In 2009 in Afghanistan, one soldier had found
himself in a precarious situation. The British sniper Craig Harrison was stationed
in Afghanistan in a patrol vehicle in Musa Qala when one day he spotted two Taliban insurgents
running through a courtyard. He decided to shoot. The targets were a long way into the distance
— around one and a half miles away, to be precise — which seems way too far considering
the range of his rifle. But the conditions of the day were favorable:
there was almost no wind and clear visibility. So, he pulled the trigger. For the next six seconds, the bullet flies
through the air at supersonic speed. Harrison had plenty at stake. He had friends on foot patrol who were stuck
in a gully and surrounded by Taliban. They might die if he couldn’t make the shot. He could see the machine gun of the enemy
firing here, there, and everywhere — he had to take out the gunner to protect his
own men. He missed. The failed shot alerted the Taliban that there
was an enemy shooter nearby, making the situation even more desperate than before, as the soldiers
tried to find the source of the firing. Now, everyone was in danger. He shot again. But this time, the gunner collapsed. Butterflies coursed through Harrison’s body,
as he contemplated the significance of the shot, but he tried to repress his excitement. This wasn’t finished yet — he still needed
to take out the second gunman. He took another shot. Once again, he missed the first time but was
successful the second time around. Both gunmen shot dead, from one and a half
miles away. Most importantly, Harrison’s friends were
safe. It was miraculous — at least, it seemed
that way from where he was sitting. The Taliban probably didn’t see things that
way. Later, a helicopter measured the distance
the bullet had traveled. It was 2,475 meters, meaning the shot broke
the current world record. As if this wasn’t impressive enough, Harrison’s
gun only had a supposed range of 900 meters — less than half the range of the actual
shot. The record was previously held by Canadian
Rob Furlong in 2002, who shot an insurgent in Afghanistan from 2,430 meters away. Before him, another Canadian called Aaron
Perry also shot an insurgent in Afghanistan, this time from 2,310 meters away. But the poor guy only got to hold the record
for a few weeks before being beaten by his comrade, who shot just over 100 meters further. Little could any of them have known that their
achievements would be blown out the water just a few years later by another gunman. It’s a sweltering day in Iraq, and there’s
a sniper who faces high stakes. Shoot his target over two miles away, or 3,540
meters away, or know his friends and comrades will die because of him. No pressure there, then. He’s another Canadian. So, don’t be fooled by their reputation
for being polite and chilled out. When it comes down to it, Canadians know how
to handle a gun, and they’re the deadliest snipers in the world. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Canada has an elite JTF2 special forces group,
tasked with activities that include sniper operations. Their snipers are also part of the Canadian
Special Operations Regiment. Unsurprisingly, the sniper aiming his weapon
in Iraq is a member. If successful, the distance might make this
shot a world record-breaking feat. You could call it a long shot. Get it? The sniper’s companion gives him instructions
on where to position himself and how to line the weapon up, as he looks through the scope. Everything is ready. The shooter gulps. It’s as if all his years of training in
the elite special forces have been leading up to this very moment. Here goes nothing. He breathes in, breathes out, pauses, and
squeezes the trigger. As the bullet flies through the air at an
incredible speed, there’s nothing to do but wait. When making a shot, a gunman has multiple
factors to take into account. Above all, there’s the wind, the angle,
and the light. The further away the target is, the more complicated
the shoot becomes, and the more variables are involved, including even the curvature
of the Earth- and that’s why flat-earthers make terrible snipers. Basically, there’s a lot of margin of error. It actually takes excellent maths skills to
make the right calculation about when and how to shoot. In fact, a classic sniper maxim is that sniping
is weaponized math. Sexy. Let’s take a look at the aspects to consider
in more detail. There’s a hard limit to just how far a bullet
can be shot. They can’t keep moving forever because,
you know, gravity. A bullet loses energy when it exits the gun
muzzle, and as it travels, air friction slows it down, eventually resulting in a loss of
energy. This is known as the bullet drop amongst shooting
circles: the further the bullet goes, the more it starts to drop until it eventually
hits the ground. You don’t want to aim for the head and end
up hitting the groin. Or maybe you do, I don’t know what kind
of person you are. Luckily, there’s a simple way to counteract
the effect of bullet drop: shooting from an elevated position. The Canadian shooter had this advantage when
making his shot. But then again, shooting downward from an
elevated position makes operations even more complex. It also helps to have a scope mount, which
you can attach to the gun to angle it upward. Usually, the bullet hits the ground after
around five miles. Yes, that’s a lot further than the shot
we’re talking about here. But before you go thinking that shooting a
target two miles away is easy, listen up. Snipers need to think about ballistics. I’m not talking about going crazy or flying
into a rage, I’m talking about the mechanics of what happens to a bullet when it’s fired. The wind is one of the most important factors
to consider. It could change direction at any point, and
this would affect the shot. Especially when you’re talking about such
long distances. On that fatal day in 2017, there was very
little wind. By the way, as a heads up, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo is said to be the least windy place on earth. Then, you’ve got to consider the light conditions,
because they affect how the target appears to the shooter. Too much light can make the target seem smaller
and further away, haze can make the target indistinct, and scattered clouds result in
an annoying mix of these two unfavorable circumstances. This isn’t going to be a huge issue if the
target is standing right in front of you, but when they’re miles away, things can
easily become distorted. The ideal light conditions are overcast days
since there’s no glare but the target can be clearly seen. Also, it might be stating the obvious, but
great snipers need great eyesight. Otherwise, even the finest and clearest weather
conditions aren’t going to be much help. This is just the basics. Elevation, light, and wind are important for
short-range shots too, but there are even more things to think about when it comes to
long-range shots. When aiming at a target 3,800 meters or more
into the distance, air pressure, altitude, humidity, and temperature all become relevant. Temperature, for one. Everyone knows it’s harder to concentrate
in extremely hot or cold weather, but these conditions affect the bullet as much as the
shooter. Hot weather increases the rifle chamber pressure,
which makes the bullet shoot out faster, altering the typical dynamics of bullet drop. If the weather is too cold, the opposite happens. To help the process, tools like a wind sensor
and barometric pressure reader are invaluable. Think that sounds tough? I’m not finished yet. Then, there’s this thing called the Coriolis
Effect. It sounds complex and, to be honest, it is
complex. Basically, the premise is that bullets you
shoot in the northern hemisphere drift to the right, whilst bullets you shoot in the
southern hemisphere drift to the left. Also, the closer you are to the poles, the
stronger the Coriolis effect is. Another consequence of the Coriolis effect
is that shooting east makes bullets go higher, because they move with the rotation of the
earth, and shooting west has the opposite effect. So, make sure you get your compass out before
you take a shot. Again, this is why flat-earthers are terrible
shots. Do you believe that this stuff is complicated
yet? Because my brain is hurting. Even if an incredibly skilled gunman can manage
to account for these factors, there’s still an element of luck. The target could move. Considering it takes five to ten seconds for
the bullet to fly through the air at long-range distances, it’s perfectly possible that
they could move out of the line of fire. Or, certain conditions, like the wind, could
change after you pull the trigger. So, now you know everything you need to know
to make that perfect long-distance kill shot yourself — wait, maybe don’t try that
one at home unless you just so happen to be a professional. Luckily, snipers don’t have to make all
these calculations and decisions alone. They almost always have a partner, otherwise
known as an observer or spotter, who helps with making the shot. In fact, the spotter is even more important
than the person actually pulling the trigger. It’s their job to tell the shooter what
to put on scope, make an analysis of the wind conditions, and basically figure everything
else out too. All the hard work, none of the glory. In contrast, all the shooter has to do is
stick to the plan, maintain aim, and pull the trigger. Easy. Finally, the type of rifle the sniper uses
also makes a vast difference. The Canadian in Iraq used a Macmillan Tac-50,
commonly viewed as one of the best rifles you can get. The grooves in the barrel of the gun form
a spiral-like pattern, which makes the bullet spin in flight. It’s not just for aesthetic purposes — this
makes the bullet more stable and stops something called spin drift. Because I know you’re dying to learn yet
more sniper terminology, spin drift is when the bullet veers to the side of its original
trajectory. For example, a rifle with a right-hand spiral
twist shooting for 10,000 yards could see a bullet head ten inches to the right. At an even larger distance, the bullet is
likely to veer even further off course. Having a fancy gun design isn’t going to
stop the bullet moving on a windy day, but it can limit the drift that takes place during
normal conditions. Now, I’m sure you’ve had quite enough
of the theory. Let’s head back to Iraq, where our brave
sniper has just pulled the trigger after doing some complex math calculations. For such a long-range shot, there’s a tantalizingly
long wait until you find out whether you’ve been successful. If you’ve seen the title of this video,
you probably have a good idea of what the outcome could be, but you can at least act
like you’re shocked. The bullet traveled at a speed of 940 feet
— or 286 meters — per second when it hit the target, making an impact of roughly 1,472
foot-pounds of energy. If you don’t know what that means, it’s
a lot. It was a moment that would go down in history. The JTF2 special operator beat Craig Harrison’s
record from 2009 by just over 1,000 meters, or three-fifths of a mile. As much as we don’t condone killing and
violence here at The Infographics Show, we’ve got to admit it. That’s a pretty good shot. The target was an ISIS militant the sniper
shot to protect Iraqi security forces, who the insurgent was about to attack. If he hadn’t succeeded, the forces would
have been left with no choice but to use a bomb instead, most likely harming innocent
civilians. We’ll never know who the sniper was or where
exactly it took place, except that it was somewhere in Iraq. This is all classified information kept under
wraps by the Canadian government. It’s probably for the best — when previous
record-holder Craig Harrison’s identity was revealed, he became a target for terrorists
and ended up with post-traumatic stress disorder. Sorry to put a downer on things. Now, watch this video about the world’s
most hardcore American sniper, or the most lethal special forces units around the world
What software did u use to make this very cool animation?