American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

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We didn’t have .338s in training; we started getting them later on
during the war. Again, the name refers to the bullet; there are a number
of different manufacturers, including MacMillan and Accuracy International.
The bullet shoots farther and flatter than a .50 caliber,
weighs less, costs less, and will do just as much damage. They are awesome
weapons.
I used a .338 on my last deployment. I would have used it more if
I’d had it. The only drawback for me was my model’s lack of a suppressor.
When you’re shooting inside a building, the concussion is
strong enough that it’s a pain—literally. My ears would hurt after a few
shots.
Since I’m talking about guns, I’ll mention that my current favorites
are the weapons systems made by GA Precision, a very small company
started in 1999 by George Gardner. He and his staff pay close attention
to every detail, and his weapons are just awesome. I didn’t get a
chance to try one until I got out of the service, but now they’re what I
use.
Scopes are an important part of the weapon system. Overseas, I used
a 32-power scope. (The powers on a scope refer to the magnification of
the focal length. Without getting too technical, the higher the power,
the better a shooter can see at a distance. But there are tradeoffs, depending
on the situation and the scope. Scopes should be chosen with
a mind toward the situation they’ll be used in; to give an obvious example,
a 32-power scope would be wildly inappropriate on a shotgun.)
Additionally, depending on the circumstances, I had an infrared and
visible red laser, as well as night vision for the scope.