[citation needed], The science of long-range sniping came to fruition in the Vietnam War. Theyre just targets. Kyle described punching out a man, later identified as Ventura, whom he said made offensive remarks about Navy Seals. In an interview with the defence publication, Kyle said he didn't regret any of his kills in the field. But in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, at least five soldiers from three countries have made longer shots. It had to be perfect. By the end of Kyle's career, he had earned two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars. According to the company reps we spoke with at this year's NRA Annual Meetings, Kyle told the McMillan gunsmiths that insurgents had learned the effective range of his 300 Win . Specifics: Perry held the record of longest sniper shot in history for perhaps the shortest time in history. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. The movie American Sniper is a surprise box-office hit, but it has also become a lightning rod. January 1, 2012 5:00am. The sniper killed an insurgent over a mile away who was preparing to shoot a rocket at a US convoy. . DEVIL AND ANGEL: Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle watches over US Marines from his perch atop an upturned baby crib in a bombed-out building . We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Matt Holloway is a millennial, constitutional, conservative commentator, content creator and writer covering the Phoenix area market. We were taught snipers were cowards. A sniper must have the ability to accurately estimate the various factors that influence a bullet's trajectory and point of impact, such as the shooter's distance from the target, wind direction, wind speed, air density, elevation, and even the Coriolis effect. Clint Eastwood directed a film adaptation of American Sniper which was released in 2014. The 7.62mm cartridge had more power than the smaller 5.56mm; Kyle found it generally able to put down the enemy with one shot. In page 178, he describes his longest shot. Wind direction and speed can vary dramatically along the path of the bullet. Browning M2 "Ma Deuce" Heavy Machine Gun. Published 17:53, 25 August 2021 BST. But it's likely the number was far higher, as he had 255 claimed kills - where a shot hits the target, but a fatality cannot be confirm during battle. A west Texas native, Kyle studied . SGT Kremer's 2,515-yard (1.43 miles) shot narrowly edged out Gunnery Sergeant Hathcock for number four on this list. WE HAVE OUR FIRST HIT! 2004 shot is the longest recorded sniper kill by an American. At the New Jersey Warrior Challenge in 2012, Ranstad was an honored guest and autographed almost 100 flyers! Photo illustration by Slate. Crime scene photos shown in court show Kyle lying on the dirt in front of an elevated deck from which rifles were fired at targets up to 1,000 yards away. Gunnery Sgt. Chris Kyle with his book, American Sniper.. Jan 23, 20159:30 AM. Chris Kyle with his book, "American Sniper.". Reports regarding the longest recorded sniper kill that contain information regarding the shooting distance and the identity of the sniper have been presented to the general public since 1967. Hathcock's record for the longest sniper shot of all time stood for over 35 years before it was broken in 2002. Confirmed kills 1,250m (1,370yd) or greater, Longest confirmed kill using a muzzle loading firearm, "Circular Error Probable (CEP)," Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center Technical Paper 6, Ver 2, July 1987, p. 1, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFChandler2010 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAlpert2010 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFDrury2010 (, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment, "Small but mighty: How Canada's military produces some of the world's best snipers", "Carlos Hathcock: Famous Marine Corps Sniper", "The company behind the rifle used by the world's deadliest sniper", "Ukrainian sniper takes out Russian soldier 1.68 miles away nearly breaking world record", "Ukraine claims that a Ukrainian sniper made the second-longest combat kill ever", "British sniper Craig Harrison (The Silent Assassin) breaks record, kills target from 1.5 miles away", "Report: Canadian sniper shattered world record for the longest confirmed kill in history", "This legendary Marine sniper made the Corps' longest known kill shot more than 50 years ago with a machine gun", "South Africa at war in the DRC The inside story", "South African Special Forces Sniper Takes Out Congo Rebels (2125m shot! At 2018 SHOT Show, . With this kind of shooting, nobody has yet figured out how to get first round hits. He was officially responsible for 160 kills during his career as US Navy SEAL sniper, according to the Pentagon. Picking off an insurgent in Afghanistan in March 2002 from a distance of 2,526 yards . "[9] Four months later, while he was in his jail cell, Routh shared with former Erath County Sheriff's Deputy Gene Cole: "I was just riding in the back seat of the truck, and nobody would talk to me. Ventura, a former Underwater Demolition Teams/Seal member, testified he never made the comments and the altercation never happened. The current record holder for the longest kill range of any sniper in history is an anonymous sniper from the Joint Task Force 2, a unit of the Canadian Forces who managed a successful sniper kill at a range of 3,871 yards in May 2017 during the Iraq Civil War. Copyright 2023 The Western Journal. Later, Kyle called it a "really, really lucky shot." Chris Kyle didn't fit the stereotype of the sullen, lone wolf sniper. His longest kill was 1.2 miles shot with his Lapua .338 Magnum . Former CNN host and anti-Iraq war campaigner Piers Morgan, however,defended the man behind the movie, saying: Chris Kyle, American Sniper, was NOT a coward. [4] [7] Typically enemy soldiers were paid anywhere from $8 to $2,000 for taking down an American sniper. In 2017, a sniper neutralized an ISIS target in Iraq at a distance of over 3,540 meters. He pulled the trigger and watched through his scope as the Iraqi, 2,100 yards away, fell off the roof. And invaders r worse.. The shot was nearly 800 yards further than the previous longest sniper shot in history, perhaps aided by the soldier utilizing match-grade Hornady ammunition. A JURY rejected the insanity defence of an ex-Marine in the deaths of American Sniper author Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield at a Texas shooting range. However, the 50 currently holds the record for the longest sniper rifle kill at 3,871 yards (2.2 miles) by an unnamed Canadian sniper during the Iraqi Civil . The McMillan TAC-338 is a specialized sniper rifle made to "exact" specifications with long range lethality and precision in mind, explains Military Factory. Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore appeared to lash out against it onTwitter when he wrote: My uncle killed by a sniper in WW2. Learn the real-life story of Chris Kyle, the late Navy SEAL sharpshooter portrayed in the Oscar-nominated film "American Sniper.". Some critics say the film, based on the life of the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, glorifies war. [15] Forensic psychologist Randall Price, a witness for the prosecution, suspected Routh was faking schizophrenia. As weapons, ammunition, and aids to determine ballistic solutions improved, so too did the distance from which a kill could be targeted. In his memoir, "American Sniper," published early last year, Kyle wrote about what was to become his most famous shot -- taking out an RPG-wielding insurgent at 2,100 yards. 20: Number of months it took Cooper and the production to close a deal with Kyle. Henderson . Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle used a McMillan Tac-338, chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum, to kill an . Any one of these factors requires careful attentionall of them combined make for an immensely difficult shot, which explains why updated records in this category have proven relatively rare in recent decades. Littlefield was hit seven times, including four that would have been instantly fatal. For example, a rifle capable of firing a or 0.5 MOA (approximately 0.5 inch center to center of the two holes furthest apart) 5-round group (often referred to as "grouping") at 100 yards will theoretically fire a 12.5 inch group at 2,500 yards (0.5 2,500/100 = 12.5). All sharpshooters must account for numerous intervening variables, including but not limited to gravity, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, altitude and morethe weight of these factors can often become significantly more pronounced at greater distances. Kyle, who was a former Navy SEAL, and his friend Littlefield were walking down range to set up targets when Eddie Ray Routh opened fire and hit both of them. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, is based on Kyles autobiography. He pumped iron with a trainer twice a day, five days a week, for months. [5] Both Kyle and Littlefield were armed with .45-caliber M1911-style pistols when they were killed, but neither gun had been unholstered or fired, and the safety catches were still on. But by then Kyle had become a controversial figure. 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 didnt have a clue what was happening.. Here's his account of the achievement, which . The hero's longest sniper shot was fired while he protected an . Unlike any American before him, Chris Kyle performed his job . We were taught snipers were cowards. ], The modern method of long-distance sniping (shots over 1,100m or 0.7mi) requires intense training and practice. Even the slightest under or over-correction through the scope could have resulted in a missed shot. The Tac-50s .50 caliber round can hypothetically travel as far as five miles under ideal circumstances, though landing a shot at that range would prove extraordinarily difficult in real operating conditions. Well also learn some interesting facts about each one! The day before Eddie Ray Routh killed Chris Kyle, the most prolific sniper in American military history, he awoke in his childhood home and tried to get ready for work. Arron Perry broke the record for the longest recorded sniper kill after it stood unbroken for 34 years. Others . 4: Thats the number of biopics opening on Christmas Day, and while the others (Selma, Unbroken, Big Eyes) reach into the more distant past, American Sniper tells a contemporary story. You dont think of the people you kill as people. The late Marine sniper set the record in 1967 with a M . Have you ever done any precision shooting? But Ventura said it didnt come from Kyles widow or his estate, and that he didnt get an apology. 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He first started shooting as a child to help get food. Kyle said "Other services fire the round from different (or slightly different) guns; arguably, the most famous is the Army's M-24 Sniper Weapon System, which is based on the Remington 700 rifle. When Winston pulled the trigger, the rifles loud report reverberated across the valley. I would be remiss if I did not mention American sniper legend Chris Kyle, who took down a hostile in the Iraq War at 2,100 yards (1.19 miles) using 338 Lapua Mag. He was officially responsible for 160 kills during his career as US Navy SEAL sniper, according to the Pentagon. Carlos Norman Hathcock was a sniper for the United States Marine Corps and was highly commended for his impressive service record of 93 confirmed kills. Pau admitted: "Although the information on the DD214 should match the official records, the process involves people and inevitably some errors may occur.". Navy documents show Kyle earned one Silver Star and three Bronze Stars with valor, instead of the two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars his book says he received. Two Chris Kyle Stories You Won't See in 'American Sniper'. The story of the astonishing long-range shot began in 2020, right after the team at Nomad Rifleman succeeded in helping a client achieve the Wyoming state record with a target strike at an impressive 3.06 miles, the news release said. For example, the Canadian Army 2002 sniper team that saw two soldiers (Arron Perry/2,310 m and Rob Furlong/2,430 m) set consecutive new records, also made a number of kills at 1,500m (1,600yd) that are not counted here. In 2016, the Associated Press reported that documents showed the number of medals slain Kyle received for his military service was different from what he indicated in his best-selling memoir. The distance at play made it particularly difficult to account for bullet drop, or the phenomenon of a fired projectile being dragged down by gravity over the course of its trajectory. US Sergeant Bryan Kremer took down an Iraqi insurgent in 2004 with the longest confirmed sniper kill shot made by a US soldier. Windageposes another key difficulty: at a distance of over two miles, the snipers would have had to adjust for a distance of over 360 inches. American Sniper, his brutal and graphic book about his life, became abestseller in 2012 and the film was optioned shortly afterwards. He was buried on February 12, 2013, at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, after the funeral cortege journeyed from Midlothian to Austin, more than 200 miles (320km). But it's likely the number was far higher, as he had 255 claimed kills - where a shot hits the target, but a fatality cannot be confirm during battle. The soldier shot an IS militant dead from 3,540 metres, which is just over two miles away, in Iraq . 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, US hero Chris Kyle was a sharpshooter who served in Iraq, He was nicknamed the Devil of Ramadi by terrified Iraqi insurgents, Chris Kyle pictured with with his wife, Taya, in 2012. Weapon: Browning M2. Kyle described punching out a man, later identified as Ventura, whom he said made offensive remarks about Navy Seals. Craig Harrison is known predominantly for his record sniper shot that he made in Afghanistan, but his experience goes far deeper. Interestingly, Arron Perrys record-breaking shot was broken by another soldier in his same unit after just a few days. He described the killing in his book, American Sniper. 6,000: Approximate number of calories Cooper was eating per day while training for the film. "The joke was that President Bush only declared war when Starbucks was hit. On Feb. 2, 2013, former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle was killed . And boy is it a space-aged piece of beauty!, World Record Extreme Long Range Shot 4.4 Mileshttps://t.co/1aHENBmrH9#longrangeshooting #NomadRifleman #firearm #gun #guns #firearms #freedom #firearmsnews #gunnews #2anews #2a #2ndamendment #secondamendment #pew #shootingrange #shooting #shootingsports #rifle #thegunbulletin pic.twitter.com/MxgihiVFU2, TheGunBulletin (@TheGunBulletin) September 22, 2022. Kyle said that he was on a house's second floor, scanning the village with his rifle scope.