The longest range recorded for a sniper kill currently stands at 2,430 meters (2,657 yd, or 1.51 miles), accomplished by Master Corporal Rob Furlong, a sniper from Newfoundland, Canada, in March 2002 during the war in Afghanistan. Furlong made this record-breaking kill while he was participating in Operation Anaconda. He was a member of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). To make the kill, he used a .50 caliber BMG (12.7 mm) McMillan TAC-50 bolt-action rifle.[18] Utilizing a ballistic calculator, it is possible to reproduce the trajectory and time-in-flight of such a ranged shot. With a nominal muzzle velocity of 823 metres (2,700 ft) per second for the Hornady 750 gr A-MAX projectile, and an estimated ballistic coefficient of 1.05,[19] such a shot fired at the estimated altitude of 9,000 feet (2,700 m) for the Shah-i-Kot Valley would have taken 3.92 seconds to reach the target, and drop 155.8 feet (47.5 m) during flight. Also note at such a long range, even a light breeze of 20 kilometres (12 mi) per hour would have blown the bullet off target by 20.8 feet (6.3 m). The previous record was held by U.S. Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock in February 1967 during the Vietnam War, at a distance of more than 2,347 yards (2,146 m) using a scope-mounted Browning M2 .50 machine gun.[20][21][22] By contrast, much of the U.S./Coalition urban sniping in support of operations in Iraq is at much shorter ranges, although in one notable incident on April 3, 2003, Corporals Matt and Sam Hughes, a two-man sniper team of the Royal Marines, armed with L96 sniper rifles each killed targets at a range of about 860 metres (941 yd) with shots that, due to strong wind, had to be “fire[d] exactly 17 meters (56 ft) to the left of the target for the bullet to bend in the wind.â€[23] US Army Sniper Sgt. James Gilliland set a new record for longest confirmed kill with a 7.62mm rifle at 1367 yards on September 27,2005[24] During Operation Enduring Freedom, Spanish Navy Marine snipers shot cables hanging from the mast to the bridge of the North Korean freighter So San, smuggling Scud missiles through the waters of Socotra Island. These cables were preventing it from being boarded by fast rope for an arms inspection. The shots were made at a range of 400 yards (370 m), with rough sea, from the deck of SPS Navarra (F85), and the Marines were armed with Barrett M95 rifles.[citation needed] During Operation Harekate Yolo in Afghanistan, one Norwegian sniper of the 2nd Battalion, aiming from a trench, hit a Taliban insurgent from a distance of 1,380 meters, using 12.7 mm multi-purpose ammunition.[25] During the same operation, another Norwegian sniper shot and killed an enemy from 1360 meters (1487 yards) using a 7.62mm MSG90 rifle. It should be noted that it took three rounds to hit the insurgent.
That is impressive. I have no idea about the other countries but in the U.S. the Marines are the only branch that train with the M16A2 at 500 Meters. *assuming they still train with the A2 and not some newer model* Some of the guys I went on operations with could identify just about any military unit in the world and what weapons they used, how they trained with them, their vehicles and aircraft. I had a lot of respect for those guys. They took warfare to a highly technical and professional level. And no matter what they were ordered to do they never bitched like a fleet Marine would. They just adapted and persevered.
