Think YOU Can Shoot A Long Ways? 10 Longest Sniper Shots In History

[Love Life]

We read the title. All was fine until one poster started calling other posters who didn't agree with his statement "Keyboard Commandos". Then the same poster told people to shoot at distances and report back. Posters did that. There was also a question of military service in there somewhere.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Yeah, I figured Doug or some other would show up to take some wind out of the "expert's" sails.
By the way, our local long range club has members shooting groups of under 3" at 1000 yards.

Another serious shooter.

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/...at-1000-yards/

Methinks the expert needs to step away from his keyboard before he shoots himself in the foot again.

I sort of anticipated that everybody would pretty soon take the wind out of everybody's sails, which sounds like everybody living by taking in each other's washing, to me. I can't help remembering Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur's Court, who was close to being overmatched in a contest of clairvoyance with fellow-wizards. They were much better at saying what the King and Queen were doing in Camelot, half a roadless and forested country away. He had no way of contradicting them. Then he asked "What do I have in my pocket?"

I don't know what made me think of that just now.

[ascast]

yup, lots of practice, good equipment, good spotter, more practice and a touch of good luck. Outstanding anyway you looks at it.

Adam Helmer - any Indians chasing you?

[PAT303]

We read the title. All was fine until one poster started calling other posters who didn't agree with his statement "Keyboard Commandos". Then the same poster told people to shoot at distances and report back. Posters did that. There was also a question of military service in there somewhere.

The guys a sniper,we aren't,so to him we are keyboard commandos,thats not taking anything away from the shooting done by members here,a good showing of some of the impressive abilities people have. Pat

[tdoyka]

very impressive!!! thanks lead pot and dk17hmr

[dubber123]

Yep,do it again after spending all night in the pissing down rain or lying in the open at the end of a hot summers day with the target at an unknown range across the desert with a cross wind,no sighters,no wind flags,not on a rifle range with marked out ranges and if you stuff up the target shoots back,and you have to get into position by crawling the last few 100 meters dragging your rifle along the ground beside you,see how lucky you are then. Pat

Thats their job. It's what they do. I wouldn't expect them to do it every time, but way more often than me, and likely you. I'm quite sure they know the range before the bolt is even closed. I doubt too many of these shots are made in the "pissing down rain", as most of the long ones are made in the sandbox. Credit where credit is due. I'm not standing at a mile+ and letting any of these guys take a shot at me, my odds aren't so good.

[M-Tecs]

For those that want to calculate a trajectory from bullet, velocity, firearm and atmospheric parameters the JBM works great and it free.

http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

A Hornady 50 cal. A-Max 750 grain started at 2,800 FPS drops 3,019.1" at 2,600 yards. Ten mile per hour full value wind drift is very good at 327.8"

A Sierra 30 cal 175 grain HPBT Match King started at 2,800 FPS drops 7,002.3" at 2,600 yards and drifts 772.2" with the same full value 10 mph wind.

Unless you have your own ballistics lab or you drop test getting the BC's of cast bullets is a guess. This site does rough calculations

http://www.handloads.com/calc/

For the Billy Dixon 1,538 yard shot the numbers are as follows.

http://www.guns.com/2011/09/23/billy...538-yard-shot/

http://www.levergun.com/articles/bdixon.htm

He used a 50 2 1/2". If he used a 700 grain bullet at 1,100 with a BC of .4 using the G1 model he would have had 5,531.6 inches of drop at 1,600 yards with 330.1" of drift for a 10 mph full value wind.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

As I said before, I am sure they have numerous technical aids we know about, and no doubt others we don't. I've spent the last fifteen years in NE Saudi Arabia, and there are times when dust shows localized flurries of wind passing across the desert, and other times when they don't show. There are endless sorts of optical illusion as well. Other climates have other problems, but I never heard of a climate with none, unless it is on the moon.

Of course there is luck in these things. But luck is fickle. People who trust to it get less lucky than those who put effort and thought into doing everything right.

Of course an enemy of your country may be heartily glad to make it into hospital with a peripheral hit. But I wonder what we would think of someone hunting deer at a range where he would feel confident of a two to three foot group? I can't see anything less deserving in a mile-off groundhog.

[popper]

But try this @ 1000. Skill, not 'luck'.Yes, a big target, but? The reason that you see pictures or lithographs from that time period with men shooting from a fully reclining position with the barrel of the rifle nested between their feet is because the rules of the day dictated that “Any position can be assumed, but no artificial rest is permitted either for the rifle or person of the shooter.” Breech loading Remington Rolling Blocks and Sharps rifles in 1874.

[Red River Rick]

Nice to see #'s 2 & 3....................are Canadian Forces.............Prince Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry are based here in Winnipeg.

RRR

[M-Tecs]

The Creedmoor position, credited to Major Henry Fulton, was one of the positions used for long range. Due the sight height required for the cartridges of the day it was very effective but it fell from favor with the raise of the flatter shooting 30 cal rifles. It found favor again with the IHMSA crowd.

http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com...creedmoor.html

http://firearmshistory.blogspot.com/...-position.html

http://www.dmatney.com/files/1874_Creedmore_Match.pdf

Some pics of BPCR shooting Credmoor http://www.ssaa.org.au/competition-i...rifle_may2.pdf

[popper]

Thanks M-Tecs, I couldn't get those from another site to load. Interesting firing position, not sure I could handle it.

[sharpsguy]

Billy Dixon did not use a 700 grain bullet to make the shot at Adobe Walls with the 50 2 1/2. He used a factory 473 grain paper patched bullet pushed by 100 grains of 1F black powder. According to his biography, on the second day, the defenders in Hanrahan's saloon were running low on ammunition, so he (Dixon) and Hanrahan made a dash for Rath's store where there were "thousands of rounds" of ammunition for sale to the buffalo hunters. Dixon stayed at Rath's, while Hanrahan went back to his saloon with ammunition.

The Sharps factory never loaded a 700 grain bullet in their factory ammo, and anybody that has shot a 50-90 with a 700 grain bullet will tell you that shooting a 700 grain bullet for 50 to 100 rounds a day would cripple nearly any one in a week. Recoil on the 473 grain load is stiff enough. No professional hunter would or could stand up to a 700 grain load for any period of time, and most buffalo hunters used factory ammunition when it was available.

[Dusty Ed]

Howdy Fellers
According to the Book 93 confirmed kills , they would send Carlos out to different bases all over Viet Nam he would take his scope an mount to use on any Browning 50 cal.

Dusty Ed

[tdoor4570]

I got to meet Carlos in april of 1967 also got to see him shoot, Picked up a few pointers on how to dope out wind from him befor I had to go back to the delta Got out of nam in 1971

[cainttype]

Many years ago, I knew an older gentleman that had served in combat in both Korea and Vietnam. He was one of the early "advisors" deployed to Vietnam. He possessed a wealth of knowledge regarding firearms and history.
He told me that during a more-or-less static period of being dug into hillsides in Korea he had his wife mail him a scope. On arrival, it was mounted to a Browning .50 exactly like Hathcock's was done, but about 15 years earlier (some ideas are worth keeping).
He said that shortly after putting the new anti-sniper weapon into service the enemy backed off several hills in the distance. Ma-Deuce had virtually eliminated the threat of enemy sniper fire in his area.
What a wonderful man he was. This thread has brought back some fond memories.

[Echo]

As I remember from the book, the VC appeared to be a young boy, and he was wheeling a bicycle loaded down with supplies. Carlos put the first shot into the bike, disabling it, because he felt that the VC was just a kid. But when the bike went down the VC whipped out an AK, whereupon Carlos decided he was a combatant and took him out along with his bike. That was his story and he stuck with it.

[13Echo]

My favorite sniper weapon was the 8" howitzer. Close was close enough out to 16,800 Meters.

[tygar]

As someone that has shot 1k which is a heck of a lot shorter than 2500+ - "it ain't easy"! Not so much the distance since that is a know quantity once you know your BC & speed, but reading wind that can be going several different ways in the course of that distance, is key.

I have several rifles that shoot 2" at 500 & if the wind is less than 10 it's not hard. But, as soon as you try that next 500 it gets a lot different.

As a Marine, Carlos is "my" hero & I know that all these guys have something special to be able to make those shots (especially a good spoter).

But, one of the "best" shots ever & probably the most important ever, was Timothy Murphy's shot at the battle of Saratoga in 1777. He was know as one the "best" marksman in a band of marksmen, General Morgans, "Morgans Riflemen".

He was told he needed to shoot the British General Simon Fraser as he was rallying the British troops.

Murphy took his flintlock long rifle & at 300 or more yds. His first shot was a near miss, his second clipped the Generals horse & his third killed the General. Then Sir Francis Clerke, another senior officer who rode up to try & rally the troops & Murphy's last shot killed him DRT.

It is generally credited that that "single" act of killing the 2 Brits, won the battle & turned the tide of the Revolution.

You muzzle loader guys are far more knowledgeable about them than I but shooting a round ball 300+yds, with those little course sites they had, with a near miss, a graze to the horse & 2 kills, has to be about as good as it gets!

[Good Cheer]

Once served dinner with rice after popping it on the wing with a .32ACP.
Had some bullfrogs too. No gravy though.
Is that far enough?