what is the farthest distance a professional sniper can shoot and not miss a target?

Answer 1

Over a mile.
Canadian Corporal Rob Furlong made a 2,430 meter (2657 yards/1.51 miles) confirmed kill in Afghanistan with a .50 BMG McMillan TAC-50. Hathcock previously held the record.

In the right circumstances I'm sure a marginally longer shot could be achieved. However with the common sniper rifles (M-24 / M-40) the distance is around 1000 yards (1/2 mile) due to the use of the 7.62x51mm cartridge. However this distance is exceeded. Staff Sgt Jim Gilliland recently made a 1,250 meter (1367 yards / 0.77 miles) confirmed kill in Iraq with the M-24.

Edit: It should be noted however that both Furlong and Hathcock MISSED their first shot, and made the second,(Furlong's second was a hit but not a kill) however at 2,500 yards I'd say even a hit on the fifth shot is respectable.

Answer 2

Professional Sniper

Answer 3

A professional sniper use ammo designed for what they need. Yes, snipers can reach 1 mile plus but can they do it constantly. Marksmen can also shoot at a mile plus and accurately. I saw a shooter in the desert shoot a 50 BMG sabot ed down to a 30 cal. and reach over 2 miles with a 3.025" grouping. I would say a sniper trained can shoot up to 2 miles but it doesn't mean they would take the shot.

Answer 4

And not miss a target!
The only situation I can for see, is if the target will allow you to touch the muzzle of the barrel to the target and even that is not 100%.
Any distance beyond that the chances for a miss increases dramatically.
With all that factors in on long range shooting, the longer the shot the more these factors affect accuracy.
Snipers do not work in ideal conditions, don’t confuse snipping with target shooters.

Most Target shooters know the exact range of target and have their weapon zeroed for that range, the target shooter has a stationary target to shoot at, most competition ranges have range flags so as to aide shooter to identify wind direction and wind speed, the target shooter has a set time limit for each shot, the target shooter shoots from a firing line that has either a bench or level foundation for the prone position with out any obstructions to have to contend with.

Where as the snippier is a hunter of opportunity, his target may appear at any given range that he will have to estimate and determines the needed HOLD Position ( as in on, over or under ).
The sniper must contend with the targets movement.
The sniper may have only a couple seconds of time in most situations for the shot.
He has no range flags there for must use his surrounding to judge wind speed and direction, grass, leaves and or heat mirages etc etc etc.
The area of setup may not allow as stable of shooting position as the sniper would like, it is not uncommon that the sniper may have to shoot from the setting position to clear obstructions.
With all these factors, Snipping is a Art that is by no means perfect.
Missing accrues at all range even by the best sniper.
That is where the term Probable Kill comes in.

Answer 5

John is right, The US military uses fixed 10 power scopes on most sniper rifles while the spotter has an adjustable spotting scope usually capable of up to 40x. The shooter and spotter work as a team to find targets at range and communication is key to a teams success.

Answer 6

No matter what some of the "EXPERTS" say it really depends on a number of factors. I will list some of the most important, remember this is only a partial list.
1. The rifle itself, meaning caliber.
2. The round, was it precision loaded for this purpose?
3. Barrel temp and ambient temp.
4. The shooter.
5. Luck
6. Luck
7. More Luck.

To be absolutely sure that he won't miss, something less than ten yards. Beyond that all of the above factors come into play. On any given day you might hit the target, then again, you might miss.

Answer 7

without being a smarta-- if you really wanted to kill some one as a sniper or even as a regular grunt you can use anything you want to do the job! A tank can reach out and touch someone as far as 4000 to 4500 yards!!! (although many will say that it would be overkill with a main gun round thru a small human body) A commander can ask for a missle launch against a hardened point just to take out a sniper or someone of importance, that could come from hundreds or thousands of MILES away. So when you ask about the distance of a sniper shot then the answer is "Half way round the globe!"

Answer 8

I read in One Shot, One Kill or Marine Sniper that Gunny Hathcock also took an enemy sniper out with a mortar.

Answer 9

I believe the current (confirmed) record was recently established in Afghanastan at around 2700 meters by a Marine sniper w/ a Barrett .50

Answer 10

Carlos N. Hathcock is credited with 93 enemy confirmed killed, including one Viet Cong shot dead by a round fired from a scope-mounted Browning M-2 .50 caliber machine gun at the unbelievable range of 2500 yards.