3/75 Sniper's "Team Reaper" Book Release

SOFREP got an exclusive look for our readers at Nick Irving’s “Team Reaper” a sniper memoir recounting his combat deployments as a sniper with 3rd Ranger Battalion. Nick brings us perhaps the very first boots on the ground account from a Ranger in the War on Terror, what we hope will be the first of many. Team Reaper is officially released as of TODAY, so be sure to pick up a copy for yourself and check out some great excerpts from the book below. -Jack

“My trigger finger then began to pull firmly and straight to the rear while applying a constant pressure. It felt as if only my eye and trigger finger existed, almost like an outer body experience. The wind was at a light breeze, about a 3 mile an hour wind coming from the North East. I could tell the wind speed and direction by observing the leaves and tall brush sway around his feet. I quickly off centered the crosshairs aiming into the wind slightly. At almost a surprise, the round left the suppressor with a sharp crack, and my eyes strained to continue to look through the recoil of the rifle.

As the bullet left out of the suppressor it left a strong scent of burning gun lubrication and cordite (burning gunpowder). What seemed to me to be an eternity watching the man through the recoil of the rifle, the 175 grain boat tail match grade round (175 grain weight and bullet shape boat tail) struck the man in his lower neck, causing him to drop instantly under the weight of his own body? At that split second when the round struck him in his neck, you could see how his body quickly tightened before he dropped. My spotter “P” fired almost immediately after I shot. His 190 grain .300 Winchester Magnum round left his un-suppressed barrel with a loud bang and struck on target as well. His round struck the second male in the left portion of his head, causing it to almost completely split in half. Before he had time to chamber another round with the bolt action rifle, I had my third target in sight…”

“I squeezed the trigger again, as I exhaled a short breath. The round again impacted on target, exploding in a pink mist, striking him along his upper rib cage and exiting out of the backside of his shoulder blade. He took one last additional step before his arms fell to his side and his face planted into the dirt…”

“The man slowly presented himself with the RPG down to his side looking to see where he wanted to fire at the Marines. Once his stomach area rose above the front portion of the moped, I squeezed firmly on the trigger, placing my crosshairs half a mildot right from the center point on his chest. My rifle cracked as the bullet exited the suppressor at speeds exceeding 2600 feet per second. “P” caught the vapor trail of the bullet arching through the air a few feet towards the right of the target. As the bullet traveled further, the trajectory changed course pushing left with the wind and dropping into the man’s lower chest. The flight of the round taking a total of 1.3 seconds before entering his body at 1450 feet per second, carrying more energy than a .44 magnum fired at point blank range. “P” called out a good shot on target as the man’s body crumbled under his own weight and fell backwards, almost as if he had been hit by an 18 wheeler truck traveling at 70 mph, dropping the RPG down by his feet…”