He agreed to take Routh to a shooting range, which Kyle believed had therapeutic value. Moments later, the spotters found a hole punched clean through the target 3 and 1/8 inches from the 80-inch bullseyes center. Jurors in 2014 awarded former Minnesota Gov. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. American Sniper, the movie, whipped up a fierce backlash. Windageposes another key difficulty: at a distance of over two miles, the snipers would have had to adjust for a distance of over 360 inches. The movie American Sniper is a surprise box-office hit, but it has also become a lightning rod. "And he had to do it quickly, under the most intense pressure imaginable. [4], Routh was arraigned February 2, 2013, on two counts of capital murder, and was taken to the Erath County Jail for holding under a $3 million bond. But then again, as Kyle showed us, some of the most important shots are those that beat the odds. Routh was a 25-year-old Marine who had experienced post . What was Chris Kyles longest sniper shot? Ventura, a former Underwater Demolition Teams/Seal member, testified he never made the comments and the altercation never happened. The Bronze Star is awarded to members of the Armed Forces for heroic or meritorious achievement or service in a combat zone. The release of the film American Sniper . This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Jan 23, 20159:30 AM. The Bronze Star is awarded to members of the Armed Forces for heroic or meritorious achievement or service in a combat zone. Navy Times reported back then that neither he nor his lawyer would say whether the money came from publisher HarperCollins or its insurance company. Chris Kyles accomplishments were described in his bestselling autobiography, American Sniper, but the details werent all accurate: In the book, Kyle is said to have earned two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars, but Navy records show that he earned one Silver Star and three Bronze Stars with Valor. The Cutting Edge MTAC bullet that hit the target was hand-lathed, and weighed just under an ounce (422 gr. Pau admitted: "Although the information on the DD214 should match the official records, the process involves people and inevitably some errors may occur.". [16], On February 24, 2015, Routh was found guilty of murdering Kyle and Littlefield. Theyre just targets. Jesse Ventura $500,000 for defamation and $1.3million for unjust enrichment in a trial over a passage in Kyles book that Ventura claimed was a complete fabrication. Mistakes in estimation compound over distance and can cause a shot to only injure, or to miss completely. The kill was one of . A thirty-five year old, happily married father of four: Matt was raised in New Jersey and moved to Arizona in 06'. A JURY rejected the insanity defence of an ex-Marine in the deaths of American Sniper author Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield at a Texas shooting range. [21][22], Littlefield's funeral was held on February 8, 2013, at the First Baptist Church of Midlothian, Texas; he was buried at Mount Zion cemetery. Crime scene photos shown in court show Kyle lying on the dirt in front of an elevated deck from which rifles were fired at targets up to 1,000 yards away. The rifle used was made by Accuracy International. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, is based on Kyles autobiography. The verdict was appealed. At one time, the North Vietnamese Army placed a $30,000 bounty on him due to his soon-to-be legendary status as a sniper. Two soldiers fired off simultaneously using the same weapons and ammo and, while the target was definitely eliminated, no one is sure which shooter was responsible for the kill. Copyright 2023 The Western Journal. How far was Chris Kyle's longest sniper kill? But in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, at least five soldiers from three countries have made longer shots. That shot stood as the longest confirmed kill in sniper history for more than three decades. The most-revered in war after survival and victory is a sniper's shot. Kyle, who was a former Navy SEAL, and his friend Littlefield were walking down range to set up targets when Eddie Ray Routh opened fire and hit both of them. [6] Any given combination of firearm and ammunition will have an associated value, known as the circular error probable (CEP), defined as the radius of a circle whose boundary is expected to contain the impact points of half of the rounds fired. Corporal Rob Furlong, who was in the same military unit as Arron Perry, was an ambitious type from the start, and he even taught himself to use a rifle ambidextrously! Perry held the title for only a few days, as another man in his unit, Corporal Rob Furlong, beat Perry's distance with a 2,430m (2,657yd) shot in March 2002. According to the company reps we spoke with at this year's NRA Annual Meetings, Kyle told the McMillan gunsmiths that insurgents had learned the effective range of his 300 Win . Kyle with his Lapua .338, the gun used to make his longest kill / Facebook Kyle is credited with more than 150 confirmed kills. reduced CEP), although they rely on proper use and training to realize any advantages. . Snipers in modern warfare have had a long history since the development of long distance weaponry. DEVIL AND ANGEL: Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle watches over US Marines from his perch atop an upturned baby crib in a bombed-out building . Learn the real-life story of Chris Kyle, the late Navy SEAL sharpshooter portrayed in the Oscar-nominated film "American Sniper.". The record now belongs to a team led by Scott Austin and Shepard Humphries of Nomad Rifleman. Confirmed! "[9] Four months later, while he was in his jail cell, Routh shared with former Erath County Sheriff's Deputy Gene Cole: "I was just riding in the back seat of the truck, and nobody would talk to me. In Vietnam, Hathcock also completed missions involving a "through the scope" shot which killed an enemy sniper specifically hunting him, and a multiple-day solo stalk and kill of an enemy general. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, US hero Chris Kyle was a sharpshooter who served in Iraq, He was nicknamed the Devil of Ramadi by terrified Iraqi insurgents, Chris Kyle pictured with with his wife, Taya, in 2012. 4: Tours of duty Kyle served in Iraq from 2003 to 2009. He first started shooting as a child to help get food. Navy records show that he earned one Silver Star and three Bronze Stars with Valor, Nicholas Ranstad still holds the record for the longest shot made by a US sniper, their conditions didnt improve following a peace treaty signed with the government, and have committed all kinds of atrocities including using child soldiers, He first started shooting as a child to help get food, took down an Iraqi insurgent in 2004 with the longest confirmed sniper kill shot made by a US soldier, Arron Perrys record-breaking shot was broken by another soldier in his same unit, fine details that go into lining up the perfect sniper shot, from the direction of the wind to the shooters breathing, he felt totally abandoned by his regiment once he developed PTSD, while the target was definitely eliminated, no one is sure which shooter was responsible for the kill, This especially holds true when it comes to details of personal identity and how the task was carried out. [original research? As previously mentioned, the finer points of Special Forces . Chris Kyle's long shot American Sniper is ironically associated with inaccuracy. Sgt. Kyle considered the MK11 a versatile weapon, one he could carry on patrols and still be useful in a sniping role. The details of Special Forces accomplishments are often concealed in order to protect the shooters identity. [5] Both Kyle and Littlefield were armed with .45-caliber M1911-style pistols when they were killed, but neither gun had been unholstered or fired, and the safety catches were still on. He was murdered the next year, Chris Kyle, ex US Navy SEAL sniper who was responsible for 160 kills during his career, Hollywood hunk Bradley Cooper starred in the movie version of the book, American Sniper was based on Chris Kyle's four tours of duty in Iraq. This story has been shared 135,794 times. Navy Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle holds the record for most confirmed kills by a sniper. [10], In addition to his success as a USMC scout-sniper during multiple deployments to Vietnam, Hathcock competed in multiple USMC shooting teams. Former CNN host and anti-Iraq war campaigner Piers Morgan, however,defended the man behind the movie, saying: Chris Kyle, American Sniper, was NOT a coward. Kyle described punching out a man, later identified as Ventura, whom he said made offensive remarks about Navy Seals. The 2nd Ranger Battalion, the unit that Kremer served in, is one of three ranger battalions that belong to the United States Armys 75th Ranger Regiment. Nomad Rifleman said in the news release, The cartridge was custom made by Unknown Munitions in Idaho (which we think is the best commercial ammunition maker in the world), with Barrett brass, H50BMG propellant and a CCI135 primer. When asked whether he regretted fatally shooting men and women, he told D Magazine: I regret the people I couldnt kill before they got to my boys. When Winston pulled the trigger, the rifles loud report reverberated across the valley. [6] On the way to the shooting range, Kyle texted Littlefield, "This dude is straight up nuts." He hit a plate at 3,592 yardswhich itself was a record hit for a .33-caliber projectilebut then managed to drop a shot on a piece of 6-foot by 6-foot steel at 4,134 yards, which is 2.35 miles. Weapon: Browning M2. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. He killed near Sadr City in 2008 at a distance of 2,100 yards. Later, Kyle called it a "really, really lucky shot." Chris Kyle didn't fit the stereotype of the sullen, lone wolf sniper. Even the most basic of sniper kills are impressive feats, and things get progressively more difficult with targets who are further away. Matt covers politics, faith, history, national and global news. Chris Kyle was the deadliest sniper in U.S. history, both for the total number of confirmed kills, and for the longest shot resulting in a kill: 2,100 yards. Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle used a McMillan Tac-338, chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum, to kill an . On June 22, 2017 the Globe and Mail reported that two snipers assigned to Joint Task Force 2, Canada's elite special forces unit, had shot an Islamic State fighter in Iraq at a distance of 3,540 . )", "Gun Charges Dropped Against Sniper Who Once Held Record in Afghanistan", "The 7 longest range sniper kills in history", "SERGEANT RANSTAD HONORED BY TN STATE LEGISLATURE, VISITS BARRETT", "Chris Kyle, America's deadliest sniper, offered no regrets", "Soviet snipers in Afghanistan, 1979 1989 years. While the Mk-12 and Mk-11 were both semi-automatic rifles, Kyle's .300 Win Mag was a manual bolt-action. Matt Holloway is a millennial, constitutional, conservative commentator, content creator and writer covering the Phoenix area market. The rifle used for the shot was a project in and unto itself. Kyle said that he was on a house's second floor, scanning the village with his rifle scope. Kyle was killed with a .45-caliber pistol, while Littlefield was shot with a 9mm SIG Sauer P226 Mk.25 Mod 0 pistol. After blasting box office records and being up for six Oscars, left-wingers tried to torpedo Snipers gong hunt at the Academy Awards. Routh's uncle said he and Routh smoked marijuana on the day of the slayings. At that distance, Kyle could only estimate his calculations. The current record holder for the longest kill range of any sniper in history is an anonymous sniper from the Joint Task Force 2, a unit of the Canadian Forces who managed a successful sniper kill at a range of 3,871 yards in May 2017 during the Iraq Civil War. Later, Kyle called it a "really, really lucky shot." I would be remiss if I did not mention American sniper legend Chris Kyle, who took down a hostile in the Iraq War at 2,100 yards (1.19 miles) using 338 Lapua Mag. Matt covers politics, faith, history and news. The sniper killed an insurgent over a mile away who was preparing to shoot a rocket at a US convoy. While Perry got his military career started in the Princess Louise Fusiliers, a unit of the Halifax Militia, he was actually serving as a member of the Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry at the time of his record sniper shot.