Vlad Lobaev's rifle: the world's farthest shot. Russian sniper sets target range record Farthest sniper shot at target

The story began a few years ago, when Vlad Lobaev, a Russian shooter and manufacturer of high-precision long-range rifles, saw a video on YouTube, where cheerful old men from Texas hit a target with a rifle at a distance of 3,600 yards (3,292 m). Vlad decided to accept the challenge and compete with the Americans. Fortunately, he had his own weapons factory, Lobaev Arms, at his fingertips.

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The Americans fired from a custom-made (custom) ultra-long-range rifle of a rare caliber .375 CheyTac. By that time, Lobaev's company was already serially producing the SVLK-14 "Twilight" ultra-long-range rifle in an even rarer and more powerful caliber. 408 CheyTac, which allows sniper shooting at distances over 2 km. For the record, they took a special custom "Twilight" with a titanium chassis and a drummer, with a barrel length of 720 mm and a weight of over 9 kg. In April 2015, on a field in the Kaluga region (there are simply no many kilometers of shooting ranges in Russia), Lobaev's team, after sighting shots, hit a target at a distance of 3400 m with this rifle. The video with the record was posted on YouTube. The Americans reacted calmly: they say, okay, let's continue the correspondence duel.

Record rifle SVLK-14 "Dusk"

Subsound

Not only the Americans reacted: a French sniper from the Foreign Legion, after long training, hit a target at a distance of 3600 m, but, apart from an article in a small specialized magazine, there is no information about this record, no one posted videos. The Americans also crossed the mark, first 3600, and then 4000 yards (3657 m). This video in Lobaev's company was studied practically under a microscope: some parameters of the shot did not match, the flight time did not match the initial speed and angle of inclination of the bar. In ballistics, nothing has changed, but a few hundred meters have been added. This does not happen, but since the competition was originally conceived as a competition of gentlemen, the Lobaevites decided to continue to shoot with the Americans honestly. And to win by knockout - to get from four kilometers.

For shooters, ultra-long-range shooting is considered to be shooting at a distance, where at the end of the trajectory the bullet goes at a deep subsonic level, because with supersonic everything is clear - there ballistics is considered easy, simple mathematical methods. And subsonic ballistics is considered more difficult, and, what is most unpleasant, some physical processes occur in this mode, which make it difficult to shoot at ultra-long distances. First, there is a re-stabilization effect. Linear velocity slows down by 1000 m, say, three times - from 900 m / s to 300 m / s. And the bullet speed is only 5-10%. At subsonic speed, the speed is even lower, but the rotational speed is still the same. This leads to the fact that all design and manufacturing defects of the bullet begin to creep out, which greatly affects the dispersion. In addition, at low speeds, errors in assessing wind and weather conditions become noticeable. The second factor is turbulence in the bottom at deep subsonics. At speeds of a little less than 300 m / s, this is not critical, but at distances over 2 km it strongly affects the accuracy. There is only one way to combat these phenomena - to design bullets with a different bottom design.

Classic problems for ultra-long range shooting require increased bullet mass and improved aerodynamics. Lobaev set his first record with the standard D27 bullet, an analogue of the Lost River, widely known in the West. These are elongated solid-point bullets for long-range shooting, also called Ultra VLD. They were no longer suitable for new records. If you go along the path of increasing the mass of the bullet, you will need to change the entire cartridge - either increase the chamber or use a new progressively burning gunpowder, or even switch to a different caliber. Another caliber (Browning .50 or domestic 12.7 x 108 mm) is a transition to another class and a completely different weapon with all the ensuing consequences: other barrels, bolts, receivers, dimensions, weight and a significant increase in recoil, at which the pleasure of shooting is out of the question at all.

Lobaev decided not to deviate from the old cartridge case and caliber .408 CheyTac, not to change either the dimensions or the weight of the weapon. He managed to develop a heavier 30-gram D30 bullet while remaining within the standard cartridge. This was also done because the patron is quite affordable and anyone can try to repeat the achievement. The design of the bullet was also modified: it began to resemble a long elongated spindle with two pointed ends, which made it possible to achieve an almost ideal ballistic coefficient of one. This required a redesign of the rifle, a faster rifling pitch to stabilize the longer and heavier bullet. If the classic rifling pitch in the 408th caliber is thirteen, then Lobaev decided to use the ten on the record rifle. Despite the fact that the initial velocity of the new bullet was less (875 m / s for the D30 versus 935 m / s for the D27), it had a more flat trajectory by 2 km.

Lateral support

One of the main problems with record shooting is that you cannot endlessly raise the bar of the telescopic sight. When shooting at such distances, the rifle has large elevation angles, as when shooting with a canopy, almost like a howitzer. At the top of the trajectory, the bullet travels at a height of several hundred meters. No scopes allow making such adjustments for aiming, therefore, special strips for the sight are used for record shooting. However, it is impossible to endlessly raise the bar: the muzzle device begins to block the aiming line. This just confused Lobaev in the last record of the Americans: the angle of inclination of the bar did not correspond to the correction necessary for such a distance. Lobaev saw the solution to this problem from the artillery, where the sight had long been moved to the left of the barrel. The solution is simple, but no one in the world before Lobaev used it. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that the sight on Lobaev's record rifles passes to the left of the barrel. What turned out to be more convenient for shooting: you do not need to throw your head back and you can take the optimal position.

Know-how of Lobaev - side mount of the sight for ultra-long range shooting. A year ago, it was forbidden even to photograph him. This system can also find application in the military: when firing at long distances, it helps to get by with the available Russian sights.

On the second try

They were going to break the record last summer in the fields near Krasnodar. For this, a giant 10 x 10 m target was made to at least aim. How a bullet behaves at such distances, no one knew, and there were no exact mathematical models... It was only clear that the bullets would enter the ground in the target area almost vertically, so the target was at a large angle. The difficulty was that the soil was wet during the shooting, so it was necessary to hit the target exactly: traces of hitting the ground at such low speeds and almost vertical angles are not visible. Unfortunately for the whole team, the record did not give in the first time: it was not possible to hit even such a big target. While preparing for the next round, the Americans posted a video on the Web with a 4 km record. It became clear that it was necessary to shoot even further.

Throughout the past year, Lobaev and his team have been conjuring over a rifle and new bullets, practically not giving out information about the project, fearing to jinx the world record, constantly approaching the coveted milestone, first taking 4170 m, then 4200. And in October this year they succeeded in the incredible: famous shooter and promoter Andrei Ryabinsky hit a 1 x 1 m target from a distance of 4210 m. For such a shot, a huge number of factors had to be taken into account, including the rotation of the Earth - the bullet spent 13 seconds in the air! As the record holder himself said, he had been going for this shot for eight years. So now the ball is on American soil. Or, more correctly, a bullet.

When talking about the best sniper shots, first of all, you should take into account the range of the shot and the accuracy of the hit. Guided by these criteria , Guns & Ammo magazine ranked the eight longest and most accurate shots officially registered.

Today more than ever modern weapons allows you to hit distant targets. However, one of the record-breaking shots was made more than 50 years ago, which also speaks of the importance of the skills and professionalism of each sniper. All ranges are in yards (1 yard = 91 cm).

Eighth in the ranking- shot of the American participant in the war in Iraq, Petty Officer Jim Gilliland (1367 yards). The shot was fired from a standard M24 rifle using standard 7.62 × 51 mm NATO ammunition in 2005.

In seventh place- shot by an unknown representative of the Norwegian military contingent in 2007 during the armed conflict in Afghanistan. Rifle - Barrett M82A1. Cartridges - Raufoss NM140 MP. Range - 1509 yards.

Number six- British Army Corporal Christopher Reynolds and his accurate shot in August 2009 at 2026 yards. Rifle - Accuracy International L115A3. Cartridges - .338 Lapua Magnum LockBase B408. The targeted target is the commander of a Taliban detachment named "Mullah", who is responsible for a series of attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan. For his shot, the corporal was awarded a medal from the hands of Queen Elizabeth II of England.

Number five- Sergeant Carlos Hatchhawk, shot at 2500 yards. Date - February 1967, the time of the Vietnam conflict. The historic shot that made the sergeant a hero of his time was fired from an M2 Browning machine gun. Cartridges - .50 BMG. Hatchcock is a legend today American army- he ranks fourth in the list of snipers who hit the maximum number of targets. At one time, the Vietnamese appointed a reward of $ 30,000 for his head.

Fourth place- US Sergeant Brian Kremer and shot at 2515 yards. Date - March 2004. Weapon - Barrett M82A1. Cartridges - Raufoss NM140 MP. In two years in Iraq, Kremer fired two successful shots with a range of over 2,350 yards.

Third place (bronze) - from the Canadian, Corporal Arron Perry. Shot range - 2526 yards. Date - March 2002. Weapon - McMillan Tac-50. Cartridges - Hornady A-MAX .50 (.50 BMG).

Second place (silver) - shot at 2657 yards, again by Canadian corporal Rob Furlong, coinciding in date with Arron Perry's record. Weapons and cartridges are the same.

First place (gold) - the unsurpassed record of Briton Craig Harrison. During the Afghan conflict in November 2009, he fired his best double shot at 2707 yards. The defeat of the target is documented - two Taliban machine gunners were killed in succession. This record makes Harrison the best of all time.

What can one shot? Eliminate the person. Change history. Stop the enemy offensive. Save a platoon of comrades in arms. Professionals in their field always deserve respect among people in their field. Army snipers are no exception, and the fate of the entire operation often depends on the accuracy of their fire.

1. From a machine gun for two kilometers

When Carlos Hascock was still a child, he loved to hunt small birds and squirrels with a small-bore rifle. Hascock's talent for shooting was revealed by service in Marine Corps USA. The young man was sent to Vietnam. Enemies appreciated the skills of the sniper faster than the American command, setting a price of $ 30,000 for the sniper's head (a colossal amount at that time).

On assignments, the American used the Winchester Model 70 rifle. However, he set his main record with the M2 Browning heavy machine gun with optical sight 8X Unertl mounted on a makeshift bracket. Hascock "removed" the enemy courier at a distance of 2,300 meters. This record was considered the world record from 1967 to 2002.

2. One bullet of six

The identity of this shooter is kept secret by the American command. All that is known is that he serves as a yawning corporal in the 1st Battalion of the Coldstream Guard. At the time of the record shot, the soldier was only 20 years old.
In the unit, the corporal quickly established himself as an excellent marksman, and therefore was the first to gain access to the high-quality L115A3 AWM .338 sniper rifle in .338 caliber. In Afghanistan, a fighter killed a Taliban heavy machine gunner 1339 meters in the chest.

The corporal fired his brightest shot in the province of Helmund, while covering the British positions that were attacked by the Taliban. Six militants were approaching the Allied trench, including a suicide bomber. The corporal shot the latter and caused the vest to explode, killing all six. The shot was fired from a distance of 850 meters.

3.10 seconds flight

The record for the firing range was set by an "nameless" sniper of the Coalition troops during an operation against terrorists of a group now banned in Russia. A soldier of the 2nd Joint Task Force, using a McMillan TAC-50 rifle, practically thwarted the entire offensive of the militants with one shot, killing the commander at a distance of 3450 meters at the positions of the Iraqi soldiers. The bullet flew to the target for 10 seconds.

4. Black shot

British Army corporal Christopher Reynolds killed the Taliban commander, nicknamed "Mula", with two shots at a distance of 1,853 meters. Reynolds had to wait for the target in ambush for three days. The corporal's first shot missed, but the range was such that the Taliban did not even immediately realize that they had come under fire. The sniper shot from the L115A3 rifle.

5.25 soccer fields

Craig Harrison's case is a prime example of how the media can ruin a person's life. While serving in Afghanistan, Craig rescued fellow soldiers who were pinned down by Taliban machine-gun fire. The incident took place in Helmand province. The corporal fired six shots at a distance of 2,475 meters and was able to eliminate two machine gunners. Harrison's shot is notable for the fact that he fired from an L115A3 rifle, and the distance to machine gunners was almost twice the effective range of this weapon.

Unfortunately, Craig's name made it to the media. Very soon, unknown persons began to threaten him and his family. The corporal himself began to suffer from mental disorder(due to constant tension), and his family completely collapsed.

Do you want to learn more interesting things? Then read about that everyone will appreciate.

While the sniper has a long and colorful history, last years Due to advances in technology, the range and accuracy of the weapon has improved, allowing more shots to be fired. Pocket computers, devices that collect information about the weather and the quality of the atmosphere, and laser rangefinders have everything to improve the accuracy of the shooter.

Curious what was the longest sniper shot ever? Most of the longest sniper shots recorded in history occurred at the beginning of this century, although the fifth longest shot was fired back in the 60s!

5. Sergeant of the Rtillery Regiment Carlos Hatchcock

Artillery Sergeant Carlos Hatchcock

This United States Marine is still considered a legend today, and rightly so. In more than forty years, only four other snipers managed to break his 1967 record.With an M2 0.50 caliber Browning machine gun and a telescopic sight, from a distance of 2,286 meters, he shot down a Viet Cong guerrilla. His record remained continuous until 2002. Hatchcock's shot was 2286 meters.

4. Sergeant Brian Kremer

Beretta M82A1

Kremer is in fourth place with a shot at 2299 meters, barely beating Hatchcock's record. This US soldier used a Beretta M82A1 and was a member of the 2nd Ranger Battalion in the Iraq War. He was not, however, the first to break Hatchcock's record. Kremer's shot was fired in 2004, two years after Corporal Rob Furlong and Master Corporal Aaron Perry, they broke Hatchcock's record in 2002.

3. Master Corporal Aaron Perry

TAC50

In March 2002, this Canadian soldier from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia, Canadian Light Infantry broke Hatchcock's old record by firing a Macmillan Tac-50 from 2309 meters away during the Afghanistan War.

2.K Apral Rob Furlong

Canadian Armed Forces Sniper Rob Furlong

Furlong was also a Canadian infantryman as Master Corporal Aaron Perry, and managed to break a comrade's record that same month during the Afghanistan War. Perry set his own record with Furlong hitting 2429 meters, a really long shot, during Operation Anaconda. Furlong used the same type of weapon as Perry.

1. Copral Craig Harrison

Copral Craig Harrison

And the winner of the Longest Sniper Shot category in November 2009, was Corporal Craig Harrison of Great Britain's Equestrian Covaleria, firing an Accuracy International L115A3 during the war in Afghanistan, his bullet flying an astounding 2,475 meters, again significantly ahead of the previous record holder. This was not an accidental achievement. Harrison creatively modified his equipment to achieve the level of accuracy and range needed to fire a bullet at such a huge distance. However, Harrison does say in his reports that he owes some of his credit to the good weather, which was optimal for long range shooting.

It's still pretty amazing that Hatchcock retains fifth place in the record books after so many years. You will notice if you check other sniper records, most of the top 11 took their pictures during the 21st century, with only one other exception, perhaps the most compelling of the lot. Billy Dixon, a civilian buffalo hunter, took a shot with a 0.50-0.90 caliber Sharps carbine during the June 1874 Indian Wars, fired at 1406 meters. Dixon is still ranked # 9 in sniper range. Not bad for a guy, relying on 19th century technology!

To hit the target from a distance of 3.5 kilometers with direct fire is a difficult task for almost any military equipment... When it comes to civilian weapons, it is completely unattainable. More precisely, it was unattainable up to this point. The Texas guys at Hill Country Rifle, a rifle manufacturer and customizer, did the impossible - hitting the target from 3,475 meters (3,800 yards).

Thefirearmblog reports that the previous unofficial record was 3,550 yards (3,246 meters). The author of the new achievement is Jim Spinella, who fired a modified Long Range Extreme 375 Cheytac rifle (base model - $ 6995) and used CHEYTAC .375 / 350 GR cartridges.

The sniper took 19 rounds for zeroing. After making all the adjustments, the hitting accuracy was 90% on the 36-inch target (91.5 cm). The shooting took place far from "greenhouse conditions" - during the establishment of the record, the wind blew at a speed of 4 m / s with gusts of up to 7.5 m / s.

To understand all the severity of the moment, here are a few facts:

• at the peak of the parabola, the bullet was 100 meters above the aiming point;
• from the moment of the shot to the hit, the bullet flew for more than 8.5 seconds;
• due to air vibrations, the target is almost invisible at such a distance, even in an optical sight.

The guys are not going to stop at the achieved result, planning to conquer the bar of 4000 yards (about 3658 meters) this fall. Until now, the achievements of snipers in accurate shooting range were not officially recorded, but Spinella and his comrades decided that it was time to put an end to this.

In combat conditions, the farthest confirmed sniper shot was fired from a distance of 2,475 meters. In November 2009, British Army Corporal Craig Harrison participated in the Joint Forces Operation in Afghanistan. During the battle in the Musa Kala region, using the L115A3 Long Range Rifle, from a distance of 2475 meters, he managed to destroy two Taliban machine gunners with two shots, and the third to disable the machine gun itself. In an interview with BBC Broadcasting Company, Harrison said that it took him 9 sighting shots to then consistently “lay down” three bullets exactly on targets.

Corporal Craig Harrison - the author of the "combat" sniper range record

Harrison also mentioned that on that day in the Musa-Kala area weather were ideal for long range shooting: clear visibility and complete calm. Bullets fired by Harrison from sniper rifle L115A3 Long Range Rifle, reached their target after about 6 seconds of flight.

It is noteworthy that the rifle and type of cartridge used by Jim Spinella are legal in the civilian market and are available for purchase as a hunting weapon in many countries around the world. Thus, the rifle can be purchased by anyone with a permission to purchase. rifled weapons and the required amount of money.