Simo Häyhä Simo Häyhä ( ; December 17 , 1905 – April 1 , 2002 ) , nicknamed " White Death " ( , ; ; ) by the Red Army , was a Finnish sniper . Using a modified Mosin – Nagant in the Winter War , he has the highest recorded number of confirmed sniper kills505in any major war . Early life . Häyhä was born in the municipality of Rautjärvi near the present - day border of Finland and Russia , and started his military service in 1925 . Before entering combat , Häyhä was a farmer and hunter . At the age of 20 , he joined the Finnish militia suojeluskunta and succeeded with his sniping skills in shooting sports in Viipuri province . His farmhouse was reportedly full of trophies for marksmanship . Winter War service . During the Winter War ( 1939 – 1940 ) between Finland and the Soviet Union , Häyhä served as a sniper for the Finnish Army against the Red Army in the 6th Company of JR 34 during the Battle of Kollaa . In temperatures between and , dressed completely in white camouflage , Häyhä was credited with 505 confirmed kills of Soviet soldiers . A daily account of the kills at Kollaa was made for the Finnish snipers . Remarkably , all of Häyhä ' s kills were accomplished in fewer than 100 daysin other words , approximately five kills per dayat a time of year with very few hours of daylight . Häyhä used a Finnish militia variant of the Russian - made Mosin - Nagant rifle , the White Guard M / 28 early variant " Pystykorva " ( literally Spitz , due to the sight ' s resemblance ) chambered in 7 . 62x54R , the Finnish Mosin - Nagant cartridge , because it suited his small frame ( 5 ft 3 in / 1 . 60 m ) . He preferred to use iron sight s rather than telescopic sight s to present a smaller target for the enemy ( a sniper must raise his head higher when using a telescopic sight ) , to increase accuracy ( a telescopic sight ' s glass can fog up easily in cold weather ) , and to aid in concealment ( sunlight glare in telescopic sight lenses can reveal a sniper ' s position ) . A " Swedish donation rifle " Simo later received as gift was a Finnish model M / 28 - 30 but he did not use it in battle . The Soviet ' s efforts to kill Häyhä included counter - snipers and artillery strikes , but on March 6 , 1940 Häyhä was shot in his lower left jaw by a Russian soldier . He was picked up by fellow soldiers who said " half his cheek was missing " , but he did not die , regaining consciousness on March 13 , the day peace was declared . Shortly after the war , Häyhä was promoted from Alikersantti ( Corporal ) to Vänrikki ( Second Lieutenant ) by Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim . No one else has gained rank so quickly in Finland ' s military history . Later life . It took several years for Häyhä to recuperate from his wound . The bullet had crushed his jaw and blown off his left cheek . Nonetheless , he made a full recovery and became a successful moose hunter and dog breeder after World War II , and hunted with Finnish President Urho Kekkonen . When asked in 1998 how he had become such a good shooter , Häyhä answered " Practice . " When asked if he regretted killing so many people , he said , " I only did my duty , and what I was told to do , as well as I could . " Simo Häyhä spent his last years in Ruokolahti , a small municipality located in southeastern Finland , near the Russian border . In popular culture . Actor Steven Wiig was cast in the role of Häyhä in the 2012 HBO docudrama " Hemingway & Gellhorn " . However , the scene that included Häyhä was cut from the final version of the film to reduce the overall running time . There is a unique sniper rifle named " White Death " in the popular FPS Borderlands 2 , made by Gearbox Software and released on September 18 of 2012 . Swedish power metal band Sabaton wrote a song about Häyhä called " White Death " on their 2010 album Coat of Arms .