Many of the snipers on this list are anonymous.

The Longest Sniper Kills in History

The most-revered in war after survival and victory is a sniper's shot. Their art to kill requires immense patience and a steady hand, for the cleanest jobs done amidst the chaos of warfare. Snipers hold their jobs "precisely" because of their highly-refined skills to commit fantastic feats from a distance. With impressive practice, mythic stories spread around in nearly every war, depicting snipers with sweat, blood, and tears. A signature skilled sniper long-shot comprises accurately stretching a single round past conventional barriers to eliminate the target faster than the travel of sound from the crack of the rifle.

Carlos Hathcock is the most legendary sniper in history for engaging and killing an enemy soldier in 1967 during the War in Vietnam. His shot from 2,500 yards away was the longest-standing confirmed kill in sniper history for over three decades. There were seven new records between then and now during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The longest confirmed kill today, according to the Canadian Armed Forces, goes to a Canadian sniper in Iraq for shooting a target from 3,772 yards (2.14 miles) away in 2017. These are the six longest sniper shots, all confirmed by military authorities from the shooter’s home nations, with Canadians delivering half of them, and no Americans on the list.

6. 2,526 Yards (Aaron Perry, the Canadian Army, 2002)

3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry
3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry make their way to a waiting UH-60 Black helicopter.

Master Cpl. Aaron Perry of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in the Canadian Armed Forces places sixth with a shot-to-kill in March 2002 during the War in Afghanistan. Perry's role was supporting Operation Anaconda in the Shah-i-Kot Valley of Afghanistan, as part of a six-man Canadian sniper team that amassed over 20 confirmed eliminations in the same operation. He took the record-breaking shot from a McMillan Tac-50, striking the target dead with a .50 BMG bullet.

5. 2,657 Yards (Rob Furlong, the Canadian Army, 2002)

This is the actual weapon Corporal Rob Furlong of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) used to kill an enemy combatant
This is the actual weapon Corporal Rob Furlong of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) used to kill an enemy combatant from 2,657 yards.

Perry did not hold the Canadian Army's record-kill long, with Cpl. Rob Furlong over-reaching Perry’s shot with a kill from 2,657 yards (2,430 meters) away just later that month. He was fighting as part of a different Canadian sniper team in the 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Furlong was part of the same Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan when he spotted and targeted a group of enemy soldiers maneuvering through the mountains. He used a personal McMillan Tac-50 rifle to fire .50 BMG bullets, missing his initial two targets, but striking the third with a direct kill.

4. 2,706 Yards (Craig Harrison, British Army, 2009)

A sniper aiming a L115A3 rifle
A sniper aiming an L115A3 rifle. Image credit Maj Paul Smyth/MOD via Creative Commons

Craig Harrison, a soldier of the United Kingdom ranks fourth with a 2,706-yard (2,475-meter) shot that struck two insurgents in Helmand province, Afghanistan. The sniper was an army Corporal of horse, part of the Blues and Royals, and Household British cavalry units, equivalent to an American sergeant, during the War in Afghanistan. Harrison took the fateful round in November 2009, with Trooper Cliff O’Farrell by his side who helped identify the targets over a mile and a half away. The enemy was firing on British and Afghan soldiers with a PK machine gun just south of Musa Qala. 

Harrison used an Accuracy International L115A3 long-range rifle with .338 Lapua MagnumLockBase B408 bullets that traveled for approximately six seconds for the kill. He adjusted slightly prior to the second shot, even before the first hit, with both bullets traveling toward the target simultaneously. The enemy shifted a second before the first bullet arrived, but the second bullet delivered the fatal shot to the chest, according to Harrison. He struggled with post-traumatic stress after the war.

3. 2,963 Yards (Unnamed, Ukrainian Armed Forces, 2022)

Ukrainian sniper, 2022.
Ukrainian sniper, 2022. Image credit kibri_ho via Shutterstock

A Ukrainian soldier claimed third place for the longest sniper shot in history during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In November 2022, an unnamed sniper in the National Guard of the Ukrainian Armed Forces targeted and eliminated a Russian occupier with a precise shot from 2,963 yards (2,710 meters) away. According to the source, the Ukrainian soldier made the shot using XADOSnipex Alligator, firing 14.5×114mm bullets.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed the kill and posted it on Ukraine's Office of Strategic Communications Telegram channel. Some doubt the accuracy of the unlikely shot from 1.68 miles, with Jerusalem Post unable to confirm the kill. Although there are claims that the "record" is to hype up the army and Ukrainians, the third-longest combat kill ever-recorded is difficult, but not impossible.

2. 3,078 Yards (Unnamed, the Australian Defense Force, 2012)

Two Australian snipers.
Two Australian snipers.

An unnamed Australian soldier of the SOCOMD in the Australian Defense Force delivered the fateful shot from 3,078 yards (2,815 meters) away during the War in Afghanistan in April 2012. The sniper was one of two Australian commandos from the 2nd Commando Regiment.

Both shooters fired simultaneously from their Barrett M82A1 rifles with 12.7mm MP NM140F2 Grade A (.50 BMG) bullets remaining in the air for six seconds before striking the target. It remains unclear which of the snipers' rounds eliminated the Taliban commander from 1.8 miles away for the farthest-kill record that would hold for five years.

1. 3,772 Yards (Unnamed, the Canadian Army, 2017)

armed man in camouflage with sniper gun in hands
Sniper in camouflage.

An unnamed Canadian sniper from Joint Task Force 2 of the Canadian Armed Armed Forces places first, most recently, and for the third Canadian spot on this list. He took the legendary shot 3,772 yards (3,450 meters) away from the target during the Iraqi War in May of 2017. The soldier made the kill with a McMillan Tac-50 to eliminate an ISIS combatant just outside of Mosul, Iraq.

Although the shot was captured on video and confirmed by Canadian Armed Forces, the details are scarce, with the .50 BMG API(I) bullet, probably remaining in the air for just over 10 seconds. It is also reported that the ISIS target some-2.2 miles were preparing to partake in the ambush on Iraqi police.

Conclusion

Despite being known as a peaceful nation, Canada breeds good snipers with three proud Canadians out of six snipers on the list of longest sniper shots in history. Special mentions go to Sergeant Brian Kremer from the 75th Ranger Regiment in the United States Army for seventh place long-kill of 2,515 yards (2,300 meters) during the Iraq War in October 2004. Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock of the 7th Marine Regiment in the United States Marine Corps is now eighth with the longest-standing record of 2,500 yards (2,286 meters) long-kill in the Vietnam War in 1967. Kremer used the Barrett M82A1, while Hathcock's weapon of choice was an M2 Browning machine gun.

The Deadlist Sniper Kills in History

Rank Sniper Date Distance Weapon Nationality Conflict
1 Joint Task Force 2 sniper (name withheld) May 2017 3,450 m (3,772 yds) McMillan Tac-50 Canada Iraq Civil War
2 Australian Defense Force (name withheld) April 2012 2,815 m (3,078 yds) Barrett M82A1 Australia War in Afghanistan
3 Ukrainian Armed Forced (name withheld) November 2022 2,710 m (2,963 yds) XADOSnipex Alligator Ukraine Russian Invasion of Ukraine
4 Corporal of Horse (CoH) Craig Harrison November 2009 2,475 m (2,706 yds) Accuracy International L115A3 United Kingdom War in Afghanistan
5 Corporal Rob Furlong March 2002 2,430 m (2,657 yds) McMillan Tac-50 Canada War in Afghanistan
6 Master Corporal Arron Perry March 2002 2,310 m (2,526 yds) McMillan Tac-50 Canada War in Afghanistan
7 Sgt. Brian Kremer October 2004 2,300 m (2,515 yds) Barrett M82A1 United States Iraq War
8 Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock February 1967 2,286 m (2,500 yds) M2 Browning machine gun United States Vietnam War
9 Special Forces sniper (name withheld) August 2013 2,125 m (2,324 yds) Denel NTW-14.5 South Africa United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
10 Nicholas Ranstad January 2008 2,092 m (2,288 yds) Barrett M82A1 United States War in Afghanistan
11 Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle August 2008 1,920 m (2,100 yds) McMillan Tac-338 United States Iraq War – Sadr City
12 Corporal Christopher Reynolds August 2009 1,853 m (2,026 yds) Accuracy International L115A3 United Kingdom War in Afghanistan
13 AL-GNAS AL SABOR (name withheld) January 24, 2016 1,700 m (1,859 yds) LRT-3 sniper rifle Saudi Arabia Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) – Harth (Jizan Region)
14 Staff Sgt. Steve Reichert April 2004 1,614 m (1,765 yds) Barrett M82A3 United States Iraq War - Latifiya
15 Billy Dixon June 1874 1,406 m (1,538 yds) Sharps .50-90 United States American Indian Wars
16 Army sniper (name withheld) November 2007 1,380 m (1,509 yds) Barrett M82A1 Norway War in Afghanistan
17 Sergeant Vladimir Ilyin 1985 1,350 m (1,476 yds) Dragunov SVD Soviet Union Soviet war in Afganistan
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