Special Ops Sniper Rates 11 More Sniper Scenes In Movies And TV | How Real Is It? | Insider
Nicholas Irving, a former special-operations sniper and an author, rates 11 more sniper scenes in movies and television shows for realism.
Irving breaks down the plausibility of shooting moving targets in "Better Call Saul" S5E8 (2020); "Extraction" (2020), with Chris Hemsworth; "Skyfall" (2012), featuring Daniel Craig; and "28 Weeks Later" (2007), with Jeremy Renner. He discusses countersniper operations and different types of rifles in "The Last of Us" S1E5 (2023), starring Pedro Pascal; the desert-warfare scene in "The Wall" (2017), with Aaron Taylor-Johnson and John Cena; and "Hacksaw Ridge" (2016), with Andrew Garfield. He also looks at other sniper tactics - such as concealment, target detection, and the mathematics behind a long-distance shot - in "Sniper" (1993) and "Battle for Sevastopol" (2015); the spotting scope from "Operation Red Sea" (2018); and the firearms used in "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" (2015), starring Tom Cruise.
Irving was a special-operations sniper in the 3rd Ranger Battalion for the US Army. He is known as The Reaper for his 33 confirmed kills in Afghanistan in less than four months. He is the author of multiple nonfiction and fiction books, including his most recent novel, "Reaper: The BOARD."
You can follow Nicholas on KZhead:
/ @toughshooter
You can find his latest book here: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reap...
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Special Ops Sniper Rates 11 More Sniper Scenes In Movies And TV | How Real Is It? | Insider
It's very validating to hear a man known as the Reaper of Death say that he is also scared of bugs
Considering he was an Airbourne Ranger, he's also admitted to being scared of heights ! Nick is a very humble man, a lot is made about his nickname and kill count , but you have to watch interviews with his former team mates to realise how many lives he SAVED in Iraq.
That part had me rolling. "Yeah that is a good idea, but I can't do bugs so I'm out". I'm just picturing that in actual military combat with him, guess he's lucky he was mostly in the desert.
@@peterbenson2185probably just as likely a guy saw him get skeeved out by a spider and gave him the nickname.
ikr, make me feel less bad lol
@@rkuzmic Its a "complacent definition" (That means a title to describe a job or position) .... Such as Doctor. Senator. Bus Driver... You capitalise them. Thats correct English. Nice comparison to your former idiot in cheif though...... "CHE- ina ! " I'm Scottish, youre an internet idiot. 🙂
"I should have gotten an award for that. 'Best Dead Guy Ever'" 😂😂😂
😂😂
😂
😂
he'll get it one day, given his line of work
😂😂😂😂
Knowing that a veteran military sniper is scared of bugs is unreasonably comforting to me
when you're sitting in one spot for days they are scary af
Love this guy. No nonsense, no bravado just talks about the stuff he knows. Even saw him talk about how he cried when pinned down thinking that was it ! Not often you get someone admitting how bad it could be and how they still had a job to do and got on with it.
women make best snipers so 9/10
@@samuelumtiti7328I hope you’re being ironic because they obviously don’t
@@yohannuspistachio Did you miss the part where the sniper himself said it?
@@arturscircenis2820 nuh-uh
@@arturscircenis2820this sniper is a confirmed liar. But baaa away like a sheep if you like
Besides being a world class marksman and warrior, Irving is also a very good communicator, teacher and storyteller. Very happy to see you back!
just needs to learn how to pronounce foliage
Maybe you're saying it wrong
@@alexgrenlie862 im not
He believes a .50 cal can rip limbs off just by blowing past a person and not hitting them 😂
@@mrralph8968I agree, this dude is a damn clown! Once he said that BS I don't believe anything else he says
The “I’m scared of bugs so that ain’t for me” made me think of a Vietnam story my dad always told me. About how his unit was digging foxholes to bunker down for the night , and my dad started getting yelled at for being the last one and still digging his foxhole. He told his superior “look in the first one I dug” He dug into a big nest of burrowing scorpions and said nope
Great story.🤣🤣🤣🤣
Foxhole, foxhole, foxhole, scorpion pit, 😮 😅 ah: this is my foxhole
Damn. 😬😂 He couldn’t catch a break out there.
vietnam was absolutely insane....
I wudda laid wit da scorpions I’m built different tho idk
This guy is pretty cool. No machismo, no bragging, just low key knows his stuff. Respect
He has a really in depth interview out there. Maybe on Vlad or Art of Dialogue...but definitely a cool dude
He said he could shoot a man’s arm off just by getting close to it with a shot😂😂😂.
@@MarineScoutSniperNo he didn’t. He was explaining how powerful some caliber bullets are and the shear force of being shot near it could sever an arm.
@@InfamousAWJ 😂😂ummmm no. If I miss by an inch I’ve missed by a mile. Aim Small Miss Small.
“Foilage”
My uncle used to say: Call an airstrike or ask a favor from the artillery boys is the better things to do when facing another sniper. This is always true.
2000 pounds of democracy 🇺🇲🦅
Logical enough
Artillery trumps over all land based combat at the immense cost of speed and extreme precision requirements
You know this guy is a sniper. He casually and calmly explained how he accidentally shot a tank and the tank started aiming the gun at him. Not one change in his voice as he says it.
"I was quickly reminded don't do that."
@@KanuckStreamsfuckup, you nobody.
He didn't shoot the tank, he aimed at it
low grade sniper lol
@@luketargett2233 And the tank took great offense to that.
I've read a lot of memoirs of troops in WWII...it wasn't uncommon for snipers even at that time to talk about what a bad idea it was to hide in trees. German snipers were very confused by how often they'd find Soviet snipers up trees because their training taught them that doing such was basically suicide. Marines in the Pacific thought the same of Japanese snipers for the same reason. The later scene, with the Soviet sniper, it was common training in both German and Soviet sniper schools to aim for the vision slits of armored vehicles, if not to kill the operator but to disable it. If the operators can't see through the spiderwebbed glass, they become much less effective.
I've seen some recent commentary from the Russian invasion of Ukraine that suggests the same thing can be achieved for sensors and the like dangling off the tank. Some of those things can be damaged!
@@edherdman9973yeah just throwing paint at sensors can effectively make the tank much more vulnerable
@@edherdman9973 Yes it is (somewhat) common practice to sweep vehicles with machine gun fire to disable sensors and optics I have heard.
Hiding in a tree gives you a great overview, but that's about it. You're easy to spot, the tree is likely easy to communicate as a designated target, you probably have very little cover. It's also dificult to quickly retreat from your position, as you are stuck up a tree...
do you mean hide behind a tree or on top of a tree
I always like to believe this guy can just make a spotting scope materialize outta nowhere
You win, imo, dude
It's in his inventory
“I only aimed at a tank one time and it was on accident I was quickly reminded don’t do that when they pointed the big cannon my way”😂😂😂
That would be an "Oops" moment for sure.
Oh so it's not just the dudes in Battlefield doing that, it's a real strat
tank guns are incredibly accurate at long ranges
Yes, that is what he said, thank you for reminding us of this line in the comments!
@@gorka8599get a life
My favorite story about the Reaper is the fact that after the Carlos Hathcock story was "debunked" by Mythbusters and every armchair sniper in the world, Reaper set it up in his backyard and proved it was plausible in a video that is still on KZhead like it was no big deal. Literally one of the only people in the world who could prove it true and he did.
Are you talking about the 50 BMG ripping off limbs without even hitting anyone? That has been debunked by so many people, this dude is a fraud!
just watched the video and you're a liar. The story was he shot him through the scope without touching the inside sides of the scope. Reaper hit the scope sides
@@yikes6969calling someone a liar is pretty harsh especially if they aren’t blatantly lying with malicious intent. Just saying
@@yikes6969 Plausible, not confirmed.
@@yikes6969 You're pretty mouthy for someone who didn't finish the video. He replicates the shot with a pellet gun that knocks the lense out of the way and goes right into the mannequin skull. This is after he pulled the shot off with a 30-06 that barely knicked the side of the front of the scope, effectively disproving Mythbysters. If you don't think that doesn't prove the shot possible, you, and I want to be completely clear about this , are a complete moron.
7:05 fun fact: The spotter is an sniper with way more experience than the one taking the shot.
The fact that he wears glasses, but is still spot on with a scope once he takes them off is incredible. Chad behavior.
That does make a bit of sense🤦♂️
You can adjust the scope to your own prescription or (depending on the scope) just keep your glasses on. When I shot competitively with a scope I kept my glasses on... but you want to be careful that you're looking right through the centre of the lens and it isn't getting pushed off centre by your shooting position. I wore my prescription close-fitting safety glasses for that reason. With bigger scopes or scopes with an eye cup you might be better off pushing your glasses up on your head and just adjusting the scope settings for your dominant eye.
As a filmmaker, I think the reason they so often don’t use the scope of an actual spotting scope is to make it very obvious for the audience whose POV you’re looking through, whether it’s the spotter or the sniper, so exaggerating the difference just to make it clear. Since, considering they do have spotting scopes on set, I think it’s generally an intentional choice
Damn I JUST commented this because I did a flythrough of the comments and couldn't find anyone considering this. Like you said, it would be ridiculously confusing for a casual viewer to differantiate between the spotter and sniper if they both had sniper scope lines especially with the horus configuration.
That's a very good point. Movies contain a lot of inaccuracies just to make it easier to follow what is going on. Characters will have different hair styles or their own flair on their uniform so you can identify them even though they should have the same hair and same uniform. Or characters will have no helmet and no googles so you can see their face.
@@shawn576 Or deliberately sticking your muzzle through the hole because just a 'nothing to see here' wall is boring for viewers and helps some of them to understand what they are looking at.
Its a terrible choice. Thanks to movies like John Wick that DO stress real life tactics I think the bar has been raised WAY FARTHER than we could have imagined before and future war/fight movies will continue to get more realistic.
@@Mike-hn4uu No, 'John Wick' and 'real life tactics' do not belong in the same sentence unless the word 'not' comes along too. If battles got really realistic, you would have people puking in the theatre......
“I may have a shot” “Absolutely not” Well there goes the whole plot of that movie lol
I love how nick touches on the subsonic rounds & suppressors
Remember finding Nick on YT years back. His story telling delivery along with crazy knowledge is among the best. Every year I’d check back to see if he had more stories on someone else’s channel or any new videos with him in it. Sometimes there was, sometimes I was watching an old thing. Haven’t seen anything in a couple years now but came across this. Happy for this man! He deserves his flowers, I’ll always look forward to future content with him in it
I came across him watching a video about guns and he was there as like a special guest or something and I’ve been intrigued by him ever since, his weapon handling was 10/10 so when I found out he’s ex military and a sniper I’m like, oh that’s makes sense lol
4:28 Ironically, the flute isn't fluted.
Musician gang 😈
Damn i forgot about you
And fluting also has nothing to do with accuracy^^. The barrel beaing free-FLOATING (only attached at a single point to the rest of the gun) has a big impact. Fluting a barrel is usually done either for cooling or to make the barrel more sturdy without making it very heavy.
I flew more than 700 CAS missions during my decade in OIF & OEF. More than once, my target was a nest. Reaper calls in good directions including 'send it' on target confirmation. Miser sends his regards.
If that’s true, you’re a amazing person! Thank you for your service!
@@Muscipla f u for ur service u mean? U want a Asslicking sticker?
@@MusciplaWhat are you thanking him for?
@@Squalla1 Americans tend to thank army veterans as they choose a career with relatively high risk of death, and with very little comparable reward. Most Americans cannot see themselves making that choice, therefore they find it admirable and/or brave. Why this only occurs in America could be an interesting discussion
@@Vezgod A lot of things are admirable and brave. For example, defending one's homeland against the strongest military in human history using limited training and equipment and far fewer personnel-yet Americans tend to call that terrorism rather than admire it. They thank veterans because they believe in American exceptionalism and, thus, that military action done in the name of the United States is just, when in reality it is simply an expression of imperialism to feed a war economy (the military industrial complex), depose inconvenient leaderships worldwide, and steal natural resources for the overclasses that benefit from those things.
Wish they had included the scenes from "The Accountant". That's actually a movie that depicted long-range shooting in a realistic way when he's dialing in his rifle and gathering DOPE while shooting on the farm.
"I think I've got a shot." ... "Absolutely not!" 😂😂 The way he said that absolutely got me.
Cool! Very informative and analytical. I thought for sure Shooter would be mentioned but maybe in another video
Scared of bugs but becomes a sniper 😅 he’s so relatable (Edit) I didn’t mean I relate to him, lol. Just that it was the one commonality -this guy with the insane resume-is our arachnophobia lol.
Are you also scared of bugs and became a special operations sniper?
as someone who has been called a lot of names for being afraid of bugs, that line from Nick just reaffirmed my life
i mean its kind of common sense to not go and sit inside a hollowed out tree for hours. imagine all the bugs and animals that could pose a bigger threat to you than an enemy..mainly wasps and other venomous or rabied creatures
@@Nexlated I think anyone who is uniquely bothered by bugs but has had to perform certain tasks that exposed them to more than the average amount of bugs can relate. I was not a sniper, but I was in the military and frequently had to hide, traverse or establish overwatch positions in areas that involved a lot of bugs. It is actually almost magical how, when you are completely in the 'zone' you stop worrying about it for a brief period of time. The bravest I have ever been when it came to bugs was when I was in a military environment (and not necessarily one with a direct hostile threat) and I knew that worrying about the bugs would cause me to fail. Of course, you freak out a bit afterwards and do a solid full body check and shake your gear and clothing out as SOON as the situation allows. But hearing a professional sniper consider bug exposure when deciding where to set up IS extremely relatable.
He’s also scared of baby chickens
My dad was an Army Ranger back in WW2 and Korea. Just seeing The Reaper explaining proper sniper techniques brings me back to when my dad explained shooting to me. The stories they can tell (And MANY that can never be revealed). Thanks Dad............RIP
Can never be revealed? Hasn't it been 80 years since WWII? Surely it's not that much of a secret, I mean there's hardly even a country that remained the same from then till now. It's hard to imagine anyone would really care about military secrets from 80 years ago being released to the public Also RIP your dad he seems cool
@@mucicafrajer9882 No it's not that, there are many jobs that Seals, Army Rangers, and Marine Recon have done that well let's just say it might have occured on the wrong lines or "They weren't actually supposed to be there". And they cant be revealed to the public or our enemies because of embarrassment, political fallout, or oath of silence. You're right in a way, it's been over 70 years, why can't it be revealed? Because of the sensitive nature of "X nation helped Y resistance forces in Z a country with sanctions ,despite bans on exporting weapons, technology, and Intel".
@@mucicafrajer9882 Also, Spec Ops and other organizations like this work on an entirely different playbook. They do the jobs others are either unwilling to, or incapable of doing. And they do all this under a complete umbra of silence. It takes a very special person to be a Seal, Ranger, or Recon. And they do the "dirty work" under often the absolutely worst conditions and circumstances. All while being the most capable and professional soldiers the world has ever seen.
@@deathstrikeTrue. I remember I worked as clean up for crew for a construction company and the first Friday the foreman told me and another coworker that he was a former Navy Seal and his units cool little nickname and told us of one mission where they went to some country to kill a target. They got the target but also had to "cover their tracks." (No witnesses) He didn't tell us however where this happened and I didn't bother to ask. I was too blown away by the story
Kali linux, startup window pfp is epic. I love cyber security. I am planning to be a cyber analyst in 4 years. I am gonna join university/college now, and do bachelors in CS. Then maybe go abroad for Masters in Cyber security and work as a cyber security analyst there. Wish me luck!
If you want to see more of this guy he has a KZhead channel and is on BRCC’s veterans react videos. Awesome dude.
YES
His book is definitely worth the read too
BRCC are a bunch of elitist grifters.
Black rifle coffee company hates America and the 2a.
except him saying u can miss a dude with a .50 and itll take a limb off
I have met and spoken to Nick a few times now. I have signed copies of his 2014 book as well as his 2012 book. His 2012 book he self published I believe and it is as raw as it gets. It has spelling mistakes and all, but it is unedited and unfiltered Nick. He is incredibly humble and kind. Not an ounce of ego; he just wants to share the story of he and his boys and what they did. I think it’s important to get this perspective in addition to yet another book from a retired four star on his way out to a cushy defense contractor job.
His books are really good! I'd love to meet him. He seems like such a great guy
Every time these guys tell their story its different. World class bullshitters
@@Rhapbus1go tell someone who gives a f k, you sound sad man go do something to cheer up your day other than eat
@@Rhapbus1Lmao. The stuff they go through, they can exaggerate and make the story as colourful as they want. For the huge claims and records, they’re backed up and can’t be made up because they’ll always need others to validate.
@@Rhapbus1You also sound jealous you’re not remotely as cool as him.
Really awesome video. Its nice to hear someone with raw real world experience backing up his thoughts and opinions...in a time when we have so many self proclaimed "experts".
Thank you. You are spot-on in all your ratings of the scenes and techniques. Thank you for serving and your sacrifice risking your life for all of us. Best to you, stay well.
Imagine being afraid of bugs and your job be hiding in bushes. What an absolute hero.
He's a terrorist, not a hero
That's the job of an Infantryman. Dirt, bugs, bad weather, you have to accept the condition.
This guy is so awesome and I’m happy they covered 28 weeks later. One of my favorite movies of all time. I remember how that scene felt so chaotic and then seeing the aftermath when they all left the area, it was so ominous. Scary part is is that they still didn’t get all the infected and they were out running in the streets.
Its crap compared to the first one
@@Ukraineaissance2014 in some ways, yes, but I still they are both great in their own ways. The first one is more suspenseful and foreboding while the second is more chaotic.
@@huntercrannell6726 Yeah they're very different movies for very different vibes
No offense but I honestly thought it was one of the dumbest zombie movies i've ever seen, a good watch, but like come on, how are going to leave the ONE active infection hazard in the safe zone COMPLETELY unguarded and give one of your citizen managers clearance to EVERY single area in the entire recovered area? Even to places like the labs which are experimenting with infected tissue and blood. And it just so happens that this administrator's presumed dead wife is the active hazard. Honestly liked the rest of it, but that start to the whole infection was so stupid. Then again with how things are in real life it might not actually be that unrealistic.
Just a note, they were told to switch targets to anyone on the street because the RoE had changed: they knew that this now meant taking out survivors in order to make the infected attack downed survivors instead of continuing onwards and the survivors leading the horde towards more survivors. Basically, they went from trying to kill the infected to help survivors, to downing survivors to buy time for those who might actually make it out.
I love your videos man. Please keep up the awesome breakdowns and you also have a fantastic day😎🤙
Thank you for your service sir!
17:18 "I've only aimed at a tank one time and it was by accident, and I was quickly reminded "don't do that again" when they pointed the big cannon my way". I don't know why, but I really like that sentence
That sentence made me laugh out loud cause i could actually picture it clear as day in my head😂
I really want to know the context of that story.
Big boom > pew pew
When you point 7.62 at them and they point 120 back
So what would happen if a sniper fired an armor piercing incendiary round into the barrel of the tank and struck the tip of the tank round before it was fired?
I love how none of these "expert rates" videos use Generation Kill as an example to rate. They'd just be like "What do you want? It's a 10/10. Of course it's accurate." I'd still love to see military experts discuss it, though.
"Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby" great musical as well
Why the '' is it just to name the video or you're saying they're not experts?
Well, they had Fruity Rudy as an advisor.
@@TroPy1n Like Pocahontas :)
BRCC just had a veterans react with a guy who was actually there during Generation Kill
Between him being on demolition ranch and all his appearances elsewhere, who knew someone named the Reaper could be so likeable
Thank you for your service!!! Love your point of view on this stuff. Do you do Video Games as well. LOL. COD, etc.
My biggest pet peeve with shooting scenes is how they hold/balance the rifle. Usually they either put their hand under the front of rifle or lightly balance it on a rock or something ridiculous. Anyone who shoots will ALWAYS use a bipod, tripod, shooting bag or something to stabilize the front rifle. Not to mention a rear support. Then, I CAN NOT STAND fake reticles. The reticles in the scopes are usually pretty cool looking there is no reason to make them look all Hollywood.
From a film making standpoint, there isn't much point in using an authentic looking reticle. First of all, if a scene in a movie or show is using a shot that has a reticle overlayed on top of it, its purpose is to clearly convey that A) This is the perspective of a character using a sniper rifle, B) The center of this crosshair is what they are trying to shoot, and most of the time C) what they were trying to shoot is pink mist now, because sniper rifle. Using any type of reticle that isn't a simple crosshair would only obscure part of the subject as they become pink mist and using any marker like mil-dots would only move the subject you want filmed being mistified out of center frame where you want the action to be. In other words, using realistic reticles would probably just make it more difficult for the audience to follow whatever action the director is wanting them to see.
@@jdick91 Just use a "realistic" looking reticle and not some cam corder box red dot or weird zig zag lines into a thick black cross reticle...
Yes they generally do use tripods but you also train to shoot from a standing or kneeling position because you might need to do so for 100 different reasons quickly. For example shooting quickly from long grass, moving around in trench systems where you arnt going to set up on the parapet or from within rooms back from the window. My pet peeve is how they never lead their sights on moving targets in films, I think it would actually be more cinematically interesting
@@Ukraineaissance2014 Exactly everything about long range shooting is already amazingly interesting there is no reason to change it at all for Hollywood. The only time I saw a movie lead a target was in The Shooter. But he only held off 1 mil at moving target driving roughly 45mph at 960 meters away - Oh well it was the thought that counted I guess lol
@@KevinWood44 il have to look that up, theres a lack of decent action movies these days, i dont mind a bit of cheesiness in most of them but if its dealing with real events and military its better for it to be realistic. I dont think the sniper even lead the shots in saving private ryan and thata generally number 1 in lists of realistic war films.
Insider should create and give this man his "Best Dead Guy Ever" award the next time he's on set!
Finishing his third book in the reaper series. It’s a good book that feels like the plot to SHOOTER but then make a refreshing turn. Great read.
There were two sniper related movies that a couple of parts were really good. " Day Of The Jackal " based on a true story. One scene , assassin goes to pick up his custom Sniper rifle. In another he practices shooting. In the movie " The Gunman " , Sean Penn is chosen to be the Sniper. Pretty cool scene right before assassination and the scene itself. Sniper : Ghost Shooter is action packed with a good plot.
Always loved it when this guy showed up on Demolition Ranch.
On the off chance you don't know. He has his own channel called @Reaper33.
It’s always a plus it see him on the show.
whats that
@@calltherussianbiggest firearms youtube channel
@@calltherussianthat's a youtube channel reviewing different guns guns etc.
Yay The Reaper himself is back!
Thank you for your service.
00:00-00:33 Intro 00:34-02:12 Skyfall 02:13-04:07 Better Call Saul S5E8 04:08-06:28 Mission Impossible Rogue Nation 06:26-08:53 Sniper 08:54-11:00 Last of Us S1E5 11:01-12:31 Hacksaw Ridge 12:32-14:53 The Wall 14:54-16:56 Extraction 16:57-18:37 Battle for Stevastopol 18:38-19:56 28 weeks later 19:57-21:07 Operation Red Sea
Thank you
The most impressive part of this video is his ability to eyeball distances. I know that’s his job, but it’s such an unusual skill 😂
I developed that skill from precision shooting training. I comes in handy playing golf.
You get it down with practice. Past 300 I get a bit randomly off. Not to mention learning by object practice helps. So a pie plate which is common target size for paper and to a degree steel. Its just time on range and worth learning, I don’t practice enough to call out super accurate. Unfortunately at a certain range 300 plus typically a few feet wrong and you likely to miss.
yeah so funny
Nice I really like Nicholas Irving it was cool to listen to him explain and breakdown realistic practices compared to movie scenes. Awesome video!
I'm no sniper, just a long shooter. I love this dude. Good vid. Hearing things like "arc, deflection, harmonics", and the talk of field craft. Nice. Edit: and optics never looking real in movies is 100%
The “bubble” that was described kind of reminds me of the “zone” that musicians get into when they get super passionate about their playing.
Cant believe that sniper rifle was firing all by itself
I loved that scene in Hitman 47, where he's remote controlling the sniper rifle; to get the target where he wants him. BADASS!!!
Fascinating to listen to an actual sniper break everything down like this.
Hearing that “the reaper” is scared of bugs makes me feel a lot better about my own fear of bugs 😂
Thanks for your service
Thank you for your service. Great video!
I think the Skyfall scene was done dirty because they didn't plan for a sniper shot and they were initially chasing the target at very close range, which the weapon is suited for. The circumstances of the chase ended up in a last-resort sniper shot with an unsuitable weapon and she's relaying the obvious to a 3rd party that doesn't see what's going on, so with that context the rating should be at least a 4.
And, to be fair, she did actually hit the wrong guy. 😬
@@thomashiggins9320 Yes, that's the problem with showing these clips to experts without context. In context, he looks stupid for giving 1/10 to a scene that literally supports what he is saying.
That is a problem I often have with these "Expert Rates" videos. They rarely if ever give context from before scenes to the expert, which some times leads to "misjudgements".
Also that might be the case in the field, having the wrong gear. In the movie, the shot wasn’t planned either
the sniper shot wasn't planned, but if they didn't intend to use the gun for a "longer range engagement" and wanted to keep it for close range, then why did she have a scope on? why not a red dot or plain irons? And no, I refuse to believe she ran around with a short barreled rifle with a red dot while also carrying a scope in the bag and swapped hastily before setting position, because nobody would do that, you have almost no guarantee that the scope would hold zero, and at this point you'd rather use some dual-purpose stuff like a Low Power Variable scope, a magnifier behind a red dot, a dual-zoom prism like an Elcan or even something as simple as a red dot on top of a scope, while carrying a slightly longer barrel like a 12" that's still plenty short but way more accurate at least until 200-250mt Truth is, the prop department fumbled, gave out the first thing that looked like a rifle, slapped a generic rifle scope on top of it, and we ended up with a 9" barrel AR pistol used as a marksman rifle
Your videos of him are awesome-and enjoyable to watch-I'm glad he was on our side-him and all the other humble warriors-very insightful from a true master of his craft.
Always will sit and watch Nicks content!
I absolutely love the way you brought out the actual technicality in knowing how far and long the distance is between you and the target ahead of time. I can't believe I never even put that together. Maybe because of video games and stuff but yeah absolutely it makes so much sense. It would be so cool in video games if instead of hitting someone with a snipe from a thousand miles away, you actually have to have some form of mathematics involved and have to know the distance. Wind, placement, accuracy, would make the difference in a game like Halo or Metal Gear. Kinda like shooting arrows. Unless you're the best of the best, you won't hit someone stand alone at more than a thousand years or so I would think, without knowing every technical detail in advance.
In Battlefield 1, one of the best military games ever made, you indeed had bullet drop off and where they'd veer off course if you were too far and such. Sniper Elite also has mechancis like this.
You'd like the Sniper Elite series then. You've gotta approximate drop and windage in order to hit your mark.
This is such an amazing insight into what we always unreliably see in movies. What a great guy.
The life of a gun and/or military guy lol. Hollywood blows at both 99.9% of the time.
So glad they got this guy back on, I could listen to him talk about this stuff all day. "best dead guy ever, should have won an award" deadpan loved it.
Thanks man i really enjoyed it
This man is so inspiring, everyone should read his book.
Have seen this man in several places and always think "The Reaper" is the most hardcore and intimidating nickname you could get.
yoy should checkout ''the white death'', that nickname is something else.
If you do another of these, I'd like to see reactions to the sniping scenes in: The Day of the Jackal (1973) Shooter (2007) American Sniper (2014) Quigley Down Under (1990) Saving Private Ryan (1998) Enemy at the Gates (2001) Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Golgo 13: The Professional (1983) Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) Silent Trigger (1996) Sabotage (1996)
I was waiting for Saving Private Ryan and especially Enemy at the Gates, too!
theres a part one with a few that you listed
@@DStrong1080Just watched Enemy at the Gates last night, the final scene when the Major realizes he is in the crosshairs of Vasilli and he accepts his fate almost like a job well done, is amazing. Love chess match type movies especially when it's a war movie
@@johnrhoden8925 Oh, so there is. I did think he'd missed a few obvious ones.
Dragged Across Concrete has Vince Vaughn sniping away, that's a good one too
Ive always remembered this scene from Burn Notice, where Micheal sets of a table in this high rise building thats in an apartment under construction. The fold out table is put in a room where the opening for a large window or balcony was to be, and he lays on the table with the rifle to take his shot. The reason i remembered it, was because by taking the shot during the day, inside the building away from the window and on that table, its _much_ harder to see him because of the light difference. You can see a shooter in a window. But its infinitely harder to see one whos like, 6 feet back from the window in the room. Because the light difference between outside and inside fucks with your eyesight.
Your thoughts on all of this is amazing! Absolutely brilliant.
On the Tank scene, I can weigh in here (because I study military technology, especially AFV’s during the Second World War) yea that is not possible, everybody post WW1 figured out pretty quickly that the vision ports are major weak points, so they tried to rectify that as much as possible, mainly bullet proof glass
what if the sniper's goal in that scene wasn't to kill whoever was behind the glass but to break the glass and obscure their vision so they couldn't get a clear visual? I'm not saying that's what it was, I haven't seen the movie and i'm not a military expert. If you disable a tank's eyes, you don't have to kill everyone inside to make the tank useless
Even still, loads of vehicles in WW2 didn't have glass of any type on their vision ports so its possible depending on the vehicle. A lot of vehicles also used binocular sights which would make that sort of shot completely non-viable.
those vision ports can be opened up to various degrees, shooting at them makes the tankers keep to the narrowest vision slits and periscopes which makes the whole vehicle less effective.
I havn't seen the movie but did that kill the driver or just crack the glass? I've seen periscopes that have gotten hosed by machine gun fire and they're pretty unusable.
In the movie she was given special armor-piercing ammunition to make that shot.
As an elite COD sniper, I can relate to everything Nick Irving Reaper says. I can go to full details but I'm afraid people might be confused or make fun of my elite right clicking quick scopes that has net me a superb 7.00 K/D
Amateur numbers, Nick got a K/D of 33.00 git gud
@@Chadius_Thundercock Jesus get real - the guy was in the Ranger regiment which is nothing but glorified infantry for Christ's sake. You Homers make him out to be some legend that he clearly isn't - he's just a KZhead sensation. 33 Confirmed KIA's is nothing to sneeze at but he's not the legend you folks want him to be so stop sticking your head up his arse.
To the gaming industry? COD is Call of Duty, a game lol@@srinivarma1320
@@Chadius_Thundercockdont speak peasant, the finish white death has a 509.00 K/D
Love you Nick, and THANK YOU for giving the producers the CORRECT firearm information to make this. It's so nice to see a video get it right for once! :)
17:18 the way you state that so calmly 😅
You saying you're scared of bugs was a very wholesome moment haha! So even trained killers with 2 dozen bodies under their belt still gets scared of bugs, I feel a lil better about myself 🤣
It's great seeing Nicholas again! His commentary is so fun to listen to. Another great video, Insider!
Thank you for your insight.
12:32 i love that you ask him about a movie he actually advised on :D
17:35 is not a photo of Carlos Hathcock, it’s a photo of Dalton Gunderson, a legend in his own right. It’s important he get credit where due.
I love this guy's videos. I have watched his first one several times. I hope he does more.
The snipping scene from the movie The Hurt Locker is one of my favourites.
With your experience and knowledge- it would be cool if you did a forensics on the Zapruder film.
It's funny that a guy named "Reaper" is scared of bugs.
a man who has killed 30+ other men lol.
if he wasn't he'd called "exterminator", which is just as cool
Well they don't call him "Bug Reaper"
@@Blashmack they call him: "Human Reaper"?
“But it’s Tom Cruise so it’s probably accurate”😂😂 Couldn’t say it better myself
I’d always like “enemy at the gates” as a sniper type movie, probably people have forgotten it
"today, im know as the reaper" cmon now thats just badass
But how can you make a barrel more fluted than turning it into a literal flute? That rifle must be so accurate
I thought the same thing lol
Great harmonics too
Love seeing this guy break down stuff
Wow, I really love this guy and him doing this. He gives respect to everyone but explains his REAL experiences very intelligently and articulately. Thanks for your service, too. God bless you and your family.
You love terrorists?
This guy and the sumo gentleman are my favorite guests. Very well spoken, give informative details and provide examples. Great guest great episode.
I love this guy - please find a way to bring him back to do more content.
Hey, they just found a way to get this guy back
@@wizcorn9958do you have a link?
For a guy named The Reaper, Nicholas is remarkably chill
Thank you for your service, brother!!!
He's such a chill looking dude it's crazy to think he's also a trained killer
Love these, Nick is a badass dude. He always does awesome breaking things down.
Speaking of improper hand placement, I love the scene with Tom Cruise at the rifle range in “Jack Reacher” where his hand is on top of the bench rest, and the rifle is then rested in the palm of his hand.
Thank you. Subscribed
I think the main reason they don't use real scope reticles for movies is because real scope reticles are quite "busy", there is a lot of information on the scope that may draw the eye of a viewer away from what they are supposed to be looking at.
No lol. Go look up what actual scopes look like. They’re even cleaner than that dumb red dot scope we see in this video. It’s just directors not knowing any better and/or being lazy. Look up the company “Leupold.”
@@I_enjoy_some_things I know what actual scopes look like, you're the one who doesn't. What you're thinking of are close range scopes which is not what military snipers use, military snipers use long range scopes like the Leupold FFP PR2-MOA which have a lot of information on the reticle.
@@OffensiveFarmer Yes, and if you look it up, you’ll see it leaves a very clear picture for the viewer to see - not some red dot graphic blowing out the view. I’m not sure you have even the slightest clue as to what you’re talking about. Not using a realistic scope is pure laziness.
bro gave the movie he work with that low cus he wasnt even on set when they filmed that scene💀. respect
The way he just said "NO" to the battle of Sevastopol in regards to the bullet had me rolling.
Much love...Thank You.
Good presentation by Mr. Nicholas Irving, "give it a shot or two" at the end was good. I've heard that with advanced armies once a sniper is located they will actually target the sniper with either a ton of bullets, as Nicholas Irving says, or blanket the area with artillery. Once you're detected the hunter becomes the hunted.
I flew the F-15E for 18 years of my 32 year career (USAF O-8 ret.) and I've been called in to destroy more than one sniper nest. A sniper is no joke and the descriptor of 'force multiplier' is not one to be scoffed at. I think it was perfectly justified on those occasions where I've hazarded a $30 million dollar aircraft, a $2 million dollar pilot and wizzo, and expended a $200,000 missile to take out a pair or trio of men and a couple of thousand dollars worth of small arms. I've also been called in to cover the exfil of our own snipers. Once again, a good call and well justified.
Tbh, this even holds true in video games. If you are trying to actually stay alive then 2-3 shots is about all you can do until someone notices you, and shoots RPGs and such at you. Granted your targets also respawn so they learn where you are rather fast.
That pun at the end was impeccable 😂 Great video and awesome that Nicholas mentioned the scene in the woods from Lone Survivor. It doesn't get much more visceral than that 👌
Regarding the outro i advise not to take more than two shots