The longest confirmed sniper shot?

Question

What is the current longest sniper shot every recorded for a kill. I have read about a bullet that arched over to take out an enemy..what makes a good sniper? is it natural ability or pure skill?

Answer 1

Further to the answer above, I'm of the opinion that a sniper is born, not made.

I don't shoot anymore, don't have the opportunity unfortunately. I've spent a lot of time with a lot of shooters (rifle mainly) and some people just have the ability to aim. My dad is a good example - he first picked up a bow and arrow at about 8, and his aim is incredible. He has never had professional training, but was a near Olympic level shooter before he had to stop (silly gun licencing laws!). Some people can never get the aim right - no amount of practise will help if you just can't 'see' it right. Its hard to explain, but I think it is something you've either got or you haven't.

Answer 2

The current record for the longest-range confirmed sniper kill is 2,430 meters (7,972 feet or 1.51 miles), accomplished by Canadian sniper, Corporal Rob Furlong, of the third battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (3 PPCLI), during the invasion of Afghanistan, using a .50 cal. BMG (12.7 mm) McMillan bolt-action rifle. The bullet's time of flight was around four seconds, and it dropped some 150 feet. The previous record-holder was U.S. Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock, who achieved it during the Vietnam War, with a kill at 2,250 meters: he had a career total of 93 confirmed kills. The deadliest sniper in the world is generally believed to have been the Finnish soldier Simo Häyhä, with 505 confirmed kills within 100 days in the north-west European Winter War of 1939-40.
In contrast, much of the U.S./Coalition urban sniping in support of operations in Iraq is at significantly shorter ranges, and often at 200 - 400 metres. But in a notable incident on April 3, 2003, corporals Matt and Sam Hughes, a two-man sniper team of the British Royal Marines, armed with L96 sniper rifles, each killed targets at a range of about 860 m with shots that were “fire[d] exactly 17 meters [56 ft] to the left of the target for the bullet to bend in the wind.
For more on sniping see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniper?redirect=no

Answer 3

With the Royal Marines its pure skill.

Answer 4

it is 1.2 km it was done by a u,s sniper with a barrett .50 in the first gulf 1990

gdsm mcewan 1 st scots guards

Answer 5

I was gonna mention Carlos Hathcock's 2200 meter shot but Barrowma beat me to it. Thanks for the info, Barrowma! :-)