Kalash used by US Army in Iraq

[Fishu]

I didn't know they qualify snipers with correctional eyeglasses in the US army.

The guys using kalashnikovs sure do sound like iraqis.

[Nilsen]

Ive also heard that some prefer using the AK in iraq and afghanistan because the distinct sound of the m16 attracts more unwanted attention than the more common ak47. I heard in on that highly unreliable discovery channel, so take it for what its worth.

[Flyboy]

never seen footage from iraq before.

im quite suprised.
no helmets no vests not even trying to stay hidden, placing the barret in a small room and shooting from a table, unit badges on uniform. atleast they have ceramic plates on.
they work like amatures.

[VWE]

I've never seen any U.S. soldier using an AK in Iraq in the year I have been here. Intitial Iraq units were given the AK but every unit since about May has been issued the M16.

[AquaShrimp]

Why do you all think its AK-47s they are using?  They are most likely AK-74s.

[john9001]

Originally posted by AquaShrimp
Why do you all think its AK-47s they are using?  They are most likely AK-74s.

the term "AK-47" has become a generic term, most people don't even know about the AK-74.

[Suave]

No they're most likely akm's or ak47's.

Supposedly there was an investigation because so many of the enemy kia's in fallujah had holes in their heads that they suspected execution style killings. Turns out that often times all the enemy would expose was his head through a window or above a wall and the marines would shoot them using m16s with optics from usually 150m-200m.

You'd need a lot of luck to do that with an akm or even an ak74.

[Hornet33]

Originally posted by vadimax
Well, gentlemen, what will you say to those (pay attention to the images #2, #4, #13...):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaT5S3tk-Tw

Iraqis?

Those are most likely captured dragunov sniper rifles. I seriously doubt any US sniper would actualy use one when he could use an M24, M25, or an M82. The Dragunov is a decent rifle but it needs a heavier barrel to be real accurate. I've fired one and got decent groups but my factory spec Ruger model 77 .308 shoots better.

[Suave]

I think Romak sniper rifles are rather common in iraq also.

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by cpxxx
Yes the two with the AK's are definitely Iraqi army. You can see they're wearing the old style 'chocolate chip' BDU's which has long since been superseded in the US Army but seems standard for the Iraqis.

As for the AK's. I seem to remember the US wanted to equip the Iraqi army with US rifles but the Iraqis preferred the AK and someone had to go and buy up a few thousand at $35 a pop. Rather ironic really.

I saw that piece of video before and couldn't help feeling that using a comrade's back or a rickety occasional table is hardly the most efficient use of an M82!

Snipers use tables or what ever they can find all the time.  The one of the shot on the guys back is actually an M-24 NOT the M-82.  We only see the M-82 in the end.

[Suave]

Just watched the vid. Judging from their body language and everything else I think it was staged to some degree. Some sniper scouts do wear glasses in the army. But I can't imagine why that guy would be wearing civilian framed eye glasses in a war unless his other two pair of rubber frame issued glasses were lost or broken.

[Angus]

Boroda, I have a 12 gauge BAIKAL shotgun. Although somewhat crude from the factory (need tape to hold it together) it is a fine gun, and I have not seen any finer in shooting a heavy round (BB) and bringing down birds at quite some range!
Much of old Russian stuff was quite fine, but the quality was somewhat varying.
(BTW, had some 3 Ladas. They were somewhat crappy, but I loved driving them, and have yet to break certain speed records that I put on roads full of potholes )

[vadimax]

Originally posted by Hornet33
Those are most likely captured dragunov sniper rifles. I seriously doubt any US sniper would actualy use one when he could use an M24, M25, or an M82. The Dragunov is a decent rifle but it needs a heavier barrel to be real accurate. I've fired one and got decent groups but my factory spec Ruger model 77 .308 shoots better.

As far as I know SVD is not positioned as a sniper rifle. It is a kind of battlefield fire range extender. Talking about real sniping, there are full scale 12.7 devices available -- KSVK, OSV-96, VSSK "Vychlop" ("Exhaust")

[vadimax]

Originally posted by Gunslinger
Snipers use tables or what ever they can find all the time.  The one of the shot on the guys back is actually an M-24 NOT the M-82.  We only see the M-82 in the end.

I have noticed in the images from Iraq that snipers nearly never do use soft basement for their rifles (if not on bipod), very often -- no gloves, body positioning -- kinda me in front of my computer... Precision is not the issue, eh?

[Boroda]

Originally posted by AquaShrimp
Why do you all think its AK-47s they are using?  They are most likely AK-74s.

IIRC AK-74 (5.45mm) never were exported, at least to non-Warsaw Treaty countries.

These are probably just Chinese copies. Soviet mass-produced AKM or AK-74 have very special muzzle compensators, I didn't see any AKMs in any Iraqi footage.