Longest recorded sniper kills

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Royal Marines snipers with L115A1 rifles. These rifles are similar to the L115A3 Long Range Rifle used by Craig Harrison but outfitted with Schmidt & Bender 3-12x50 PM II telescopic sights.
McMillan Tac-50 Sniper weapon
The McMillan Tac-50 rifle Corporal Rob Furlong used.
Machine gun M2
Carlos Hathcock used a modified version of the M2 Browning machine gun

Snipers in modern warfare have had a long history since the development of long distance weaponry. As weapons and ammunition and aids to determine ballistic solutions like laser rangefinders, handheld meteorological measuring equipment and ballistic prediction methods, handheld computers and ballistic prediction software improved, so too did the distance a kill could be targeted from. The modern methodology of long distance sniping (over 1.25-kilometre (0.8 mi) shots) requires intense training and practice. A sniper must have the ability to accurately estimate the various factors that influence a bullet's trajectory and point of impact, such as range to the target, wind direction, wind velocity, air density and elevation of the sniper and target. Mistakes in estimation compound over distance and can decrease lethality or cause a shot to miss completely.[1]

History

The science of long range sniping came to fruition in the Vietnam War. Carlos Hathcock, regarded as one of the best long distance snipers, would from 1967 to 2002 hold the title of longest kill shot at 2,286 m (2,500 yd).[2] [A 1] He recorded 93 official kills before an injury halted his service on the front lines.[4] After returning to America, Hathcock helped establish a scout and sniper school at the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia.[5] It took over thirty years for Canadian Master Corporal Arron Perry of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry to beat Hathcock's record. However, Perry only held the title for a few days as another man in his unit (Corporal Rob Furlong) bested Perry's distance with a 2,430 m (2,657 yd) shot in March of 2002. Furlong took the shot while supporting American soldiers during Operation Anaconda in the beginning years of the latest War in Afghanistan. The current record is held by United Kingdom's Corporal of Horse (CoH) Craig Harrison who in November of 2009 recorded a 2,475 m (2,707 yd) shot in the War in Afghanistan.[6]

Confirmed kills 1,250 m (1,367 yd) or greater

Name Date Distance Weapon Ammunition Nationality Military Unit Conflict References
Corporal of Horse (CoH) Craig Harrison November 2009 2,475 m (2,707 yd) L115A3 Long Range Rifle .338 Lapua Magnum LockBase B408 bullets United Kingdom Household Cavalry War in Afghanistan [6][7]

[8][9]

Corporal Rob Furlong March 2002 2,430 m (2,657 yd) McMillan Tac-50 Hornady A-MAX .50 Canada 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry War in Afghanistan [10]
Master Corporal Arron Perry March 2002 2,310 m (2,526 yd) McMillan Tac-50 Hornady A-MAX .50 Canada 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry War in Afghanistan [10]
Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock February 1967 2,286 m (2,500 yd) M2 Browning machine gun .50 BMG United States United States Marine Corps Vietnam War [2]
Corporal Christopher Reynolds August, 2009 1,853 m (2,026 yd) Accuracy International L115A3 .338 Lapua Magnum LockBase B408 bullets United Kingdom 3 Scots – The Black Watch War in Afghanistan [11]
Unknown Norwegian sniper [A 2] November, 2007 1,380 m (1,509 yd) 12.7 mm multi-purpose ammunition Norway The Coastal Ranger Command (KJK) 2nd Battalion War in Afghanistan [12]
Staff Sergeant Jim Gilliland [A 3] September 27, 2005 1,250 m (1,367 yd) M24 rifle 7.62x51mm NATO United States 3rd Infantry Division, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment Sniper Shadow Team Iraq War – Ramadi [13]
Carlos Hathcock in 1996
Carlos Hathcock in 1996

See also

Annotations

  1. ^ 93 kills was not an especially high number; other American snipers would best it and it pales in comparison to World War II snipers like Simo Häyhä. Häyhä was credited with over 500 kills during the Winter War but mostly shot at close range.[3] In fact, Häyhä was famous for not using a scope, preferring to use the iron-sights on his rifles.[3] What separated Hathcock and made him famous was his long distance ability and accuracy.
  2. ^ Longest confirmed kill using 12.7 mm multi-purpose ammunition
  3. ^ Longest confirmed kill with a 7.62x51mm NATO chambered rifle

Bibliography

Notes
  1. ^ Plaster 1993
  2. ^ a b Henderson 2003, p. 181
  3. ^ a b Jowett, Jowett & Snodgrass 2006, p. 44
  4. ^ Gaijinass (May 6, 2010). "The way of the Gun: USMC S/S". Gaijinass. Retrieved May 6, 2010. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ^ Henderson 2003, p. 283
  6. ^ a b Smith 2010
  7. ^ Chandler 2010
  8. ^ Alpert 2010
  9. ^ Drury 2010
  10. ^ a b Friscolanti, Michael (May 15, 2006). "We were abandoned". Maclean's. Retrieved May 3, 2010. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  11. ^ Mail Foreign Service (August 15, 2009). "British sniper describes moment he shot Taliban commander... from TWO KILOMETRES away". The Daily Mail. Retrieved May 5, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  12. ^ Johnsen 2008
  13. ^ Harnden 2006
  14. ^ Brownlie 2003, p. 63
  15. ^ Westwood 2005, p. 212
  16. ^ Fredriksen 2010, p. 306
References
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