Special Forces Sniper Smashes World Record Kill
Movies portrayals of military snipers isn't always 100% accurate. It's not just natural talent that can make person deadly accurate with a rifle at distances that the human eye cant see across. Training, teamwork, specialized equipment, and talent are all necessary to be successful at one of the most difficult and dangerous jobs the military has to offer.
As much as I would like to think that the United States produces the best eagle-eyed sniper teams in the world, that's just not true. We are in the top 5 (at number 5), but the world leader in super long sniper shot category might surprise you.
According to The Globe and Mail, a Canadian Special Forces Joint Task Force 2 sniper team logged a successful kill from an astounding 2.1 miles away! The target was an Islamic State insurgent in Iraq, and with that kill the team thwarted a larger attack by scattering the remaining forces. At this range, it's much more complicated than just putting the cross hairs on the target. Wind speed and direction, bullet drop, and even the curvature of the earth have to be included in the complicated formula that makes the bullet find its home.
This shot tops the previous record by more than half a mile! That's not luck or a single sniper team that stands above the rest. It's pretty clear that it's the Canadian Special Forces sniper training program that produced the results, as 3 of the top 5 spots are claimed by our northern neighbors.