Longest recorded sniper kills

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.

The McMillan Tac-50 rifle Corporal Rob Furlong used.

Reports regarding the longest recorded sniper kill 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 long history since 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.

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, elevation, and even the rotation of the earth under the bullet of the sniper and target. Mistakes in estimation compound over distance and can cause a shot to only injure, or to miss completely.

Devices such as laser rangefinders, handheld meteorological measuring equipment, handheld computers, and ballistic-prediction software can contribute to increased accuracy.

History

The science of long-range sniping came to fruition in the Vietnam War. Carlos Hathcock held the record from 1967 to 2002 at 2,286 m (2,500 yd). He recorded 93 official kills before an injury halted his service on the front lines. After returning to the U.S., Hathcock helped to establish a school for training Marine snipers, the Marine Corps Scout Sniper School, at the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia. It took over thirty years for Canadian Master Corporal Arron Perry of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry to beat Hathcock's record. Perry held the title for only 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 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 Briton Corporal of Horse (CoH) Craig Harrison, recorded a 2,475 m (2,707 yd) shot in November 2009 also during in the War in Afghanistan; in which he shot two machine gunners consecutively.

Unconfirmed Australian claim

In October 2012, Chris Masters, a reporter for the Australian The Daily Telegraph, quoted an unnamed source that claimed that an unknown Australian soldier from Delta Company, 2nd Commando Regiment had made a shot at 2,815 m (3,079 yd) using a .50 cal Barrett M82 rifle in Afghanistan. If this shot is confirmed it will have broken the 2,475 m (2,707 yd) record held by Craig Harrison. In the Daily Telegraph article Masters claimed that multiple shooters were engaged in a targeted kill mission. The Master's news article has however not been confirmed by either the Australian military nor by the Australian government, and the article in The Daily Telegraph remains the only source for it, so it can not be included in the list.

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

Sniper	Date	Distance	Weapon	Ammunition	Nationality	Military Unit	Conflict
Corporal of Horse (CoH) Craig Harrison	Nov-09	2,475 m (2,707 yd)	Accuracy International L115A3	.338 Lapua Magnum LockBase B408 bullets	United Kingdom	Household Cavalry – Life Guards	War in Afghanistan
Corporal Rob Furlong	Mar-02	2,430 m (2,657 yd)	McMillan Tac-50	Hornady A-MAX .50 (.50 BMG)	Canada	3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry	War in Afghanistan
Master Corporal Arron Perry	Mar-02	2,310 m (2,526 yd)	McMillan Tac-50	Hornady A-MAX .50 (.50 BMG)	Canada	3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry	War in Afghanistan
Sgt. Brian Kremer	Mar-04	2,300 m (2,515 yd)	Barrett M82A1	Raufoss NM140 MP (.50 Cal)	United States	2nd Ranger Battalion	Iraq war
Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock	Feb-67	2,286 m (2,500 yd)	M2 Browning machine gun	.50 BMG	United States	United States Marine Corps	Vietnam war
Nicholas Ranstad	Jan-08	2,092 m (2,288 yd)	Barrett M82A1	.50 BMG	United States	United States Army 1-91 Cav/173d ABCT	War in Afghanistan
Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle	Aug-08	1,920 m (2,100 yd)	McMillan Tac-338	.338 Lapua Magnum	United States	US Navy SEAL - Team 3, Charlie	Iraq war
Corporal Christopher Reynolds	Aug-09	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
Billy Dixon	June 1874	1,406 m (1,538 yd)	Sharps .50-90	.50-90 Sharps	United States	Civilian Buffalo Hunter	American Indian Wars
Unknown Norwegian sniper	Nov-07	1,380 m (1,509 yd)	Barrett M82A1	Raufoss NM140 MP (.50 Cal)	Norway	Norwegian Army 2nd Battalion	War in Afghanistan
Staff Sergeant Jim Gilliland	27-Sep-05	1,250 m (1,367 yd)	M24 rifle	7.62x51mm NATO	United States	2nd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division Sniper Shadow Team	Iraq war

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  Rob Furlong

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  Craig Harrison

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  Carlos Hathcock

See also

• History of sniping
• Francis Pegahmagabow, a Canadian sniper with 378 confirmed kills, the highest in World War I.
• Simo Häyhä, the Finnish sniper, who, using a standard iron-sighted bolt-action rifle, recorded the highest number of confirmed kills in any major war (505 or 542).
• SSG Adelbert Waldron, an American sniper who currently holds the record for the highest number of confirmed kills for American snipers during the Vietnam War (109).
• Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a Soviet sniper during World War II, credited with 309 kills, and is regarded as the most successful female sniper in history.
• Vasily Zaytsev, the Soviet sniper who amassed 225 kills during the Battle of Stalingrad.