Craig Harrison ( sniper ) Craig Harrison ( born 1975 ) is a Corporal of Horse ( CoH ) in the Blues and Royals RHG / D of the British Army , and holds the record for the longest confirmed sniper kill in combat , at a range of . Established in November 2009 , this exceeds the previous record set by Rob Furlong in 2002 by . This record was certified by Guinness World Records . Record details . In November 2009 , Harrison struck two Taliban machine gun ners consecutively south of Musa Qala in Helmand Province in Afghanistan at a range of using a L115A3 Long Range Rifle . In a BBC interview , Harrison reported it took about nine shots for him and his spotter to initially range the target successfully . Then , he reported , his first shot " on target " was a killing shot followed consecutively by a kill shot on a second machine gunner then a third which disabled the machine gun . In the reports , Harrison mentions the environmental conditions were perfect for long range shooting : no wind , mild weather and clear visibility . Creative use of environment and equipment by Harrison . According to JBM Ballistics , using drag coefficients ( C ) provided by Lapua , the L115A3 has an approximate supersonic range ( speed of sound = 340 . 3 m / s ) of under International Standard Atmosphere conditions at sea level ( air density ρ = 1 . 225 kg / m ) and at the altitude or elevation ( air density ρ = 1 . 1069 kg / m ) of Musa Qala . This illustrates how environmental condition differences can significantly affect bullet flight . The Schmidt & Bender MILITARY MKII 5 - 25x56 0 . 1 MIL RAD parallax , illumination , double turn telescopic sight used by Harrison on the L115A3 Long Range Rifle can be adjusted in 0 . 1 milliradian or mil increments ( at a distance of 1 adjustment increment of 0 . 1 milliradian equates to a point of impact shift ) and has a maximal vertical elevation range of 26 milliradian . To increase the maximal elevation range Accuracy International produces mounts for telescopic sights with a 13 . 09 mil ( 45 MOA ) built in vertical cant designed for their . 338 Lapua Magnum rifles fitted with the 5 - 25x56 telescopic sight . Even with a 13 . 09 mil canted mount the employed sighting system is not able to dial in over 39 . 09 milliradian of vertical aiming correction , which is significantly less than Harrison required during his record shot . The external ballistics software program by JBM Ballistics predicts that the bullets of British high pressure . 338 Lapua Magnum cartridges using 16 . 2 g ( 250 gr ) Lapua LockBase B408 bullets fired at 936 m / s ( 3 , 071 ft / s ) muzzle velocity under International Standard Atmosphere conditions at elevation ( air density ρ = 1 . 069 kg / m ) and assuming a flat fire scenario ( a situation where the shooting and target positions are at equal elevation ) and a zero ( the distance at which the rifle is sighted in ) arrive at distance after approximately 6 . 017 seconds flight time at 251 . 8 m / s ( 826 ft / s ) velocity and have dropped 120 . 95 m ( 396 . 8 ft ) or in angular units 48 . 9 milliradian ( 168 MOA ) on their way . Harrison had to use the P4 reticle offering 0 . 5 mil spaced holdover hash marks in his 5 - 25x56 telescopic sight to compensate for the lack of vertical aiming correction and thus achieve the required aiming solution . The long horizontal line at 5x zoom or magnification represent 49 . 09 milliradian ( 168 . 6 MOA ) or slightly over the required assumed vertical elevation .