Small But Mighty: Canada’s Military Has Produced Record-Breaking Snipers
Oh, Canada!
The land of hockey, maple syrup, “ope, sorry” and … snipers?
Since May 2017, one Canadian soldier has held the distinction of the longest confirmed kill in military history. The 3,450-meter shot — 3,870 yards — shattered the 2009 record by British sniper Craig Harrison by nearly 1,000 meters.
The longest confirmed sniper shot by a U.S. soldier came in 2004, when Sgt. Bryan Kremer killed an Iraqi insurgent from 2,300 meters.
The shot from the unnamed gun specialist from Canada’s elite Joint Task Force 2 took roughly 10 seconds at the speed of 792 mph, traversing nearly 2 miles before reaching its target.
The record shattering kill was later independently verified by a video camera and other data, according to Toronto’s Globe and Mail.
“The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh [Islamic State] attack on Iraqi security forces,” a military source told the paper. “Instead of dropping a bomb that could potentially kill civilians in the area, it is a very precise application of force and because it was so far way, the bad guys didn’t have a clue what was happening.”
The unnamed soldier used a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle — the same rifle used by U.S. Navy SEALs — which is often declared as the most accurate rifle in the world, boasting an effective range of 1,850 meters.
Even when accounting for the wind, the angle, the light, even the Earth’s curve, the Canuck managed to eke out almost double that. To make matters even more lethal, according to Newsweek, three of the top five longest confirmed kills in history are from Canadians.
So, while we here south of the border like to jest about Canadian kindness (insert the “I’m a little upset” protest meme), it might behoove us to keep our gibes a little closer to the vest this Canada Day.
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