Firearms may be frowned upon in Canada but we know how to train people to shoot the excellent weapons that the Americans make. The C15 is a McMillan Tac-50
A sniper with Canada’s elite special forces in Iraq has shattered the world record for the longest confirmed kill shot in military history at a staggering distance of 3,450 metres.
Three and a half kilometres. Wow. Buy that man a beer!
And even better, the weapon’s named after a Canadian blogger ;o)
BZ to the marksman. Expect the Powers that Be to hush this up, as they did with the sniper teams in Afstan.
Wasn’t the old record a Canadian too? There must be an instructor up there who is very proud right now.
Wait, I thought the Turdeau wanted to bring them blankies and have a conversation about root causes or something like that?
That poor guy. He’s for it now.
The last guy to make a record-breaking shot like that was drummed out.
The Canadian military does not like it when soldiers excel. Excellence draws attention, which they don’t want.
It took ten seconds for the bullet to find its mark.
Bang!
Crap, I missed. How’s the wife doing?
She says she misses me, but she’s doing fine.
That’s good. My sister said she’s … Oh wait, I didn’t miss.
I know the guy who made this shot. I won’t name him, but he wears a turdbin and sits in parliament a lot. He was also the designer of a well known military operation in Iraq
“…he wears a turdbin and sits in parliament a lot. He was also the designer of a well known military operation in Iraq
Not bad…..for a dickhead!
“required math skills, great eyesight, precision of ammunition and firearms, superb training…
Here. let me finish that sentence for ya:
….and a mixture of chance and circumstance often referred to as bullshit fuggin’ luck.”
There won’t have been much left of the sod that was the target.
This comment might not sit well with some who comment here, but let me get it off my chest.
Good job in a good cause, but…
Real professionals do what they do quietly and without bragging about it;
Not to take anything away from the accomplishment, such as it was, it was the product of employing a self motivated volunteer who has been highly trained and superbly equipped by the taxpayer and is now doing the job that he (or she) is expected to do, and is very, very well paid and has already been recognized for;
Getting to be the point of the spear is just that; a host of others got him (or her) there and are as instrumental in this end result as he (or she, or maybe zir) is;
And finally, even with all the above, at that range, good fortune had a big part to play in the shot actually connecting. Take your cards off the table with your winnings, and don’t confuse good luck with skill.
I doubt that the individual at the heart of this needs any of this gratuitous advice, but perhaps there are those in the PR chain, or press, or the audience who might reflect on it.
Uncle Jean went after the last guy to make a record shot. That’s what libranos do. They dislike the military.
Buddy shot be celebated/decorated. Instead he’ll probably be run out. It’s the librano way.
I hope this soldier fares better than 5 snipers in Afghanistan in 2002. US wanted to award them Bronze Stars for bravery in the field, the Canadian military was not so keen. this was during the J. Chretien era. This excerpt explains it all:
Dr. David Bercuson, director of the Centre of Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary, said the real reason for the delay was likely official squeamishness.
“Canadians don’t kill — they don’t even use the word kill; that’s the problem,” he said. “I think the military is not sure that the government is prepared to accept the fact, let alone celebrate the fact … that Canadian soldiers do sometimes end up killing people.”
see the whole article here:
https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?t=824444
Well said JAB.
JAB:
But did the sniper brag about? The Canadian military did, but that’s not the same.
And so far as being “very, very well paid”, well I’m skeptical. The military isn’t the best place to make your fortune unless you’re a high-ranking officers.
“Real professionals do what they do quietly and without bragging about it;”
Really? Longest combat shot in history, two frigging miles, and the guy isn’t allowed to talk about it?
Seriously man, shut the hell up before somebody pounds you.
Yes it was a lucky shot but war and luck are constant companions.
Many veterans of battle often reflect on the good fortune they must have had to have returned home when so many of their comrades did not.
Buy that man a beer? The last thing he said before making the shot was “Hold my beer”.
Oh, luck was involved, but there was a heckofa lot of skill that came into play as well. When you are “really” good, may appear that you make your own luck, when what you are really doing is recognizing and seizing opportunities for success.
I guess the only question I would have about this is just how many half-inch pills were sent downrange to do the job? With a 10-second time-of-flight, there could have been two more on the way when the first one hit.
Still, no matter what, it was a great shot.
I’m not a long range shooter but I peruse many of the websites of those that do. There is a ton of scepticism out there from the pros that this shot was not possible given the equipment and the conditions stated.
The reason seems to be that the glass used by the Canadian military is not adjustable enough to make a shot out that far.
I pray that your “Canadian Sniper” fares better than our “American Sniper” … fragged by his own PTSD brother … in the safety of the USA
The amount of variables built into that shot are incredible.
Superb equipment, training and yes things we don’t ordinarily think of that affect a bullet traveling over the earth.
Amazing job!
https://thearmsguide.com/5329/external-ballistics-the-coriolis-effect-6-theory-section/
We don’t percieve it but a bullet flight of over one (1) second is affected by the movement of the earth.
A lot of science and a little luck yes.
Amen.
This guy is likely going to be reticent about this kill most of his life, if the vets I know are any indication. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve the recognition for it.
I know I’m not getting my can shot off in a godforsaken sand pit because this guy’s over there doing it for me. For that alone he deserves my gratitude and praise.
Back when I was a teenager, I read several books about the sinking of the Bismark. One book went into detail about the fire control room aboard one of the British cruisers, and mentioned how the aiming “computers” for the big guns had dials that the firing engineers spun to generate the correct angles of elevation and deflection. Along with accounting for range and speed, they also spun in latitude and longitude and whether or not the target was north, east, west, or south of their own. I believe that value was a simple compass heading from the firing point. I never really grasped that they needed to account for rotation of the earth until many years later. What struck me the most was how the radar was in the fire control room. The radar operators knew before the shells were halfway to target if they were going to be a hit or not. However, like tracer rounds, that works both ways and they knew several seconds in advance if an incoming German round was going to hit steel or water.
The soldier who made the shot wouldn’t be the one who decided to release the story to the public. There is a valid purpose to publicizing it, the enemy will become aware that our snipers can produce effective fire beyond three kilometers. At that range you can miss the presence of a stationary threat as big as a tank, never mind a couple of foot-soldiers in ground cover lining up on you. (In other cases they might decide to keep quiet and leave the other side wondering.)
And yes, there’s a significant element of luck in hitting someone with a rifle shot that far off, but there’s a great deal of practised skill and judgement needed to put a shot close enough to the target for the luck to put the finishing touch on it. The information mentions there were friendly elements in a position to report the hit (read : someone was closer to the target, possibly didn’t want to reveal their own presence.) The shot was possibly taken with some indication from a closer observer and with just the hope of at least disrupting the enemy’s activity. But every bullet fired has to end up somewhere so you aim as well as you can and give it a chance.
Maybe the shooter was a “she”, folks. Just sayin’
I agree with all your points. It was not the soldier that made this public, and skill and luck both played a part.
An old adage on a plaque I’ve had on my office wall for decades says, “The harder I work, the luckier I get”. This soldier will have worked hard to hone his skill and luck was with him.
We do not know if there were other occasions when the luck factor was absent.
With a kill at that kind of range, he should be made an honorary member of the artillery!
With that kind of skill set, when Western Europe’s coming civil war erupts big time he, and others like him, could make a fortune on a pay per kill basis.
Illegal migrants there to conquer Europe and to impose Sharia law, they would be motivated to return home voluntarily, and to cover ground in record time.
Why can’t people just be glad we have these guys in our elite special forces, or why else have an “elite special force”?
I don’t care that he has made the longest shot because everyone knows Canadians have always been among the best. It’s not a competition, but when you look at the chart, it is nice to see we’re more than holding our own: Top spot Canadian, next a Brit, two more Canadians, and then an American. Thank the good Lord it’s not the reverse and Canada at the bottom or we’d never hear the end of it.
Who released the story if the military had to confirm it?
Robert Fife
OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF — The Globe and Mail (includes correction)
Published Wednesday, Jun. 21, 2017 8:00PM EDT
Last updated Thursday, Jun. 22, 2017 3:48PM EDT
A sniper with Canada’s elite special forces in Iraq has shattered the world record for the longest confirmed kill shot in military history at a staggering distance of 3,540 metres.
The Canadian Armed Forces confirmed Thursday that a member of Joint Task Force 2 made the record-breaking shot, killing an Islamic State insurgent during an operation in Iraq within the last month.
(captcha DOG ON)
jimmy, you are great at missing the point, butt carry on McStupid!!
yes gellen, Canadian armed service types tend to punch about their grade all the time. When we acquired the CF-18, and Canadian pilot to 1st spot at the florida top gun completion, against better equipped American pilots. Our Navy is considered the best at mine sweeping also.
So when we go to acquire new equipment it consideration process should be , mission, monies available, and then how good our personal are, then decide on equipment:-)))
A lot of great comments here following JAB’s post re.
“Real professionals do what they do quietly and without bragging about it;”
A mantra that a great many Canadians follow as a matter of coarse I only wish that we could instill it into our Parliamentary leaders.
I take exception to the rest of the post;
” it was the product of employing a self motivated volunteer who has been highly trained and superbly equipped by the taxpayer and is now doing the job that he (or she) is expected to do, and is very, very well paid and has already been recognized for; ”
He or she is a very dedicated self motivated individual, and for that I give thanks, but puhleeeeze the Canadian Armed Forces are not by any stretch of the imagination ‘superbly’ equipped by the taxpayer and the rank and file have never been well paid.
As for the good fortune having a big part to play in the shot, I’ll bet the sniper never buys lottery tickets!
As usual NME666 your priorities are arse-about-front. Our first priority as a taxpayer should be for our personnel, full stop. If we can’t afford to equip our people properly to be sent into the field then we have failed as a country. Mission and monies available are immaterial. Unless we have our men and women fully equipped to the best of our ability then you are whistling in the dark. Sending our Armed Forces into Afghanistan in ‘green camo’ was the epitome of Liberal preparedness. Money available and mission should be the last considerations made by our government not the first. Your logic is illustrative of our procurement of the British Subs by the Chretien government and we all know the pickle that has put us in.
Sure, the military lies about stuff like that all the time. OMG. Are these the same experts who think humans are changing the climate?
Top shooting. You guys are the best.
I think the shooter and the weapons package are probably top notch and this guy made an incredible shot.
It does seem odd that this story popped up out of nowhere though.
Whats next, Justhin bragging that his boys whipped out their Tac 50’s and smoked a goat effer.
Maybe that’s why the ISIS guy was standing still for so long.
The guys that don’t seem to believe the story are civilians that operate this equipment and should know its limits. Lots of benchrest and long range shooters out there.
Tom Mulcair hopes it wasn’t a combat shooting. Were his boots on the ground? Is there no end to these idiots?
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/mulcair-raises-red-flags-over-sniper-shot/ar-BBD5wdu?li=AAadgLE&ocid=spartanntp
Or was it we didn’t raise the red flag on the range to warn the targets? Sheesh.
The Tac-50 is capable of 1/2 moa accuracy. At the range stated, that works out to a “group” size of a little more than 18″, when using a machine rest in absolutely calm conditions. In real life, you will get a bit more spread, even with an expert marksman.
A lot of skill, and a lot of luck.
You have to be good to be lucky, and lucky to be good.