Canadian sniper’s longest shot

| June 22, 2017

According to USAToday, a Canadian sniper has shattered the record for the longest shot with a rifle;

“The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh [Islamic State] attack on Iraqi security forces,” a military source — who requested anonymity because the unit’s operations are classified — told the paper. “Instead of dropping a bomb that could potentially kill civilians in the area, it is a very precise application of force and because it was so far way, the bad guys didn’t have a clue what was happening.”

The 3,450-meter shot, which took about 10 seconds to reach its target, was independently verified by a video camera and other data, the source said.

The prior record was held by a British sniper, Craig Harrison, who in 2009 shot a Taliban gunner from 2,475 meters, or about a mile and a half, away during an operation in Afghanistan.

According to the Globe and Mail, the shooter was using a 26-pound, 57-inch long McMillan TAC-50 (C15 is the Canadian military nomenclature), which Wikipedia claims is a .50 caliber rifle with a maximum effective range of 1800 meters and 805 meters/second muzzle velocity.

The rifle is made in Arizona.

Category: Terror War

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ChipNASA

Not included in the multiple news sources, after he took the shot and it was confirmed he was successful…..

Then he yelled “SORRY!”

Atkron

The he looked over at his spotter and said “Smokes Trevor, let’s go”

HMCS(FMF) ret

Talk about “reaching out and touching somebody”…

A Proud Canadian

Nice to see some real Canadian Talent on display, it would be a lot more entertaining if he had used a hockey puck preferably frozen.

HMCS(FMF) ret

Howe about a curling stone?

A Proud Canadian

That works as well, as long as the curling stone was well coated in bacon grease.

HMCS(FMF) ret

LOL!

The Other Whitey

That’s at least the second time a Canuck has set the record with that same rifle. See Rob Furlong’s shot in Afghanistan for a previous world record. That McMillan is a hell of a rifle!

A Proud Canadian

Us Canadians are a quiet bunch, if you do wrong we won’t hesitate to reach out and shoot you.

Graybeard

And yall do some great work in the ‘stan as well.

The Other Whitey

I’m familiar with numerous events around the world dating to at least 1900 that demonstrate that our Neighbors To the North are not to be fucked with when the gloves come off. Passchendaele and Juno Beach are but two among many that come to mind.

IDC SARC

Yeah I was watching a Canadian Police series on Netflix…unfortunately, it looks like you have been infiltrated with more than your fair share of over-entitled snowflakes…they’re like a cancer

A Proud Canadian

By any chance were you watching ” you are under arrest?”
that series is just a collection of clips from the show ” To Serve and Protect” Canada is indeed being over run by snowflakes if I could I’d go to Texas.

Graybeard

We’d be proud to have you – but I have to warn you there are parts where the heat+humidity make it hard on folks. Other places it’s just the heat. /grin

On the other hand, our mosquitoes are not nearly as vicious as what I’ve experienced in Ontario Provincial Park – although I love canoeing there whenever I can get up that way.

A Proud Canadian

Well looks like I’d have an adjustment to take from the liberal bastion of the west coast. To a bastion of freedom caring, friendly people who are not afraid to tell speak their mind.

Graybeard

Folks in Texas are, as a rule, pretty good about lending a hand whenever you need one. That’s true for most areas of the Old South.

Just avoid areas that voted for Canckles Pantsuit, bless her heart, in the last election – although even there you’ll find a lot of fine folks.

Back in the late 70’s early 80’s I was in grad school at Rice U (Houston) with a young lady from Boston. The culture shock for her was something else. But the night before she left she called me up to say she was drinking herself under the table at the thought of leaving that Southern hick town.

The Southern culture kinda grows on you.

David

rather like athlete’s foot…. and I say that having spent most of the last 30 years in Texas and planning on staying here.
Our skeeters aren’t as big as Ontario’s, and most of our lakes don’t have leeches, either. Come on down.

Graybeard

I’d forgotten about the leeches. One of my Scouts picked up a couple once… ick.

Patricia

Thanks Canada. It’s a hell of an achievement! Well done!

desert

Good things come from Arizona…..err….except McCain!!

Atkron

2.14 miles

Ex-PH2

I get 2.15625 miles.

Atkron

I guess my app sucks at math more than me.

Ex-PH2

No it doesn’t. I used 3.3 feet per meter, which is close. Some of the stuff I write has to use the metric/Celsius system.

Still, that’s a mile in maybe 5+ seconds? Speedy bullets!

David

.3048 meters to the foot. Longer damn way than I can shoot. And MV for the round he was using supposedly is 2700 fps. Big thing is mass of the bullet – by the time it arrived it was probably slowed down to near 1000 fps, which is in the handgun range – but the bullet weighs almost as much as three .45 bullets. Gonna hurt.

Hondo

See my comment below. Average velocity over the 10 seconds of bullet flight was somewhat over 1,100 ft/sec, so the velocity at impact was much lower than that. At impact, I’d guess high subsonic.

However, even at high subsonic velocity the impact of a .50 BMG bullet would be equivalent to getting hit with a .357 Magnum at point-blank range. I believe that falls into the “guaranteed to ruin your whole day” category. (smile)

Sea Dragon

2.143731 by calculator.

HMC Ret

Google says 2.143731.

But …. I was promised there would be no maf on TAH.

11B-mailclerk

With apologies to Steve Martin:

Born in Arizona.
Moved to Babylonia.
(Shooter’s nerves made outta stona..)
King …………… PHUTT!

11b-mailclerk

(Crickets)

…see… The -rifle- is from Arizona…. Iraq used to be Babylon…..

(Crickets)

Steve Martin made comedy look -easy-

Back to my server room….

Graybeard

Sorry – 11b, I missed the reference. I’m not up on Steve Martin comedy routines.

11B-Mailclerk

Song was “King Tut”

Skippy

Talk about Reaching out and touching someone. Nice ! ! !

Green Thumb

Damn.

High speed.

Thunderstixx

One word…

BINGO !!!!!!!

Deplorable B Woodman

Was this feat of sniperdom accomplished on the first shot?

IDC SARC

To the classical elements, earth, water, air, and fire there has been added this fearsome, yet unnamed power.

BZ!

MrBill

Way to nail that hoser, eh!

Sparks

That is an awesome and hard to imagine shot. With all due respect to this shooter, it was also great work by his spotter as well. Team Canada!

26Limabeans

Ten seconds to target is a loooooonnnggg time.

OC

I ain’t sure how they are now, but under ol’ jug ears, the ROE would have taken him about two hours to get the green light for the shot and the douche would have been long gone.

Graybeard

He’s Canadian – jug-ears didn’t have a say.

Thank God.

A Proud Canadian

The best part of this deal is that Canada is increasing the amount of our SOF forces as trainers from 69 to 200+. While not authorized to engage in direct battle, they are authorized to put warheads on foreheads.

Graybeard

BZ

I suppose 2+ miles counts as not engaging in direct battle.

A Proud Canadian

yeah its gray area for sure I think the government up here defines direct battle as kicking in doors and shooting fuckers in the face.

desert

Too bad…now he can’t get a C.I.B., because the battle was 2 miles away ! LOL thats the way our retarded govt works…I couldn’t get a A.F.E.M. because I was off Vietnam on a carrier before 1965!..then they changed it, but now no one that was there before ’65 can be determined to be a wartime veteran….ain’t politicians “special” tho?

HMC Ret

‘Ridding the world of scum, ten seconds at a time.’

RCAF_Chairborne

Hell of a day for that Terrorist. First he wins a 750gn Solid, then 72 virgin goats.

A proud day to be a CDN Vet!

Just An Old Dog

Talk about humbling that shot was about 7 times the distance of the longest shot I ever took. At a live and not a paper target as well.

jonp

idk…who stands still for 10secs?

Just An Old Dog

Reminds me of Union General John Sedgewick on May 9, 1864 when the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House was just starting. His staff and members of a nearby artillery were flinching and dodging as Rebel Sharpshooters started firing from 1000 yards away. His last words were “Why are you dodging like this? They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dista……”
He was shot right below his left eye by a Whitworth rifle.

RCAF_Chairborne

I had the opportunity to fire an original Whitworth with proper hexagonal minies.
I was unfamiliar with it but im sure in the hands of an expert, it could do everything a .308 Rem700 could do. But with a bigger hole and greater knockdown power.

Joseph Williams

I am wondering if he was using our ammo ? In the past for record making shots. American ammo was used because the Canucks feel our ammo is better for the long distance shot. Joe

RCAF_Chairborne

Our usual ammo is produced in Canada by IVI. Decent, hot ammo. Excellent brass for handloading too, after you remove the primer crimp.
Our ‘Match’ ammo is made by Hornady- the best stuff!!

RCAF_Chairborne

Our Meatheads, SF dudes and whoever else uses a SIG instead of an Inglis HP…. feed their SIGs Federal Commercial ammo as the NATO 9×19+p stuff beats them to hell.

11B-Mailclerk

Makes sense. NATO 9mm is mainly intended as SMG fodder, if I am not mistaken.

Hondo

Damn nice shot.

For those wondering about lethality at that range, here’s a “quick and dirty” analysis.

Since the round took approx 10 seconds to get to the target, the round’s average speed was around 345 m/sec – or well over 1,100 ft/sec. However, air resistance slows rounds after they leave the muzzle. This would guarantee that the round was traveling substantially less than the overall average speed at impact.

Let’s assume the round was traveling at around 200 m/sec (about 650 ft/sec) at impact. The BMG .50 bullet is huge – the heavier ones weigh 49 and 52 grams (750 and 800 grains). So even at the subsonic velocity of 200 m/sec, the bullet would still have somewhere around 700+ ft-lbs (about 900 J) of energy at impact.

For comparison: per Wikipedia, a .357 Magnum fired from a 4″ barrel has somewhere between about 537 and 802 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle, depending on the specific bullet used. The .50 BMG at 3,450 m would still have had energy in that range.

So yeah – even at 3,450m, the Canadian sniper’s round’s impact kinda ruined Akbar’s whole day. (smile)

26Limabeans

I’m curious as to the elevation of the shooter.
A 10 second drop is a long way down.
The math works out fine but damn, the shooter must have been perched pretty high.

11b-mailclerk

The rifle lobs the round upwards.

Graybeard

I think I read a report that he was on the top of a building when he shot.

BlueCord Dad

I bet that left a mark. And stung a bit too!
👍

11b-mailclerk

Floats like a butterfly.

Stings like an 8 pound sledge….

Poet, i am not……

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