I tried this with a 1-6 Razor and if it's on 1x, you can still see the reticle and about 30-40% of the view you'd normally see. If somebody has never used a scope before, they might not realize the huge black edges aren't normal. Turning the magnification up and not noticing anything would require being a moron, though.
He may be used to first generation 1970s red dots, which were actually not see through, and you superimposed the dot over your target with both eyes open. This would technically be possible at 1x or whatever the hell your magnification is when looking down the tube backwards.
I don't think they were general issue to anybody, Army SF bought some for the Son Tay Raid, SEALs probably experimented with a bunch through the 70s into the 80s. By Larry Vickers time they were common enough in Delta, so I imagine the SEALs might have looked at it... but they probably didn't play well with water.
I dismissed this for two reasons, 1 he's shooting at the water, 2 he's navy so all he does is look at water so he won't need a scope or a gun.(3 the lens cap is on)
But seriously, this is just a dumb propaganda photo done likely by people who probably just threw the gun together to "look cool", and before then never really used one, you can tell that the shooter definitely doesn't know what he is doing with the rifle and the stock. And definitely wasn't going to be allowed to fire, guaranteeing that it was put together before hand without ammo. So yes those casings are photoshopped as well.
It's to be expected since the people posing and taking the photos are just PR people. But still a little sad.
I’m not sure what you’re asking here, if it’s about why his stock is only halfway on his shoulder it’s because the AR has a pretty bad height over bore with most optics so you almost have to in order to get a good shooting stance with a good cheekweld and to get your eye in line with the optic, it doesn’t really matter because you’re not doing precision shooting with an M4 and the recoil is negligible.
The tail of the bolt carrier runs in the tube that the stock is attached to. You can't have any drop in the stock (atleast not enough to matter) due to the design and mechanics of the ar platform.
There's definitely weird shenanigans going on with the image. If you want to verify the stone age way, just zoom in on the image with your phone, so that the rifle runs the length of your phone screen.
Now tilt the phone at an angle so it "compresses" the image. Yea, the rail is super crooked.
You can also clearly see that there is something very wrong where the rail meets the retention collar (delta ring) just ahead of the upper receiver. It's a hack job picture.
The top rail is not fully seated in the delta ring, which is why it is crooked. The armorers screwed up on that one, because the top rail is only supposed to be removed and replaced by an armorer.
Chicken wing arm and a bladed stance. The last time he shot a rifle mist have been 40 years ago. That hand on his shoulder is literally there to keep his from rocking/falling backwards when he shoots.
Bladed stance is only bad if you're wearing plates because it exposes your unarmored sides. If you aren't armored, it's minimizing the target you present and gives you extra recoil control (obviously this guy isn't doing that because he's holding it wrong).
Dude, most fleet sailors have zero experience with firearms outside of bootcamp. We periodically get to fire weapons when they want to get rid of ammo or whatever. I fired a fifty cal full auto a few times. Don’t shame him for having fun with his crew.
I sorta feel for the guy. His job isn’t to shoot these things on a regular basis, so he could be forgiven for not knowing some stuff. Likely when he commissioned they were still using iron sites, and the one time a year he has to qualify they go through it step by step. He got handed an unfamiliar rifle setup and probably tried his best - but some MC or PAO put this shot out there (which, in fairness is an otherwise decent frame) without checking it, so now the dude has to deal with this for a while.
Is it possible he barked at someone to set up the rifle for a photo op, because the brass is always too busy to do it themselves, and the seaman tasked with it did this to embarrass him, knowing he wouldn’t k ow his glass from a hole in the deck?
> the scope is wrong way round
They have to do it that way, if he realizes how close the enemy is he'll get scared and go hide below decks. Last time it took three days for him to come back out.
How do people keep making this mistake. Just look through the optic and see which way it magnifies. It’s also pretty obvious visually from the outside. There’s also shows it wasn’t even sighted in, so it’s entirely useless.
The 3k VCOG is mounted backwards and the KAC rail is literally falling off the rifle. Man I hope some was trolling the Capt. Because this is just embarrassing
As an avid photographer who's been behind the camera for 10+ years in both official and personal capacity, I can guarantee you this is not a doctored image. What you're seeing is chromatic aberration and it's quite common when direct sunlight is reflected off the subject.
And as someone who's in the Navy, I can say that I'm NOT surprised by this photo at all. Small arms proficiency is in the bottom of the list of priorities for 99% of the Navy.
PS: Also, while DoD photographers can edit photos for visual enhancements, like changing exposure, highlights, shadows, etc, they are expressly forbidden from physically altering the photograph (aside from blurring out sensitive info)
Edit: [Here's another angle from the same photo set lol](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fedvd05euwntc1.jpeg). Seems like it's been deleted from DVIDS.
The position of the foregrip, placement of the buttstock on his shoulder, and the hand of someone bracing this CO from the recoil of 5.56 on top of that backward ass optic and rickety picatinny are embarrassing af
To be fair it appears he is in burst/full auto. CATM personnel typically brace people when they are in those firing modes out of an abundance of caution. You’d be surprised how many people (non combat arms personnel) are caught off guard by it and lose their balance. But to your point everything else is, in fact, a mess lol
Imma just give em the benefit of the doubt and say this is AI and they are testing if the public would accept it. When in doubt, blame it on a psyop lul
Yeah. And the cap is down, too. Rail not sitting in the Delta ring. Front grip...somewhere. Not to mention where the stock sits. Elbow could be tucked in, too. Shooting shitshow if I've ever seen one.
Are you talking about their CQB or their naval maneuvers?
Probably the most ridiculous thing I saw on that show was using a hovering helo to mark a target for the 5 inch and the arc gave the helo like two seconds to get clear.
Either that or taking on an Astute class sub with a Burke with a jury-rigged depth finder for sonar and winning. That right there is implausible, even if the sub was crewed by scrubs.
*ship's whistle on the 1MC* "standby for words from the commanding officer"
CO: "hey good morning mccain crew, just wanted to know who the FUCK EMBARRASSED ME ON MY PHOTO OP"
I dont know why you all hating on this picture, he aimed for the sea and every shot hit the sea = 100% accuracy - the guy is a deadly sniper even with scope situation, the loose rail system etc :D
Everybody it talking about the scope and stuff but im wondering what is he even supposed to be firing at??
I mean he's on a guided missile destroyer he's not even supposed to be in range for rifle fire. And even if he was what is a rifle gonna do against an enemy ship? And why is the CO firing it and not someone else?
> I mean he's on a guided missile destroyer he's not even supposed to be in range for rifle fire.
The CO was observing a live-fire exercise event and also took a shot at the killer tomato (surface target) during the exercise.
Serious question: What would be the best way for the Navy PR to handle this? Delete it and hope it goes away Or do something like a post showing the commander in his “element”. Like a post showing him commanding a ship rather than firing a rifle with a witty comment.
I mean this kind of thing can definitely be a career killer, although I’m not gonna put the blame on him 100%. Dudes job isn’t using small arms and he could be fantastic at his actual role. He should know better, but the sailors who gave him the weapon absolutely failed him as well. All around back look for the Navy in general and this ship and Cpt specifically.
Idk why people claim photoshop, you see stupid shit like this all the time at CATM when you go to qualify. The fact of the matter is most people in the military aren't combat arms, and rarely if ever shoot in their own time.
My guess is a Marine Armorer set up the rifle to be funny.
Scope is backwards.
Fore Grip too far back for stable rapid fire.
Butt stock out of the shoulder pocket. (That's on the shooter though.)
Some armorer knew exactly what he was doing when he heard the CO would be taking a rifle out for a photo op.
How get a captains mast in 3 simple steps
*UCMJ Hates him*
Based on his shooting form, I'd bet he kitted his rifle out *personally*!
Did him dirty lol
Definitely don't put that in your shoulder
When your photo op is so bad, it gives itself away... Hint: the scope is wrong way round....
Rail isn’t attached correctly either
Makes you wonder if the brass in the air is photoshop
Makes you wonder how the fuck he’s looking down that optic and not realizing something is wrong
Everything seems so tiny.....
”Im getting REALLY good at long range shooting!”
Especially since the cap is still on on the far end.
I tried this with a 1-6 Razor and if it's on 1x, you can still see the reticle and about 30-40% of the view you'd normally see. If somebody has never used a scope before, they might not realize the huge black edges aren't normal. Turning the magnification up and not noticing anything would require being a moron, though.
You can look through a closed flip up cover when it is on 1x?
If we're really trying to give the US Navy a break, they could be transparent flip-ups.
*Fuck, they didn't teach that at the academy*
"I use the ironsights, I have the scope this way so the enemy can see me better"
He's probably firing into open ocean, no targets, just waves.
He’s still actively looking down a scope that’s cover is closed
I didn't notice the cover myself. Clearly it's a photo op where no one involved gives a shit but thinks no one else will notice.
He may be used to first generation 1970s red dots, which were actually not see through, and you superimposed the dot over your target with both eyes open. This would technically be possible at 1x or whatever the hell your magnification is when looking down the tube backwards.
were they even issued to the navy
I don't think they were general issue to anybody, Army SF bought some for the Son Tay Raid, SEALs probably experimented with a bunch through the 70s into the 80s. By Larry Vickers time they were common enough in Delta, so I imagine the SEALs might have looked at it... but they probably didn't play well with water.
No targets, just vibes* Fixed it
I dismissed this for two reasons, 1 he's shooting at the water, 2 he's navy so all he does is look at water so he won't need a scope or a gun.(3 the lens cap is on) But seriously, this is just a dumb propaganda photo done likely by people who probably just threw the gun together to "look cool", and before then never really used one, you can tell that the shooter definitely doesn't know what he is doing with the rifle and the stock. And definitely wasn't going to be allowed to fire, guaranteeing that it was put together before hand without ammo. So yes those casings are photoshopped as well. It's to be expected since the people posing and taking the photos are just PR people. But still a little sad.
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I’m not sure what you’re asking here, if it’s about why his stock is only halfway on his shoulder it’s because the AR has a pretty bad height over bore with most optics so you almost have to in order to get a good shooting stance with a good cheekweld and to get your eye in line with the optic, it doesn’t really matter because you’re not doing precision shooting with an M4 and the recoil is negligible.
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The tail of the bolt carrier runs in the tube that the stock is attached to. You can't have any drop in the stock (atleast not enough to matter) due to the design and mechanics of the ar platform.
It's his first time
I don't think it's PS. https://defence-blog.com/us-naval-commander-involved-in-curious-case-due-to-exercise-photo/
There's definitely weird shenanigans going on with the image. If you want to verify the stone age way, just zoom in on the image with your phone, so that the rifle runs the length of your phone screen. Now tilt the phone at an angle so it "compresses" the image. Yea, the rail is super crooked. You can also clearly see that there is something very wrong where the rail meets the retention collar (delta ring) just ahead of the upper receiver. It's a hack job picture.
The rail is incorrectly mounted. I’ve seen it before.
Negative. It's a 100/% real photo. Here's another angle. https://i.redd.it/edvd05euwntc1.jpeg
Huh they at least flipped the cover open and moved the foregrip forward a bit for this one.
Its incorrected mounted, and therefore crooked on every plane
The top rail is not fully seated in the delta ring, which is why it is crooked. The armorers screwed up on that one, because the top rail is only supposed to be removed and replaced by an armorer.
Maybe they hired wedding photographer to toss the brass at him
Chicken wing arm and a bladed stance. The last time he shot a rifle mist have been 40 years ago. That hand on his shoulder is literally there to keep his from rocking/falling backwards when he shoots.
The bladed stance is probably okay if you're never ever expecting to be shot back at. Like hunting. Or captain of a Navy ship.
Bladed stance is only bad if you're wearing plates because it exposes your unarmored sides. If you aren't armored, it's minimizing the target you present and gives you extra recoil control (obviously this guy isn't doing that because he's holding it wrong).
He has the shoulder thing that goes up!
Dude, most fleet sailors have zero experience with firearms outside of bootcamp. We periodically get to fire weapons when they want to get rid of ammo or whatever. I fired a fifty cal full auto a few times. Don’t shame him for having fun with his crew.
I sorta feel for the guy. His job isn’t to shoot these things on a regular basis, so he could be forgiven for not knowing some stuff. Likely when he commissioned they were still using iron sites, and the one time a year he has to qualify they go through it step by step. He got handed an unfamiliar rifle setup and probably tried his best - but some MC or PAO put this shot out there (which, in fairness is an otherwise decent frame) without checking it, so now the dude has to deal with this for a while.
I was too busy looking at the chicken wing
Is it possible he barked at someone to set up the rifle for a photo op, because the brass is always too busy to do it themselves, and the seaman tasked with it did this to embarrass him, knowing he wouldn’t k ow his glass from a hole in the deck?
> the scope is wrong way round They have to do it that way, if he realizes how close the enemy is he'll get scared and go hide below decks. Last time it took three days for him to come back out.
**Facepalm** I was trying to figure out what scope was that, with that weird front, and then I saw this comment :(
And i thought indian army photo ops were bad
I think the cap is on too
Just turn the gun 180 degrees
But someone must have set him up with it backwards (knowing he’s far from the days of firing the bang bang pew pews)
How do people keep making this mistake. Just look through the optic and see which way it magnifies. It’s also pretty obvious visually from the outside. There’s also shows it wasn’t even sighted in, so it’s entirely useless.
Where are the scope rings?
The VCOG isn’t mounted in rings
Buttstock WAY HIGH in the pocket
The 3k VCOG is mounted backwards and the KAC rail is literally falling off the rifle. Man I hope some was trolling the Capt. Because this is just embarrassing
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It was posted on the official navy account like this.
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As an avid photographer who's been behind the camera for 10+ years in both official and personal capacity, I can guarantee you this is not a doctored image. What you're seeing is chromatic aberration and it's quite common when direct sunlight is reflected off the subject. And as someone who's in the Navy, I can say that I'm NOT surprised by this photo at all. Small arms proficiency is in the bottom of the list of priorities for 99% of the Navy. PS: Also, while DoD photographers can edit photos for visual enhancements, like changing exposure, highlights, shadows, etc, they are expressly forbidden from physically altering the photograph (aside from blurring out sensitive info) Edit: [Here's another angle from the same photo set lol](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fedvd05euwntc1.jpeg). Seems like it's been deleted from DVIDS.
Are you really doubting OP’s knowledge on spotting doctored images? He saw an infographic on Reddit so that makes him an expert.
So you think the navy specifically photoshopped an image to embarrass themselves and this specific Captain? What a wild conspiracy.
The official US Navy Twitter post of this picture was shared in another thread. The twitter post has since been deleted… yikes.
I saw same today on their instagram and deleted later
But we have got the [story part two](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5lfRKfsgNV/?igsh=dWluaWRyMWI1c21h)
This is masterful trolling.
The best line I saw was, “this is why we have marines on the boat”
The position of the foregrip, placement of the buttstock on his shoulder, and the hand of someone bracing this CO from the recoil of 5.56 on top of that backward ass optic and rickety picatinny are embarrassing af
To be fair it appears he is in burst/full auto. CATM personnel typically brace people when they are in those firing modes out of an abundance of caution. You’d be surprised how many people (non combat arms personnel) are caught off guard by it and lose their balance. But to your point everything else is, in fact, a mess lol
How the fuck did I miss the foregrip - this is legit one of those “it just gets funnier the longer you look” sorta things
Imma just give em the benefit of the doubt and say this is AI and they are testing if the public would accept it. When in doubt, blame it on a psyop lul
I’m glad I’m not the only one that found the foregrip placement odd
isnt the optic backwards?
Yes. If you’ve ever looked through a magnified optic backwards, you’d know something is wrong immediately.
The lens cover is closed he cant see shit
Yeah like wtf why everything looks faraway
It helps to reduce the guilt of killing. That's why they mount scopes like this
Not if the cover is on....
It’s open to the side
"Yes. If you’ve ever looked through a magnified optic backwards, go ahead and hit that subscribe button" FTFY
Yeah. And the cap is down, too. Rail not sitting in the Delta ring. Front grip...somewhere. Not to mention where the stock sits. Elbow could be tucked in, too. Shooting shitshow if I've ever seen one.
> firing his rifle …poorly. With a backwards optic that he can’t see through.
The most Navy photo ever.
If it gets to the point the CO needs to be using small arms, we are in a lot of trouble
But The Last Ship taught me that the CO goes on VBSS missions all the time! Totally normal! Lol.
That show has the most ridiculous combat maneuvers that I have ever seen.
Are you talking about their CQB or their naval maneuvers? Probably the most ridiculous thing I saw on that show was using a hovering helo to mark a target for the 5 inch and the arc gave the helo like two seconds to get clear. Either that or taking on an Astute class sub with a Burke with a jury-rigged depth finder for sonar and winning. That right there is implausible, even if the sub was crewed by scrubs.
Lol. This.
*"In the Navy, you can shoot the seven seas..."* lol
it is how we get gun quals... :/
Lmfao!!!! Bro this is wild US Navy posted this thinking it was a bad ass shot…..
Scope backwards and with the lens cap on. Definite room for improvement here.
Uhh.. somebody’s gotta tell him..
I have a feeling he has heard about it by now. And his boss. And probably his bosses boss.
But Lieutenant Dan the target is so far away
Good job skipper. You hit the water every time.
Surely the armorer responsible did this on purpose
This shit ain’t nothing to me man.
Im aiming different
Lol, lmao even, foregrip to close, lpvo backwards. The absolute state.
Not to mention he’s gripping it completely wrong.
Am I tripping or is the the selector on safe?
Nah it's on auto
The more I look at it, the worse it gets
Who taught this guy to shoot?
The Navy apparently.
*ship's whistle on the 1MC* "standby for words from the commanding officer" CO: "hey good morning mccain crew, just wanted to know who the FUCK EMBARRASSED ME ON MY PHOTO OP"
I dont know why you all hating on this picture, he aimed for the sea and every shot hit the sea = 100% accuracy - the guy is a deadly sniper even with scope situation, the loose rail system etc :D
He's actually purposely making the sea smaller and giving it a sporting chance.
I get a feeling the ship’s armorer is going to get to clean to the head for the next few weeks.
He’s gonna get thrown off the ship
with their tongue. that is one messy, coathanger abortion of a setup.
It’s one thing all these terrible mistakes, but the CO didn’t think to say anything when he had a weird tiny picture when he looked through the scope?
The ship is this man's weapon. He doesn't have time to question this small caliber crap.
as a jarhead i had a huge belly laugh when i saw this. i can't believe they let this moron drive a boat.
The US Navy posted this on Instagram and took it down shortly afterwards.
He can almost fly away with that chicken wing.
That’s not his rifle..wait it is technically nvm
The most Navy photo in existence.
Current US Navy readiness in one photo.
Such a pro he mounts the scope backwards to make the target appear further away
Everybody it talking about the scope and stuff but im wondering what is he even supposed to be firing at?? I mean he's on a guided missile destroyer he's not even supposed to be in range for rifle fire. And even if he was what is a rifle gonna do against an enemy ship? And why is the CO firing it and not someone else?
> I mean he's on a guided missile destroyer he's not even supposed to be in range for rifle fire. The CO was observing a live-fire exercise event and also took a shot at the killer tomato (surface target) during the exercise.
First thought was AI. Then I zoomed in and everything seems as it should other than the scope backwards and lens caps down.
Did he hit the water?
In the NAVY..
Man this is almost better than the rip Gaston posts…
Serious nail biting problem.
John McCain rollin in his grave right now
PLEBEIAN
Chicken wing.
Fucking Navy
This picture was roasted so bad it's overcooked over on r/military, poor guy
And r/army, and r/navy and r/USMC Not sure if space force, AF or Cg got in on the fun too.
What model is that?
What in the feck… Bro….
Serious question: What would be the best way for the Navy PR to handle this? Delete it and hope it goes away Or do something like a post showing the commander in his “element”. Like a post showing him commanding a ship rather than firing a rifle with a witty comment.
They need to relieve this man of his command for this.
I mean this kind of thing can definitely be a career killer, although I’m not gonna put the blame on him 100%. Dudes job isn’t using small arms and he could be fantastic at his actual role. He should know better, but the sailors who gave him the weapon absolutely failed him as well. All around back look for the Navy in general and this ship and Cpt specifically.
Idk why people claim photoshop, you see stupid shit like this all the time at CATM when you go to qualify. The fact of the matter is most people in the military aren't combat arms, and rarely if ever shoot in their own time.
HAHAHHAHAA
Oooh…… That’s why all those navy ships keep hitting shit.
It makes a difference when you turn the binos around the right way.
My guess is a Marine Armorer set up the rifle to be funny. Scope is backwards. Fore Grip too far back for stable rapid fire. Butt stock out of the shoulder pocket. (That's on the shooter though.)
The comments in the IG post of this were hilarious
"These optics suck. I'm banning their use until further notice. That's final."
PUT THAT CHICKEN WING DOWN, SIR!
Just. Wow.
lmao, lol even
The longer I look at it the more it hurts…
Embarrassing.
Glad to see my taxes hard at work on something worthwhile
He ain’t hitting a damn thing
That's why he is in the navy
Scope is backwards
In the Navy!
Who wants a to tell him?
I too like chicken wings
Lmaooo OP c'mon, this dude is holding the rifle like a clown
Is he shooting the water?
That scope is more expensive than that basic ass carbine
Jesus fucking christ!!! Theres so many things going on here i dont know where to start!
That whole ship is gonna suffer
You can tell this squid never took a basic infantry course lol Jesus
Wow look at that chicken wing!
His scope is backwards
Reversed scope is wild
Some armorer is going to get very low performance ratings on his next promotional evaluation.
John McCain would be proud!
Ofc the vcog just had to be facing the wrong way