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Post by hankinsrfls on Jan 21, 2015 18:01:21 GMT -5
Guys... I went to see the movie American Sniper on Sunday night.. The movie was sold out and even though we arrived 45 minutes early seating for me and Mindy was hard to get.. I highly recommend every one of you to go see it.. It was a very good movie. Sad to think a man could live through the things he did only to get killed after he returned home.. When the movie was over,, everyone stayed in their seats until the credits were done,, then the theater exited in silence... Showing respect for a fallen Hero..
Go see the movie,, I'm sure you will like it. ......
Jeff..
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Post by deadeye on Jan 21, 2015 19:19:17 GMT -5
Guys... I went to see the movie American Sniper on Sunday night.. The movie was sold out and even though we arrived 45 minutes early seating for me and Mindy was hard to get.. I highly recommend every one of you to go see it.. It was a very good movie. Sad to think a man could live through the things he did only to get killed after he returned home.. When the movie was over,, everyone stayed in their seats until the credits were done,, then the theater exited in silence... Showing respect for a fallen Hero.. Go see the movie,, I'm sure you will like it. ...... Jeff.. clint polished this up a bit//read the book while in Colorado/sept/2014//won't be disappointed either way//yes silence which equals respect here also!
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Post by rambler on Jan 21, 2015 19:55:15 GMT -5
Unfortunately I respectfully disagree. I found it to be a woeful depiction of an American hero and warrior who deserved a a lot better, especially coming from Clint Eastwood's director skills ie: "Unforgiven". The actors were lame and it was hard to follow the time line and events as they transpired, at least for me.
I would recommend waiting for the HBO release or other media and not waist the 30 bucks for two to go see it.
Just my IMHO
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Post by gar on Jan 22, 2015 7:56:56 GMT -5
Read the book before he died and I felt the movie was a good representation considering all the content in the book on his training, his personal, and his professional life. I would like to have seen some of the sneaking/ camouflaging training that was in the book. I felt Bradley cooper was outstanding in his portrayal of Kyle. And the final credits were indeed powerful.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2015 15:57:13 GMT -5
To me it made me sad not sad for Chris but sad for the American people. Sad that we as a nation used to have more respect and more honor to be an American. My hope and prayer is that we once again have the heart of Chris and love for our country we once had. Too many Americans are getting to a place in their lives where it doesn't mean much to be an American and have lost that pride.
Thank you Chris for your service and patriotism to our country may more men and women have that love and pride you showed this great nation.
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Post by Alabama on Jan 24, 2015 19:48:06 GMT -5
To many take our freedom for granted. To many have no perception of what it would be like to be a 3rd world country. Granted I have no real person idea but I do know I love my freedom. It's almost a waste of breath to say anything. I hate to imagine our future 50-100 years from now. It won't be good.
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Post by Richard on Jan 24, 2015 20:25:58 GMT -5
I saw the movie and thought it was excellent. As a long range shooter I had some doubts about the final shot since no information had been laid out beforehand on the rifle and caliber (If so, I missed it?) I have been discussing the shot with one of our members here and have since googled the rifle question. It seems the rifle was a McMillan .338 Lapua Magnum. I then ran some numbers on the 285 gr. Hornady bullet in that cartridge and found that at 2100 yards it would still be traveling some 1,000 fps.; probably having gone sub-sonic but still carrying some 600 ft. lbs. of energy. In the movie he shoots a sniper in a hide on a rooftop which he laser ranges. A long way for laser range finders even with a good back drop. In any event, according to google, he shoots a guy with a RPG getting ready to fire on our troops. Probably a bigger target than the sniper in the movie. Just yesterday, I got my hands on a copy of the book and am looking forward to reading it. We have concluded that making that shot was nothing short of a Hail Mary! That was indeed a great shot and a testament to Chris's skill as a rifleman. And sometimes, a little divine intervention helps! The man was a true American Hero! Richard
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Post by bestill on Jan 24, 2015 22:01:54 GMT -5
Great Movie And thanks to all who have served our country. GOD BLESS YOU!!!
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Post by airborneike on Jan 24, 2015 22:19:51 GMT -5
Great movie that captured the emotional costs of not only soldiers but the ones left at home. RIP Chris Kyle, I salute you.
Rich, We used laser range finders that I believe were made by Vectronix Corp. They would easily range 2100 meters and beyond...expensive though @ over $5,000.00 apiece or so we were told. I'm sure the Navy did too.
Most of the ammo we used was loaded with Sierra match king bullets and wouldn't be surprised if his ammo wasn't the same.
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Post by 1coyotemaster on Jan 25, 2015 0:14:17 GMT -5
Haven't seen the movie yet. I listened to the talking book on youtube and Chris Kyle was an exceptional human being. I thank all of you that serve and have served our country, May God Bless You.
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Post by deadeye on Jan 25, 2015 3:24:41 GMT -5
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Post by rambler on Jan 25, 2015 8:31:21 GMT -5
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Post by 10ga on Jan 25, 2015 17:30:56 GMT -5
The new movie and book are on my list for this off season. I read the Hathcock book some years ago and every other sniper book I could get. Have been watching the series on snipers on history channel, I think. They had a segment on the longest confirmed kills as of making of the show. It was 2500+ yards(1.5 mi.) ranged, Brits under Taliban attack and American sniper on ridge overlooking battle. Taliban heavy machine gun crew the target. Rifle was, not sure, cartridge was 338 Lapua mag. It took 2 or 3 sighters to get good sight dialed in then several kill shots. The show gave flight time from muzzle to target of +-4 seconds. The spotter was using something big like a 60 power. The heavy was out of business and the brits went about the business of producing DRT hostiles. the show has real life (recreated but realistic and actual footage) both police and military sniper scenarios. Hope all are well, 10
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Post by oneshotike on Jan 25, 2015 17:58:24 GMT -5
Ive read both of those books and they are great. I also seen the movie and when it was over everybody was silent. Great movie. As to the range finder my son is a Cav Scout and I Texted him last night and he said the range finder in his hand was good out to 19999 meters. He was ranging deer at night while on watch during a training exercise he said the farthest deer he could see was 400 meters. He also said he could take latitude and longitude readings with said range finder.
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Post by Richard on Jan 25, 2015 19:43:07 GMT -5
Mike.............correct me if I am wrong but even with a range finder of that quality, would you not have to have it mounted on a tripod to be able to pin point the head of a sniper that 2100 yards or for that matter his whole body? In the movie, he just puts the rangefinder up to his eye and gets a reading? I am not doubting the shot but based on the ballistics and the fact there were no "sighter" shots, the probability of a one shot hit has to truly be the result of diving intervention. I am only about 60 pages into the book................................ Richard
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Post by airborneike on Jan 25, 2015 23:52:59 GMT -5
Rich,
I don't know the details, wasn't there. The movie may have taken a bit of artistic license with the team set-up. A shooter team usually has a spotter with some pretty high power optics and he is usually right beside the trigger man. Every situation is different to some degree but usually the spotter is calling range and wind while the shooter is doping the scope, it varies with the situation.
My guess is that Chris probably ranged on an easier identified building feature near where he saw the target...the spotter is an important part of the team as the shooter because there is a whole boatload of data and calculations going on after one gets out past 700 meters but this is all speculation because we were not there. There is no doubt that Chris Kyle was an exceptionally gifted shooter and yes a 2100 meter first shot hit does have luck or devine intervention going on...no way around it.
Mike
Ain't it crazy how the Hollywood elite are trashing this movie? They better be careful because one of these days our young principled men and women may get tired of sacrificing so much for those who do not care one bit and tell them to go fight themselves.
Mike
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Post by sw on Jan 26, 2015 0:19:43 GMT -5
I've yet to see the movie. Getting afraid to see or read anything. The day I bought American Sniper, on the way home, I heard on the radio he was killed. Timing?!! Then read "Unbroken" while on vacation, had just finished it, and heard on radio that Louie had just passed away. Same hour both cases. Life is uncertain, but Jesus isn't!
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Post by speedrackin on Jan 26, 2015 7:11:56 GMT -5
Jeff Thks for starting a great thread , The movie was awesome. Its amazing to me that the modern day sniper opened the eyes of people as to there were these same Americans doing the same job back in the Vietnam days with a lot less sophisticated equipment in tougher conditions . The American sniper is truly a special American.
The end of the movie really made me wonder ......with a price of $180,000.00 on his head ......did that disable vet really go over the edge ? With the look in his eye i think Clint Eastwood left u wondering ......JMO
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Post by 10ga on Jan 26, 2015 18:42:08 GMT -5
Out past 6 or 7C lots of things come into play. If you name it it's a factor. Like we know temp changes ignition/burn rate/pressure/velocity etc... wind, air density/elevation/high low atmospheric pressure. then for those looong shots the coriolis effect. Read and try to wrap your head around that. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_effectLong range shooting is truly a blend of art and science. Sniping, long or short range, adds many more factors than just hitting the target. Hope this finds all well. 10
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 16:56:39 GMT -5
Saw it and liked it. My son did an eight month tour in Iraq. He was in on the initial invasion as a Marine and was kept busy kicking in one door after another looking for Hussein.He was put in a position to kill or be killed on several occasions. The movie helped me understand some of the things that continue to haunt him. He works now for a program called Upward Bound at our local community college helping young veterans get an education and going forward in life. This has been a good thing for him in many ways.... I 'm from the Viet Nam war era and things haven't changed...WAR SUCKS Zen
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Post by rickster on Feb 8, 2015 22:05:53 GMT -5
I saw the movie just last week and had tears running down my cheeks at the end. I pulled up an article by the co-writer of the book and it expounded on some of his exploits and his life etc. He said that Chris described himself as "middle of the pack" in terms of his marksmanship skills within his circle. I sense he was like Hathcock in that he was very skilled at actually making kills, i.e. "right place, right time, right setup". Marksmanship aside, he just knew what he was doing. He supposedly had made the comment it was the luckiest shot he ever made. In the article the co-writer said he actually had many more kills than he was credited for do to some operations that where kept totally secret as he worked extensively with CIA operatives and their missions. Also he never tallied any kills where the target was dragged away. i.e. not confirmed. He also said that Chris never boasted about or cared about his number of kills but would have gladly expounded upon the number of lives he saved, if such a tally was kept.
Ironically I am spending a couple of months in Texas and the trial is in the news every day down here. They are in the process of picking a jury right now and once started they expect the trial to last a mere two weeks. As retired police officer I am curiously haunted with the question "why", but it may not come out at the trial.
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Post by Richard on Feb 11, 2015 21:26:19 GMT -5
I did finish the book and yes, he did indicate, as did the Lt with him, that it was one heck of a lucky shot. He also indicated that his rangefinder of choice was the Leica Geovid. .338 Lapua Mag was cartridge. The rifle was Remington but the stock was McMillan. No mention (that I recall) of the barrel mfg.. Ammo was from Black Hills but no mention of what bullet or weight. He did not mention the brand of scope but in the movie you could see the initials N/F on the side turrets. He did indicate it was 25X. I have heard some scuttlebutt that his shooter had become a muslim sympathizer? Richard
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Post by rickster on Feb 12, 2015 11:15:03 GMT -5
His "luck" is well outside of my skill set, to say the least. I was a sniper on an urban team and those shots are generally well under 100 yards, although we practiced further out. My son is on a team in Wyoming and has had better training and equipment than I ever had and although he has worked out as far as 1200 yards in practice most of their practice is 50-500 yards. We visit a lot about shooting long distance and a constant topic is dealing with wind but even worse, mirage. It gets really bad at times and I cannot imagine what it would be like at that distance in that climate. My son grew up shooting (thanks to me) and I didn't. He has much ability compared to me and it helps to be young. He recently went through a qualification with his unit and at the end it turned into a friendly competition as it often does as way to put them under pressure. They had a shoot off placing a golf ball on top of a piece of pvc pipe and started at 50 yards, moving out another 50 each round. When it got out to 250 it was just my son and one other, so my son says let's make it interesting and go weak eye, weak hand. He made it and the other guy didn't. I don't think I could make a shot like that.
Just an update on the trial. During opening arguments and Taya testimony as the first witness it came up that Chris had sent a text to his friend riding in the front passenger seat (the shooter was in the back) to effect "this guy is absolutely nuts". His friend text back "he is right behind me, watch my six". His wife testified that she called him and he was quiet and wouldn't talk much, like something was wrong and he didn't want to talk. She then sent him a text that he never answered. When they found them each had been shot multiple times in the back and each in the top of the head. His friend had additional wounds to his face and a hand. The defense is that the shooter, because of PTSD, felt he had to kill them before they killed him. To your point Richard in one of the early reports his sister stated that when he told her about the killing he stated he had traded his soul for a new truck. We will likely never know what was in his head but I doubt the sanity defense will fly, especially in Texas.
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Post by wilmsmeyer on Feb 28, 2015 0:52:47 GMT -5
Saw it tonight with my wife, son and his girl friend....yeah it's a movie but it sure does make you think.
We have it very easy here in our living rooms. We can all say what we should be doing as a country. Arm chair critics if you will. The kids always come home from school. Men come home after work. Dinner is served every night. Women get their nails and hair done. Hunting season happens every year.
I don't give a rats a$$ how accurate the film was. It sure gets the point across on how a warrior who loves this country, fights hard over seas, has a family.....can suffer inside. Never been there and almost feel guilty for it.
You women who handle everything at home...keep the kids on course...wait for your men to come home...gotta be tough. d**n you are good people.....not sure how you can handle those long periods of time alone. Worrying and taking care of everything. I'm a terd compared to you and your sacrafice. But, it is you, that carries the domestic brunt of war. You are a brave, tough bunch.
We all, including me, want the USA to bring the fight to ISIS...NOW! However, who will we want to do this? Yes...American. Young guys...guys with wives and kids. Or guys with dreams of other things than the dreads of war that taint them for life. But it is needed and there are guys, people waiting for their orders.
Bless all of you that do the dirty work that keeps us safe. I don't tear up too easily but sometimes a reality check will do that. Thank you everyone for all that you sacrafice for me, my family and this country.
Unbelievable the fabric of this country when the chips are down.
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Post by Jon on Feb 28, 2015 6:58:26 GMT -5
well put. I think that too often the people that stay home keep the family together and as you say live with the worries are not thought about.
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Post by petev on Mar 21, 2015 22:00:53 GMT -5
This was a great movie, and I too was impressed with Kyle's modesty, and will to help others. In the movie theater there was an old Korean war veteran, Frank, in the row behind me. His son was killed in Viet Nam, and awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart post-humusly. I wanted to ask what he thought of the movie, but decided that discretion dictated to not ask, but probably some time in the future I'll ask some of the veterans here what they thought. My main concern for the Iraq veterans is how some will be debilitated for many decades to come. I would like to help them, but do not know how. Maybe Wounded Warriors needs volunteers? Anyway, good subject Jon.
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