The 2nd Advantage

While watching a documentary about Snipers the other evening I noticed an accidental vote of support for the US 2nd amendment. They were profiling the Canadian Sniper credited with making the longest recorded confirmed kill, a distance of 1.5 miles using a 50BMG sniper rifle (http://www.mcmfamily.com/mcmillan-rifles-tactical-tac-50.php). As the gentleman was discussing the area of Afghanistan where operation "Cobra" occurred. He stated that he ran out of the Canadian issued .50 ammunition and was given some American issued .50. He stated that the accuracy, projectile weight and range of the American Ammunition was far superior to the Canadian ammunition. This is where I thought of the 2nd Amendment.

 Here in the US there is a specialty sport of Long Range Bench Rest competitive shooting. The 50 BMG whether Barrett (http://www.barrett.net/firearms/model82a1) or McMillan (http://www.mcmfamily.com/mcmillan-rifles-tactical-tac-50.php) is a favorite. I have associated with these enthusiasts and they are a very competitive lot. They are constantly looking for an edge in competition. Whether it is from scopes, a barrel shroud, or ammunition. They are always tinkering to get that last little bit of an advantage from their rifle. Here is where I believe that the ammunition difference that the Canadian sniper found came from. The fact that many Americans use the .50 and compete with it influenced ammunition design. These competitors created highly accurate hand loads that were then copied by ammunition manufacturers that sometimes actually had employed people that were also Bench Rest competitors.
The US military's rifle marksmanship programs influence civilian shooting and civilian shooting influences US military's rifle marksmanship. There is a sharing of ideas and principles that just does not occur in a country with restrictive firearm ownership like Canada.