How one of America’s deadliest snipers gunned down 33 Taliban in a single tour of duty… and bagged his first kill at just 18
Now 30, the master sniper has revealed how it feels to end so many lives - and how he lives with the consequences of his career
WHILE most 18-year-olds were looking for their first job, getting drunk at parties or studying at college, Nick was making his first kill on the front lines of Iraq.
Master sniper Nicholas Irving recalls firing seven shots into a man's head when he was just a teenager, watching it explode in a cloud of "mist and chunks."
Now 30, the master sniper has revealed how it feels to end so many lives - and how he lives with the consequences of his career.
Nick's first book, , recalls how that kill as an 18-year-old would go on to haunt his dreams later that night.
But that didn't stop the ranger, who killed a record 33 Taliban in a single Afghanistan deployment, making him one of the deadliest snipers in American history.
Now the long-range killer from the 75th Ranger Regiment has written a second book, Way of the Reaper, about his experiences.
In it, he recalls his most memorable mission, dubbed the Hotel Party by his battalion.
The special ops ranger told : "There were guys hopping out of helicopters, all types of bombs, munitions, I’m hanging out, cigarette in one hand, shooting bad guys. It was an experience"
As his battalion attacked the hotel, Nick lost count of how many men he killed.
In his book, he wrote: "I took a moment for it to sink in. I’d just shot somebody in the head.
"I blinked; it was like I was played whack-a-mole or something. Another dude popped up. Was it the first guy that I thought I’d taken out? Were there a bunch of dudes in that room?
“Didn’t matter. I needed to take them out even if they seemed like they were zombies.”
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As the skirmish wore on, Nick saw a splash come out behind an assault gunner, whose back was punctured by a huge hole.
Just then, they heard the chilling news that they were "completely black on ammo", forcing the pilots to hang out of the cockpit rattling off their small arms at the targets until every last shot had been fired.
Nick also writes about how the war affected the locals, leaving the Iraqi city of Mosul a heap of smouldering rubble.
He writes: "Going out into the streets of Mosul in full-on daylight was literally and figuratively eye-opening.
"I’d heard people say we should blow Iraqis and others into the Stone Age, and it kind of looked like we had tried.
"Shattered buildings and islands of rubble all dotted the landscape.
“All I know is that we had each other’s backs at the time and did everything we could to support one another. Whether or not the higher-ups did the same is tough to say.”
After the war came to an end for Nick, he initially struggled to get over his six years of service.
He wrote his first book in a blur of alcohol and post-traumatic stress disorder, but now he's come to terms with life as a civilian he wants to help other veterans.
Nick said: "Special ops guys have been overseas and seen different things. In the military community, we harp on about not expressing emotions, you’re the tough guy. That eats guys up in the long run.
"There’s nothing wrong with talking about what you did overseas, what not to do, what to do.
“I’ve learnt a lot from struggle. You have to go through struggles to appreciate things.
“I miss the brotherhood and camaraderie but killing, getting shot at, you can only go so far.”
by Nicholas Irving is available on Amazon.
Previously, we told how a hero Canadian sniper killed an ISIS fanatic with a staggering two-mile shot - the longest ever confirmed kill.
We also shared the story of the SAS sniper who ended a terrorist's life from a whopping 1.5 miles away.
A version of this article originally appeared on .