If you’re like me, you enjoy long-range shooting. One of the benchmarks in this craft has always been achieving a 1000-yard shot. Although advancements in guns and gear have made this shot less daunting than it once was, it still represents a solid challenge. The military shares these advancements, continually improving their equipment. While we celebrate our 1000-yard achievements, imagine hitting a target at four times that distance. Consider the added difficulty of making that shot in an austere environment, with people actively trying to kill you. These shots involve a bullet flight time of around seven to ten seconds. This is precisely how world record sniper shots occur. Here is the current list of the five longest sniper shots recorded.

Five of the Worlds Longest Sniper Shots

Before I dive in, we need to grasp the incredible nature of these shots.  These are shots taken where the bullet flight time can be around seven to ten seconds. Also, the average human can only see 2.9 miles before the curvature of the Earth cuts off their view. These shots are pressing the absolute maximum of human capacity.

1. Distance 2.36 Miles – 4153.6 yards

In November 2023, Viacheslav Kovalskyi, an award-winning long-distance competitive shooter, settled into his position in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. After the Russian invasion, he joined the counter-intelligence agency of Ukraine’s Security Service. Using a Horizon’s Lord anti-materiel rifle, believed to be chambered in 12.7x114HL, Kovalskyi prepared for his shot. This special round, loaded with a 750-grain bullet, set the stage for his remarkable feat. At 58 years old, he fired a single shot at a Russian officer, and after a nine-second flight time, the officer collapsed to the ground. At the time of this writing, this shot marks the longest-recorded sniper hit in history.

2. Distance 2.19 miles – 3864.4 yards

Canadians operate one of the finest sniper schools in the world, which produced an exceptional shooter attached to the Canadian Joint Task Force 2. In 2017, this unnamed sniper positioned himself in a high-rise building in Iraq to support Iraqi security forces as an overwatch. The situation proved complex because air support was not an option due to the high number of civilians in the area. Armed with a McMillan TAC-50 rifle, the sniper fired a 750-grain bullet at an ISIS fighter. Within moments of pulling the trigger, the ISIS fighters experienced the devastating effects of the powerful round, known as the pink mist. Confused and rattled, the fighters broke contact without even knowing the sniper’s location.

3. Distance 1.74 miles – 3062.4 yards

We now head to Afghanistan’s Helmand Province with the Australian 2nd Commando Regiment. This sniper was working with another team in the area as a small sniper unit. The shot was made and confirmed by three spotters working on the detail. Like other snipers, he was using a 50 BMG round. He used the Barrett M82A1 with a Schmidt and Bender scope. What makes this shot even more impressive is the rifle itself. Some may argue that the M82A1 is not traditionally considered a true sniper rifle. The gun must consistently shoot 1 MOA or better to meet that designation. The M82A1 is technically an anti-material rifle designed for vehicles and other targets. In the right hands, however, this rifle is capable of shooting “minute of man.” The M82A1 has been the end of countless enemy combatants in the hands of exceptional snipers.

4. Distance 1.68 miles – 2956.8 yards

Our number four slot belongs to another Ukrainian sniper. While details on this shot are thin, what we know is this. A special operations soldier of the Ukrainian National Guard fired a shot at a Russian soldier. He was using the XADO Snipex Alligator, a specially designed, anti-materiel rifle made in Ukraine with a claimed effective range of 2,000 meters. The Snipex Alligator is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that is immediately distinguishable by its enormous size. It sits at 79 inches when fully assembled, with most of its length coming from the barrel. It fires a 14.5 × 114 mm round and was designed to consider all the requirements for high-precision shooting. The shot was on target, making it the fourth-longest sniper shot of all time.

5. Distance 1.53 miles – 2962.8 yards

While not in the top spot because of distance, this record is even more remarkable because he took out two targets from the same position. In 2009, a British Army sniper was providing overwatch for forces in Afghanistan. He used an Accuracy International L115A3 with a Schmidt & Bender 5-25×56 PM II scope. The shooter was Craig Harrison, a Corporal a member of the elite British Household Cavalry. Harrison spotted a Taliban two-man machine gun crew shooting at a convoy. The insurgents were armed with a Soviet PKM machine gun. Harrison shot and killed both members of the machine gun crew with two sequential shots. He additionally shot and destroyed the PKM machine gun as well. While technically, this sits in our fifth slot; it is one of the most impressive displays of shooting I have read about. It is truly one of the best World Record Sniper Shots.

World Record Sniper Shots

The factors that go into these shots are countless. They include wind speed, temperature, barometric pressure and even the rotation of the Earth. Hats off to these shooters that have elevated long range shooting to an art form.