Reports regarding the longest recorded sniper kills that contain information regarding the shooting distance and the identity of the sniper have been presented to the general public since 1967. Snipers have had a substantial history following the development of long distance weaponry. As weapons, ammunition, and aids to determine ballistic solutions improved, so too did the distance from which a kill could be targeted. In mid-2017 it was reported that an unnamed Canadian special forces operator, based in Iraq, had set a new record of 35400NaN0, beating the record previously held by an Australian sniper (also unnamed) at 28150NaN0. In November 2023, the record was once again broken by 58-year old sniper, Viacheslav Kovalskyi of the Security Service of Ukraine, who shot a Russian soldier from a distance of 38000NaN0 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Although optical equipment such as rangefinders and ballistic calculators have largely eliminated manual calculations to determine elevation and windage, the fundamentals of accurate and precise long-range shooting remain essentially the same since the early history of shooting, and the skill and training of the shooter, and the shooter's spotter where applicable, are the primary factors. Accuracy and precision of ammunition and firearms are also still reliant primarily on human factors and attention to detail in the complex process of producing maximum performance.
The modern method of long-distance sniping (shots over 1100meters) 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 the shooter's distance from the target, wind direction, wind speed, air density, elevation, and even the Coriolis effect. Mistakes in estimation compound over distance and can cause a shot to only injure, or to miss completely. Any given combination of firearm and ammunition will have an associated value, known as the circular error probable (CEP), defined as the radius of a circle whose boundary is expected to contain the impact points of half of the rounds fired.[6]
If the shooter wishes to improve accuracy, increase range, or both, the accuracy of estimates of external factors must improve accordingly. At extreme ranges, highly accurate estimates are required and even with the most accurate estimates, hitting the target becomes subject to uncontrollable factors. For example, a rifle capable of firing a ½ or 0.5 MOA (approximately 0.5 inch center to center of the two holes furthest apart) 5-round group (often referred to as "grouping") at 100 yards will theoretically fire a 12.5 inch group at 2,500 yards (0.5 × 2,500/100 = 12.5). Unless the group is centered perfectly on the target at 100 yards, the 2,500-yard group will be centered 25 times the off-center error at 100 yards. This example ignores all other factors and assumes no-wind shooting conditions, identical muzzle velocities, and identical ballistic performance for each shot.
Devices such as laser rangefinders, handheld meteorological measuring equipment, handheld computers, and ballistic-prediction software can contribute to increased accuracy (i.e. reduced CEP), although they rely on proper use and training to realize any advantages. In addition, as instruments of measure, they are subject to accuracy errors and malfunction. Handheld meteorological instruments only measure conditions at the location they are used. Wind direction and speed can vary dramatically along the path of the bullet.
The science of long-range sniping came to fruition in the Vietnam War. US Marine Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock held the record from 1967 to 2002 at 22860NaN0. He recorded 93 official kills. After returning to the US, Hathcock helped to establish the Marine Corps Scout Sniper School at Quantico, Virginia.
In addition to his success as a USMC scout-sniper during multiple deployments to Vietnam, Hathcock competed in multiple USMC shooting teams. Hathcock also won the 1966 Wimbledon Cup, which is earned by the winner of the US 1,000-yard high-powered rifle National Championship. Even after being severely burned during an attack on an Amtrac on which he was riding in his efforts to rescue other soldiers, which earned him a Silver Star, and after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Hathcock continued to serve, shoot and instruct. In Vietnam, Hathcock also completed missions involving a "through the scope" shot which killed an enemy sniper specifically hunting him, and a multiple-day solo stalk and kill of an enemy general.
Hathcock's record stood until Canadian sniper Arron Perry of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry exceeded it with a shot of 2310meters. Perry held the title for only a few days, as another man in his unit, Corporal Rob Furlong, beat Perry's distance with a 24300NaN0 shot in March 2002. Perry and Furlong were part of a six-man sniper team during 2002's Operation Anaconda, part of the War in Afghanistan.
Corporal Furlong's record was bested by a British soldier, Corporal of Horse Craig Harrison, of the Blues and Royals, Household Cavalry, who recorded two consecutive 24750NaN0 shots (confirmed by GPS) in November 2009, also during the War in Afghanistan, in which he hit two Taliban insurgents consecutively. Harrison killed the two Taliban machine gunners with shots that took the 8.59 mm (0.338 inch) rounds almost five seconds to hit their targets, which were 900meters beyond the L115A3 sniper rifle's recommended range. A third shot took out the insurgents' machine gun. The rifle used was made by Accuracy International.[7]
In June 2017, an unnamed sniper from Canada's Tier 1 special forces unit, Joint Task Force 2, surpassed the 2009 record by over 1000meters, with a 35400NaN0 shot in the Iraqi Civil War. As with the previous two Canadian records, a McMillan TAC-50 with .50 BMG ammunition was used.
In November 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, an unnamed special agent with the Security Service of Ukraine, surpassed the previous world record by shooting a Russian soldier from a distance of 3,800 meters (2.36 miles). The sniper used a Ukrainian-made, multi-caliber anti-materiel sniper rifle named Volodar Obriyu . The ammunition used was a newly developed .50 caliber round named 12.7×114 mm HL, which was made by necking down a 14.5×114 mm case.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
This list is not exhaustive, as such data is generally not tracked nor managed under any official procedure. For example, the 2002 Canadian Army sniper team that saw two soldiers set consecutive new records (Arron Perry at 23100NaN0 and Rob Furlong at 24300NaN0), also made a number of kills at 1500m (4,900feet) that are not counted here.[8] The list also shows that, in some cases, an armed force command may choose to withhold the name of the sniper for security reasons.