Sniper Rifles are like long
rifles except they have a range that dwarfs the
standard hunting rifles. The standard sniper
rifle range is 800 - 2400 yards (732 - 2200
meters). This is not only due to the
rifle, but also has a lot to do with the person
behind it. The design of these is quiet a
bit different. They are designed to help
dissipate the force generated by the amount of
gun powder needed to accelerate a round to that
kind of velocity. The range on these
firearms is so great that there are many
different variables that have to be taken into
account when making a shot.
Any good rifle hunter will tell you, "never
shoot at a moving target." You are much
better off waiting until the target is
stationary to take a shot. However the men
and women of our armed force do not always have
the luxury of waiting for a stationary
target. As such the variables that need to
be accounted for by any shooter have a much
greater effect. Imagine a small plane that
is trying to get from point A to point B in a
straight line. If the winds kick up, then
the pilot has to make adjustments to their
course. The same goes for shooting long
distances. If the wind starts to blow
before the shot is taken, then the shooter can
adjust to the new circumstances. This
usually requires a shift in position, but
sometimes can be fixed by aiming to either the
right of left of the target accordingly.
So now that distance and windage has been
accounted for there is one more thing that must
be taken into account in order to make sure all
of the basis are covered. The Coriolis
effect, the spin of the Earth, starts to come
into play when the bullets are traveling such a
distance that the position of the Earth moves
under its intended path. As slight as this
shift is, over the mile or so that the bullet is
in the air, it can make the difference in
hitting your target or missing completely.
These trajectories are
only out to 1000m. Most measured ranges
are 800m (875 yards) long. These,
however, show how much correction must be
applied to a shot in order to hit the target
at a particular of range.
Confirmed by GPS, Craig Harrison (UK) of UK's
Household Cavalry killed two Taliban
insurgents from a distance of 2474m/2.47km
(8,120 ft or 1.54 miles) in November 2009. It
took the 8.59mm rounds almost 3 seconds to hit
their targets, which were 914m (300 ft) beyond
the L115A3 sniper rifle's recommended range. A
third shot took out the insurgent's machine
gun. The rifle used was built by
Accuracy International, per the Guinness Book
of World Records.
