Kyle was also well-known for his incredible shots, his longest being a 2,100-yard kill with a McMillan TAC-338 sniper rifle. SGT Kremer's 2,515-yard (1.43 miles) shot narrowly edged out Gunnery Sergeant Hathcock for number four on this list. While the Mk-12 and Mk-11 were both semi-automatic rifles, Kyle's .300 Win Mag was a manual bolt-action. Kyle was dubbed 'Al-Shaitan Ramad' or the Devil of Ramadi" by the insurgents as a result of his lethal skills. [17][18] Routh is imprisoned at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Ramsey Unit in Brazoria County, Texas. 4: Tours of duty Kyle served in Iraq from 2003 to 2009. This article first appeared in December 2020. Twenty-four seconds later, the sound of a round impacting steel 4.4 miles away was heard by a team of forward spotters. Unless the group is centered perfectly on the target at 100 yards, the 2,500-yard group will be centered 25 times the off-center error at 100 yards. The hero's longest sniper shot was fired while he protected an approaching US Army convoy in Sadr City, eastern Baghdad, Iraq, in 2008. Kyle with his Lapua .338, the gun used to make his longest kill / Facebook Kyle is credited with more than 150 confirmed kills. The Bronze Star is awarded to members of the Armed Forces for heroic or meritorious achievement or service in a combat zone. Chris Kyle's long shot American Sniper is ironically associated with inaccuracy. Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle explains some of the details from his book American Sniper, including the differences between the SEAL teams and how he was able to make a 2,100 yard shot in combat. Sgt. But it's likely the number was far higher, as he had 255 claimed kills - where a shot hits the target, but a fatality cannot be confirm during battle. Two years after being recorded, the longest sniper kill shot remains one of the greatest feats ever performed in military history. As previously mentioned, the finer points of Special Forces . Routh's mother, who worked at the school that Kyle's children attended, had heard of his work and asked him to help her son. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, is based on Kyles autobiography. Even the most basic of sniper kills are impressive feats, and things get progressively more difficult with targets who are further away. This isnt the kind of thing where you buy a new rifle and some ammo right off of the gun store shelf and go get lucky, Shepard said. Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. He took plenty of time to familiarize himself with the fine details that go into lining up the perfect sniper shot, from the direction of the wind to the shooters breathing. He was deployed to a base near Baghdad in September 2007, where he worked for six months as a prison guard and repaired weapons. [citation needed], Devices such as laser rangefinders, handheld meteorological measuring equipment, handheld computers, and ballistic-prediction software can contribute to increased accuracy (i.e. What was Chris Kyle's longest sniper shot? [21][22], Littlefield's funeral was held on February 8, 2013, at the First Baptist Church of Midlothian, Texas; he was buried at Mount Zion cemetery. Will shoot u in the back. Learn the real-life story of Chris Kyle, the late Navy SEAL sharpshooter portrayed in the Oscar-nominated film "American Sniper.". Landing a shot at this distance requires not only intimate knowledge of how your weapon handles, but ariflecapable of reliably performing at that level. After blasting box office records and being up for six Oscars, left-wingers tried to torpedo Snipers gong hunt at the Academy Awards. But before he was fatally shot on a Texas gun range, the war hero said he was more interested in the people he'd saved - "thats the number Id care about". Before his murder in 2013 at 38, the so-called deadliest sniper in American history nurtured a comic book narrative. In mid-2017 it was reported that an unnamed Canadian special forces operator, based in Iraq, had set a new record of 3,540m (3,871yd), beating the record previously held by an Australian sniper (also unnamed) at 2,815m (3,079yd). ', The honor of taking the impressive shot would fall to a friend of Austin and Humphries who has a great trigger finger and smart analytical business mind. He agreed to it on the condition of anonymity, according to the release, which referred to him as Winston.. American Sniper (2012) American Gun (2013) Signature. And that brings us to "The Legend" and his claim-to-fame long-distance shot. At one time, the North Vietnamese Army placed a $30,000 bounty on him due to his soon-to-be legendary status as a sniper. And by doing his job so well, better than anyone in his countrys history, he saved many American lives.. He had been shot six times with a .45-caliber pistol, one of the bullets piercing his aorta. The Tac-50 revolutionized the global small arms scene following its introduction in 2000, successfully blending the reach and stopping power of an anti-materiel rifle (AMR) with the accuracy of a standard military-grade sniper rifle. [4], Routh was arraigned February 2, 2013, on two counts of capital murder, and was taken to the Erath County Jail for holding under a $3 million bond. He described the killing in his book, American Sniper. Another expert, Dr. Michael Arambula, testified he did not believe Routh was schizophrenic, and was not insane at the time of the murders because he was intoxicated. [5], Although optical equipment such as rangefinders and ballistic calculators have largely eliminated manual calculations to determine elevation and windage, the fundamentals of accurate and precise long-range shooting remain essentially the same since the early history of shooting, and the skill and training of the shooter, and the shooter's spotter where applicable, are the primary factors. . The record now belongs to a team led by Scott Austin and Shepard Humphries of Nomad Rifleman. No. a Remington 700/300, Later type classified as a MK13 Mod 1, .300 Winchester Magnum sniper rifle with McMillan stock and . Navy records show that he earned one Silver Star and three Bronze Stars with Valor, Nicholas Ranstad still holds the record for the longest shot made by a US sniper, their conditions didnt improve following a peace treaty signed with the government, and have committed all kinds of atrocities including using child soldiers, He first started shooting as a child to help get food, took down an Iraqi insurgent in 2004 with the longest confirmed sniper kill shot made by a US soldier, Arron Perrys record-breaking shot was broken by another soldier in his same unit, fine details that go into lining up the perfect sniper shot, from the direction of the wind to the shooters breathing, he felt totally abandoned by his regiment once he developed PTSD, while the target was definitely eliminated, no one is sure which shooter was responsible for the kill, This especially holds true when it comes to details of personal identity and how the task was carried out. The film American Sniper is adapted . A Canadian special forces sniper has broken the world record for the longest confirmed kill shot. That shot stood as the longest confirmed kill in sniper history for more than three decades. Today well learn about the top 10 longest sniper shots ever recorded and rank them according to the distance between shooter and target. We were taught snipers were cowards. Hathcock became a US Marine Corps legend as a result of his many accomplishments, and even had a variant of the M21 named after him. This example ignores all other factors and assumes no-wind shooting conditions, identical muzzle velocities, and identical ballistic performance for each shot. Sienna Miller plays his wife back home in Texas, whos struggling to cope with a husband changed by war. In addition, as instruments of measure, they are subject to accuracy errors and malfunction. Snipers arent heroes. Date: August 2008 Weapon: MacMillan Tac-338 Ammunition:.338 Lapua Magnum Nationality: USA . In an interview with the defence publication, Kyle said he didn't regret any of his kills in the field. After the killings, Routh went to his sister's house in Midlothian and told her what he had done. Then there is the Coriolis Effect, which requires snipers to account for hemispheric drift. As a SEAL, he was shot twice and survived 6 IED explosions. In 2017, a sniper from Joint Task Force 2 (JTF-2) neutralized an . Meet the big shot. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. What gun did Chris Kyle use? [9] After returning to the US, Hathcock helped to establish the Marine Corps Scout Sniper School at Quantico, Virginia. No name in sniper history is more revered than that of Carlos Hathcock, who in 1967 engaged and killed an enemy fighter from 2,286 meters. He said the book ruined his reputation in the Seal community. Chris Kyle was a Navy SEAL marksman whose autobiography 'American Sniper' became a bestseller and was made into a major Hollywood film. 160 of the claims were confirmed. Matt Holloway is a millennial, constitutional, conservative commentator, content creator and writer. They started a row based on Kyle himself, arguing that his actions were not those of a hero, but a trigger-happy coward, reported The Sun on Sunday in 2015. The Tac-50s .50 caliber round can hypothetically travel as far as five miles under ideal circumstances, though landing a shot at that range would prove extraordinarily difficult in real operating conditions. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds - AFP / Getty Images. The M2 machine gun Carlos Hathcock used for his longest confirmed kill in 1967 (U.S. Marine Corps) A WWII-era machine gun used as a sniping system . Jurors in 2014 awarded former Minnesota Gov. It was supposed to be a simple trip to the gun range. Chris Kyle, musclebound, grim-faced and lethal, liked to tell stories. U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Courtney P. Carr, adjutant general, Indiana National Guard, and Taya Kyle, widow of late U.S. Navy Seal sniper Chris . Hathcock also won the 1966 Wimbledon Cup, which is earned by the winner of the US 1,000-yard high-powered rifle National Championship. For comparison, legendary sniper and American hero Chris Kyles record for a combat kill was 1.2 miles with a single shot in 2008 against an Iraqi insurgent, according to History.com. Chris Kyle with his book, "American Sniper.". For example, a rifle capable of firing a or 0.5 MOA (approximately 0.5 inch center to center of the two holes furthest apart) 5-round group (often referred to as "grouping") at 100 yards will theoretically fire a 12.5 inch group at 2,500 yards (0.5 2,500/100 = 12.5). 2,100: Number of yards away from which Kyle hit a target in Iraq, making him reportedly just one of only five people on earth who could do it . For other inquiries, Contact Us. Littlefield had been shot seven times with a 9mm Sig Sauer handgun. It wasnt the first time something in Kyles book was questioned. By. [2], Murders of Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield, "The fatal intersection of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and the Marine veteran who killed him", "Chad Littlefield, 1977-2013: The Other Shooting-Range Victim", "Inside the Tortured Mind of Eddie Ray Routh, the Man Who Killed American Sniper Chris Kyle", "Noted sniper slain at Erath County gun range", "Man charged in fatal shooting of ex-SEAL/author", "Chris Kyle's Widow Breaks Down on the Stand and the Chilling Text Message", "Author of 'American Sniper' among the dead at Rough Creek", "Ex-SEAL Chris Kyle remembered after shooting death", "At 'American Sniper' murder trial, a psychosis defense", "Jury Returns Guilty Verdict in 'American Sniper' Trial", "Jury finds Eddie Ray Routh guilty in 'American Sniper' case", "Chris Kyle Funeral Procession Arrives in Austin. The world record for extreme long-range target shooting distance set by Paul Phillips of Midland, Texas, in 2020 had been shattered, the Jackson Hole News & Guide reported. In a competition last weekend, Cheney put two impacts on steel that were jaw-droppingly impressive. AMERICA'S deadliest sniper, Navy Seal marksman Chris Kyle, had at least 160 confirmed kills in Iraq by the Pentagons official count. American Sniper: Directed by Clint Eastwood. Kyle dropped the insurgent at 1.2 miles away (or approximately twenty-one football fields) with a single shot. The . He was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in July 2011 after serving for seven years. [17] Harrison killed the two Taliban machine gunners with shots that took the 8.59mm (0.338 inch) rounds almost five seconds to hit their targets, which were 900m (980yd) beyond the L115A3 sniper rifles recommended range. Lt. Jackie Pau, a Navy spokeswoman, told the AP that Kyles military personnel file stated he received one Silver Star and three Bronze Stars with valor. [8] He recorded 93 official kills. But Kyles discharge paperwork, known as a DD214 form, showed he had received two Silver Stars and at least five Bronze Stars, which is what he wrote in his book. Texas hardman Chris Kyle became a household name after his autobiography, American Sniper, was adapted into a movie by Clint Eastwood, starring Bradley Cooper. It was the world's eighth-longest confirmed kill shot by a sniper. Former CNN host and anti-Iraq war campaigner Piers Morgan, however,defended the man behind the movie, saying: Chris Kyle, American Sniper, was NOT a coward. DEVIL AND ANGEL: Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle watches over US Marines from his perch atop an upturned baby crib in a bombed-out building . Deputy said he heard Eddie Ray Routh say he killed the men because they wouldn't talk to him. He joined the Navy in 1999, and in . Texas introduced hunting, religion, and gunery to Chris Kyle in his early life. 5. After a trial in which jurors heard . A third shot took out the insurgents' machine gun. This record-breaking shot took down an Islamic State insurgent in 2004, but few other details have been disclosed. [12] His trial was set to begin May 5, 2014, but was delayed to allow more time to comply with DNA testing requirements. Navy documents show Kyle earned one Silver Star and three Bronze Stars with valor, instead of the two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars his book says he received. No American has been more associated with the Navy SEAL mystique than Chris Kyle, known as the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history. You can mess with the U.N. all you want, but when you start interfering with the right to get caffeinated, someone has to pay.". Photo illustration by Slate. During the next six years, Kyle and his deadly rifle (he used a variety of weapons, ranging from the military M4 to a .308 sniper rifle) left 160 "confirmed" bodies strewn in their wake in what was soon to be America's longest war. In a reversal, Biden said he would sign a resolution blocking a D.C. effort to reduce penalties for violent crimes. By the end of Kyle's career, he had earned two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars. Get the latest news delivered right to your email. The Bronze Star is awarded to members of the Armed Forces for heroic or meritorious achievement or service in a combat zone. In 2017, a sniper neutralized an ISIS target in Iraq at a distance of over 3,540 meters. Carlos Hathcock taking aim in Vietnam. Others . At the New Jersey Warrior Challenge in 2012, Ranstad was an honored guest and autographed almost 100 flyers! By the end of his first deployment Hathcock's life was worth $30,000 to the North Vietnamese .