Lots of readers sent us links to the above image of the official Superbowl sniper’s hide. I held back on blogging it in case FPSRussia got any ideas. Then it occurred to me that Black Sunday was all the inspiration Kyle would need to end his YouTube career as he started it: blowing shit up for his fifteen minutes (years?) of fame. And just as I warmed-up the steam-driven blogging machine, gunreports.comsent a break-down of what gear you see here. “The rifle was a custom-built Remington M700. In the photos, it looks like it’s also fitted with a suppressor. The mag box looks awfully big for the stadium space — seems like a Fitty would be too much. Probably a 338 Lapua, but perhaps a 300 Win . . .
The action also appears to be fitted to an XLR Industries (Grand Junction, Colorado) chassis, probably the evolution HD rifle chassis ($785). That item is made from 6061 T-6 billet action block with a Type 2 Class 2 anodized finish. The chassis features a 2-inch centered handguard available in either 14- or 16-inch lengths.
The pistol grip is an Ergo overmold tactical AR style. The fully adjustable stock is a premium platform for large caliber weapons. This chassis is generally used with actions of 1.45 diameter or larger . . .
The tripod is an Alamo Four Star DCLW shooting tripod, which has a unique locking mechanism that grabs the forend without damaging it. May be the DCLW-w/Flatop, $498.
So now you know.
What we were really wondering was: what on earth was this thing for?
(I’m predicting answers of: OWS and/or Islamic militants.)
Roger Goodell didn’t want to leave a Giants win up to chance?
Nope – they were looking for CHL/Tea Party/NRA members.
What a view!! That is “coaches film” viewing there, folks… awesome.
Also, who would operate this thing? City or federal officers? Private contractor? And under what authority may they use deadly force?
i saw these pics on the armory blog, this is such a cool perspective of the game, too bad this guy prob did not spend too much time watching the actual game.
Local police could use deadly force in their jurisdiction with proper justification. (Someone shooting people or tossing grenades…you know typical terrorist activities.) They probably had some Feds there too.
Yet more of this “billet” nonsense. Sigh.
As a retired attorney, the word “billet” brings back fond memories of a glorious homonym.
Ah, now that’s what they mean when they talk about automatic performance, motor sequence speed, and above all, the warrior attitude. laugh.
So will these be deployed at all football games from now on?
How do you know they haven’t been for years?
Good point. I stand corrected.
Seems more like a staged photo op for Remington. The photos are clearly focused on the gun and I don’t see why else they would break Opsec to allow a sniper’s nest to be photographed.
There’s nothing that shows it’s a remington gun, so I seriously doubt it’s a photo op.
Isn’t the 700 the gun that CBS says has a defective trigger and just ‘goes off’? Seems pretty dangerous in this setting.
Regardless of the weapon design, I’d rather have a stadium full of CCW than have the barrel of that mammer jammer unknowingly trained on my head by a lone gunman.
“it in case FPSRussia got any ideas.”
I don’t understand the FPS connection.
The rifle is not a .338 Lapua or .300 WM, its a .308, using a .308 AICS 10rd mag. The scope is a U.S Optics SN-3 and the bipod up front thats not in use here is an Atlas V8.
The operator was Indianapolis Metro PD. The pictures out there of him behind the rifle were of him testing the functionality of the tripod and were taken for promotional reasons for U.S Tactical Supply. At the time that particular photo was taken(not shown here), there were was nobody in that area of the stadium and the rifle was unloaded. The officers in that hide’s main responsibility was to direct units on the ground to deal with any possible threats. During the game all observation was done with binoculars, the rifles are only there as a last resort option, in the event ground units are unable to deal with effectively (think bad guy opening fire in the middle of the crowd, with people panicking and running for cover, obstructing ground units from stopping the shooter, then a precision shot from an elevated position may be the best option to deal with that threat and prevent further loss of life).
For those of you who don’t know, this is SOP at most major events. The Superbowl is regarded as an NSSE (National Special Security Event) so this type of security should come as no surprise. There aren’t any real concerns about breaking Opsec, as the pictures were released after the event and anyone thinking of trying anything at the Superbowl would certainly expect this type of security, search wikipedia for ‘National Special Security Event’ and you can get a rundown of the level of security to expect.
Thank you for bringing logic into this rodeo of rumors. I’d give you props, but I’m not sure that’s what the kids are doing these days. I used to be with it, but then they changed what “it” was. Now, what I’m with isn’t it, and what’s “it” seems weird and scary to me.
Why the hell would they bother suppressing a rifle in a hide, using supersonic ammo, that would only be used during a presumed time of extreme noise and general hysteria? An extra $500 left in the tacticool budget or something?
To help protect the shooters hearing?
There are plenty of reasons for using one in this situation. Even with supersonic ammo a suppressor will still reduce the noise level. It will also reduce the recoil, which could be vital if quick follow up shots are needed. A muzzle brake would also reduce the recoil but have you ever fired a rifle with a muzzle brake indoors? The rifle is also zeroed with the suppressor mounted, meaning it needs to be kept on as mounting a suppressor will often cause a POI shift, usually not much more than a few inches at 100 yards, but in a situation where the rifle would need to be used you want it to be as accurate as possible.
It looks like he’s got a manual on the floor in front of it, is that a dope chart you think? That makes me wonder, do you think he took practice shots a few days before just to get his ranges and windages and everything down?
Is anyone actually believing this B.S.???
suckaaas!
So much jealousy for FPSRussia… Reminds me I need to go watch his latest vids.
I wonder how many other “nests” there are in the stadium. It looks like at least a third of the stadium would be masked from that position or be at such an angle as to seriously risk “collateral damage.” I would expect that there is at least one, probably three other such sniper nests distributed around the stadium.