Ranked: 9 of the longest sniper kills of all time, from Vietnam to Ukraine

Ranstad was operating in a part of Kunar province, northeastern Afghanistan, where he used a boulder for target practice. He would take notes on different variables affecting his shots — such as the temperature and wind — after each one, the New York Post reported.

In January 2008, Ranstad spotted four enemy soldiers stood conveniently by the rock, the Post said. After missing with his first attempt, Ranstad hit one of the insurgents with his second shot, despite them being outside the range of his gun’s scope, per the report.

The soldier was deployed as part of a South African UN squad fighting rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to South Africa’s TimesLIVE news website.

The soldier killed six enemy officers during the Battle of Kibati in August 2013, the report said. One of the shots was said to be from 1.32 miles away.

Hathcock holds the Marine Corps record for the longest confirmed sniper kill shot, as Insider previously reported.

The sniper set the record in 1967 during the Vietnam War, and it’s all the more impressive because he wasn’t using a sniper rifle.

Hathcock got his long-range kill with a M-2 .50 caliber Browning machine gun, which could be fitted with a telescopic scope for use at extreme distances.

He is regarded as one of the deadliest snipers in the history of the Marines, with 93 confirmed kills to his name.

Kremer is credited with killing an Iraqi insurgent in March 2004 while serving with the 2nd Ranger Battalion. The military outlet We Are The Mighty reported that the details of the event have been kept closely guarded by the military, but it ranks as the longest sniper kill by an American soldier.

Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper reported that Kremer hit his target using a Barrett M82A1 rifle.

Perry, took out an insurgent 1.44 miles away while also serving during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan, The Globe and Mail reported.

Perry’s actions during the operation led to him receiving praise from the Canadian government, though it didn’t specify details of any kills.

“From March 2 through 11, 2002, he operated his sniper team from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group through extreme weather conditions,” the Governor General of Canada’s website says of Perry’s service.

“Master Corporal Perry demonstrated impressive professionalism and dedication to duty through his valiant conduct while under direct and indirect fire and his actions helped ensure the success of the mission,” it adds.

Furlong is credited with taking out an Afghan insurgent at a distance of just over a mile and a half in March 2002. Furlong was taking part in Operation Anaconda in Shah-i-kot Valley, Afghanistan, per the Globe and Mail.

This list features three Canadian soldiers, a nod to the country’s reputation for producing some of the finest snipers.

“Canadian snipers are the best in the world,” Furlong told the magazine Maclean’s.

“The sniper training program has been around for a long time. It’s the foundation, and it’s been retooled from lessons learned in Afghanistan. We’ve built it to be the best,” he said.

British soldier Craig Harrison is said to have had two kills in quick succession at a distance of 1.53 miles while serving in Afghanistan.

We Are The Mighty reported that Harrison spotted an enemy machine gun team in November 2009. Firing in six-second intervals, he fired five shots and got two kills.

Harrison completed 10 tours in a 23-year military career with the Blues and Royals regiment of the British Army, serving in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

But Harrison told the Veterans’ Foundation earlier this year that the record caused him “nothing but misery” and that he continued to battle PTSD and suicidal thoughts.

In November, Ukraine claimed that one of its sharpshooters shot and killed an enemy soldier at a distance of 1.68 miles. 

Its strategic command shared a video on Telegram that it claimed showed the hit, saying: “The occupier was eliminated by a precise shot of our commandos from a distance of 2710 m.”

The distance is roughly equivalent to three times the height of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa — the world’s tallest building.

The top spot is said to belong to a Canadian soldier, who took the title in 2017 during a tour of Iraq.

The soldier was part of the elite Joint Task Force 2, the Globe and Mail reported. It said he used a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle while supporting Iraqi forces.

“The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh attack on Iraqi security forces,” an unnamed military source told the Globe and Mail, using an alternative name for ISIS.

Another military source told the publication that it was “an incredible feat. It is a world record that might never be equalled.”