H&K416: The Weapon that Killed Osama bin Laden

[Guest Irishcopper]

I thought this was a good article on one of the weapons that the men of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DevGru) were carrying when they took out OBL.

Tap, tap Adios "Geronimo"!

The Gun That Killed Osama bin Laden Revealed - US News and World Report

[Guest BungieCord]

Highly speculative at best. Photographic evidence from the pics of the three bodies the Pakistanis sold was inconclusive. However, two of the three were apparent headshots with no obvious exit wounds, which seems unlikely from 5.56s administered at close quarters. And the face of neither man was distorted from the force of impact. And DevGru has been know to train using 9mm, .357 & .45 handguns for indoor work all the way back to Demo Dick and the founding of the unit.

Edited May 14, 2011 by BungieCord

[Spiffy]

The animation ABC news did looked like M16s......... 20 inch M16s.

[Guest Irishcopper]

It's all "speculative" at this point. The photos leaked by the Pakistani are inconclusive. I agree that based on the GSW's it's unlikely that they were shot by 5.56 mm rounds. Who knows? they may have not even been shot by DevGru operators. If they were perhaps they were shot close quarters with a handgun. Thankfully the men of DevGru will remain in the shadows. That said "U.S. New and World Reports" usually has good sources within the Pentagon. It's journalists are seen more favorably by DoD than their counterparts at the more liberal "Newsweek" and "Time".

I've got buddy who's a former spec war operator, veteran of the first Gulf War and Iraqi that's currently a FI. When they aren't teaching courses they spend their days shooting and trying to "break" a wide variety of firearms. He and his colleagues give the H&K 416 very high praise for reliablity and usefulness in close quarters combat. This was his quote in a recent e-mail

"Funny that this article was released, I've been giving the 416 praise for some time! Cleaning is DEFINITELY easier than a M4, the system operates flawlessly, it's accurate, modular (read; lots of accessories can be added), and a bit lighter. Although it operates by gas it doesn't get any crud near the chamber. The gas tube is near the front sight and is easy to remove and clean. Basically it fixed the few probs the M4 has".

Irish

Edited May 16, 2011 by Irishcopper

[50 cal]

Who knows what rifle/pistol really did in OBL. Most speculation has it the SIG226.

Fan boys all over the net are saying the HK416.

Unless the shooter steps forward and says "I used ---" it's all guesswork on everyones part.

[Capbyrd]

I've heard from a very trusted source that it was a Hi-Point C9.

[DWARREN123]

Jenning 22lr semi auto pistol is the rumor I heard!

[LngRngShtr]

It was a Red Ryder BB gun pumped up 12 times....

if he was outside they would have used a sling like this Slinging.org - How to Make a Rockman Sling - Bruno Tosso

The truth is that there were only "X" number of folks who left that room that (may in the confusion) know what actually happened,.. and they aren't the kind of folks who talk much...so depending on what went in there we will have a list of possible weapons that killed Osama...

My vote is the weapon that did it was......

A well trained highly motivated member of the United States Navy who uses the best tools for the job...

John

[Capbyrd]

Jenning 22lr semi auto pistol is the rumor I heard!

If they were gonna use a 22, it would have been this one.

[byrnemm]

Just what the world needs; another HK marketing ploy to increase prices even further.

What's that saying?

"HK. Because you suck. And we hate you."

[Guest Maverick7687]

Are you sure it wasn't a Glock??

Also, I did hear that the gun used was a Sig P226 (IIRC).. Seems to be a little conflicting information.

[50 cal]

^

Now that's funny.

[Warbird]

Not only funny but, often true sadly enough.

[Guest Hakkonen]

You're all crazy. Clearly, the weapons used were two flintlock pistols, one in either hand, fired sequentially. Then the shooter tucked the pistols back into his belt, settled his tricorne on his head at a rakish angle, and sashayed out of the room in search of rum.