The current conflict zones, characterized by urban environments and densely populated countryside, have highlighted the need for light infantry platoons, teams recon and special forces sections, to have individual weapons systems with diversified employment capabilities.
Urban sniping, field shooting up to 2.000 meters, anti-personnel and anti-material uses… the needs are multiple and complex.
Modular multi-caliber rifles (from 6.5 Creedmoor to .50 BMG) are currently being distributed to the departments, easily transportable and maintainable, silenced and – where possible – equipped with electronic aiming systems (sometimes also AI-assisted), with the ability to connect to command and control centers (read article). These weapons were employed wherever the armies in the field could dispose of them, particularly in Gaza Strip by the IDF.
Modern production technologies, thanks to the widespread use of CNC* machine tools, now allow the creation of practically “tailor-made” individual and team weapons, based on specific needs – not only of special forces – and in extremely rapid times, unthinkable until a few years ago.
At the same time, increasingly sophisticated optics and aiming systems have become established: precise, all-weather, equipped with thermal sensors and integrated ballistic calculators.
But, as the history of conflicts teaches, the challenge between armor and sword has generated a tragic and ironic paradox: as the adoption of digital, electronic, laser and electro-optical technologies grows, the sensors capable of detecting them are multiplying.
It is now highly discouraged, for example, to use electronic devices such as common ballistic handhelds, so widespread in civilian shooting ranges, at the risk of being intercepted and hit by drones, artillery or countermeasures by other snipers. Not to mention acoustic detection systems.
In response to these new tactical variables, we have partly returned to analog solutions: notebook, pencil and the old notes taken during training. We go back to manually calibrating the weapon, to estimating distances using MIL reticles, to reading the wind by observing curtains, papers and leaves. In a few words: you have to know how to shoot, know when to do it and how to do it. And – let’s remember – it’s not just a matter of pulling a trigger.
The video we propose does not pretend to teach anything to anyone, but intends to show one (not "it") state of art precision multi-caliber rifles for shooting Long Range (1.000 meters) and Extreme Long Range (presto even at 2.000 meters).
The shooter (who is the writer) did his best, knowing that every shot fired is an opportunity to learn. And that, fortunately, there is still much to learn.
Good vision!
* The machines Computer Numerical Control are computer-controlled machining tools that perform operations with extreme precision, repeatability, and speed. They are the basis of modern industrial production, including military and weapons manufacturing.
