunsamerica.com/989748269/California-Legal-AK-47-Rifle-For-Sale.htm
So, let me get this right. I can’t condemn all Muslims and restrict them because of the actions of 3 mentally defective shooters, but I can condemn and restrict all law-abiding citizens of their 2nd Amendment rights due to the actions of the same 3?
Now you are thinking like a proper US Progressive.
Explain your comment.
I corrected the misunderstanding that AK47s are illegal in CA (false)
I implied we need some new, common sense laws banning Muslims.
How do you interpret that as my thinking like a US Progressive?
It was your last sentence. That is proper progressive thinking.
I forgot the /sarc
Sorry. The guys here are generally used to my off-beat sense of humor.
That gets me in trouble a lot too!!
Yes, that is why I like this site. My sense of humor is not ‘out of place’
https://media2.stickersmalin.com/produit/100/stickers-devil-smile-R1-143760-2.png
Well, maybe I am confused about AK-47s… I thought that an honest-to-gosh AK-47 was an actual assault rifle, that is, a small caliber, switch selectable, full auto rifle, iIllegal (without special federal permit and taxes) since the 1930s. What are commonly (and incorrectly) referred to as “AK-47s” are actually the semi-auto version, the MAK-90. To a casual observer, these are indistinguishable, but an AK is a banned full auto and a MAK is a completely legal semi-auto.
Am I wrong on that? Can someone correct me?
Jason, technically you’re correct, although most people use the term AK-47 for any of the semi-auto-only clones. The MAK-90 (Modified AK, 1990) is but one of many.
Hey Doug! Thanks for the confirmation; I thought I was imagining it. For great fun, the next time someone tells you that “there ought to be a law against assault weapons!”, just look at them and say “If you can tell me how an assault weapon is different from any other weapon, then we can discuss it.” I guarantee you will get a deer-in-the-headlights response from them. I have never met a gun control enthusiast who has even a vague working knowledge of the subject.
“MAK-90 (Modified AK, 1990)” Aha! I had wondered where the name came from. Looks like I have learned something new today. Thanks!
🙂
Now, I’ve been out of the loop for a awhile due to work. And this has nothing directly to do with the attack CA. However people need to be aware of the AK-74 which is version of the AK-47 that uses a 5.45 x 39 mm cartridge instead of the 7.62 x 39 mm that the AK-47 uses. The AK-74 is now the service weapon of choice in Russia and many former Warsaw pact countries.
The Soviets come up with it for the same reasons why the US came up with the M-16 and 5.56 x 45 mm it uses. Lighter ammo is cheaper to produce, means the individual soldier can carry more, and on the battlefield wounded cause your enemy to expend more logistic assets for the evacuation and care than KIA do. Of course, unlike on the battlefield the terrorist want maximum kill ratio for their headlines.
And BTW the era of the M-16 as a primary service weapon of the UN Military is starting to come to an end with the USMC adopting the A4 for it’s primary.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htweap/articles/20151128.aspx
The problem with this discussion is that the spokesman in the case said today the ammunition was .223, which means they had AR-15s. The magazine restriction would still apply. However, you can mail order 30 round magazines, or just drive across to Arizona, where you can just pick them off a rack. Wild pigs are hunted in California with AR-15s. Actually you can buy double-stack 60-round magazines here in Arizona.
That said, given the low casualty figure and the testimony that they reloaded, they may have been using 10 round magazines. Two rifles firing a total of 60 rounds, then reloading and firing again should have caused a really, really, bad number of casualties in an enclosed space.
When will we finally decide that enough is enough, and put an end to all this senseless workplace violence? We all know the answer, we’re just too brainwashed by AFL-CIO propaganda to implement it. The solution is simple; Ban workplaces.
Minor quibble:
They TRIED to ban AK-47s here in the land of fruits and nuts. The actual legislation wasn’t very effective, and full of all the loopholes you’d expect in a law written by people with no knowledge of the subject. There’s no shortage of completely legal AK-47 knock offs in California.
I hope the President can take a few minutes away from the COP21 banquets in Paris and refocus media attention back on the real existential threats to America: Congressional conservatives, NRA and global warming.
You misspelled Pretendident. 🙂
Now wait just a second! Didn’t Fezident O-bomba say that COP21 would be a severe rebuke to the adherents of the Religion of Pieces? Surely he wasn’t wrong, was he?
http://www.steynonline.com/7333/a-powerful-rebuke
Maybe it went like this: When Obungler REBUKED the climate by sending Billions to UN jackals to squander, this offended Terrorists around the world. They wondered: How can we strike back against the climate slaying Christian Obama? A mass shooting of innocents was the obvious answer.
If Hussein were a Muslim, how would he act differently than he is acting now?
He is a muslim. There is no doubt in the minds of actual muslims. Granddad was a muslim apostate. His original name was Hussein he changed it to Frank just as Cassius Clay changed his to Muhammad Ali and Barry Soetoro (he was adopted by Lolo Soertoro as a child in Indonesia) changed his to Barack Hussein Obama.
The name tells you the religion.
Be sure to click the links:
http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/leaked-video-just-admitted-hes-a-obama-muslim-whoa/
Thanx. The Hussein family photos on that site reminded me that children of Progressives had much to be thankful for last week. After all they are the ones their mothers chose not to kill.
Obama will be very disappointed when he figures out he cannot defeat ISIS (ISIL) with carbon credits.
Why are you assuming he can figure that out?
Why are you assuming he wants to defeat ISIS?
Good points!
Progressive Math:
It is impossible to send 11 million illegal immigrants back to their country of origin.
— The number is too large.
We must confiscate all 300 million firearms owned by citizens of the U.S.
— Numbers are no obstacle to do what is needed..
Yesterday’s incident occurred right near Cali Rte. 10 which runs straight to Cali Senate District 24, the domain of one State Senator Kevin De Leon and therefore these people must have used “ghost guns.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJmFEv6BHM0
State Senator Kevin De Leon with a ‘Ghost Gun’
http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/600×4443.jpg
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/01/21/anti-gun-senator-is-being-mocked-relentlessly-after-he-warned-of-30-caliber-clip-in-embarrassing-video/
The gun control nuts generally know nothing about firearms. The CAGW nuts generally know nothing about climate science. Who would have guessed that a Venn diagram of the two groups would be two almost completely overlapping circles?
For the record, in the news conference around 10 pm PST last night the San Bernadino Police Chief stated that the two “long rifles” used by Farook and Malik were a DPMS and a Smith and Wesson, both of which are AR-15-type rifles in .223/5.56mm caliber, not AK-47-type rifles.
And in the Uncommon-sense Liberal Department, Fox News Channel just played a video clip of Liberal California US Senator Barbara Boxer saying (paraphrasing) that they have strict common-sense gun laws in California, so there is no reason similar laws can’t be enacted at a federal level to prevent atrocities like this one. One has to wonder if she knows that San Bernadino is in California.
Here’s the video clip:
http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/03/sen-barbara-boxer-d-ca-sensible-gun-laws-work-weve-proven-it-in-california/
If only there was a way to impeach / confiscate the President, instead of the Guns ; most of the problems would go away. The Muslim Brotherhood want to see the US disarmed and out of the middle-east,,, they certainly have the man for the job…
What people need to keep in mind is that terror is a strategy. It forces people to give up freedom for a sense of security. A small act of terror causes kneejerk regulatory actions and people who are afraid, because of media and government hype, demand something be done. Hitler did it with the Jews. If we as a culture would stop worrying about offending someone or dreaming of a perfectly safe world, we would do what our ancestors did and handle it. Armed men created peaceful societies throughout history. The muslims would not be a boogey man if we were all armed and had the reputation of courage and ability to act. Taking away the sheepdog to not offend the wolves is insane.
I listened live to the San Bernardino police with a free phone app I had downloaded some time ago (“scanner radio’). It can notify you automatically if a certain number of listeners are tuned into a particular station, probably because something big is happening. It sent me a message that a huge number of listeners were tuned in.
I heard the police talking and they quoted a witness that said “there are definitely 3 shooters”. And I believe something about ski masks and gear. Also ironic, that one of the ladies at the center texted her husband that the monthly “active shooter drill” had started. They seem to laugh it off at first. Active shooter drills? I hate to sound conspiratorial, but it does sound a bit strange and ironic? Why are they having these drills and why weren’t they prepared if so? Maybe this is normal in CA, I have no idea!
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-bernardino-shooting-dramatic-video-shows-police-storming-inland-regional-center-20151202-story.html
Also I watched the live broadcasts. Over and over they kept repeating the gun statistics and need for gun control.
Hmmm. Head scratch. Chin rub.
Has anybody seen the bodies of the dead shooters in San Bernardino or Paris ?
I may have not remembered correctly, but I think I read that they used 5.56 weapons, specifically an AR-15 type rifle, rather than AK-47 type rifles, which use a larger (7.62mm, 30-caliber) round. Picky-picky.
I live in California, there are restrictive gun control laws, and people are shot and die quite often.
My son lives in Montana, they have lax gun control laws (only the federal), you can buy what you want, from who you want, and carry it in your vehicle or on your hip. There are not dead bodies all over the streets.
What’s the difference?
Most of the residents of Montana are Republican Caucasians and work to have a place to live and food to eat. The exceptions are the 3 counties that voted Blue in the past elections, and have high crime rates. Why? Those are the 3, large Indian reservations in the state.
Also, you could put the population of Montana in any one of a number of cities in California and lose them. But you are right about the Caucasian thing. Its a national statistic. We don’t live in Democrat-run inner cities. Deaths from AR-15s are generally less than a hundred each year and declining. This shooting may have pushed that figure over a hundred. IFIRC, in 2012 Caucasians only accounted for 12 percent of gun deaths.
Possibly true for murders, but not for total gun deaths. Suicides by gun solidly outnumber murders by gun, and that group is utterly dominated by white men.
Nature teaches us wonderful lessons. This video should be distributed widely as a training film on how Hussein suggests we resist his Muslim brethren. If we heed his commands and disarm we will guarantee the same outcome for us and our family in our fight against the Radical Conservatives and their Workplace Violence war. Incidentally I sure hope our congressmen and senators have a great holiday season set up and have plenty of taxpayer sponsored parties planned. I would hate to see them bothered by these petty problems at this busy time of year.
https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AwrSbnjln2FWiLQAw11XNyoA;_ylc=X1MDMjc2NjY3OQRfcgMyBGZyA3lmcC10LTkwMQRncHJpZAN5SjNodlg5SVMxaWZZTEJiVmszcUJBBG5fcnNsdAMwBG5fc3VnZwMwBG9yaWdpbgNzZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcwMwBHBxc3RyAwRwcXN0cmwDBHFzdHJsAzQwBHF1ZXJ5A3lvdXR1YmUgc2Nob29sIG9mIGZpc2ggZWF0ZW4gYnkgcHJlZGF0b3IEdF9zdG1wAzE0NDkyMzg0MjI-?p=youtube+school+of+fish+eaten+by+predator&fr2=sb-top-search&fr=yfp-t-901&fp=1
Here is a better link to the video I am referring to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ofeYisqfOO8
Some of the great Presidents have had major Ships of the Navy named in their honor,, like the USS Ronald Reagan, a Nimitz Class Nuclear Aircraft Carrier. Just wondering, what would be most befitting “Obama” ; given his record for going backwards & preferably without guns..?
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0535/6917/products/mistakesdemotivator.jpeg?v=1416776264
Marsh
The newest class of US Navy Super Aircraft Carriers that will eventually replace the Nimitz class is the Gerald R. Ford class. As is typical practice the first ship to be completed of that class will be the USS Gerald R. Ford CVN-78. It will be commissioned next year. The 2nd ship of the class, CVN-79, already under construction, will be Christened the USS John F. Kennedy.
This new class of nuclear powered super carriers are of about the same size as the Nimitz class but incorporate new technologies that are reported to increase the pace at which flight operations can be conducted by about 25%, decrease maintenance costs by 30%, and significantly decrease standard ship crew numbers required by 500 and Air wing crew members by 400 for normal operations over the best of the Nimitz class carriers.
A few of the key components that allow these improvements are a much improved reactor that requires much less maintenance and much faster change out of the reactor core and fuel. Electrical generation capacity 2.5x of the Nimitz class allowing it to be a fully electric ship. They will also have an electromagnetic catapult and greatly improved arresting system that have faster cycle times than the steam catapults and arresting systems used on all previous carriers. Cost of operation over it’s projected 50 year service life will be at least 4 Billion dollars less than that for a Nimitz class Carrier.
This also has nothing to do with the weapons used for the terrorist attack but I thought some of you interested in firearms history might find this interesting.
If someone can name a weapon in the US military arsenal that has lasted longer in front line service than the M2 heavy machine gun I would like to know what it is. In fact I can’t identify any piece of US Military equipment that has had a longer service life than the M2. And those that like firearms that have never had the opportunity to get behind one of these weapons have really missed the ultimate. This is the same type machine gun that Audi Murphy used in the action for which he received the Medal of Honor. And variations of the very same machine gun were the primary defensive armament on most US Fighters and Bombers during WW II.
The M2 is being modified now to eliminate the hassle of setting head space and timing and here is story about a receiver unit marked #324 being sent in.
http://www.strategypage.com/%5Chtmw%5Chtweap%5Carticles%5C20151203.aspx
Weapons: The Forever Machinegun
December 3, 2015: A U.S. Army facility that is upgrading older 12.7mm (.50 caliber) M2 noticed that a lot of the guns coming in were quite old. M2 production began in 1921 and some three million have been produced since then. No one every kept track of how long M2s lasted. That question was recently answered when an M2 came in with serial number 324, meaning it was produced during the first year and was 94 years old. The serial number was on the receiver, the heaviest component of the M2 (25.5 kg/55 pounds in the most common version) and the one component that rarely wears out. In contrast the barrel is worn out after about 3,000 rounds and most other components eventually need replacement because of wear or damage. But the receiver is quite a sturdy block of machined metal.
Unfortunately for 324 the extent of the latest M2 upgrades means that it is often considered cheaper to scrap pre-World War II M2s rather than perform a number of accumulated fixes and modifications. But since 324 is the oldest to show up so far it will be displayed as a museum piece.
The M2 has lasted so long because it proved to be the most reliable and durable machine-gun of any caliber ever produced. That durability meant receivers would, if they could avoid battle damage or accidents, serve on and on. The army is seeing proof of that as more and more quite ancient receivers come back for which are mandatory and army-wide upgrades. Because of thus a lot of weapons NCOs have been checking their inventories and as they did that the word began spreading on the Internet (even army armorers have their own online forums) that there were a lot of very old M2 receivers out there.
These discoveries were largely the result of the army, despite budget cuts, coming up with the $356 million needed to upgrade all 45,000 M2HB machine-guns to the M2A1 standard. This upgrade makes the M2 easier and safer to operate. Although this upgrade was first available in 1997, it took over twelve years to convince Congress that this upgrade is a big deal and worth the cost. The basic argument was that because the M2 is one of the most effective weapons the army has, blame for any additional injuries caused by delays in getting all M2s modified would fall on those who refused to provide the cash (about $6,000 per machine-gun).
In early 2011, the U.S. Department of Defense began modifying 6,000 M2s. The M2A1 upgrade includes design changes that eliminate the need to make head space adjustments. This has long been the one big flaw of the M2, as it was easy to do this adjustment incorrectly, which caused the machine-gun to fail when used, often injuring the gunner in the process. While the quick change barrel option was greatly appreciated, the elimination of the head space hassles was even more welcome. Each barrel weighs 10.9 kg (24 pounds). There is also a mounting rail for scopes and a flash suppressor and fixed headspace (which makes the weapons easier to use). In 2010, the Department of Defense also bought 8,000 more M2 machine-gun barrels (for $850 each). Thousands of new M2A1 weapons are also being manufactured but most of the M2A1s will be created by upgrading older weapons.
With a maximum effective range of 2,000 meters and firing 500-600 rounds a minute, the M2 can tear up vehicles as well as enemy troops. The M2 weighs 38 kg (83.8 pounds), plus another 20 kg (44 pounds) if a tripod is used. Most M-2s are mounted on vehicles. Nicknamed “Ma Deuce” by the troops, the M2 has been around so long because it is very good at what it does. Accurate, reliable, rugged, and easy to use, many of the M2s currently in use are decades old and in need of some refurbishment. After the Cold War ended in 1991, the army did not want to build new ones and wasn’t sure it could do without the venerable, and very useful, M2.
Efforts to develop a superior replacement for the M2 have, so far, failed. But the Department of Defense keeps trying. In 2008, the Department of Defense gave General Dynamics $9 million to try and develop a lightweight .50 caliber (12.7mm) machine-gun (initially called LW50, then the XM806) that worked. The XM806 was supposed to be ready for troops use by 2012, but that delayed until 2014 or later, and eventually never. Designing and building a lighter and more effective 12.7mm machine-gun has been an elusive goal, and became clear the XM806 would not be acceptable to the troops. While lighter (18 kg/40 pounds) the XM806 has half the rate of fire of the M2 but is said to be safer to use and easier to take apart in the field for cleaning.
Actually, there have been many attempts to design a “new and improved” M2, and all have failed, to one degree or another, in one department or another. The basic problem is that the M2 is sturdy, reliable, and gets the job done to the satisfaction of the users. The XM806 was going to try and get around this by designing a better recoil system and use modern electronic sights so that gunners can get more out of fewer bullets. Most combat veterans prefer the current rate of fire (seven to eight bullets per second) to the slower (four per second) one of the XM806.
What the army was hoping to do with XM806 was not get an M2 replacement but a “good enough” lightweight 12.7mm machine-gun, for those situations where such a weapon is needed. SOCOM (Special Operations Command), for example, has some lightweight vehicles in the works that are too light to carry an M2 but could handle a lighter 12.7mm weapon. The army is not getting a lightweight 12.7mm machine-gun for the troops any time soon. Meanwhile, the army plans to buy over 30,000 new M2s.
Oh BTW a new record distance for a kill by a sniper has recently been set:
Snipers Break Another Distance Record
by James Dunnigan
November 26, 2015
November 11, 2015: The distance record for sniper kills has been broken again, this time by two Australian snipers in Afghanistan using M82A1 12.7mm (.50 caliber) rifles. In a coordinated shot at a Taliban leader 2,800 meters away the two snipers fired simultaneously and six seconds later the Taliban chieftain fell dead. It will never be known which of the two shots got him. The victim would not have heard the shot, the rifles were so far away and the bullet was travelling faster than the speed of sound. About two seconds later anyone with the dead Taliban man would have heard the two shots, but faintly as the shooters were nearly three kilometers (two miles) away.
The previous record shot was made in November 2009 by a British sniper (corporal Craig Harrison) who killed two Taliban in Afghanistan, at a range of 2,620 meters (8,596 feet). He did this with a L115A3 rifle firing the 8.6mm Lapua Magnum round. Before that the record was held by a Canadian soldier, corporal Rob Furlong, who dropped an al Qaeda gunman at 2,573 meters (7,972 feet) in 2002, also in Afghanistan with a 12.7mm rifle. These weapons are good at 2,000 meters or more, but weigh twice as much as the 6.8 kg (15 pound) 8.6mm rifles.
In 2007 the British Army began replacing most of its 3,000 7.62mm L96A1 sniper rifles with one modified to use the .338 (8.6mm) Lapua Magnum caliber round. This Accuracy International “Super Magnum” rifle is basically a L96A1 “Arctic Warfare” rifle modified to handle the larger, 8.6mm Lapua Magnum round. The L115A1 weighed 6.8 kg (without a scope), was 1.27 meters (fifty inches) long and had a 686mm (27 inch) barrel and a five round magazine.
Snipers in Iraq, and especially Afghanistan, had been calling for a smaller long range round because they found the 12.7mm weapons too heavy. The .338 (8.6mm) Lapua Magnum round has an effective range (about 1,500 meters) about 50 percent greater than the 7.62mm standard NATO round. Like most long range rounds, if the weather (clear) and winds (calm) are right, you can hit targets farther away. Those were the conditions Harrison encountered when he took his three shots (the third one hit the machine-gun the two Taliban were using.)
The 8.6mm round entered use in the early 1990s, and became increasingly popular with police and military snipers. Dutch snipers have also used this round in Afghanistan with much success, and have a decade of experience with these larger caliber rifles. Recognizing the popularity of the 8.6mm round, Barrett, the pioneer in 12.7mm sniper rifles, came out with a 7 kg (15.5 pound) version of its rifle, chambered for the 8.6mm.