Could a sniper do this on purpose?

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A shot at a moving target at ~880 yds. is gonna be a very good shot with a bit of luck involved. Hitting the passenger with the same bullet is not a hugely UNlikely thing, if you think about the position of two people sitting in the front seat of a car and assume the shot is perpendicular to the line of travel. But not something you'd specifically set out to do.

Some times the shot just presents itself. I've known hunters who killed two deer or two birds with one shot. I've seen a pair of clay pigeons cross each other's paths at JUST the right moment and smoked them both with one shell. It happens. You don't go out into the field looking for that shot, though.
 
On a moving target, probably more luck than skill. On a stationary target, yes. I've known of hunters who have waited on turkey to line up to take 2 birds with one shot.

I've also known of deer hunters taking 2 with one shot. In each of those cases there was an unseen deer and it was unintentional.
 
One of the gun safety rules I've had drummed into me goes "Before pulling the trigger, clearly identify the target and the background." Hunting you don't want to be responsible for collateral damage on a miss or complete penetration. But in combat, if the target is the enemy and the collateral damage is another enemy, one will take the shot. The two-for-one is usually an accident not an intentional set-up.
 
Could he do it on purpose? Possibly, assuming he trained for that sort of thing. Of course, once the bullet goes into the first target, where it will go after that is a guess as it could be stopped or manage to deflect various directions, many of which would include missing the second person.
 
I think I read about a English sniper that took out 6 Taliban with one shot. He hit the one that was wearing a explosive vest. HAHAHAHAHA Tailban mush.
 
Considering the bullet can and will defect in an effectively random direction after hitting the first guy, sounds like luck to me. But I'm sure he'll take it when he can get it.
 
Possibly, but considering how fast those sharpshooters work the bolts on their rifles he was ready to go at it again sending another bullet 'down range ' if the passenger had survived.
 
He used a .338 Lapua which is a very powerful cartridge, in a very accurate sniper rifle, and fired 2 "check" shots to gauge windage, according to the report. There's no mention of how fast the truck was going, nor of the angle off the bore, so I believe he made this shot. Go get some more, man!
 
That's an awfully long shot on a moving target. A hit at that distance, on a moving target, although requiring mucho skill, has to be accompanied by a lot of luck! A still target is a different story.

It an all or nothing situation. If he hits one, he gets both, do to the angle. If he misses one, he misses both!
 
the part that is luck was whether the second guy was in the passenger seat or the back seat. hitting the first guy is skill, and the 338lm is coming out of the first guy with plenty of energy left, so it's hard to say he hit two "on purpose" unless he knew where they would be sitting before hand (highly unlikely) and changed his location so he could specifically do that.
honestly, if they knew bombers were coming and what car they would be in, i doubt a 2-for-1 sniper shot would be "plan A".

hitting a moving target at highway speeds is really hard, even if it's coming straight at you (guy in back seat), but especially if it's moving at 90* (guy in passenger seat)

still, great plan and well executed. congrats to him
 
I don't know if the Sniper's 'intention' was to connect with both targets. I suspect hitting the one 'moving' primary target would be challenge enough.

That said, depending upon circumstance...it is a reasonable expectation that a secondary target situated close to first would/could be struck as well. Provided you have complete penetration....'something' else is going to be hit.

I use a .458 SOCOM for Feral Hog Control on my property and make it a point to wait for hogs to 'line up' before taking a shot. 'Doubles' are common.

With a 405 gr. soft point, two hogs are no problem. With a 540 gr. Hardcast...as many hogs as will line up are in peril.

I'm sure experienced Snipers are well aware that 'bonus' targets are doable under the right conditions.
 
I once shot 3 P-dogs with one shot, lucky that they presented the shot but it was on purpose.
 
I think bullets path can't be predicted with 100% reliability after they hit a target that is not consistent in its construction (like a human body). For reference check out the path of Owsalds shot that hit his target and then a second person (Gov. Connally).
 
It is a witnessed event that on more than one occasion Marine Sniper Carlos Hathcock killed more than one target with a single shot.
Most of these shots were at relatively close range for a sniper but at least one case involved a long distance shot.

I believe he also made multiple hit single shots using a modified Browning M2 .50 caliber machinegun but don't hold me to that.
 
Acera said:
I think bullets path can't be predicted with 100% reliability after they hit a target that is not consistent in its construction (like a human body). For reference check out the path of Owsalds shot that hit his target and then a second person (Gov. Connally).
Click to expand...
Yeah, but he was using a magic bullet if I recall. :)
 
Snipers will intentionally try and get a 2 for 1 special on ammo. Sometimes it works out like in this case. Oftentimes it does not. It is really bragging rights more than anything. Sort of a "Remember that time I killed two bad guys with one bullet? Cause I do."

I was spotting for one of our guys who was to take out a HVT who was inside his house. We could see him through the window and was about 550 meters away. The guy I was spotting for was hoping to get both occupants in one shot since they were both high values. The shot never presented after about 3 hours of waiting.
 
Acera said:
I think bullets path can't be predicted with 100% reliability after they hit a target that is not consistent in its construction (like a human body). For reference check out the path of Owsalds shot that hit his target and then a second person (Gov. Connally).
Click to expand...
Oswald's shots, if he was the shooter, were at very close ranges, about 240 feet, as I recall. Big, Big difference!
 
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