I’m sure you heard about a Canadian sniper that reportedly set a new world record by taking down an ISIS target from a distance of about 2.2 miles. The exact distance of the shot was 11,316 feet (3,772 yards), taken by a special forces sniper from Canada’s Joint Task Force 2. In an official Forces Canadiennes statement, “The Canadian Special Operations Command can confirm that a member of the Joint Task Force 2 successfully hit a target from 3,540 metres [2.2 miles].”
http://www.range365.com/canadian-sniper-breaks-record-with-22-mile-shot/
http://www.duffelblog.com/2017/06/canadian-sniper-kill-shot-record/
One suggested motivator for this:
Here’s a commentary about this. Please comment with your thoughts below.
Jason Brown
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=42212919
A dozen shots at a dozen ISIS combatants 2 miles away and you’re bound to hit one. The vital zone is smaller than the zone where a quarter of the shots under controlled conditions would land. These guys are never alone. If he could reliably hit one with one shot, one kill certainty, then why weren’t there multiple kills? The reason is that this was a lucky shot.
Ten inch vital zone at 3,540m is 0.25MOA. That rifle shoots 0.5MOA BEFORE you throw in the Coriolis effect, which will move the point of impact between 7 to 10 inches depending on the actual time of flight of the bullet, but can’t be can’t be determined any better than that due to variability in muzzle velocity from shot to shot. That time of flight is also going to be affected by the inconsistent air density along the 4km arc of flight. This will also affect the amount of spin drift. Mathematically, this is like hitting a bullseye that’s smaller than the point of the dart. Do the math. Learn about long range shooting. Spend some time on the thousand yard range with guys that hold world records. Or better yet, answer that question – If this was a reliable one shot kill, why was there only one kill when the ISIS combat doctrine presents multiple targets…
This was walked into a crowd just like Craig Harrison’s shots, no doubt about it. World record 1,000yd benchrest is 0.3MOA where Coriolis is negligible with handloads that have a standard deviation of only a few feet per second and heavy support on concrete bases that weigh a ton. Obviously, a tactical rifle is not going to match that, and at over triple the distance, that group will open up due to variables that cannot be calculated such as uneven air density which no ballistic computer will predict. Hitting that first shot, cold bore is statistically like rolling six-sized dice and getting a 6.33, or measuring 0.0004″ with digital calipers that read to the nearest 0.001″, or measuring your speed to 1/10th MPH with a speedometer that has an accuracy of plus or minus 1MPH. If the error ellipse is larger than the target, the hit probably is less than 1.
John M. Buol Jr.
Jun 27, 2017 @ 09:36:43
The sniper and spotter that pulled this off are undoubtedly very skilled but, despite the butthurt it will likely cause, Jason Brown’s analysis is spot on.
The odd thing is, I’d wager the people involved would agree and concede there was an element of luck, rather like “Billy” Dixon at the Second Battle of Adobe Walls. That doesn’t dimish the accomplishment as luck tends to favor the skilled and well prepared.
Long Range competitors making such a pinwheeled shot would plot it with glee, then reflect that they need to do it 14 or 19 more times in a row for it to really matter.
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Grant
Jun 27, 2017 @ 10:00:59
Sorry, never saw Mr Brown’s name anywhere in the standings along with the “World record Holders”.
Simply put, any shot that connects beyond the consistent grouping ability of the rifle and the ammo, even from a cradle, requires luck.
50 BMG rifles and their ammo are not the epitome of precision accuracy.
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John M. Buol Jr.
Jun 27, 2017 @ 10:04:11
>> Simply put, any shot that connects beyond the consistent grouping ability of the rifle and the ammo, even from a cradle, requires luck.
A thoughtful and more succinct analysis!
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John M. Buol Jr.
Jul 06, 2017 @ 11:46:49
The difference between snipers and competitors…
A sniper manages to pull it off once (even after an undisclosed number of sighters and misses) and he’s a hero.
A competitor is expected to do it repeatedly and more consistently than everyone else attempting the exact same thing.
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