Interesting facts about snipers

Snipers are the very elite of the army. Their achievements are boosting an imagination. Hidden, from a long distances, they can make the crucial kills, often decisive to the success of operation. What are the records in long range shooting? Which snipers were most famous in their job? We present a few interesting facts about those outstanding soldiers and astonishing achievements, they were to make.

Sniper or marksman?
When we talk about snipers, there is always this person, who will tell us, that in Poland there are no snipers, there are marksmen. And… he’ll be right. Officially in polish terminology, a soldier which is equipped with repetitive rifle or precise rifle, performing tasks which in English will be considered the job of sniper, sharpshooter or designated marksman is simply called marksman. However, the domination of English language is a fact, and commonly, even between the soldiers, words such as sniper occur synonymously. It is not only better known, but also shorter.

Sniper records around the world
Snipers’ achievements are very exciting. Especially considering the fact, that the weapon they are using is growing technologically and therefore much more precise. Allowing to take shots from much greater distances. 
Nowadays, the proud title of the greatest sniper in the world is held by a Canadian sniper, whose personal data is considered top secret. It is only mentioned, that he is a part of special unit – Joint Task Force 2. It is known that, in Iraq, during confrontations with rebels of ISIS he took a good shot from the distance of astounding three thousand, five hundred and forty meters! That event occurred in May of 2017. This achievement was performed using McMillian Tac-50 rifle, weapon using 12,7 milimeter rounds. 

Obviously, a great quality of weapon makes a difference, but taking such a shot, required great skills and disciplined, long trainings, because the distance to target was much higher than the one stated by manufacturer as “effective range”. When shooting from such distances, sniper has to consider all factors as bullet has to travel for ten seconds to reach the target. Therefore, when shooting, sniper has to calculate them on the go. Of course, in this case, those factors were on the side of marksman, as he was shooting from the building above the target.

This record of a Canadian soldier is a class on its own. Since 2009, the first place in world ranking was occupied by British Sniper, Craig Harrison. While serving in Afghanistan, he was able to hit his target from 2475 meters. Before him, the first place was occupied by another Canadian. Record from 2002 belongs to Rob Furlong, who was able to eliminate the enemy from 2430 meters. It is therefore clear that new distance is much greater than ever, changing it by a kilometer. In this situation, the question emerges: did Canadian reached the peak of humanly possible skills, or are better results to follow?

The last fact for today – in world ranking of best sniper, Canadian soldiers are clearly dominating. Three out of five soldiers are Canadian. Is there any secret behind this fact? Are Canadians gifted for marksmanship? Maybe it derives from well-done courses? It is not known, and yet many foreign soldiers can learn from their Canadians colleagues.