Some enemy sniper teams have proven themselves dangerously effective. Two sniper teams—thought to be foreign mercenaries—roamed Hellmand Province for five months last year, killing and wounding British and American troops. Operating as two-man teams, they killed soldiers as far as 650 yards away, including four U.S. Marines and 10 Brits. The enemy snipers’ most amazing shot placed a round into a 9-inch parapet loophole to kill British soldier Darren Foster, aged 20. Another victim, a British sniper, was killed by a single shot to the head. During an 11-day period, elite British Special Air Service and U.S. Army Special Forces partnered to track down the two teams, finally cornering them in Hellmand Province’s Sangin Valley. In an anti-climatic finish, the barricaded enemy sniper teams were eliminated by precision bombs dropped by U.S. Air Force F-16s.

New Rifles, New Ammunition
It is with Afghanistan in mind that the U.S. is making significant advances in sniper rifles and long-range sniper ammunition. The Army’s 25-year-old M24 Sniper Weapon System, a .308-Win. rifle based on the Remington 700 action, is being replaced by a dramatically updated version, the XM2010, a Remington-built chassis rifle chambered for a new .300 Win. Mag. load. The new load, developed by Black Hills ammunition, pushes a 220-grain Sierra MatchKing bullet at 2,860 fps. Army tests found that the new load approximates the energy and accuracy of a .250-grain .338 Lapua Mag. load out to 1,500 yards, which is considered the new effective range for U.S. Army snipers.

This new .300 Win. Mag. load, the MK 248 MOD 1, also features a new propellant with an additive to reduce muzzle flash and a stabilized burn rate across a wide temperature range—from 25 below zero to 65 degrees F—a significant consideration for Afghanistan’s harsh climate and dramatic elevation variances. I’ve found that muzzle velocity can vary up to 300 fps due to the effect of extreme temperature changes on gunpowder.

However, the trusty old 7.62x51 mm NATO sniper round has not been forgotten. Its new load, developed at the Navy’s Crane Surface Warfare Center, incorporates a similar temperature-stabilized propellant and a muzzle-flash-reducing additive. Dubbed the Mk 316 MOD 0, the 175-grain load is being produced on contract by Federal Cartridge.

These new rifles and ammunition already are reaching the hands of American snipers in Afghanistan, where they’re being employed to regularly take out enemy forces at distances that were unheard of in World War II, Korea or Vietnam. Supported by state-of-the-art training and combat-experienced instructors, as demonstrated in Afghanistan, today’s generation of snipers is the finest and most capable we’ve ever fielded.