The Hit, version 2.0

[nbk2000]

The traitor had been hiding in his house for the better part of a week since he had ripped off his former employer for $2.5 million. His former employer didn't like it when people stole his money, especially after all the work that had been done arranging the deal with the Mexicans to get the heroin into the country. Now he was going to have to pay for his betrayal.

Because the punk knew he was being hunted, he sensibly kept all the curtains drawn and never went outside. Hell, the place was so well light up at night you'd swear it was a prison! And since the house was in the middle of nowhere with lots of open space around it, 6 armed bodyguards, and several dogs, it wasn't feasible to try raiding his house. To try would result in a blood bath that would draw intense heat from the cops and, even more importantly, put the hitters life at risk.

The question of how to kill the traitor had been a vexing one till the hitter who was hired to take care of the traitor remembered the telesniper article in the NBK file he kept on his laptop in an encrypted hard drive. After checking it he had a canadian machinist assemble one for him using 'sterile' components bought from surplus metal and electronic dealers across the state.

Using an anonymous pre-paid debit card, the hitter purchased a 1:2,500 PHOTOSPOT satellite photo of the traitors home, as well as downloading a free USGS topo map and high-end photogrammetry program from the 'net (warez, of course). By examining the topo map, and processing the satellite photo with Photomodeler to correct for earth curvature, the hitter found the distance from the ideal sniping location and the traitors home to be 305 meters.

After entering the declination and expected weather conditions through one of his ballistic solution programs, to calculate the bullet drop for his choosen weapons, the hitter takes a trip to "the range", as he calls the abandoned quarry he uses for such purposes, to calibrate his weapon.

Once the hitter had his telesniper zeroed in at the quarry, he drove out to the area where the traitor lived and waited for night. Fortunately it was a new moon that night so the night was pitch black except for the blazing lights of the (soon to be) dead mans house.

The hitter high crawled in his ghillie suit towards the punks house, pulling the telesniper behind him on it's ballon tired cart, till the GPS unit sounded through the earphone that he was at his choosen spot. After lasing the house with the Bushnell laser range finder he bought at Wal-Mart to double check his range (302 meters...close enough), he set up the telesniper on the reverse slope of the small rise in the land he found using the topo map.

After carefully camouflaging the telesniper under a ghillie net, setting up a claymore connected to an anti-disturbance switch in the telesniper to take out any curious bodyguards who might find it, and aligning the data-link antenna with the base station in his SUV, the hitter made his way back to his bicycle hidden in a thicket of brush by the road, which he rides back to his SUV ten miles down the road, where he waits for the coming dawn.

He knew he could have set up the data-link to connect to an unsecured broadband WAN in the nearby town, allowing him to snipe the target in leisure, from his home. But, for a job this important,and a target this wary, he couldn't risk the split second of lag that the 'net connection would introduce because, if he failed to kill the traitor, he would disappear, and the hunter would become the hunted for failing.

He would have prefered using a fiber-optic link since it was immune to interference or accidental reception, but there were farm fields between the telesniper and his SUV, meaning some farmer might plow his field and sever the FO at a critical moment. So he had to do it the "old-fashioned" way...a direct line-of-sight data-link connection to the telesniper.

With the rising of the sun the hitter begins his work. He boots up the laptop computer that controls the telesniper and begins by starting the video program that will help control the gun. The video input from the telesnipers wide view camera is fed to the program where the hitter sets the program to sound a tone any time movement is detected in the areas he has designated as "hot spots", mainly windows and doorways.

After designating the areas where any movement will trigger a warning, he then proceeds to bind the "hot spots" to automatically slew the telesniper to the detected movement where he'll then decide, using the telesnipers day/night rifle scope, whether or not the movement is the intended target.

The hitter then begins his solitary vigil knowing that, sooner or later, the punk will have to come out, and when he did...

Two days later, while the hitter is working on an Excel spreadsheet for one of his caymen accounts, he hears the laptop start playing "How I Could Just Kill a Man" by Rage Against The Machine (sound track for his life), his cue that the telesniper has detected movement in one of the hot zones.

Tabbing to the telesniper window, he see's the traitor has finally made a mistake, and opened his bathroom window! The computer has the rifle already pointed at the interior of the bathroom and the hitter can see steam coming out into the cool night air. The hitter knows that if a window is open, then that means someone will have to shut it.

Fully focused now, the hitter waits, hand on the trackball that controls the telesniper, knowing he'll only have a few seconds at most to take the shot. Just in case he doesn't have time for a clear shot, he pre-positions the telesniper to the most likely spot where the target will be standing when he closes the window.

THE TONE!

After twenty minutes of anxious waiting the victim has come to close the window and he's standing right where the hitter figured he would be! The hitter quickly hits the space bar on the laptop which commands the telesniper to fire its deadliest weapon, a surplus .50 HMG barrel loaded with a bullet designated the "MK211 Mod-0" by the U.S. military.

Better known as "The Raufoss", the green and silver tipped round (capable of penetrating 8" of reinforced concrete at 400 meters) launches out of the surplus HMG barrel it was loaded in at almost Mach 3, smashing through the cinder block wall of the traitors house like it was made of wet tissue.

According to Jane’s International Defense Review (one of the hitters favorite reads), the round is capable of disabling a man wearing full military ballistic body armor who is standing behind the wall of a house at 2,000 meters. Needless to say, the traitor isn't wearing body armor, being fresh out of the shower, and is a lot closer than 2,000 meters.

The delayed action of the Raufoss bullet causes it to explode just a few inches from the targets chest after having smashed through the wall of the house. The bullets fragments follow close behind the tungsten penetrator, smashing through the left side of the targets chest. The massive projectile, designed as an anti-armor projectile, proves much more devastating against human flesh.

The penetrator smashes through the rib cage as jagged shards of hot steel shell fragments tear through the traitors chest cavity. The shockwave from the massive supersonic tungsten penetrator impacting flesh creates such high pressure inside the chest that the traitors heart, liver, and spleen rupture like water balloons smashing into the ground, just prior to the fragments tearing the heart and left lung to shreds like a starved wolf tearing into a fat caribou calf.

Finally, after the penetrator has exited the house through the far wall, the fragments of the bullet that have torn apart the traitors body havew embedded themselves in same wall, and the huge spray of blood and shredded tissue painted across the opposite wall, gravity pulls the now dead body (minus the left half of its chest) down towards the floor. All in the time it takes to blink an eye.

As the bodyguards run for cover, the hitter switches to the backup gun, a semi-automatic Remington 1100 twelve gauge shotgun with 32" rifled barrel and sidewinder magazine, and fires a few Sevestre slugs through the wall, at floor level, into the area where the traitors body has fallen. This proves to be unnecessary since the target is already dead, and just shreds more of the body, but there's no such thing as overkill in the assassination biz, ya know?

"This oughta' keep the goons chillin' for a bit." the hitter thinks, as he fires the remaining Sevestre slugs into the engine compartments of the various vehicles in the driveway, making the hired helps escape a much more complicated affair.

He could have used the shotgun to pick off the bodyguards but he knows that, in this line of work, the hired help splits as soon as the client is dead, since they've both failed to protect the client and don't want to have to explain the circumstances to any police who may happen along. Killing the help would be counterproductive, since killing is a scalpel to be used with precision, and the traitor was the only killing paid for. The hitter don't kill no one for free, unless they give him static, in which case they'll be going down just as quick as the target.

The hitter then triggers the self-destruct on the telesniper, igniting the pyrotechnic coating on all the handling surfaces to remove any trace of prints or DNA, as well as the cast pyrogen surrounding all the electronics, sterilizing the former weapon into a mass of carbonized ash and slagged steel that the cops will find useless as evidence.

The claymore reverts to a proximity mine to take out the first person to go poking through the remains, likely being one of the hired hands or responding cops...curiosity, cats, and all that...whoever it is should know better than to go sniffing around a professional hitters trash. Either one, goon or pig, will make a nice parting shot though.

The hitter turns off his laptop and starts up his SUV. As he drives away from the tranquil castor bean tree grove he was parked in (having taken time to collect some seeds) he thinks about what he's going to do with the $100,000 he was paid to kill the traitor as well as how to make sure the cartel doesn't get any foolish ideas about trying to knock HIM off in a double cutout.

"Maybe Iceland.....heard the woman are really hot there."

[Stoic]

A very nice read. :)

[A43tg37]

That it is....and pretty realistic too, it doesn't even seem that the components would cost that much and it wouldn't be very hard to build (I'm assuming this story is intended somewhat as a guide to a homemade telesniper's capabilities and the very basics of making one, only told as a story). I just have one question...If the telesniper is intended to be built by an average crim (say as an anti-police or anti-snitch assasination tool) where the heck would they get RAUFOSS ammo? I know it isn't a problem for the protagonist in the story, but when you're connected to an international crime syndicate that can pay a hundred grand to knock someone off, getting it wouldn't be much of a problem. For the normal crim (or citizen defender, or just someone interested in using this as remote offense/defense) RAUFOSS isn't going to be exactly a snap to get. I've never seen it for sale at gun shows (in four differnet states around here; mabye it's different in Kansas), never in Shotgun News, and none of the .50 BMG suppliers online have it, even Big Sky Surplus. I don't know whether it's even legal to import (seeing as how it's Norwegian made), but it seems it'd a royal bitch to get ahold of. Of course, a telesniper with regular .50 BMG ammo would still be devastating, but there are times when remotely reaching out and touching someone calls for that special something...;)

[nbk2000]

E-bay...;) :D

[Spudkilla]

Nice story. I'll have to admit, I was a little confused by the position of the hitman. I thougt he would be near the telesniper, because he had to do it the "old-fashioned" way...a direct line-of-sight data-link connection to the telesniper. and he fired his shotgun at the house, which indicates he was near it. Solve my puzzledness, where was he?

BTW, Raufoss is not on E-bay :D

[zaibatsu]

When NBK mentioned LOS, I automatically figured he meant from hill-top to hill-top - the shooter could be a long way (10miles) but still be able to control it. Also, the shotgun being a backup weapon insinuates that it was also connected to the telesniper, so if the .50 round failed, the shotgun could still pump slugs in.

[nbk2000]

...aligning the data-link antenna with the base station in his SUV, the hitter ... rides back to his SUV ten miles down the road...



As the bodyguards run for cover, the hitter switches to the backup gun, a semi-automatic Remington 1100 twelve gauge shotgun...
"
"
"
The hitter turns off his laptop and starts up his SUV. As he drives away from the tranquil castor bean tree grove he was parked in...


Hence, ten miles LOS, with the shotgun being the secondary weapon on the telesniper.

Another good thing about having a secondary gun is that you could use it to engage anyone who might approach the telesniper (like the goons) without having to waste the main gun. This would allow you to keep the goons from approaching the telesniper while still retaining the ability to take out the main target if they try to evacuate in a vehicle.

Also, shotguns sound different than rifles, and have rather limited range, so the goons would think the hitter was nearby, when he was actually miles away.

The datalink could be a 802.11b WAN modem, using a pringles can antenna, with a parabolic at the basestation (SUV). The can setup was detailed in a net article, and had a range of several kilometers, with miles using a parabolic.

The great thing about being miles away from the scene is that no one would associate a car 10 miles away with having anything to do with what went down. :)

In the movie "The Jackel" (FTP), the hitter was actually on the scene when he was operating that big cannon telesniper he was using.

WHY?! :confused:

That defeats the purpose of a telesniper (though it makes for dramatic endings :rolleyes: ) which is to remove the operator from the scene.

Another aspect of telesnipers is that you can network them. One hitter can control multiple gun platforms. In the story, the hitter only set up one TS, but he could have set up several (over the course of several nights) to cover all sides of the house, plus the road.

By setting up multiple TS, within range of each other, you'd form interlocking fields of fire, making attempts at nuetralization very costly in lives. An enemy would find himself catching fire from all angles, with no hope of being able to frighten or kill the person/thing that's shooting at him, so the bullets will keep coming till he dies.

The Precision Remotes TS system has the ability to automatically slew to and track targets, with the operator only having to push a button to fire. With several TS in a perimeter around a target, using automatic targeting, one person could be engaging multiple moving targets at once, only having to click on a window to fire at the target being tracked in that window.

They've made the mistake of keeping the gun above ground. Well, the telesniper is a pale shadow of a concept I had back in the early 90's, of a truly autonomous gun system that resides in a cylinder emplaced in the ground. The gun is concealed and protected under it's camoflauged armored cover, popping up an enhanced sensor periscope to rate targets detected by its distributed "dumb" sensor net, before raising the gun to engage worthy targets, retreating back into its shell and becoming invisible again within moments of firing.

By keeping its immediate surroundings seeded with smart mines (via artillery/missles), the "sniper" wouldn't have to fire in self-defense (revealing its position), leaving that to the expendable defenses. Combine large capacity helical drum magazine, radionuclide power source, TI camera, laser range finders, hueristic targeting, and all the other goodies available, and you'd have something out of Terminator (only it doesn't sound like Ahnuld!). This would have been the shit for the bosnian war, a sniper that never sleeps or misses, and doesn't know the meaning of mercy. >)

The only thing that could "kill" it would be a DIRECT hit with a large caliber artillery or rocket round. What's the probability of that? And doing so turns it into a radiological dispersal device, making the immediate surroundings a "Hot Zone" for the next century, anyways. >)

Combine this with an electrically powered ATV (using the nuke battery as power), and you've have MACS (Mobile Autonomous Cybernetic Snipers), that could roam the enemys rear echelons, engaging targets at random, a true terror weapon. An AI system of some sort (on the order of a cat) would be needed to give it survival instincts so it doesn't draw attention to itself, since its continued long-term presence in the enemies homeland is the key to its terror power. Fear is the power, terror is the key!

By rotating targeting through several of these "snipers", anyone attempting to localize it would have a tough time of it, especially if the "sniper" only engages solitary targets, leaving no survivors to tell of it's existance, other than through a lone corpse on the side of the trail/middle of the field/whatever it's guarding or prowling.

I've seen Raufoss rounds for sale at various times and places on the 'net. Yes, it's a very rare thing to find, but it can be done. The most likely way to get a hold of some is to pay someone in the service who has access to it. Any soldier with access to a .50 could palm a round for his "good buddy". ;)

And, given the precision nature of a sniping weapon (one shot, one kill), you'd only need to score a couple to be in business for a long time to come.

I just threw in E-bay since it seems everything from babies to kidneys for transplantation has ended up there at one time or another. :p

The TS is intended to be fairly cheap. Not counting the cost of the weapons, the actuators/controllers/cameras/etc, should come out to less than a couple grand. When you consider how preban AR-15's go for that much, you see that it's quite economical in comparison. Especially the value in being well removed from the scene when shit starts hitting the fan.

The more rugged and reliable you make it, the more expensive and tracable it's going to become, and the less you'll be inclinded to leave it behind.

Also, the TS isn't limited to guns only. An R/C claymore with a camera on top would serve the same purpose, by being a controlled fire weapon that'd only engage a specific target, rather than the first person to trip over it.

A multi-mode EFP could take out armored vehicles, helicopters, and troops, up to several hundred meters distance, while the operators are safely under cover. Things would have been much more "interesting" if the Davidians at Waco had blown up some bradleys, disabled the Abrahms, and shot down a few of the blackhawks that were pestering them. JBT's aren't so brave when the rabbits have a gun too. :D

A 40mm AGL TS is being pushed as a mine replacement for area denial.

How about a hypervelocity rocket TS to blockade a harbor? One shot into a LNG tanker would vaporize the harbor, making for a good extortion threat, or perhaps target a specific shipper. How much would carnival cruise line pay every year in "protection" to avoid having one of their ships holed? I bet it'd be a lot.

[Bitter]

Originally posted by nbk2000
he thinks about what he's going to do with the $100,000 he was paid to kill the traitor [/I]."

I can see but one problem here- he'll have to spend most of the $100,000 paying for the debts he got himself into building the telelsniper. Then again, once it's built, it's built, and it'll pay for itself in no time.

[Arthis]

Maybe as a wise man he would use part of the money to change the sniper on the telesniper. But keep the rest.
(to avoid ballistic analisys to make you trapped)

[nbk2000]

The TS is intended to be fairly cheap. Not counting the cost of the weapons, the actuators/controllers/cameras/etc, should come out to less than a couple grand.


It'd only cost a few grand, cheap compared to the cemetary, hospital, or prison he'd end up in if shot or caught.


...he'll have to spend most of the $100,000 paying for the debts he got himself into building the telelsniper.


RTPB M.U.F.F., and LOP "Despise the free lunch" means owing nothing to no-one. So the hitter pays for everything, and owes nothing, thus has neither obligations or debts.


...change the sniper on the telesniper. But keep the rest.


Nein!

The TS, if fired, is a disposable item. To re-use it, you'd have to retrieve it, meaning returning to the scene, which defeats the whole purpose. It'd also mean having evidence in your possession, if even for a few minutes, and those few minutes may be when you get stopped by a cop, requiring either surrender or shoot-out. Either one is bad for continued success.

If it hasn't been fired, then likely that means no one knows of its presence, which would allow you to retrieve it for later re-use when it's safe to do so. You could certainly re-use it if you've set it up as perimeter security around your "Lair of Evil" :D and no intruding piggies made abandoning it a necessity.

Note the use of a self-destruct and pyrotechnic coating (as described in the Firearm Improvement thread by me in the IW section) to eliminate any trace evidence that may have accidentially been left on the TS during transportation/emplacement.

This also prevents possible recovery by an enemy who may, in turn, one day use it against YOU. Keeping a technological edge, like a TS, to yourself is a way of maintaining power over your foes. This lesson is played out everyday by the US, who's technologically advanced weapons give a HUGE advantage against any enemy who opposses it. :)

[Flake2m]

I would think that a .50cal machine gun and ammo would cost alot more then a few grand on the black market. If the telesniper system itself cost a few grand to make then combine it with the weapon used and it might cost a pretty penny.

Also, wouldn't you want to pay someone a little extra if they were not only going to kill somone, but also spread whats left of them all over the house?

[zaibatsu]

The hitter quickly hits the space bar on the laptop which commands the telesniper to fire its deadliest weapon, a surplus .50 HMG barrel loaded with a bullet designated the "MK211 Mod-0" by the U.S. military

As NBK discussed in another thread, this is a .50 barrel loaded with a cartridge, fired by electrical ignition, not a machine gun. But this is just one example of a fitting for the TS,

[Sarevok]

NBK's history shows us that money, bodyguards, dogs, "secure" houses and all this stuff is useless. The only thing that matters when you are being hunted is survival knowledge and a big jungle.

Originally posted by Flake2m
Also, wouldn't you want to pay someone a little extra if they were not only going to kill somone, but also spread whats left of them all over the house?
I don't think so, NBK is a professional. This will be a waste of time and will make the killer stay more time at the house (more time means more trouble, more chance to get caught). Also, to do this he will have to kill the bodyguards (they will not like someone spreading pieces of their employer's body all over the house) which would contradict this: Killing the help would be counterproductive, since killing is a scalpel to be used with precision, and the traitor was the only killing paid for. The hitter don't kill no one for free, unless they give him static, in which case they'll be going down just as quick as the target.

[nbk2000]

What, a hundred grand isn't enough? :p

Besides, a hitter uses whatever means necessary to complete the job, not just whatever is "cool".

Someone Who Isn't Me was once talking to someone about something when the subject of a murder for hire job came up. This other person mentioned that a certain biker gang was wanting a rival gang leader killed, but none of them could do it themselves because they needed to keep their hands clean, lest it be found out they did it and start a "war".

Well, SWIM was interested in the job, which was going to pay a decent sum for something fairly easy to do, since they knew where he was and all.

BUT...they were rather insistant that it be done a certain way.

BZZZZ! No.

A hitter does it in whatever way he sees fit to do it, and at a time and place of his choosing, not according to some fantasy thought up by the client. After all, dead is dead, and the ways and means by which this is acccomplished is best left to the judgement of the person most at risk while doing the job.

Anyways, the idiots wanted it done in such a fashion that it'd have been obvious as to the people responsible, even if none of them were the ones doing the actual deed. Getting head shot by a rifle isn't exactly a natural cause of death (unless you're holding a hostage at gunpoint in a standoff with the cops) compared to a much more subtle poisoning of someones crank supply with ricin while they're out of the house banging a tweak whore hired for that very purpose. ;)

The person who told me about what they had been asked about doing told me that they turned down the job since it was too risky. I had thought of suggesting a disposable telesniper, but decided against mentioning it, since doing so might put the idea on the street where piggies might get wind of it and start getting hip to things they'd need not know exist just yet, especially given the low value of the target compared to what a TS would be better suited for.

Anyways, no such thing as overkill, so spraying the target all over the room is much preferable then the possibility of surviving a few holes.

If you meant pulling a Texas Chainsaw with their limbs all over the house...fugetaboutit! Think of all the potential DNA evidence you'll be wading through, or possibly leaving behind. Plus, you'd have to be sure to take out ALL of the bodyguards, lest one of them kills you while you're busy playing Leatherface! :p

[xyz]

I think that Flake2m meant that the RAUFOSS round would be what was spreading the target over the house, not that the hitter would do it himself.

[john_smith]

The R/C antihelicopter claymore is something I've been thinking about for a long time...a rather cheap and probably THE most effective improvised AA weapon. A <$100 surveillance camera, a claymore (albeit a huge one), and the actuators/servos...well, the latter might pose the biggest problem and they likely have to be made. The only consumer electronics thingy suitable for this I can think of is the tilting mechanism on those remotely adjustable satellite dishes. At least it's gotta be reasonably powerful and rugged, considering the weight of those antennaes and the wind forces. Does somebody here have some experience with them (whether they use mains or lowered voltage, how fast do they turn, etc.)?

[Jacks Complete]

http://www.griffid.com/htm/live_images.html list of cameras.
http://p261.demo.pixord.com/ Pan Tilt Zoom demo of a rather nice Sony camera somewhere in the Far East.
http://www.wohindenn.de/ is a rather cheaper camera (possibly) but it certainly has a poorer control system.

Now, given the story above, how far from the telesniper are these toys? Yes, the mounts would need major re-rigging, etc. but the control circuits are the same. Just get the software to add a little dot or the cross hair (or stick a bit of post-it on the right place on the screen!) and for one shot at least, you are a winner.

[Jacks Complete]

http://www.griffid.com/htm/live_images.html list of cameras.
http://p261.demo.pixord.com/ Pan Tilt Zoom demo of a rather nice Sony camera somewhere in the Far East.
http://www.wohindenn.de/ is a rather cheaper camera (possibly) but it certainly has a poorer control system.

Now, given the story above, how far from the telesniper are these toys? Yes, the mounts would need major re-rigging, etc. but the control circuits are the same. Just get the software to add a little dot or the cross hair (or stick a bit of post-it on the right place on the screen!) and for one shot at least, you are a winner.

[mediumcaliber]

PTZ cams look a bit light unless you go with the expensive ones, although within the stated price range that's probably quite possible.
One thing to consider would be the optics used, ie a single camera and limited range, or a scope cam with narrow field of view and a separate wide FOV camera mounted next to it? What sort of camera could be used for the narrow FOV gun sight .. one with a standard zoom lens set all the way out or something more specialized, and would it be practical to mount a camera to a cheap scope mounted to a semi-auto?
For really close range stuff, probably inside of 25 yards, a single shot barrel and one camera could weigh perhaps 1-2 kilos for a rifle caliber and much less for pistol, and could probably be made with a PTZ cam, barrel, and epoxy, AND the extended range wireless control setup. This kind of makes me wonder if HE might make a better warhead; someone mentioned a claymore against choppers, although a well made MEFP could be effective for that and a number of other uses.
Also, how would a practical device be powered (presuming that an RTG of sufficient power is beyond most people's connections)?
ebay may actually be a good source for some of this stuff used, like a PT680-24P going for a few hundred at the moment. It turns out to be a PT mount with a 50 lb capacity, something that would be almost right for a single shot .50BMG. Don't know how it would handle recoil, though, so any secondary weapon might have to be used first.

[mediumcaliber]

PTZ cams look a bit light unless you go with the expensive ones, although within the stated price range that's probably quite possible.
One thing to consider would be the optics used, ie a single camera and limited range, or a scope cam with narrow field of view and a separate wide FOV camera mounted next to it? What sort of camera could be used for the narrow FOV gun sight .. one with a standard zoom lens set all the way out or something more specialized, and would it be practical to mount a camera to a cheap scope mounted to a semi-auto?
For really close range stuff, probably inside of 25 yards, a single shot barrel and one camera could weigh perhaps 1-2 kilos for a rifle caliber and much less for pistol, and could probably be made with a PTZ cam, barrel, and epoxy, AND the extended range wireless control setup. This kind of makes me wonder if HE might make a better warhead; someone mentioned a claymore against choppers, although a well made MEFP could be effective for that and a number of other uses.
Also, how would a practical device be powered (presuming that an RTG of sufficient power is beyond most people's connections)?
ebay may actually be a good source for some of this stuff used, like a PT680-24P going for a few hundred at the moment. It turns out to be a PT mount with a 50 lb capacity, something that would be almost right for a single shot .50BMG. Don't know how it would handle recoil, though, so any secondary weapon might have to be used first.

[Jacks Complete]

I'm not sure about how to uprate everything for recoil. It might not be possible. However, an easy way might be to use a thixoscopic liquid around the system, so that when the gun fires, the mount locks solid, but allows normal use.

A single shot rifle barrel might be a bad idea, though. It would be better, in this case, to have a cluster of barrels, all single shot, and all fired at one. This would destroy the target with multiple hits, as well as the camera and mount, but would mean engineering wouldn't be a big deal.

Considering how fast the zoom works on some of the cameras, two cameras isn't needed at all. Just have a different view for the wide angle, and a digital zoom for the target area, until just before you need the sharp image for the kill. At that point, zoom in at high res. Remember, you don't need to watch around you, since the guncam is miles away, and is unlikely to get ambushed. Besides, the PIR would trip if someone tried, which would let you know in a second!

[Jacks Complete]

I'm not sure about how to uprate everything for recoil. It might not be possible. However, an easy way might be to use a thixoscopic liquid around the system, so that when the gun fires, the mount locks solid, but allows normal use.

A single shot rifle barrel might be a bad idea, though. It would be better, in this case, to have a cluster of barrels, all single shot, and all fired at one. This would destroy the target with multiple hits, as well as the camera and mount, but would mean engineering wouldn't be a big deal.

Considering how fast the zoom works on some of the cameras, two cameras isn't needed at all. Just have a different view for the wide angle, and a digital zoom for the target area, until just before you need the sharp image for the kill. At that point, zoom in at high res. Remember, you don't need to watch around you, since the guncam is miles away, and is unlikely to get ambushed. Besides, the PIR would trip if someone tried, which would let you know in a second!

[nbk2000]

The cameras are supposed to be mounted on the weapon, just like a regular rifle sight.

But you could place the camera either above or below the weapon, either in front or behind, just as long as it's in a direct line with the barrel and the target so there's little or no parallex error.

If the weapon was sighted in with an IR laser, and the camera was sensitive to IR, then you could mount the camera anywhere and just track the laser dot onto the target and fire it that way.

This would allow you to place the camera in a remote place, far from the weapon proper, allowing retrieval of the expensive camera for later re-use, and necessitating the destruction of only the rifle, which is comparatively cheap. :)

The camera transmitter would be remotely turned off immediately after the hit so that it would no longer be detectable by EM, if you went with a wireless transmitter instead of a FO link.

For a cheap hit, a single barrel shotgun made from a pipe with a $100 B/W CCD nannycam and a R/C toy trigger would do the trick in a close-range situation, like at someones front door, when you know where they'll be standing with a high degree of certainty.

[nbk2000]

The cameras are supposed to be mounted on the weapon, just like a regular rifle sight.

But you could place the camera either above or below the weapon, either in front or behind, just as long as it's in a direct line with the barrel and the target so there's little or no parallex error.

If the weapon was sighted in with an IR laser, and the camera was sensitive to IR, then you could mount the camera anywhere and just track the laser dot onto the target and fire it that way.

This would allow you to place the camera in a remote place, far from the weapon proper, allowing retrieval of the expensive camera for later re-use, and necessitating the destruction of only the rifle, which is comparatively cheap. :)

The camera transmitter would be remotely turned off immediately after the hit so that it would no longer be detectable by EM, if you went with a wireless transmitter instead of a FO link.

For a cheap hit, a single barrel shotgun made from a pipe with a $100 B/W CCD nannycam and a R/C toy trigger would do the trick in a close-range situation, like at someones front door, when you know where they'll be standing with a high degree of certainty.

[Jacks Complete]

NBK, no, the point was that the camera would be aligned to the barrel like you say, but the gun would be on the PTZ platform of the camera unit, saving having to build a complex command and control system for the gun. By using a single barrel (or multiple barrels) you could cut the mass right down.

Since recoil doesn't start until the round has gone, the PTZ would be wrecked after the shot was away, and the unit would be written off anyway, and the target hit. The only issue would be follow-up shots. And I'm stunned you suggest going back for the camera! :eek:

Using the camera away from the gun is good, but slaving them might be hard. A simple tracking system might be good enough, though. Any active system is a risk for discovery, but it would only be high risk people who would have detectors around them. Also, since many cameras use IR for focusing, any detector is going to get a lot of falseing anyway, if it is a press conference, or whatever.

Since most front doors open inwards, a wire trip on the door would be far cheaper and less traceable, if the target lives alone. Some kind of door closer might be interesting, too, since a door with a slam lock would help ensure a longer time to getting medical help.

Using the camera and a camo'd pipegun would be very effective, though. Any window would do, in fact, as long as you knew the killzones quite well. And nothing says you can't have multiple guns pointed at different places, wired to a common trigger. A follow-up into the first AFO (or two) on the scene would be interesting, too. :cool: Use the same calibre they use, for all kinds of fun and fear! :D

[Jacks Complete]

NBK, no, the point was that the camera would be aligned to the barrel like you say, but the gun would be on the PTZ platform of the camera unit, saving having to build a complex command and control system for the gun. By using a single barrel (or multiple barrels) you could cut the mass right down.

Since recoil doesn't start until the round has gone, the PTZ would be wrecked after the shot was away, and the unit would be written off anyway, and the target hit. The only issue would be follow-up shots. And I'm stunned you suggest going back for the camera! :eek:

Using the camera away from the gun is good, but slaving them might be hard. A simple tracking system might be good enough, though. Any active system is a risk for discovery, but it would only be high risk people who would have detectors around them. Also, since many cameras use IR for focusing, any detector is going to get a lot of falseing anyway, if it is a press conference, or whatever.

Since most front doors open inwards, a wire trip on the door would be far cheaper and less traceable, if the target lives alone. Some kind of door closer might be interesting, too, since a door with a slam lock would help ensure a longer time to getting medical help.

Using the camera and a camo'd pipegun would be very effective, though. Any window would do, in fact, as long as you knew the killzones quite well. And nothing says you can't have multiple guns pointed at different places, wired to a common trigger. A follow-up into the first AFO (or two) on the scene would be interesting, too. :cool: Use the same calibre they use, for all kinds of fun and fear! :D

[nbk2000]

You can go back for the camera months later, long after anyone would be watching for you.

This is only if the camera was something very high end, like a thermal imager or such.

If you were going to use a tripwire, why risk missing the target with a bullet when you could use a bomb, but then you risk killing the wrong person, thus defeating the purpose of a highly targeted weapon like a telesniper.

[nbk2000]

You can go back for the camera months later, long after anyone would be watching for you.

This is only if the camera was something very high end, like a thermal imager or such.

If you were going to use a tripwire, why risk missing the target with a bullet when you could use a bomb, but then you risk killing the wrong person, thus defeating the purpose of a highly targeted weapon like a telesniper.

[Jacks Complete]

You can go back months later, true, but just remember that they may have set a GPS tracer on the gear. I've heard that even the best locks can be defeated in minutes by special forces without trace, and unless your booby trap is subtle and effective, yet sure to not kill you...

As for the tripwire, true, but I was thinking more along the lines of a wide shotgun blast to the door area. Easier than a bomb for lethal effect, plus, if caught, you won't be labelled a terrorist. It would be more like a command line than a trip wire. Sort of the reverse of the classic door guard trick.

And there's nothing to stop you from having a remote follow-up shot, or using the wire to wake the system up, or using PIR instead of wire.

[Jacks Complete]

You can go back months later, true, but just remember that they may have set a GPS tracer on the gear. I've heard that even the best locks can be defeated in minutes by special forces without trace, and unless your booby trap is subtle and effective, yet sure to not kill you...

As for the tripwire, true, but I was thinking more along the lines of a wide shotgun blast to the door area. Easier than a bomb for lethal effect, plus, if caught, you won't be labelled a terrorist. It would be more like a command line than a trip wire. Sort of the reverse of the classic door guard trick.

And there's nothing to stop you from having a remote follow-up shot, or using the wire to wake the system up, or using PIR instead of wire.

[nbk2000]

I found a cheap gun testing platform that's readily adaptable to making a telesniper.

www.lahticompany.com

It has screw adjustments, but that can be modified by adding gears to the screws to make them operable by a stepper motor. It even has a hydralically operated trigger firing mechanism. :)

The range of motion is much more limited than a true telesniper, but then again you don't need 120deg; fields of fire when you know where the target will be to within a few feet or so.

[nbk2000]

I found a cheap gun testing platform that's readily adaptable to making a telesniper.

www.lahticompany.com

It has screw adjustments, but that can be modified by adding gears to the screws to make them operable by a stepper motor. It even has a hydralically operated trigger firing mechanism. :)

The range of motion is much more limited than a true telesniper, but then again you don't need 120deg; fields of fire when you know where the target will be to within a few feet or so.