# Long-range sniper question (where to aim?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-range-sniper-question-where-to-aim/317137 "2005-08-15T20:09:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-range-sniper-question-where-to-aim/317137/21 "2005-08-16T15:10:43Z")
> [@TokyoPlayer](#): > > … but his story just reeked. I’m not surprised since the FBI estimates that for every real Navy Seal there are at least 300 guys who claim to be one ([http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB111533986173926430-K\_XMqM2Fe4Gn2S\_wmni1njavo2k\_20060505,00.html?mod=blogs](http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB111533986173926430-K_XMqM2Fe4Gn2S_wmni1njavo2k_20060505,00.html?mod=blogs)) and I attended the air show at Oshkosh one year with a guy who claimed to have flown fighters in Nam while I wouldn’t let that guy run the airplane ride at a carnival. One of his claims was that he was in a famous bit of film showing him landing an Air Force Phantom (no arrestor hook) on an aircraft carrier. It didn’t work, as you might guess, but he said he needed to land someplace and that was the nearest flat surface. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-range-sniper-question-where-to-aim/317137/22 "2005-08-16T15:26:53Z")
**dropzone** AFAIK the air force’s phantoms, at least the F-4C, had the same arresting gear as the navy version and a lot of other AF planes have light duty arresting hooks. Still this guy was colossally full of shit it probably squirted out of his ears when he walked. I probably would have mercilessly drilled him with questions he couldn’t answer, well only if I couldn’t find a four year old little girl to slap him until he cried. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BlakeTyner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@BlakeTyner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlakeTyner)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-range-sniper-question-where-to-aim/317137/23 "2005-08-16T17:12:21Z")
The cold barrel shot was always something my father emphasized, and I’m not sure if it was something HE was taught, or something that just seemed logical to him. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a noticable difference when shooting, but I’ve always been satisfied with 3 inch groups. I’ve about decided that I wasn’t cut out to be a tack-driver! Like I said before, I’m certainly no sniper…and the fellow I talked about earlier never talked much about his experiences. Tell the truth, I never even found out what branch of the military he’d been in, or what area of combat (if any.) He was a quiet, dignified guy that ran a small gun shop here in town. Didn’t last very long; unfortunately I never saw anyone buy anything in there. IIRC, he was a skilled gunsmith himself, and I _think_ had built his .243 bolt. At any rate, I learned a lot from this thread. It’s always interesting to find out more about something traditionally shrouded in mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-range-sniper-question-where-to-aim/317137/24 "2005-08-16T17:44:16Z")
Your dad was probably taught that and it makes sense as it used to be normal practice to bed rifles so the stock was in full contact with the barrel. In fact some rifles are designed specifically to have a pressure point. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-range-sniper-question-where-to-aim/317137/25 "2005-08-16T19:29:29Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > it was something like 2.6 kilometers from the target. The bullet drop was estimated to be something like 14 _feet_. I might be wrong, but that would seem to imply a truly hellacious muzzle velocity. Making conservative assumptions, my back-of-the-envelope calculations say it would take something over 10,000fps to do this. This [link](http://home.swipnet.se/longrange/ballistic_tables.50%20MULTI.htm) gives ballistic data for a typical .50BMG cartridge, with a muzzle velocity a bit under 3000fps. It only goes out to 1500 yards, at which point the bullet drop is just over 73 feet. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-range-sniper-question-where-to-aim/317137/26 "2005-08-16T19:44:07Z")
> [@BlakeTyner](#): > > I HAVE had the opportunity to shoot a local guy’s sniper rifle, a custom bolt-action .243 with Harris bipod. I’d never thought about it, but he says all snipers he knew and trained with carried bolt-action because it is dependable and doesn’t canibalize any gasses for recycle/extraction. Thus, the missile travels further. Interesting stuff. I’ve also heard that snipers (at least the British ones, according to the thing I saw on TV about it) prefer bolt-action rifles because you can manually extract the shell casing, instead of having shiny bits of brassy stuff flying through the air, potentially revealing your position. Also, it lets you keep a neat tidy little pile of brass, so you can easily clean up after yourself before you sneak out. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-range-sniper-question-where-to-aim/317137/27 "2005-08-16T19:46:39Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > I’ve also heard that snipers (at least the British ones, according to the thing I saw on TV about it) prefer bolt-action rifles because you can manually extract the shell casing, instead of having shiny bits of brassy stuff flying through the air, potentially revealing your position. Also, it lets you keep a neat tidy little pile of brass, so you can easily clean up after yourself before you sneak out. Perhaps. But I think the main reason bolt action rifles are used (for sniping) is because they’re inherently more accurate than semi-autos. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-range-sniper-question-where-to-aim/317137/28 "2005-08-16T22:03:09Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > A couple of years ago a Canadian scored the longest sniper kill in history. As I recall, it was something like 2.6 kilometers from the target. The bullet drop was estimated to be something like 14 _feet_. [2.43 km](http://www.snipercountry.com/Articles/KillingShot_2430Metres.asp), to be precise. I read a drop of 146 feet on a completely unreliable message board, but that’s at least more in line with Xema’s figures anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-range-sniper-question-where-to-aim/317137.md?page=1)