I was curious to see which was the longest recorded sniper kill and stumbled upon Craig Harrison. He was serving in Afghanistan and killed a Taliban machine gun team from 2,475 meters, or 1.5 miles away. According to a post, it took around 6 seconds to hit his targets. However, the [weapon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accuracy_International_AWM) he was using (L115A3) has a muzzle velocity of 936 meters per second. Using simple math, shouldn’t it have taken only 2.6 seconds to reach his target? Harrison himself claims that he had the perfect conditions with clear weather and no wind. Given all this information, what took so long for the bullet to hit? Was it because of elevation or some does my ape brain not comprehend this question?
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In addition to the point everyone else has made about air resistance slowing the bullet, a very long range rifle shot doesn’t travel in a straight line. The rifle may have been 2,475 meters from the target, but the bullet travels in a parabolic arc after it leaves the muzzle, and the distance it travels upwards and then back downwards on the way to the target represents a substantial increase in the total distance it needs to go and therefore the time it spends on it’s journey.
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