Weapon used by Chis Kyle

[Ron_TN]

“I used a .338 on my last deployment. I would have used it more if I’d had it” -Chris Kyle

 

Being a highly trained Navy SEAL, Chris Kyle had used many weapons over the course of his military career. There were two rifles Kyle liked to use, one of which he used to make the record-setting long distance shot.

A lot of Kyle’s marksmanship was done while using the Remington 700 Long Action chambered to fire a .300 Winchester Magnum round. This is a very common hunting rifle that can be purchased for less than $500 from Cabelas. But of course Kyle’s rifle had several expensive modifications.

In his autobiography, Kyle mentions his love of Nightforce scopes for the quality of the optics and its durability in harsh conditions. He also reduced the trigger pull weight to 2 pounds, stating he liked to be surprised when the gun went off, he didn’t want to jerk the gun when pulling the trigger. “I used a 2 pound trigger on my rifles. That’s a fairly light pull. I want the trigger to surprise me every time; I don’t want to jerk the gun as I fire.”

The .300 Winchester Magnum round is one of the most popular rounds used by American hunters. It is extremely effective at ranges around 1,000 yards, and a skilled operator can easily hit a target at the maximum effective range of 1,210 yards. The round is effective against elk, moose, and even brown bear. In his book, Kyle spoke of the round, saying, “I used the .300 Win Mag for most of my kills. It’s an excellent all-around cartridge, whose performance allows for superb accuracy as well as stopping power. It shoots like a laser. Anything from 1,000 yards and out, you’re just plain nailing it.”

During his later tours, Kyle was given a McMillan TAC-338 rifle. This is a far more advanced and expensive weapon system than the average hunter would shoot an elk with, costing north of $5,000. This superior rifle fires a much larger round, the .338 Lapua Magnum.

“I used a .338 on my last deployment. I would have used it more if I’d had it,” said Kyle, “The bullet shoots farther and flatter than a .50 caliber, weighs less, costs less, and will do just about as much damage. They are awesome weapons.”

Kyle made his record-setting shot with this .338 round. It has a maximum effective range of 1,910 yards, which makes Kyle’s 2,100-yard shot even more impressive. Depending on the weight and shape of the bullet used, a .338 has about 25 percent more energy than a .300 Winchester Magnum.

 

[LagerHead]

I'll tell ya, guys like Chris Kyle are the wheat separated from us chaff. Making a 2,100 yard shot with a howitzer is an impressive feat to me, let alone with a .338. 

[bersaguy]

Well, I have know a few snipers over the years and had one on my team in Nam. I learned a lot from him. The most important thing I learned is a lot of being a really good Sniper does require a certain type of person as much as the rifle in which he uses. Because we were shooting in the jungle he was trained on an M40A1 and that was what he used our entire time over there. With that said it only took me about two missions and I was completely comfortable with Arthur on high ground watching our backs. He never missed but always seemed to not want to be very sociable either with any of the rest of the team. We just took him at face value and let it rest at that. Last thing any of the team knew about him after returning home was he purchased a fairly large piece of land in Saskatchewan Canada and had no roads in or out of it. He went in by horse back and never came out as far as we know.

[Ron_TN]

I was blown away when I read the shot he made at 2,100 yards. That is 6,300 feet ....over a mile and a quarter.  I use to shoot woodshucks with my 22-250 at 3 and 4 hundred yards and thought I was Sgt York.  I wonder if he tells in his book if he used hand loads or ready made.

[seez52]

I was blown away when I read the shot he made at 2,100 yards. That is 6,300 feet ....over a mile and a quarter.  I use to shoot woodshucks with my 22-250 at 3 and 4 hundred yards and thought I was Sgt York.  I wonder if he tells in his book if he used hand loads or ready made.

i dont recall him saying anything about handloads. 

[Patton]

I read that his ammo was manufactured, but I do not remember where. Black Hill Match is what I want to say, but I cannot say for sure.

[surfabilly]

I read that his ammo was manufactured, but I do not remember where. Black Hill Match is what I want to say, but I cannot say for sure.

i am reading it now. you are correct, he mentions black hills match.

[E4 No More]

The ammunition for the Marine Snipers are hand-loaded to recipes unique to their particular rifles by Marines in Quantico, so it's not a stretch that the Navy would do the same.

[stumpy]

Don't hold me to a promise to the following story as I saw it in a presentation a while back and will try to repeat it accurately.  Kyle's long shot was described as a challenge between his knowing the maximum range of the cartridge he was using v. the actual distance to his target (probably laser measured).  His target was just outside of the maximum range he could expect from his rifle, but not terribly distant away.  He needed just a little more distance capability to have the target in play.  To stretch his range potential, he laid several cartridges out in the sun to heat up.  He remembered hearing that dangerous game hunters in tropical regions would "bake" their rounds like this to increase the chamber pressure and thus the muzzle velocity.  By heating up the cartridges he fabricated "proof rounds" for his use and pushed the limits of both the cartridge and his own safety in doing so.  Apparently it worked and he connected with the target.  There was also information about the amount of "hold over" he used with the scope, but I can't recall those points at this time.  The results of his shot will be legend for a long time and well deserved.

 

Stumpy

[Caster]

I'm not saying Kyle didn't use that trick but setting cartridges in the sun is not a trick he invented.
I've read (on the internet so you know it's true!) Rob Furlong (Canadian) and Craig Harrison (British)doing the same.

Corporal Furlong was the first to break The White Feather's record of 2500 yards which held the record since Vietnam. Furlongs shot was something like 2,650 yards. Then Harrison broke that record with a 2,700 yard shot.
I think the current US record is held by Sgt. Bryan Kremer at 2,500 yard. I could be wrong.

Spin drift, coriolis effect, multiple cross winds, barometric pressure, temperature causing up/down force and trigonometry.....hot damn my head hurts.

[Caster]

....there's also rumor of an unnamed Special Forces making a 3000 yard shot just a couple years ago but I can't find anything solid to substantiate it.

[raildog]

The guys worked with in Afghanistan would [cook] there rounds on a regular basis they said it worked and I did not disagree with them they did there job very well so i could do mine

[raildog]

....there's also rumor of an unnamed Special Forces making a 3000 yard shot just a couple years ago but I can't find anything solid to substantiate it.

This has been the rumor for a while i was told he was MARSOC buy some friends in the know they were not able to varified because of air support wiping out everything after the fact

[Caster]

they were not able to varified because of air support wiping out everything after the fact

Ahhh, the cleansing power of fire.
*chuckle chuckle*

[Spiffy]

I just finished the book the other day and he said his long shot was more or less luck that he hit it at all.

[Caster]

I just finished the book the other day and he said his long shot was more or less luck that he hit it at all.

I will officially call BS.

That's just something a person with a hero's soul is prone to saying.
Marcus Lutrell called himself a coward in an interview. We all know that's absolute bull crap as well.

The man had skill and talent, luck had little if anything to do with it.

[atlas3025]

 Depending on the weight and shape of the bullet used, a .338 has about 25 percent more energy than a .300 Winchester Magnum.

 

 

American Rifleman had an article in the two years or so about the Army moving away from the 338 round.  They have been playing with a 220 Grain 300 Win Mag load that is somewhere around 2800 FPS at the muzzle.  Anyway, they say that though it starts out with a lot less energy than the standard 338 round (I don't know the weight) by the time they are around 1500 yards the 300 and 338 are within 25lb-ft of energy each other, I believe.  

 

Here is the article:

http://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2013/9/12/advances-in-us-sniping-ammunition-from-vietnam-to-afghanistan/

 

The 338 is awesome, but I am really impressed that the 300 Win Mag can be that great.  220 is a heavy bullet for a 300 with that short neck.  

[raildog]

Ahhh, the cleansing power of fire.
*chuckle chuckle*

Yea nothing like a couple of A10's rolling over Beeeeeeeerp Beeeeeeerp that sound gives me freedom boner every time