Canadian elite special forces sniper makes record-breaking kill shot in Iraq - 10 secs to impact

Wonder how much of that is skill and how much is luck.

2 miles....lots can happen in two miles....wind, the bullet hits a bug...pretty crazy.

fpgt72 said:

Wonder how much of that is skill and how much is luck.

2 miles....lots can happen in two miles....wind, the bullet hits a bug...pretty crazy.

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I'd say a LOOOOOOOOTTTT of that is skill!!! But there's probably a bit of luck as well.

Heck, just hoping the target stands relatively still for 10 seconds would be luck!

I can't even see a person at 2 miles.

Jack B. said:

I can't even see a person at 2 miles.

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Hell, I need a spotting scope to see a "Shoot N' See target at 50!

fpgt72 said:

Wonder how much of that is skill and how much is luck.

2 miles....lots can happen in two miles....wind, the bullet hits a bug...pretty crazy.

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You'd have to be among the MOST skilled snipers to make that shot AND have some luck.

Even at half that distance the rifle has to be rock steady to ensure a hit. Just a millimeter of movement will ruin that shot.

I would be surprised if this new record is broken in my lifetime.

I suppose it's better to be lucky than good. We have a steel target out at the "spot". Six hundred fourty two yards, by laser. If using my twenty two, I hit it on the thirty fifth shot in a fifteen mile an hour wind, I'm still going to count it. No matter how improbable.

Edit: noun usage.

That's long enough for the target to bend down, re-tie a shoe lace .. and stand back up again.

Wikipedia lists the effective range of the TAC-50 rifle at 1800 meters.
They might want to consider editing the article soon.

People shoot 308's at 1800 meters.

There was a lot of skill involved just to get the bullet close. I'm sure luck played a role in actually making the hit. With my skill level I couldn't have gotten close enough for luck to play a role.

But did he walk almost 3 & a half klicks to say, " Sorry, eh?"

bassjam said:

I'd say a LOOOOOOOOTTTT of that is skill!!! But there's probably a bit of luck as well.

Heck, just hoping the target stands relatively still for 10 seconds would be luck!

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The flight time of a 750gr AMax round out to 3450 meters is actually about 5.5 seconds, not 10 as some reporter claimed.
I'm not aware of any shoulder fired rounds that remain stable for 10 seconds.
And the sniper likely just tracked the thug to get the angular velocity correct. But the spotter gets serious credit too.

bassjam said:

I'd say a LOOOOOOOOTTTT of that is skill!!! But there's probably a bit of luck as well.

Heck, just hoping the target stands relatively still for 10 seconds would be luck!

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Probably......you are talking about 2 miles away for us 'mericans....a great deal can happen in two miles. Wind is different, temps different....heck a fly fart could toss it off.

A huge amount of luck.....yes skill as well, but I think there was a huge amount of luck.

The intent of the sniper was to put a bullet into his target and he did that .

Luck is a meaningful coincidence. I`ll assume the meaningful coincidence was good for the sniper and bad for the target.

That's an awesome shot!

10 seconds is a long time.....

The shot that's going to kill you has been fired in enough time to read this....

ants said:

Wikipedia lists the effective range of the TAC-50 rifle at 1800 meters.
They might want to consider editing the article soon.

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I don't think so. Effective range is open to definition IMO. The Army lists effective range of both the M14 and M16 as 460 meters. Most people can't hit anything beyond 200.

The actual distance was 3540 m / 3871 yd / 2.20 miles (not 3450 m).

"The round fired was a match grade armor-piercing incendiary (API) round. JTF2 mostly utilizes Schmidt and Bender scopes, but also some made by Night Force. Which optic used that day remains unknown at this time. The rifle had been customized in order to gain the mil elevation needed to reach a target at such great distances by attaching special rails to the weapon. The adjustments dialed into the scope by the JTF2 sniper were 113 mils of elevation and 6.5 mils of windage"

All I know is that guy is ten times better than I ever was. I'm too old for the "or ever will be" part.

The only luck involved was the target standing still for ten seconds. Getting the bullet to the precise spot where he stood was all skill.

This is pretty funny:

Skeptics question JTF2 sniper claim

Some military readers of Defence Watch have also raised additional questions.

“They claim that the bullet travelled just under 10 seconds before it hit the target,” said one reader. “A .50 cal. bullet travels about 850 metres per second. That’s just a little over 4 seconds to reach the target at the distance they are claiming. Why exaggerate the time it takes?”

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http://ottawacitizen.com/news/natio...iper-claim-ndp-says-it-shows-troops-in-combat

GRIZ22 said:

I don't think so. Effective range is open to definition IMO. The Army lists effective range of both the M14 and M16 as 460 meters. Most people can't hit anything beyond 200.

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Is that against point targets or area targets?

I'm pretty sure if someone can hit a man sized target at 50 with a 556 with an ACOG they can hit them past 200 with minimal trouble.

Actually 850m/s is muzzle velocity. With deceleration due to air drag, impact velocity will be 300m/s +/-. Time of flight will be 6-9seconds, depending on a number of factors. (Temperatures, elevation, drag coefficients, etc.)

Records are bench marks, intended to be broken...

added; the reporter challenging the claims works for the Washington Post, the MOST unreliable news agency in the western world. I'll take the Canadian military's word first!

GooseGestapo said:

Actually 850m/s is muzzle velocity. With deceleration due to air drag, impact velocity will be 300m/s +/-.

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Yep, I thought it was amusing.

At sea level, a calculator says these 750 gr bullets pictured below, at 2700 ft/sec, will retain 733 ft/sec at 3,540 m after 9.87 seconds (760 mm Hg, 15° C, 0% humidity). With 30° C, 725 mm Hg and 25% humidity that's 798 ft/sec and 9.24 sec. Using the manufacturer's radar drag data. I doubt the 'match grade armor-piercing incendiary (API) round' would be as efficient.