Quote of the Day
I was thinking that Russians would now know that is what Ukrainians are capable of.
Let them sit at home and be afraid.
Vyacheslav Kovalskiy
December 4, 2023
Ukrainian Sniper Breaks Cover to Claim World-Record Hit of More Than 2 Miles
Via email from pkoning.
Yes, there was more than a little luck involved. But he and his spotter made a lot of their own luck too. Awesome shooting.
Also from the article:
Kovalskiy’s shot hit around 12,470 feet, around a third longer than the Golden Gate Bridge. That distance would break a record of 11,600 feet set in 2017 by a member of the Canadian Special Forces in Iraq.
The 58-year-old former businessman’s journey to martial mythology started just before day break on Nov. 18, when he and his spotter, a partner who calculates distance, wind speed and other variables, set up positions across the river from a Russian military base in the Kherson region of east Ukraine.
…
Kovalskiy and his spotter wonder why there is so much skepticism about a shot of this distance when targets, albeit stationary, have been achieved at these lengths several times in competitions such as the King of Two Miles in the U.S.
The two men are no ordinary snipers. Kovalskiy has been winning long-distance shooting competitions in Europe and North America for decades and first met his spotter at such competitions in Ukraine.
One has to wonder if things get a little on the sparkly side of normal in this country if the competition shooters will be among the first to be rounded up and sent to the gulags.
Prepare and respond appropriately.
Luck, always at that distance. But like you say. They did their homework.
The cartridge is the most intriguing to me. It looked like a 20mm necked down to 50 cal.? The muzzle break tells one a lot about it. Stay behind the shooter, ear plugs and muffs. Be ready to move as anyone looking in your direction is going to know exactly where you are. Debris flying with small trees and brush shaking around. (My friend builds .50 cals. with a similar muzzle break. It will pull a tarp from under concrete blocks like snapping a tablecloth from under the dishes on a table.)
Amazing shot, even for a rig like that.
As for rounding up competition shooters? It’s a big list. Given time and freedom of movement, they will.
But when one considers that machining practices are so advanced today. The average scoped hunting rifles are better than what was used in even Vietnam. Even today the M40/24 rifles are being walked over by the civilian market. Optics to. The military finally listened on the MK22 system. But to little, to late.
The military is way behind civilians in that matter. So much so it will be a continuing problem sparky season. The shooter in the article is almost 60.
That army coming across the southern border right now? They’re going to need them all, and they know it.
CWII, might end up being dubbed “The 500 yard war.”
The Ghost of Kiev has entered the chat.
This could be true but after so much propaganda, who knows any more. One little detail in the WSJ was interesting. The sniper was packing his rifle when the spotter called the hit. Yet the sniper described the way the targeted soldier folded up. I suppose that the spotter could have described it but call me suspicious.
They claim there is a video of the hit.
There was a “video” of the Ghost of Kiev too
I shoot ELR.
Not buy’in.
Ukraine has captured the first line of defense in the glorious extra most bestest counter offensive?
Oh wait…sad trombone.
“One has to wonder if things get a little on the sparkly side of normal in this country if the competition shooters will be among the first to be rounded up and sent to the gulags.”
I hope they’ll have video of that – I’d predict “Top Shot In Real Life” with a pretty impressive exchange rate.
Might even be a fancy trophy and hefty endorsement money for someone at the end of it.
I first heard about this from some youtube videos such as:
Some people – not here mind you – snickered at what Mike Vanderboegh wrote as an example of how asymmetry would operate, but from the more and more distant accuracy noted in recent history, this is not fanciful anymore, as distance is your friend when it comes to being a sniper:
“Direct military operations” are precisely what the 4GW insurgent seeks to avoid. His target is the mind and the will of the political leadership of his enemy — to be specific, the few inches between their ears which are filled with brains to be influenced or, if not, popped like a grape with an unanswerable rifle shot from distance as an example to the others.
Yeah, a stand-up fight with even a minimally competent regular force is suicide. AR-15s are useful for a complete breakdown of order but for war the long-range guys rule. Even a deer rifle in competent hands is better. Or you could go all Michael Collins/Menachem Begin and use pistols. In general, though Americans think too much about guns and not enough about IEDs except for the guys that were in Iraq.
You haven’t been to Boomershoot, have you?
I haven’t but its existence would seem to make my point. I suppose you could argue than an AR in some of the non-5.56 calibers is long range but that is not the common configuration. I keep waiting to see if the 6mm ARC is going to become popular.
And your targets don’t shoot back or call in air strikes.
I was mostly referring to the use of explosives.
“I was mostly referring to the use of explosives.”
If I understand Tannerite correctly, it takes a bullet or other sudden impact to detonate. So we are back to guns. Or can you do it with a blasting cap or some such.
We don’t use Tannerite. And there are other, more conventional, ways to detonate it.
Ah. I am obviously not competent with explosives. I do hope to visit sometime.
Originally Posted by Gizmodo commenter Aces_Over_Kings (over a decade ago, but it’s still funny)
Bud Light Presents… Real Men of Genius.
(~*Reeeal Mennn of Geniuuussss*~)
Today we salute you, Mr. Unappreciated and Uncredited Spotter Guy.
(~*Mr. Unappreciated and Uncredited Spotter Guy!*~)
Any 12 year old can put the crosshairs on the target. But YOU put the math on the crosshairs, and tell your buddy how to make the clicky adjustments of doom.
(~*Which cargo pocket did I put my TI-89 in?*~)
You do trigonometry in your sleep, calculate windage and distance just by feeling the wind on your eyeball, and routinely make the Coriolis Effect your bitch!
(~*Wicked windy, super far, a buncha mils, send it!”*~)
And do you get mentioned in a single article about the extreme-distance shots, or how hard it is to do ballistics math on a battlefield? Of course not.
(~*They all think “there’s an Aaaaapp for that”!*~)
So crack open an ice cold Bud Light, oh Sheldon Cooper of the infantry. Because why get all the girls, glory, and news attention, when you can carry the 1 for your buddy…
(~*Mr. Unappreciated and Uncredited Spottttter Guyyyyy!*~)