Longest sniper kill confirmed
It occurred in Iraq, killed an ISIS fighter, was by a Canadian sniper, and was fired from two miles away (11,319 feet.).
That’s pretty extraordinary.
The sniper and the exact location have not been identified, but we do know this:
The bullet was fired from a McMillan TAC-50 rifle set on a high-rise tower and took 10 seconds to travel the 2.14 miles towards the fighter, who was attacking Iraqi soldiers…
A military source told The Globe and Mail the kill was verified by video, adding: ‘This is an incredible feat. It is a world record that might never be equalled.’
Canadian snipers are regarded as among the best, if not the best, in the world.
When I saw the news I wondered whether snipers who fire at these distances have to take into effect the curvature of the earth. Seems to me they would, although I know next to nothing about it. The fact that the rifle was set on a high-rise tower certainly indicates it, but perhaps a reader can enlighten me as to whether I’m off-base with that supposition.
I also picture the movie scene: something a little like when, in a Western, a shot comes seemingly out of the blue, and then later you see where the shot came from—which, of course, is never two miles away. In the Iraqi case, no one ever actually saw its origins; it just appeared out of the blue. But I’m sure the onlookers got the drift of what must have happened.
There’s also this scene from “High Noon,” which I realize has little to do with it, but which came to mind. This scene always moves me, because the Grace Kelly character is a Quaker, and yet she feel she must respond this way:
If I had been Will Kane (the Gary Cooper character in HIGH NOON) that’s how I might have handled the four bad guys. Not of course with a modern sniper rifle, but maybe with a Sharps .50 rifle, which was used to hunt buffalo and reportedly had–with windage and luck–a mile long trajectory. I realize Kane, being a lawman, had to give the Miller gang a chance to surrender, but he didn’t even arm himself with a sawed-off shotgun, the weapon of choice for Old West lawmen when facing great odds.
I’ve always liked how Judge Roy Bean (Paul Newman) handled “Bad Bob” (Stacy Keach) in this showdown.
For got to add the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2br6JbXFts
“Canadian snipers are regarded as among the best, if not the best, in the world.”
OK, lets not get happy now. Im quite sure any any of our snipers could make the shot given the same conditions but with more flair and panache.
“I wondered whether snipers who fire at these distances have to take into effect the curvature of the earth”
You would be correct…along with many other variables. Like so many other skill positions, you train and train and train hoping circumstances never arise where you have to use what you know until you do. Thank God for those who serve.
The most highly competent long-range snipers not only need to allow for windage and drop, but also must consider the air temperature and humidity, since those affect the density of the air through which the bullet travels. Most shooters know about these, but few also know about allowing for the “Coriolis effect,” which involves the rotation of the earth during the time the bullet is in flight. That effect is expressed as a rightward deflection north of the equator and a leftward deflection south of the equator. All in all, the math is extraordinarily complicated, but is done subliminally by the most accomplished shooters. It was an amazing feat, unrivaled in firearm history to the best of my knowledge.
“When I saw the news I wondered whether snipers who fire at these distances have to take into effect the curvature of the earth. Seems to me they would, although I know next to nothing about it.”
What has to be taken into account is the bullet’s trajectory, and that trajectory may have to account for drag due to air friction and winds, as well as the fact that even a speeding bullet will slowly drop due to the pull of gravity. As a secondary effect, if the earth is slowly dropping away (due to surface curvature) under the bullet’s erstwhile trajectory, then the effect of gravity on the bullet is effected ever so slightly, because gravity is not so much a downward pull as it is a pull towards the center of the earth (or towards the center of whatever planetary body is under consideration).
I would imagine the sharp-shooter accounts for these things more intuitively than as a result of sophisticated mathematics. I also imagine the friction and winds and gravity effects are very, very small, but what do I know? — I’m more the dull-shooter, should I shoot at all.
We’ve got at least one physics person here who often comments. Time to step up to the plate, who/wherever you are!
Poorly stated, now that I can go back and survey my wording. Let’s change
“that trajectory may have to account for drag due to air friction and winds, as well as the fact that even a speeding bullet will slowly drop due to the pull of gravity”
to
“that trajectory may have to account for winds and also drag due to air friction, as well as the fact that even a speeding bullet will slowly drop due to the pull of gravity”
Thanks all.
Some in the bullseye comments above about the factors involved in making such a long range shot, or any shot for that matter. I’ve hit the bullseye at 800 yards with a scoped Mauser on a still, low humidity day. The skill to make this shot is amazing, far beyond a bitter clinger like me.
Interesting that this story breaks for comment today…as I sit at my desk in my home I can hear automatic weapons practice at a nearby army training base. Different from sniper I know…but an interesting background noise.
Friends there have told me that if you can’t drop 3 in the 10-ring from 1000 metres you don’t get past the first round of “sniper tryouts.” This shot was 3+ times that.
“All in all, the math is extraordinarily complicated, but is done subliminally by the most accomplished shooters.” Absolutely true and absolutely phenomenal.
I believe I have left this link before but it is worth watching again.
Some guy who I had never heard of … Polish-type last name, talks like a redneck, looks to be a farmer or something.
Was blasting away at some cardboard targets at 30 feet, using one of those SKS carbines. Which if you have used one you know is good – certainly insofar as far as I can tell – mainly for shooting up 5 gallon plastic buckets at 50 yards.
But he’s in a happy mood and is going to try something more challenging. And offhand, open sights, in an open field, with that 7.62×39 steel case Russian surplus stuff.
https://youtu.be/1c7ZTcNTC5s?t=380
By the way, whatever the reason, there seems to be a surge of interest in those WWII era surplus foreign bolt actions sold in the Clinton era, by “kids” who want to try them out at distance.
One particular subset of interest is in long range shooting of the SMLE [Short (rifle), magazine, Lee Enfield] .
They are shooting No. I Mk III’s ; No 4 mk 1s and 2s, and even the Canadian and Australian versions.
Not sure why, as all you read indicates that the wooden bedding was supposedly prone to causing sighting problems. Guess there is a difference in conditions between a trench in Flanders in war and the Australian countryside in peace.
But they are having a great fun, chasing 1000 yard shots at cardboard buffalo and plastic milk jugs with these old bolt action pieces. Often using open sights.
I’ve tried them myself at ranges of 300 or so yards.
And with either the Mk VII ball (British or Czech) or the Mk VIII boattail (Belgian) the gun is accurate enough at that distance to “kill” a 12″ diameter tree. Fun
If I can rest the muzzle, that is.
That Pakistani cordite stuff though, sure gives you (meaning me) the impression of a slow “lock time”. Maybe it was the extreme cold.
Mr. Snyder is correct. The bugaboo at this distance is the Coriolis effect. In addition to all of the usual compensation calculations, one must account for the fact that the earth is rotating significantly during the 9 to 10 second flight time of the bullet.
The curvature of the earth is not really an issue because the shooter is looking through a scope and light photons travel in straight lines.
On another site, someone asked the good question “How fast is the bullet travelling at that range?” My estimate is 890 ft./sec. which is really slow, but the bullet he used is sooo massive, the resulting wound is massive too.
After the break up of Yugoslavia, the Serbs flushed over a million Mauser 48s into the market, most coming to the USA. These were rifles manufacturered after WW2 and put into storage smothered in cosmoline. They were in perfect condition and were selling for $79. I bought one and was amazed at how accurate I could be with this rifle. So I quickly bought another on, had it modified to accept a scope. Now I have one for close range 400 yards or less and the scoped one for 400 to 800 yards. I also bought the dies for reloading, lots of 8mm brass, and the recommended powders and primers.
These military spec rifles are tack drivers far more accurate than I can shoot. But with open sights I can get 1MOA at 100 yards for a 5 round group once I through trial and error figured out the best powder, powder load, and bullet weight to exploit the potential of my individual rifle. (Yes every firearm is unique.)
I have a SKS. Bought it because wjc wanted to ban imports. I have found it to be a reliable emitter of a mid power caliber.cartilage, and of acceptable accuracy. Bought mine for $59. Its the only semiauto rifle I own. I enjoy shooting it. I can get 2 MOA at 100 yards from this ‘junk’ rifle.
How can you even see something as small as an individual human being from two miles away? Let alone making a kill shot. All glory to the CDF!
Interesting.
Hell of a deal. I paid $79.00 at a gun show back when. And that’s the Chinese version. They were selling them by the case for $69.00 each. Thought that was a good deal. Had no use for a dozen … or maybe it was ten.
I suppose they could be accurate enough with the right set up and in the right hands. I suppose the video shows that. Two MOA at 100 though, sounds better than I would expect, even from a bench sandbag set-up.
Those rear housing scopes have certainly proved their general uselessness for the average guy expecting to just plop it on, and go into the woods. Aim for Missouri and hit Wisconsin.
As for Yugo Mausers? (thought you were talking about Mitchells at first), I’ve never seen one in the flesh so to speak. I guess they have a straight bolt handle.
A buddy blew 400 on a high grade Mitchell some years back when they were first available. Beautiful looking piece. Wouldn’t want to nick it up in the field. though.
The thing is, if these military surplus are original, they are inconvenient for hunting. If they are sporterized, they lose virtually all collector’s value. You pay your nickle, and take your choice I guess.
Unless, that is, you keep all the original furniture in a paper bag somewhere and buy a drop-in stock for field use. You could always do that.
John Guilfoyle said:
June 22nd, 2017 at 7:46 pm