Shock Factor by Jack Coughlin Page B

learn the mil lead he needs, but he must to do so for both directions of movement.
    Movement speed, angle, and lead all need to be calculated on top of wind, range, weather, and elevation. Once you factor all those elements into the shot, it becomes obvious that tracking and firing at a moving target is one of the most technically demanding types of shots for us snipers. To do it well requires significant investments in training, time, data entry, and memorization. The next time you see a Hollywood film where snipers are smoke-checking running targets left and right, remember all the background math and physics that goes into every trigger pull.
    There is one other way to take down a running man; we call it the ambush method. In this scenario, we anticipate the enemy’s movement and figure out a point along his projected path that will give us the clearest possible shot at him. Then we place the crosshairs on that point and wait. When our running enemy reaches our mil lead, we pull the trigger. The target literally runs into the shot. It is a slightly easier technique for taking out a moving target, but it can only be done if you know where the enemy is going. If you don’t know that, tracking is the only way to kill him.
    There are some advanced ways to get around the uncertainty of what an enemy will do. If a sniper team has been watching a particular place for an extended period of time, he and his partner will study the terrain and tactical situation. Based on that study, they will assign areas of responsibility to each other. Then, within those areas, they will create their preplanned ambush points based on possible routes of movement the enemy might use. From there, the team can build a decision tree that covers all possible enemy behaviors. This is called Planning the Target Zone.
    Let’s say our sniper team is covering a street with a couple of doorways and alleys in their areas of responsibility. Each man will select ambush points between the alleys and doorways to ensure that any enemy entering the area can be taken out with this method.
    The downside to this, of course, is the enemy can either do something unexpected or the snipers don’t have time to work through all the possible scenarios. In that case, they have to switch to tracking their targets.
    When Muhammad made his run for it, Chris Kyle had been covering his area of responsibility to the right of the vehicle. In a split second, Kyle had to judge how fast his target was running, the angle he was to the SEAL’s rifle, and his probable path. It was clear Muhammad was trying to get to the front door. Kyle had planned his target zone carefully. He shifted his reticle to one of his preplanned ambush points. Muhammad moved into his scope, sprinting flat out now. Running lead, left to right, adjusting for low wind (0–3 mph). He’d already fed proper DOPE (data on previous engagement) into his scope, so he didn’t need to factor in temperature and drop. He had a good zero.
    When Muhammad reached the mil lead threshold, Kyle pulled the trigger. The Win Mag’s heavy bullet punched through Muhammad’s rib cage, knocking him off his feet.
    It was a remarkable shot. Kyle had hit a moving target’s profile exactly center mass. The target area on Muhammad’s body was probably less than eight by eight inches. It was a wound that no man could survive, the sort of shot Chris had learned to make with his father while out hunting deer on the family spread back in Texas. Shot placement was everything.
    The bullet did its work. Muhammad died in seconds, his body splayed on the ground only a few steps short of the front gate.
    Justice served, SEAL style. The team called for extraction. The Marine Super Stallion reappeared and touched down near the hide site. Kyle and the rest of the team rushed aboard. As they choppered their way back to base, the SEALs broke out celebratory cigars. Mission accomplished. And this one felt