Most effective long range sniper rifle ??

OK - just for fun I will take a stab at answering the question:

First - you need to determine what is meant by Long Range. You ought properly to discount those once in a lifetime / record book making shots as by their very nature they are not the norm. I would suggest that Long Range, in this context, means out past the effective range of standard small arms and, in absolute terms, means somewhere between 800-1200 meters.

Second you need to look at what is issued for military use - this will discount all benchrest, rail type etc firearms - and in the calibre issued.

So you have some choices like ( for example only ):

Accuracy International
TRG 22/42
Remington-based M24
Timberwolf
Cheytac
Barret


I'm going to take a wild ass guess and say that in the hands of a trained marksman all the above would prove to be accurate under real world situations. In terms of hits recorded the honours would most likely go to the M24 or AI ( due to numbers fielded if nothing else ). Most likely topped with US Optics, Leupold Mk4 or (maybe) Nightforce NXS.

You may wish to read the Ultimate Sniper by Maj. John Plaster USA (ret'd) for more info. May I suggest not posting this question on a US site unless wearing flame-proof internet cloak :)
 
What you don't see in those cheesy videos are the PDA and Kestrel 4500 that are being used to generate the firing solutions. Without doing a whole lot of figuring I don't see how the average shooter could pull this off without using uber expensive gear.

I'm definitely not saying it's impossible, but surely not something that is being done on a regular basis. Unless you happen to work for Cheytac.
 
To the orginal poster: I started to post a long winded reply, and thought better. The fellas in those videos shoot, alot. The "future weapons" guy, while anoying as a host, was a real shooter, both m&m. Unless you have a spare $10k hanging around, and are serious, which from you question, I gather not, then you really shouldn't be asking. Especially after looking at the videos, you already had an answer. Just my two bits.

R.
 
jsquig said:
Also, keep in mind, although I'm sure you're aware, and a far better shot.... the longest confirmed sniper kill to date is only 2430 metres, which broke a record that stood for 35 years. So even if you are a military trained sniper there is a slight chance this range is beyond your capabilities, as it it for most people and equipment (note: I'm being nice, there's about a snowballs chance in hell that I or anyone I've ever met, or you, could do this.

Semper Fudge
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Canadian Sniper btw:D
 
yukoncoyote said:
What you don't see in those cheesy videos are the PDA and Kestrel 4500 that are being used to generate the firing solutions. Without doing a whole lot of figuring I don't see how the average shooter could pull this off without using uber expensive gear.

I'm definitely not saying it's impossible, but surely not something that is being done on a regular basis. Unless you happen to work for Cheytac.
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They show the PDA, and the Kestrel Weather monitor, and they pretty much say it does all the calculations needed....even allows for rotational spin of the Earth.

Pretty impressive group at the end, it took him 3-4 shots to get the holding point and then he shot a 20 inch group @ 2500 yards.:eek:
 
I am not sure anyone really answered your question. For Canadian competition the longest shot is 1000 yards, currrent F-class target is in evolution and hopefully will be the ICRFRA 1/2 minute or about 5 inches at 1000 yards. The point here is not just hitting the target but hitting it or staying close for a 15 shot string. Most matches require you to shoot at 500,600,900,1000 yards, over a couple of days so you need to adapt to stress, fatigue, and changing wind.

For the most part you are looking at various 6.5mm cartridges, generally 6.5-284, 6.5-280AI, as well as .308 and some guys shoot 6mm. There is also an increasing number of 7mm variations taking home alot of hardware, these almost all shoot 7mm 180gn Berger VLD's from 7mm WSM, 284Win, 7mm Shehane and a few others.

All the match rifles are custom work, using a variety of heavy barrels, Shilen, Kreiger, Broughton are just a few. My bbls are 1.25 inch straight tubes, the bbl is about 10 lbs.

Actions, are also custom, Lilja, Barnard, Surgeon, Panda, Stiller.

Stocks are mostly heavy, F-class stocks, but some people are using Tubeguns (with great success), instead of standard stocks.

Lots of optics, and nightforce is common with variable zoom, max varies from 22x but up to 42x by 56mm depending on your pocket book and your eyes :)

This is not complete but a general listing, I am sure others can add much more.
 
jsquig said:
the longest confirmed sniper kill to date is only 2430 metres, which broke a record that stood for 35 years.
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The longest range recorded for a sniper kill currently stands at 2,430 meters (2,657 yd, or 1.51 miles), accomplished by Master Corporal Rob Furlong, a sniper from Newfoundland, Canada, in March 2002 during the war in Afghanistan. Furlong made this record-breaking kill while he was participating in Operation Anaconda. He was a member of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). To make the kill, he used a .50 caliber BMG (12.7 mm) McMillan TAC-50 bolt-action rifle.[18] Utilizing a ballistic calculator, it is possible to reproduce the trajectory and time-in-flight of such a ranged shot. With a nominal muzzle velocity of 2,910 feet (890 m) per second for the .50 BMG M1022 Long Range Sniper[19] round, and an estimated ballistic coefficient of 1.05,[20] such a shot fired at the estimated altitude of 9,000 feet (2,700 m) for the Shah-i-Kot Valley would have taken 3.92 seconds to reach the target, and drop 155.8 feet (47.5 m) during flight. Also note at such a long range, even a light breeze of 20 kilometres (12 mi) per hour would have blown the bullet off target by 20.8 feet (6.3 m). A three-man al-Qaeda weapons team was moving into a mountainside position when Furlong took aim with his Long Range Sniper Weapon (LRSW), a .50-caliber McMillan Brothers Tac-50 rifle and ammunition loaded with 750 gr Hornady A-MAX very-low-drag bullets.[2] He began firing at a fighter carrying an RPK machine gun. His first shot missed and his second shot hit the knapsack on the militant's back. The third struck the target's torso, killing him.

Just prior to Cpl Rob Furlong's longest recorded sniper kill, MCpl Arron Perry recorded the second longest recorded sniper kill in history from 2,310 metres. [There's some contraversy about this]

The previous record was held by U.S. Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock in February 1967 during the Vietnam War, at a distance of more than 2,347 yards (2,146 m) using a scope-mounted Browning M2 .50 machine gun.[21][22][23] By contrast, much of the U.S./Coalition urban sniping in support of operations in Iraq is at much shorter ranges, although in one notable incident on April 3, 2003, Corporals Matt and Sam Hughes, a two-man sniper team of the Royal Marines, armed with L96 sniper rifles each killed targets at a range of about 860 metres (941 yd) with shots that, due to strong wind, had to be “fire[d] exactly 17 meters (56 ft) to the left of the target for the bullet to bend in the wind.

[most of that is copied from wikipedia]

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There's a rumor of a test shot being done in England on a 416 caliber bullet that struck a target at 3200 meters. This was a very controlled test with computers, weather, multi stage lasers for targeting, the barrel was mounted onto a solid rest. It was not a typical hunting shot by any means but it was a classifiable rifle shot.
 
Hi group,

I find the responses I have received quite interesting. Some were very helpful and well thought out, others were completely useless and some others seem to be scolding me for asking a question :D Strange but true :)

It seems to be very difficult for some people to realize, respect and state that hitting a target at 2,500 metres is no longer a pipe-dream, but rather it has become the norm in ultra-long distance shooting!

In addition, why is using a ballistics computer considered a foul? To me it seems the right idea for solving complex problems. It would not surprise me if the PDA hardware and software will be built into the scope at some point in the future allowing the corrections to be made automatically.

Cordially,

SIB
 
Sir Isaac Brock said:
It seems to be very difficult for some people to realize, respect and state that hitting a target at 2,500 metres is no longer a pipe-dream, but rather it has become the norm in ultra-long distance shooting!
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Maybe it's some other people who find it difficult to realize that the question, based on its wording had countless answers, and that 2500 metres has not become the norm, but is on the outside edge of what is possible with the absolute best training and equipment possible. From a competition shooting standpoint, these ranges are not shot. From a military standpoint there are no kills at this range.

If you are looking for a rifle to make long range shots while under fire from a .338 Lapua Gecko45 was right when he chose the old stand by of a breakdown NEF single-shot 300 WinMag with an 18" bbl. Just make sure you have some thick plate for the person who is going to be returning the short range fire and "catching" the .338 rounds as you set up your rifle.
 
Sir Isaac Brock said:
In addition, why is using a ballistics computer considered a foul? To me it seems the right idea for solving complex problems. It would not surprise me if the PDA hardware and software will be built into the scope at some point in the future allowing the corrections to be made automatically.

Cordially,

SIB
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Already is. Barrett BORS.
 
Didn't a guy on Longrangehunting score a groundhog at something crazy like 3400 yards? Can't find the thread over there, but I thought I read something about that.

Sir Isaac Brock
Guys weren't insulting you, just asking for a more specific question to answer.
 
Sir Isaac Brock said:
Hi group,
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Sir Isaac Brock said:
It seems to be very difficult for some people to realize, respect and state that hitting a target at 2,500 metres is no longer a pipe-dream, but rather it has become the norm in ultra-long distance shooting!

The "norm" where? Youtube? Internet Forums? One episode of "Future Weapons" does not reflect the "norm" of long distance marksmanship. 2500 metres can be reached but the means to do so is so prohibitive for the majority of shooters that to call it "the norm" is ridiculous.

As for your original ques. Perhaps it should have been posted in Newbie FAQ's
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Sir Isaac Brock said:
It seems to be very difficult for some people to realize, respect and state that hitting a target at 2,500 metres is no longer a pipe-dream, but rather it has become the norm in ultra-long distance shooting!
Click to expand...

You seem to believe 2500m is the norm... why don't you ask your souces about what rifles they are using as it does not appear any of us here are telling you it is normal.

And dont forget to report back to us what rifle they are using so all of us can have an accurate 2500m setup :)
 
I regularly shoot 1/4MOA groups at 2500m and consider it childs play... Not to mention that is offhand in blustery winds and often from a moving vehicle just to make it somewhat challenging. (This is the internet afterall) :)
 
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