Ukraine's Horizon's Lord: The secret behind the longest claimed sniper shot in history
A Ukrainian sniper using a Horizon's Lord rifle has been credited with making the world's longest sniper kill - with the secret to its long-range success lying in the type of ammunition that was used.
The Ukrainian-made Volodar Obriyu (Horizon's Lord) is an anti-materiel rifle (AMR) which is capable of making long-range shots and can be particularly effective when coupled with the right ammunition.
According to Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) sources, the sniper killed a Russian soldier 3,800 metres away - 2.36 miles - and a video has been circulating showing the incident.
It is not possible to verify the distance based on the video alone, but sources inside the SBU are claiming it as a new world record.
Jonathan Ferguson, the Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, explained how he thought the shot had been accomplished.
He said: "There's no technical innovation in the rifle itself, it's the ammunition choice and selection of accurate components and high standards of manufacture."
The Horizon's Lord can be configured to accept several different calibres, swapping components such as the bolt and barrel where necessary.
The Ukrainian sniper is thought to have configured their rifle to use cartridges in 12.7x114 calibre, which couples a larger case containing more propellant with a smaller round.
The bullet flies at supersonic speeds and is ballistically efficient, making it less sensitive to wind drift and bullet drop.
Mr Ferguson said: "What you need for long-range shooting is case capacity, so a lot of powder, but also ideally a flat-shooting high-velocity projectile, so ideally the projectile will be smaller.
"You get the high velocity generated by a large amount of propellent in a big old case, but you get the lower air resistance and more velocity out of the small bullets as well.
"With a 14.5mm cartridge case with a .50 calibre bullet [12.7mm], you get the best of all worlds."
He added: "I'd certainly be concerned about something like this in the enemy's hands.
"Then again, these guys are facing POV drones coming out of nowhere, artillery shells, guided mortars, all sorts of threats on the battlefield that are more prevalent and just as much of a threat if not more so than this thing.
"This is another tool in the Ukrainian armed forces' toolbox. It's not I would say any sort of game-changer though."
A Canadian special forces sniper serving in Iraq was previously credited with taking the longest confirmed kill shot in history, hitting an Islamic State militant from 3,450 metres away - 2.14 miles.
He used a McMillan TAC-50 rifle in .50 BMG.
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