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 in modern warfare 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, beating the record previously held by an Australian sniper at.
Sniper technology
Although optical equipment such as rangefinders and ballistic calculators has eliminated manual mathematical calculations to determine elevation and windage, the fundamentals of accurate and precise long-range shooting remain largely 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 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 due to the rotation of the Earth. 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, defined as the radius of a circle whose boundary is expected to contain the impact points of half of the rounds fired. If the shooter wishes to improve accuracy and precision, wishes to increase range or wishes to do all of these things, the accuracy of "estimates" of external factors must improve accordingly. At extreme ranges, extremely 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 1/2 MOA 5-round group at 100 yards will fire a theoretical 12.5" group at 2,500 yards. 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 "perfect" no-wind shooting conditions and identical muzzle velocities and ballistic performance for each shot. USMC Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock's confirmed kill in the Vietnam War was primarily due to the enemy soldier stopping his bicycle on the spot Hathcock had fired at while sighting in his Browning M2 heavy machine-gun. Devices such as laser rangefinders, handheld meteorological measuring equipment, handheld computers, and ballistic-prediction software can contribute to increased accuracy, 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.
History
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. He recorded 93 official kills. After returning to the U.S., 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 U.S. 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, 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 the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry exceeded it with a shot of. Perry held the title for only a few days, as another man in his unit beat Perry's distance with a 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 shots 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 rounds almost five seconds to hit their targets, which were 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. In June 2017, an unnamed sniper from Canada's Tier 1 special forces unit, Joint Task Force 2, surpassed the 2009 record by over, with a shot in the Iraqi Civil War. As with the previous two Canadian records, a McMillan Tac-50 with Hornady A-MAX.50 ammunition was used.
Confirmed kills or greater
This list is not exhaustive, as such data is generally not tracked nor managed under any official procedure. For example, the Canadian Army 2002 sniper team that saw two soldiers set consecutive new records, also made a number of kills at that are not counted here. The list also shows that, in some cases, an armed force command may choose to withhold the name of the sniper for security reasons.
