Shooting world record. A Russian sniper set a record for the range of aimed fire. Rifle from the garage

The five longest shots of military snipers. In this rating, only long-range shots made by military snipers during armed conflicts are taken. A record shot should be unique for its era and glorify the shooter. Record set must hold on enough for a long time, or the shot fired must break a record unsurpassed for decades.
"FROM THIS DISTANCE THEY WON'T EVEN HIT THE ELEPHANT"

The names of the first shooters, who became famous for the longest shots, remained in history solely thanks to their victims - high-ranking military leaders. First attested ultra long shot refers to the era of the Napoleonic Wars - the French general, Baron Auguste de Colbert, became his victim. In 1809, he was killed by a rifleman of the 95th British Rifle Division, a certain Thomas Plunkett - he is in fifth position. It is believed that Plunkett killed Colbert from an incredible 600 meters for that time. And to prove that the hit was not accidental, he also shot down the general's adjutant with another shot - however, this is more of a legend. There is no exact data on what kind of weapon the British shooter used. Some sources say that Plunkett fired from a standard 1722 smoothbore musket, the famous Brown Bess. But it is more likely that the long-range shot was fired from a rifled fitting, which by that time had appeared in british army. By the way, the British snipers of the XIX century - the military, hunters, athletes - often used a rather unusual technique - they shot lying on their backs, resting the barrel on the shin of a bent leg. It is believed that it was from this position that Plunkett shot de Colbert.

“From such a distance, they won’t even hit an elephant,” - such were last words American General John Sedgwick - a second later he fell from a sniper's bullet. This is the American Civil War of 1861-1865. At the Battle of Spotsylvane, Sedgwick, who fought on the side of the United States, controlled artillery fire. The Confederate riflemen, seeing the enemy commander, began to hunt for him, the staff officers lay down, and invited their commander to go into cover. The positions of the opponents were separated by a distance of about one kilometer. Sedgwick, considering this distance safe, began to shame his subordinates for timidity, but did not have time to finish - a bullet from an unknown sergeant Grace hit him in the head. This is perhaps the farthest shot of the 19th century, although it cannot be said whether it was an accident or not. This is the fourth position in the ranking. Descriptions of long-range shots - at a distance of half a kilometer - are also found in the chronicles of the War of Independence and civil war in USA. There were many among the North American militias good hunters, and as weapons they used long-barreled large-caliber hunting rifles and fittings.

CARLOS "WHITE PEAT"

The first half of the 20th century did not bring new deadly records, at least those that would become the property of history and glorify the shooter. During the First and Second World Wars, the skill of snipers was determined not by the ability to make an ultra-long shot, but by the number of enemies killed. It is known that one of the most productive snipers of all time - the Finn Simo Häyhä (he accounted for up to 705 enemy soldiers killed) - preferred to shoot from a distance of no more than 400 meters.

For new range records, a weapon was needed that significantly exceeded the characteristics of regular sniper rifles. Such a weapon was the Browning M2 machine gun of 12.7x99 mm caliber (50 BMG), developed in the early 30s of the last century. During the Korean War american soldiers they began to use it as a sniper rifle - the machine gun was equipped with an optical sight and could conduct a single fire. With its help, a participant in the Vietnam War, American Sergeant Carlos Hathcock II set a distance record that lasted for 35 years. In February 1967, the American destroyed the enemy from a distance of 2286 meters - the third position. From his sniper M2, Hathcock was guaranteed to hit a growth target with single shots from a distance of 2000 yards (a little more than 1800 meters), that is, approximately twice as much as compared to the standard army "high-precision" M24 ​​in calibers 308 Win (7.62x51 millimeters) and 300 Win Mag (7.62x67 millimeters). The Vietnamese nicknamed Hathcock the "White Feather" - supposedly, despite the requirements of disguise, he always attached a feather to his hat. Some sources claim that the command North Vietnam placed a $30,000 bounty on the sniper's head. It is noteworthy that Hathcock received his highest award - the Silver Star - not for sniping, but for rescuing his comrades from a burning armored personnel carrier. Inspired by the success of Hathcock, military department The United States created a special commission that studied the possibility of creating a heavy sniper rifle based on the Browning.

RIFLE FROM THE GARAGE

The Americans did not make rifles from a machine gun. But in 1982, the former police officer Ronnie Barrett (Ronnie G. Barrett) in the garage workshop designed a sniper rifle in caliber 12.7 millimeters - it later received the designation Barrett M82. The inventor offered his development to the monsters of the arms market, such as Winchester and FN, and after the latter's refusal, he set up his own small-scale production by registering Barrett Firearms. Barrett's first clients were hunters and civilian lovers of high-precision shooting, and at the very end of the 80s, a batch of 100 M82A1 rifles was purchased by Swedish troops, following the Swedes, the American military became interested in Barrett's rifle. Today, the word "Barrett" has actually become synonymous with a large-caliber precision rifle.

Another "high-precision" in the caliber of 12.7x99 millimeters began to be produced in the mid-80s by a small American company McMillan Bros. The rifle was named McMillan TAC-50 - today they are used special units USA and Canada. To the fullest of the dignity of a large-caliber precision weapons opened up in Iraq and Afghanistan. With the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East, snipers of the Western coalition began to update range records almost every year. In 2002, in Afghanistan, Canadian Arron Perry (Arron Perry) with a McMillan TAC-50 rifle hit a Mujahideen from a distance of 2526 yards (slightly more than 2.3 thousand meters), thereby breaking Hathcock's long-term record. In the same year, his compatriot Rob Furlong (Rob Furlong) made a productive shot at 2657 yards (slightly more than 2.4 thousand meters). These two shots are in second position.

American sniper Brian Kremer (Brian Kremer) crept close to the shooters from Canada - in March 2004 in Iraq from a Barrett M82A1 rifle, he hit a target at a distance of 2300 meters. It is believed that during his two years of service in Iraq, Kremer fired two successful shots with a range of over 2100 meters.

In first place - unsurpassed to date, the record of Briton Craig Harrison (Craig Harrison). During an operation in Afghanistan in November 2009, at a range of 2470 meters, he destroyed two Taliban machine gunners and their machine gun. According to Craig himself, before three effective shots, he had to make nine more sighting shots.

Long-range shooting of the enemy is a kind of special army art. Modern snipers are divided into many subcategories, but it is the range of an aimed and deadly shot that is considered one of the important criteria for assessing the skill of a sniper.

A selection of the most notable shooters whose long-range shots made it into the pages of history.

In seventh place is the shot of the American participant in the Iraq War, Petty Officer Jim Gilliland, 1367 yards (1244 meters). Shot from a standard M24 rifle using standard 7.62x51mm NATO rounds in 2005. A very good result for a combined arms rifle of not the largest caliber.

Number six is ​​British Army Corporal Christopher Reynolds and his August 2009 accurate shot at 2026 yards (1844 meters). Rifle - Accuracy International L115A3. Cartridges - .338 Lapua Magnum LockBase B408. The hit target is a Taliban commander nicknamed "Mullah", who is responsible for a number of attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan. If the sources do not lie, then the shot was so accurate, then the Mulla fell exactly into the arms of the militant following him, and if the bullet had enough penetrating power, Reynolds would have written down two heads at once.

Number five - Sergeant Carlos Hascock, shot at 2500 yards (2275 meters). Date - February 1967, the time of the Vietnamese conflict. The historic shot that made the sergeant a hero of his time was not fired from a sniper rifle, but from an M2 Browning machine gun. Cartridges - .50 BMG. Hascock is a legend today american army- he ranks fourth in the list of snipers who hit maximum amount goals. At one time, the Vietnamese had a $30,000 bounty on his head, and they gave Hascock the nickname "white feather" for his habit of wearing a feather in his hat, violating the accepted rules of sniper camouflage. However, this is not the only thing he was noted for - Hascock's second term of service in Vietnam ended ahead of schedule in September 1969, when the armored personnel carrier in which he was riding was blown up by a mine. Despite his own severe burns (more than 40% of his body), Hascock pulled seven of his comrades out of the burning armored personnel carrier.

Fourth place - American Sergeant Brian Kremer and his shot at 2515 yards (2288.6 meters) in March 2004. Weapon - Barrett M82A1. Cartridges - Raufoss NM140 MP. In two years in Iraq, Kremer fired two successful shots over 2,350 yards, a testament to the sergeant's high level of skill.

Third place went to the Canadian Corporal Arron Perry. Shot range - 2526 yards (2298.6 meters) in March 2002. Weapon - McMillan Tac-50. Cartridges - Hornady A-MAX .50 (.50 BMG).

Second place - a shot at 2657 yards (2417.8 meters) also goes to the Canadian: Corporal Rob Furlong, broke Arron's record, with exactly the same rifle and cartridges.

In first place is an unsurpassed (so far) record by Briton Craig Harrison. During the Afghan conflict in November 2009, he made his best double shot at a range of 2707 yards (2475 meters). The defeat of the target is documented - two Taliban machine gunners were killed in succession. This record makes Harrison the best sniper of all time.

Why are there no Russian snipers on the list? Firstly, we have never had such a cult of long-range shooting, and secondly, the army doctrine was different.

However, in a non-combat situation, Russian snipers set a world record by hitting a target at a distance of almost three and a half kilometers from the firing position.

At the same time, it is known that the work of our sniper professionals is classified, and not only the names are not known, but also the rifles with which these masters work. It is possible that the heir of Vasily Zaitsev lives somewhere in Russia, who somewhere and sometime, in one of the conflicts, hit the target and at a greater distance than any of the seven foreigners mentioned above.

Only recently I told you how and here's another curious thing about them.

This story began almost three years ago, when a Russian shooter and manufacturer of precision long-range rifles Vlad Lobaev saw on YouTube video, where peppy old men from Texas with a rifle hit the target at a distance of 3600 yards (3292 m). Vlad decided to accept the challenge and compete with the Americans. Fortunately, he had his own weapons factory Lobaev Arms at hand.

The Americans fired from a custom-made (custom) ultra-long-range rifle in a rare caliber .375 CheyTac. By that time, Lobaev's company had already mass-produced the SVLK-14 "Twilight" ultra-long-range rifle in an even rarer and more powerful caliber .408 CheyTac, which allows sniping at distances over 2 km. For the record, they took a special custom "Dusk" with a titanium chassis and firing pin, with a barrel length of 720 mm and a weight of more than 9 kg.

In April 2015 on the field in Kaluga region(There are simply no multi-kilometer shooting ranges in Russia) Lobaev’s team, after sighting shots, hit a target at a distance of 3400 m with this rifle. The video with the record was posted on YouTube. The Americans reacted calmly: they say, okay, let's continue the absentee duel.

Record rifle SVLK-14 "Dusk"

Subsonic

Not only the Americans reacted: the French sniper from the Foreign Legion, after long training, hit the target at a distance of 3600 m, but, apart from an article in a small specialized magazine, there is no information about this record, no one uploaded videos. The Americans also overcame the mark, first 3600, and then 4000 yards (3657 m).

Lobaev's company studied this video almost under a microscope: some parameters of the shot did not match, the flying time did not match with the initial speed and angle of the bar.

Nothing has changed in ballistics, but a few hundred meters have increased. This does not happen, but since the competition was originally conceived as a competition of gentlemen, the Lobayevites decided to continue to shoot with the Americans honestly. And win by knockout - hit from four kilometers.

For shooters, shooting at a distance is considered ultra-long-range shooting, where at the end of the trajectory the bullet goes at deep subsonic, because everything is clear with supersonic - there ballistics is considered easy, simple mathematical methods. And subsonic ballistics is considered more difficult, and, what is most unpleasant, some physical processes, which make it difficult to shoot at ultra-long distances.

First, there is a restabilization effect. Line speed slows down at 1000 m, say, three times - from 900 m/s to 300 m/s. And the rotational speed of the bullet is only 5-10%. At subsonic, the speed is even lower, but the rotational speed is still the same. This leads to the fact that all the design and manufacturing defects of the bullet begin to come out, which greatly affects dispersion. In addition, at low speeds, errors in the assessment of wind and weather conditions become noticeable.

The second factor is turbulence in the bottom part at deep subsonic. At speeds slightly less than 300 m / s, this is not critical, but at ranges of more than 2 km it greatly affects accuracy. There is only one way to deal with these phenomena - to develop a design of bullets with a different bottom design.

If you follow the path of increasing the mass of the bullet, you will need to change the entire cartridge - either increase the chamber or use a new progressively burning gunpowder, or even switch to a different caliber. Another caliber (Browning.50 or domestic 12.7 × 108 mm) is a transition to another class and a completely different weapon with all the ensuing consequences: other barrels, bolts, receiver boxes, dimensions, weight and a significant increase in recoil, at which there is no longer any talk of enjoying shooting.

Lobaev decided not to retreat from old sleeve and caliber .408 CheyTac, do not change either the dimensions or the mass of the weapon. He managed to develop a heavier 30-gram D30 bullet, while remaining within the standard cartridge.

This was also done because the cartridge is quite affordable and anyone can try to repeat the achievement. The design of the bullet was also modified: it began to resemble a long elongated spindle with two pointed ends, which made it possible to achieve an almost ideal ballistic coefficient of one. This required a redesign of the rifle, a faster rifling pitch to stabilize the longer, heavier bullet.

If the classic rifling pitch in the 408 caliber is thirteen, then Lobaev decided to use ten on the record rifle. Although starting speed the new bullet had less (875 m / s for the D30 versus 935 m / s for the D27), at 2 km it had a more flat trajectory.

Lateral support

One of the main problems with record shooting is that you cannot raise the bar of the optical sight indefinitely. When firing at such distances, the rifle has large elevation angles, as when firing from a canopy, almost like a howitzer.

At the top of the trajectory, the bullet travels at a height of several hundred meters. No sights allow you to make such corrections for aiming, therefore, for record shooting, special slats are used for the sight. However, you can’t endlessly raise the bar: the muzzle device begins to block the line of sight.

This was precisely what confused Lobaev in the last record of the Americans: the angle of the bar did not correspond to the correction necessary for such a distance.

The solution to this problem Lobaev peeped at the artillery, where the sight had long been moved to the left of the barrel. The solution is simple, but no one in the world before Lobaev used it. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that the sight on Lobaev's record-breaking rifles passes to the left of the barrel. What turned out to be more convenient for shooting: you don’t need to throw your head back and you can take the optimal position.

Lobaev's know-how is the side mount of the sight for ultra-long range shooting. A year ago it was forbidden even to photograph it. This system can also find application in the troops: when firing at long distances, it helps to get by with the available Russian sights.

On the second try

They were going to break the record last summer in the fields near Krasnodar. For this, a giant target measuring 10 × 10 m was made in order to at least shoot. How a bullet behaves at such distances, no one knew, and there were no exact mathematical models. It was only clear that the bullets would enter the ground in the target area almost vertically, so the target was at a high angle.

The difficulty was that the soil during the shooting was wet, so it was necessary to hit the target exactly: traces of hitting the ground at such low speeds and almost vertical angles are not visible.

Unfortunately for the whole team, the record failed the first time: they couldn't even hit such a big target. While preparing for the next round, the Americans posted a video with a 4 km record on the Web. It became clear that you need to shoot even further.

Throughout the past year, Lobaev and his team conjured over a rifle and new bullets, giving practically no information about the project, being afraid to jinx the world record, constantly approaching the cherished milestone, first taking 4170 m, then 4200.

“We set a new world record for sniping in range accurate shot- 4210m! I shot, spotters Yuri Sinichkin, Evgeny Titov, Vladimir Grebenyuk. I wouldn't have made it without these people. Team work requires the highest level competence from everyone. And everyone showed just such a level!

Before that, our team approached 4170, then 4200. And here is 4210 the final distance! There are only a few shooters in the world who could get close to such results. I have been preparing for this shot for 8 years. Thanks to the guys from Lobaev_arms for a tool specially made for us and an active joint work to set a record! Well? Which country has the best snipers in the world? Ryabinsky said.

With the help of a specially prepared rifle SVLK-14 "Twilight" of Russian production, the ranges of 4170 and 4157 meters were first taken, after which a target measuring 1 x 1 m was conquered, placed at a distance of 4210 meters. Previously, this record belonged to the Americans, who conquered a distance of 4158 meters.

The unique ultra-long-range rifle SVLK-14S (SVLK-14S), which for 6 years has been demonstrating record performance at ranges significantly exceeding the 2-kilometer milestone - this is power, accuracy and extreme range in your hands.

The accuracy and range of this line of rifles sounds almost unrealistic and yes, bold. Its wearers often show less than 0.2 MOA of a 5-shot group. And this is with such a powerful cartridge as 408 Cheytac, which few people are able to force to shoot. We did.

Hit over 3 kilometers? Easily! Beautiful group for 2 and a half? Yes, it's available to her. New record peace? She's up to it as well.

The new model features a reinforced CFRP, Kevlar and fiberglass sandwich and is specifically designed for use with this powerful ammunition like Cheytac. Also, for greater structural strength, a long aluminum chassis is integrated into the box.

This model is based on the award-winning King v.3 action, which is manufactured to tolerances much tighter than the industry standard. Accurate and indestructible.

The body of the receiver is made of aircraft-grade aluminum with a threaded insert made of high-alloy, corrosion-resistant steel. The shutter is also made of solid corrosion-resistant steel. SVL model K-14S is deliberately left in a single-shot version to provide the desired stiffness of the receiver, which is necessary when ultra-long range shooting, as well as modularity and interchangeability of calibers (bolts with larvae: Cheytac, Supermagnum, Magnum).

The LOBAEV Hummer Barrels stainless steel match barrel completes the picture. Built to the highest standards in the shooting world, these barrels make shooting the edge of what is possible - POSSIBLE. Who tried, he knows.

All lengths produced by us are optionally available for this model.

Price: 1,945,000 rubles.

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

Technical accuracy - 0.3 MOA \ 9 mm between centers (5 shots at 100m)
Maximum Effective Range (sp) - 2500m++
Muzzle velocity - more than 900 m / s
Working temperature range - -45\+65 C
Caliber - .408 Cheytac\.338LM\.300WM
Length - 1430 mm
Height - 175 mm
Width - 96 mm
Weight - 9 600 g
Barrel length - 900 mm
Effort of descent - reg. 50-1500g
Bolt - right
Port - Right
Shop - no

BASIC EQUIPMENT:

• Barrel Contour - SHG
• Barrel length - 900mm
• Caliber - 408 Cheytac
• Muzzle brake - T-Tuner
• Valleys - 6
• Bipod - no
• PBS - no
• HV/TV mount - Dedal OSB-1
• Scope mount - STD Picatiny

Russian sniper Andrey Ryabinsky, in a team with spotters Yuri Sinichkin, Evgeny Titov and Vladimir Grebenyuk, set a world distance record aimed shooting from a sniper rifle. According to a blog entry by the Russian weapons company Lobaev Arms, the range of an accurate shot was 4210 meters.

For accurate shooting, the SVLK-14S "Twilight" rifle was used, specially designed for the maximum possible range of an accurate shot. According to Ryabinsky, the bullet covered a distance of 4210 meters in 13 seconds. For aimed shooting at such a distance, specialists took into account many factors, including wind, Atmosphere pressure, derivation, temperature and rotation of the Earth.

Derivation is the deflection of a spinning bullet after a shot. The deviation occurs perpendicular to the plane of the oncoming air flow. The displacement of the bullet coincides with the direction of cutting the barrel of the weapon from which it was fired. For sniper SVD rifles the derivation is up to 60 centimeters when firing at a target at a distance of one kilometer.

Many modern sights for small arms constructively take into account derivation. In particular, PSO-1 for SVD is specially mounted so that after the shot the bullet goes a little to the left. In artillery, this phenomenon is either included in the firing tables, or is also taken into account constructively.

The SVLK-14S sniper rifle is available in three calibers: .408 Chey Tac (10.36 x 77 mm), .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6 x 70 mm) and .300 Winchester Magnum (7.62 x 67 mm). For shooting at a record distance, weapons of .408 caliber were used. Shooting was carried out at a target one meter wide and one meter high.

The length of the rifle is 1430 millimeters with a barrel length of 900 millimeters. The rifle is equipped with a longitudinally sliding bolt. The mass of SVLK-14S is 9.6 kilograms. The accuracy of firing from a rifle is 0.3 minutes of arc.

The previous world record for accurate shot range was set with the American M300 sniper rifle. It was 4157 meters. Meanwhile, in June 2017, a Canadian sniper set the record for a confirmed high-scoring accurate shot fired in combat. From a TAC-50 rifle of 12.7 mm caliber, a Canadian in Iraq killed a militant at a distance of 3540 meters.

Edit: The news originally stated that sniper rifle SVLK-14S is equipped with a five-round magazine. In fact, another rifle of this family, the SVLK-14M, is equipped with such a magazine. SVLK-14S was deliberately left single-shot by the developers to maintain maximum accuracy and range of fire. We apologize to our readers.

Vasily Sychev