The Walther WA 2000, is arguably the finest made precision rifle to be ever crafted in Germany. It was designed following the Munich Olympics Attack of 1972, in response to police marksmen being forced to take precision shots with an iron sighted G3 rifle.
It was made from 1982 till 1988, only 176 were ever made. It saw little adoption due to the high price tag ($9,000 in 1988). Today they go from $40,000 to $75,000.
This heavy rifle weighed 7.91 kg (17.4 lbs) loaded & scoped. This is because it was never intended to be carried across a battlefield. It was specifically design for counter terrorist snipers to defend a zone from a fixed overwatch position.
Alright now the story about the Canadian gun.
Terrence Arthur Dean from Kamloops, Canada, was charged, and found guilty of trafficking heroin, cocaine, meth and marijuana and unlawful possession of several firearms back in 2013. When they searched his home, police seized a Walther WA 2000. Now that he’s been sentenced to 5 years in prison, the question of what to do with it has been answered.
Rather than be destroyed, the crown and defense lawyers agreed with the judge to have the rifle donated to the Kamloops Target Sports Association.
Here’s the actual seized gun:
Ian’s Video: [23:50] https://youtu.be/_av1zBdnxXY?si=
I feel like approximately every third post here is something that would be fawned over in an episode of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
Like, I’m imagining Batou geeking out over the fact that the sniper trying to kill him is using one of these, and insisting that he has to not get killed so that he can try it out by the end of the episode.
I’ve never seen Ghost in the Shell, but I’ve only heard good things. Is there a special watch order for the best experience with them or just by release date?
Not OP. I recommend watching the 1995 movie first. Graphics are dated, but the animation mostly holds up and the music is sublime. Watch with dubs or subs – both are good quality. It’s a classic of sci fi and is often imitated or referenced.
If you want more then, there’s an animated TV show, that doesn’t directly continue from the movie, plays like a cyberpunk police procedural, using the same characters. It’s called Stand Alone Complex and it is very good. Expect it to be somewhat slow, talkie, and contemplative. There is an overarching storyline that takes a few episodes to kick off but it’s generally worth it. High brow high concept sci fi.
There’s more, including other animated movies and shows, and the live action Scarlet Johansson movie, but the above is more than enough to get you started.
Thanks, I’ll put the '95 movie on my watch list
After you’ve watched it, go back and rewatch this montage sequence… And you’ll start seeing stylistic references to it everywhere. In much the same way that Bladerunner set the stage for the aesthetics of sci fi for decades, Ghost in the Shell did the same. https://youtu.be/ARTLckN9e7I
Anyway, I’m envious that you get to experience it for the first time :)
Both the movie and show are great. You are in for a treat.
Jesus Christ I have never seen a more accurate comment on anything. Thank you very much for the awesome mental imagery!
Flashbacks to Hitman Blood Money upon seeing that gun
Unfortunately it doesn’t break down like in game. But it’s still quite a suiting piece for an international assassin.
Is that wood or wood coloring?
Looked it up, semi automatic. Does anyone know the trade-offs on making a sniper rifle semi auto?
Actual wood. Which if you’re paying the price these go for, you probably aught to get real wood though.
When you’re trying to make a precision rifle you want everything to be the same everytime. Precision comes from repeating the same actions with the same variables.
TLDR on semi auto precision rifles:
+Faster follow up shots
-More moving parts = more variables
-More expensive to meet the same precision requirements
That doesn’t mean they can’t be very precise but it does mean if you want to produce them in large numbers it’ll be harder to make them all in the very strict standard of precision.
There’s a Garand Thumb video talking with one of the main people behind the latest SOCOM sniper rifle and he touches on the considerations for bolt action versus semiautomatic. Basically, a sniper isn’t taking shots quickly enough that the semiautomatic action is making a difference, and a bolt action platform is more accurate due to tighter tolerances and the bolt not necessarily moving immediately after the shot is fired. Also, a bolt action will often let a shooter load longer bullets than fit in an AR-15 (traditionally 5.56 though 6.5 Grendel and now .224 Valkyrie and 6 ARC) or even AR-10 (.308 is traditional but 6.5 Creedmoor seems to have better legs), which translates to projectiles with really clean bullet coefficients which translates to longer range hits, more energy on target, and less variability due to wind.
I’ve always thought the design of this thing was beautiful. Blew my mind a bit to see how big the thing is, though. You see it with no context it looks kinda compact, and I guess it is relatively, but it’s still a whole ass sniper rifle.
Used to love this guy in PAYDAY 2
Back in my COD days, we would call it the “wazoo”. Always cracked me up.
Kamloops is driving distance for me. Wonder if I could see it in person.
