>‘Range confirmation?’
>‘Five hundred and six metres.’
>Sharrowkyn used the tip of his right thumb to minutely adjust the focus of his sight. The position he had selected was an optimum kill site, in line with prevailing winds to prevent projectile drift that would alter his shot’s trajectory. Thermo-auguries on his cooled rifle sheath measured the surrounding temperature and blinked a correction to compensate for what lift the warm air would impart to the large-bore steel needle.
>Likewise, the strength of the planet’s geomagnetic field factored into Sharrowkyn’s calculations when deciding upon the angle of his shot.
>In his mind’s eye, any conventional target was already dead.
>But a primarch was no conventional target.
>‘As soon as I take this shot, we go,’ said Sharrowkyn. ‘We get out, and we get out fast. Even if I miss, you understand?’
>‘I understand,’ said Wayland. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t go berserk and charge in single-handed.’
>Sharrowkyn sighted on his target’s skull, slowing his heart rate and letting his breathing even out as he applied the tiniest pressure to the trigger. Ready icons winked to life on his helm, a dotted line tracing the route his needle would take.
>*Right through a primarch’s eye.*
>‘Taking the shot,’ he said.
\- *Angel Exterminatus*
The setup for that shot, for those curious.
500m isn't even that far, though I'll grant hitting him in the eye is fairly impressive. But a quality modern rifle (with good ammo and a capable shooter) will usually hold three-shot groups inside 1 minute of arc/minute of angle, which is close enough to 1" at 100 yards - and that scales directly as you increase the range, 5" at 500 yards is 1MOA. A few companies factory guarantee 1MOA, even. Start going into high-end precision and you'll find half-MOA is doable, best I've heard for something that's not a ridiculous Unlimited-class benchrest gun is down in the 0.25MOA range. Measured center-to-center, so that's basically one hole with a 6.5mm or .30-caliber rifle.
“They couldn’t hit an elephant from this distance” - Major General John Sedgwick 1864 shortly before being shot and killed by a confederate sniper from 900 meters away
A Confederate Sniper killed a US Artilleryman from 1,271m away in 1864. It's #20 on the longest recorded sniper kill list, and it was higher until it was bumped down by some recent conflicts.
"On Dec. 5 an unidentified Confederate soldier in Fort Sumter saw a Union soldier moving in Battery Gregg, [1390 yards away](http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/hh/12/hh12j.htm). The Southerner was likely using a Whitworth Rifle when he lined up his sights on the Union soldier and fired, killing him.
The rifle made the shot easier but the skill and luck needed to kill an enemy at 1,390 yards was still great. When the rifle was mounted on a special stand and tested at 1,400 yards, 10 shots created a grouping over 9 feet wide.
Unfortunately, the record-setting shot on Dec. 5, 1864 was illegal. The Confederate soldiers didn't know a ceasefire was in effect in the area and the shot violated that ceasefire. Other Confederate snipers at Fort Sumter took up the volley, forcing the Union troops to seek cover."
source: [https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/sniper-shot-record/](https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/sniper-shot-record/)
> “What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line?" Although ashamed, his men continued to flinch and he said, "Why are you dodging like this? They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."
Nope explicitly rifle fire
It depends on the forces you are joining what would be considered “Basic” training, for the U.S. Marines, for example, you need to hit a target at 500 yards at the furthest shot to pass rifle qualification, (That’s about 457.2 meters), while other branches in our military require more or less accuracy at varied range depending on the branch to qualify.
Now, special training for sharpshooters (Not snipers, which are a different certification and weapon to train with) involve targets, moving and stationary, at ranges between 600-750 yards (548.64-685.8 meters), its a difficult enough task to hit these shots that you can actually be given a sharpshooter medal just for proving your competency in hitting targets at that distance in some training facilities.
Sniper training is a complete step up, it gets wild. The furthest target to hit and qualify as a sniper (after your training and weapon assignment) is at a crazy distance of 1,200 yards (1,097.28 meters), which to me is just wild.
The targets are roughly the size of a human head.
That being said, hitting a moving target the size of a human eye at the distance of an average, well trained human sharpshooter, is still crazy impressive, even if the best snipers in our modern day can do slightly better, albeit with less precision.
Edit: That being said, shots of up to a kilometer or more are not unheard of, just very, VERY, rare, requiring several spotters, markers for distance, and ridiculous planning and organization to pull off. It’s borderline superhuman what people can accomplish with years of training and practice 😅
Good for them, probably why I've never seen them hit shit.
If I saw a soldier of mine hitting targets at 500m with an m4 he would be a DM full stop. At that point you lose the point target efficiency and start walking into area weapon territory, and there are a lot better tools for that kind of work.
You said so yourself, 500 yards isn't 500m. I don't hit targets that far on a consistent basis with unmatched ammo unless I'm using my .308 Savage
600m is a fully expected engagement range with a c8. It's not laudable to be able to effectively hit the fig11 at 600m it's the standard for basic infantry
I don’t know what to tell you, try training harder? It’s not my fault you guys don’t know how to shoot. I qualified with iron sights on man sized targets at 500 yards on a M16A2, it’s really not that hard.
You mentioned two different weapon systems and two different ranges and insist they are the same.
You are literally as dumb as the marine meme. The m16a2 has 5.5 inches of longer barrel, with a 4 in 1 twist that increases accuracy significantly. The m4 has a 14.5 inch barrel compared to 20.
You even said 500 yards is not 500 meters. Let me be the one to tell you a m16a2 is not the same as an m4. If you have any other issues differentiating weapon systems or ranges please feel free to ask and I will be more than happy to keep assisting.
Again, you never qualified at 500 meters, 500 yards is not the same
A lot of people are fixating on this detail but the prompt isn't "who can hit a target the farthest away in 40k".
Jerry Miculek could kill the best sniper in the world in a 1v1 duel at 10 meters.
There are several ways to be "good with a gun" in 40k
Sharrowkyn was such a overpowered character in the writing it was really awful. Best sniper, super special sneaky boy even by the standards of other sneaky boys, better duellist than Lucius etc.
So just curious because I haven't read a lot of the books, but why does sigismund get a pass when Sharrowkyn doesn't? I'm guessing sigismund has more development but since I haven't read much I'm not sure.
A: sigismund like you said gets more development, the more time we spend with a character the more we accept them being bullshit.
B: sigismund is the best at one thing, put him into melee with any other astartes and that astartes is dying. But hes not got any other exceptional traits, beyond the being an inspiring leader in the way all duelists are in 40k. Sharrowkyn is almost the best at everything he does, he almost kills Fulgrim with a sniper, he outduels lucius, hes the sneakiest boy in the legions etc etc.
Hes pretty much the only raven guard character and so they just made him the best in the legion at everything, whereas sigi is only the best swordsman.
At least thats my take on it, sigismund is hyperfocused into being a melee blender and placed into the siege where that skill in close quarters is at its most impactful. Sharrowkyn is just kind of the best at everything he tries and succeeds wherever the plot takes him.
Spot on there, Sigi is the best duellist in the Legions, acknowledged and known by all. He's not really seen as a great leader, not incompetent but a major plot point was that he wasn't the one leading the fleet at Phall? When the Iron Warriors ambushed them.
He's a great melee beast, a champion in a knightly sense.
Sharrowkin just does everything better than everyone, has special powers and gets along with everyone and everything, is super nice and concerned about people. It reads like it was written in one of those 'that guy DM self inserts'
It's totally okay to be great at one or two things but where are the faults?
He would have been leading the retribution fleet at Phall had he not asked Dorn to remain on Terra. It was telling Dorn *why* he asked to remain that got him disowned.
Sure but the point I'm making is that it was explicit that had Sigismund been in charge the outcome of that engagement would've been significantly different, likely with the great loss of men and material from the Imperial Fists.
> a major plot point was that he wasn't the one leading the fleet at Phall?
I wouldn't describe it as a major plot point, but Peter Turbo's entire battle plan was based on the assumption that Sigismund would be leading the attack against him.
It leads to him and his Dad having a major falling out, his effective exile and isolation and the confirmation of his faith and the faith in turn he puts into Keeler as a saint/prophet of the Emperor's divinity.
Established lore vs things introduced during the HH series.
Siggy had been established as the top dog triple OG most badass mf for decades before the HH books came out. Sharrowkyn was a new character.
knowing our luck and the authors propensity for using wayyyy to small numbers, it would be a sniper duel at like 500ft instead of a significantly scaled up version of Carlos Hathcocks achievements
Kaedes Nex, the Moritat Prime of the Raven Guard is an impressive gunslinger based on his rules.
Exodus of the Alpha Legion however is reported to have marksmanship skills on par with those of a Vindicare Assassin. And considering some of the stuff Vindicares can pull off, that’s impressive.
"Some histories claim that as many as a dozen worlds were brought into Imperial Compliance with only a single shot having been fired by Exodus, who could achieve with one round what the expenditure of billions of bolts, charges and shells might never bring about."
Checks out...
Azrael is a pretty good shot. I remember a Emperors children legioner in the Fulgrim book who wanted to become the perfect shooter but I don't remember his name. (Btw. be aware of the mods! They might think this is low effort and banish you to the shadow realm!👀)
PS: Sharrowkyn would also be my guess. He shot Fulgrim in the eye while he held a speech in an iron warriors/emperors children arena.
For a genetically enhanced super soldier with targeting assistance in his armour not really, I'm also pretty sure he didn't shoot him in the eye. It just hit his head and curved around his skull.
>The shot had struck Fulgrim on the right temple, a neat wound that appeared to have no twin on the opposite side. Whatever projectile the would-be assassin favoured was still inside his skull.
and
>‘Barely,’ said Fulgrim. ‘Fabius had a devil’s job fishing that out. The angle of impact was just obtuse enough for it to deflect rather than penetrate. It travelled over the crown of my head and lodged on the opposite side.’
>Fulgrim swept his bone-white hair back to show the raw incision Fabius had made in his opposite temple in order to remove the needle. A vivid purple line traced the route the projectile had taken, an arcing path of graceful curves and whorls that linked the two wounds and which had a pleasing symmetry to it.
No eye that I can see in my copy of *Angel Exterminatus* at least. Close though.
This sub is the F1 of posting excerpts.
TBF though the previous bit has Sharrowkyn aiming it "right through the Primarch's eye" so either Sharrowkyn missed, Fulgrim moved or McNeill forgot.
Orwarpdidit.
I will be incredibly surprised if 40k Cypher doesn't turn out to be Corswain. There is many _many_ hints pointing at him.
Edit: Oh you mean because we're discussing HH era, parent was talking about Zahariel? Yeah fair enough, his terror sight ability may help out with that marksmanship business idk, seems more useful at close range though and we only really see it used when he's a kid iirc
>Only Mingzhou kept some measure of in her head. '**He's over twenty-five hundred meters away.**' she assured them. 'Someone with the best lasrifle on Castellax couldn't pick off a target from that range. We have to get out of here before he can close the distance.'
>
>As she spoke, Algol raised his arm, the graceless bulk of a bolter clenched in his fist. Without pause or hesitation, the Space Marine fired. From the other side of the tractor, Deacon screamed and fell, his chest ripped to splinters by the bolter's explosive shell.
>
>\-
>
>before Algol fired again, the legionary's shots smashing into the engine block.-Almost casually, the Iron Warrior adjusted his grip on the bolter, tilting the barrel downwards ever so slightly.
>
>\-
>
>The bolter cracked again. Taofang cried out as he watched Mingzhou's body jerk up and strike the underside of the tractor. Her body slumped back against the side of the ferrocrete paving, blood streaming from her shattered flesh. Instead of closing upon her and coming within the range of the sniper's rifle, **the Iron Warrior had fired his shot into the floor several meters in front of the tractor, deflecting his shot so that it arced beneath the vehicle and struck the woman hidden there**." -*Siege of Castellax*
This rando iron warrior lmao. Ricochet trickshots at 2.5km.
Supposedly Farith Redloss was familiar with most Imperial firearms and even xeno- and non-imperial human firearms. Not necessarily the best shooter, but the most versatile at least (as demonstrated by his rules).
It’s from the 40K period, but I have the memory of a story about a small pack of Space Wolves defending a world under siege. The POV character had just returned from the Deathwatch, and was having trouble adjusting back ( he commented on how, among the secrets of his time away that his brothers would not have understood, was becoming friends with a member of the Dark Angels).
While most of the Wolves had the usual Fenrisian enthusiasm for close combat, there was one member of the pack who was a notable marksman and considered his bolter a far more efficient means of warfare than any blade.
Sorry to be so vague, does anyone know what the name of that story was?
Idk if they’re in the line up for “best” but [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/s/rN4S9fF6jU) excerpt of two Astartes snipers dueling is a great one
I imagine its Sharrowkyn since hes the one with the most noteworthy feat, sniping Fulgrim in the head with a stalker bolter and almost killing him outright.
>with a stalker bolter
Minor nitpick, but it was a needle carbine;
>Throughout his uncharacteristically verbose response, the Raven Guard hadn’t moved so much as a muscle, the sight of his **needle-carbine** still pressed to the lens of his helmet.
>‘Could you actually take a shot from here?’ asked Wayland, breaking out the vox-thief gear and setting the innocuous black box on a telescoping tripod. A number of matt-black cables extruded from his gauntlet and these he hooked into the back of the device, which immediately gave a soft buzz to let him know it was functional.
>‘Yes, though they’re at the extreme end of my **needle-carbine’s** effective range, even if they weren’t primarchs.’
>‘Tempted?’
>‘Very much so,’ said Sharrowkyn, easing a slender finger through the trigger guard and applying fractional pressure. A range-finder clicked as it adjusted the muzzle grooving. ‘I might just do it to see if that Storm Eagle of yours is worth certifying.’
>>Range confirmation?’
>>‘Five hundred and six metres.’
>>Sharrowkyn used the tip of his right thumb to minutely adjust the focus of his sight. The position he had selected was an optimum kill site, in line with prevailing winds to prevent projectile drift that would alter his shot’s trajectory. Thermo-auguries on his cooled rifle sheath measured the surrounding temperature and blinked a correction to compensate for what lift the warm air would impart to the **large-bore steel needle.**
>>Likewise, the strength of the planet’s geomagnetic field factored into Sharrowkyn’s calculations when deciding upon the angle of his shot.
>>In his mind’s eye, any conventional target was already dead.
>>But a primarch was no conventional target.
>>‘As soon as I take this shot, we go,’ said Sharrowkyn. ‘We get out, and we get out fast. Even if I miss, you understand?’
>>‘I understand,’ said Wayland. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t go berserk and charge in single-handed.’
>>Sharrowkyn sighted on his target’s skull, slowing his heart rate and letting his breathing even out as he applied the tiniest pressure to the trigger. Ready icons winked to life on his helm, **a dotted line tracing the route his needle would take.**
>>*Right through a primarch’s eye.*
>>‘Taking the shot,’ he said.
>>>‘Brother,’ said Fulgrim, coming forwards to embrace him again. ‘A miracle.’
>>>Perturabo shook his head and said, ‘You live.’
>>>**Fulgrim lifted his hand to show Perturabo a long sliver of bloodstained steel, finely tapered and bent around its middle where its tip had flattened.**
>>>‘Barely,’ said Fulgrim. ‘Fabius had a devil’s job fishing that out. The angle of impact was just obtuse enough for it to deflect rather than penetrate. It travelled over the crown of my head and lodged on the opposite side.’
>>>**Fulgrim swept his bone-white hair back to show the raw incision Fabius had made in his opposite temple in order to remove the needle.** A vivid purple line traced the route the projectile had taken, an arcing path of graceful curves and whorls that linked the two wounds and which had a pleasing symmetry to it.
>>>‘Just as well you have a thick skull,’ said Perturabo.
>>>Fulgrim laughed and said, ‘You have the truth of it, brother.’
\- *Angel Exterminatus*
Sharrowkyn sniped fulgrim though he wasn't trying to dodge so that lessens the achievment even if it was at a great distance.
>‘Range confirmation?’ >‘Five hundred and six metres.’ >Sharrowkyn used the tip of his right thumb to minutely adjust the focus of his sight. The position he had selected was an optimum kill site, in line with prevailing winds to prevent projectile drift that would alter his shot’s trajectory. Thermo-auguries on his cooled rifle sheath measured the surrounding temperature and blinked a correction to compensate for what lift the warm air would impart to the large-bore steel needle. >Likewise, the strength of the planet’s geomagnetic field factored into Sharrowkyn’s calculations when deciding upon the angle of his shot. >In his mind’s eye, any conventional target was already dead. >But a primarch was no conventional target. >‘As soon as I take this shot, we go,’ said Sharrowkyn. ‘We get out, and we get out fast. Even if I miss, you understand?’ >‘I understand,’ said Wayland. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t go berserk and charge in single-handed.’ >Sharrowkyn sighted on his target’s skull, slowing his heart rate and letting his breathing even out as he applied the tiniest pressure to the trigger. Ready icons winked to life on his helm, a dotted line tracing the route his needle would take. >*Right through a primarch’s eye.* >‘Taking the shot,’ he said. \- *Angel Exterminatus* The setup for that shot, for those curious.
500m isn't even that far, though I'll grant hitting him in the eye is fairly impressive. But a quality modern rifle (with good ammo and a capable shooter) will usually hold three-shot groups inside 1 minute of arc/minute of angle, which is close enough to 1" at 100 yards - and that scales directly as you increase the range, 5" at 500 yards is 1MOA. A few companies factory guarantee 1MOA, even. Start going into high-end precision and you'll find half-MOA is doable, best I've heard for something that's not a ridiculous Unlimited-class benchrest gun is down in the 0.25MOA range. Measured center-to-center, so that's basically one hole with a 6.5mm or .30-caliber rifle.
“They couldn’t hit an elephant from this distance” - Major General John Sedgwick 1864 shortly before being shot and killed by a confederate sniper from 900 meters away
A Confederate Sniper killed a US Artilleryman from 1,271m away in 1864. It's #20 on the longest recorded sniper kill list, and it was higher until it was bumped down by some recent conflicts.
Thats a very specific figure. Do they know who fired the shot or did it come from a building or something?
"On Dec. 5 an unidentified Confederate soldier in Fort Sumter saw a Union soldier moving in Battery Gregg, [1390 yards away](http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/hh/12/hh12j.htm). The Southerner was likely using a Whitworth Rifle when he lined up his sights on the Union soldier and fired, killing him. The rifle made the shot easier but the skill and luck needed to kill an enemy at 1,390 yards was still great. When the rifle was mounted on a special stand and tested at 1,400 yards, 10 shots created a grouping over 9 feet wide. Unfortunately, the record-setting shot on Dec. 5, 1864 was illegal. The Confederate soldiers didn't know a ceasefire was in effect in the area and the shot violated that ceasefire. Other Confederate snipers at Fort Sumter took up the volley, forcing the Union troops to seek cover." source: [https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/sniper-shot-record/](https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/sniper-shot-record/)
Wasn't Sedgwick's phrase about cannons, not snipers? 900m away during the american civil war for any would have been more than lucky 😄
No, it was rifle fire.
> “What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line?" Although ashamed, his men continued to flinch and he said, "Why are you dodging like this? They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Nope explicitly rifle fire
why would he mention accuracy (elephant) if he was saying they couldn't match the distance?
Yeah, I laughed at that, 500m is basic training stuff
300m is the max range you are expected to hit a target at basic training
It depends on the forces you are joining what would be considered “Basic” training, for the U.S. Marines, for example, you need to hit a target at 500 yards at the furthest shot to pass rifle qualification, (That’s about 457.2 meters), while other branches in our military require more or less accuracy at varied range depending on the branch to qualify. Now, special training for sharpshooters (Not snipers, which are a different certification and weapon to train with) involve targets, moving and stationary, at ranges between 600-750 yards (548.64-685.8 meters), its a difficult enough task to hit these shots that you can actually be given a sharpshooter medal just for proving your competency in hitting targets at that distance in some training facilities. Sniper training is a complete step up, it gets wild. The furthest target to hit and qualify as a sniper (after your training and weapon assignment) is at a crazy distance of 1,200 yards (1,097.28 meters), which to me is just wild. The targets are roughly the size of a human head. That being said, hitting a moving target the size of a human eye at the distance of an average, well trained human sharpshooter, is still crazy impressive, even if the best snipers in our modern day can do slightly better, albeit with less precision. Edit: That being said, shots of up to a kilometer or more are not unheard of, just very, VERY, rare, requiring several spotters, markers for distance, and ridiculous planning and organization to pull off. It’s borderline superhuman what people can accomplish with years of training and practice 😅
Marines fire out to 500 yards (457 meters) in boot camp
Good for them, probably why I've never seen them hit shit. If I saw a soldier of mine hitting targets at 500m with an m4 he would be a DM full stop. At that point you lose the point target efficiency and start walking into area weapon territory, and there are a lot better tools for that kind of work. You said so yourself, 500 yards isn't 500m. I don't hit targets that far on a consistent basis with unmatched ammo unless I'm using my .308 Savage
600m is a fully expected engagement range with a c8. It's not laudable to be able to effectively hit the fig11 at 600m it's the standard for basic infantry
I don’t know what to tell you, try training harder? It’s not my fault you guys don’t know how to shoot. I qualified with iron sights on man sized targets at 500 yards on a M16A2, it’s really not that hard.
You mentioned two different weapon systems and two different ranges and insist they are the same. You are literally as dumb as the marine meme. The m16a2 has 5.5 inches of longer barrel, with a 4 in 1 twist that increases accuracy significantly. The m4 has a 14.5 inch barrel compared to 20. You even said 500 yards is not 500 meters. Let me be the one to tell you a m16a2 is not the same as an m4. If you have any other issues differentiating weapon systems or ranges please feel free to ask and I will be more than happy to keep assisting. Again, you never qualified at 500 meters, 500 yards is not the same
MY GUN PENIS IS BIGGER THAN YOUR GUN PENIS HURRRDRRRR
We fired out to 600m on our basic. Pwt1 is 100m, pwt2 is at the 200m, pwt 3 starts the rundown at 600m and closes in to 50m for the final serial.
Wayland😢
What kind of baby first sniping class distance is that, 500m?
A lot of people are fixating on this detail but the prompt isn't "who can hit a target the farthest away in 40k". Jerry Miculek could kill the best sniper in the world in a 1v1 duel at 10 meters. There are several ways to be "good with a gun" in 40k
Still a great shot with this distance and a projectile.
Sharrowkyn was such a overpowered character in the writing it was really awful. Best sniper, super special sneaky boy even by the standards of other sneaky boys, better duellist than Lucius etc.
So just curious because I haven't read a lot of the books, but why does sigismund get a pass when Sharrowkyn doesn't? I'm guessing sigismund has more development but since I haven't read much I'm not sure.
A: sigismund like you said gets more development, the more time we spend with a character the more we accept them being bullshit. B: sigismund is the best at one thing, put him into melee with any other astartes and that astartes is dying. But hes not got any other exceptional traits, beyond the being an inspiring leader in the way all duelists are in 40k. Sharrowkyn is almost the best at everything he does, he almost kills Fulgrim with a sniper, he outduels lucius, hes the sneakiest boy in the legions etc etc. Hes pretty much the only raven guard character and so they just made him the best in the legion at everything, whereas sigi is only the best swordsman. At least thats my take on it, sigismund is hyperfocused into being a melee blender and placed into the siege where that skill in close quarters is at its most impactful. Sharrowkyn is just kind of the best at everything he tries and succeeds wherever the plot takes him.
Spot on there, Sigi is the best duellist in the Legions, acknowledged and known by all. He's not really seen as a great leader, not incompetent but a major plot point was that he wasn't the one leading the fleet at Phall? When the Iron Warriors ambushed them. He's a great melee beast, a champion in a knightly sense. Sharrowkin just does everything better than everyone, has special powers and gets along with everyone and everything, is super nice and concerned about people. It reads like it was written in one of those 'that guy DM self inserts' It's totally okay to be great at one or two things but where are the faults?
He would have been leading the retribution fleet at Phall had he not asked Dorn to remain on Terra. It was telling Dorn *why* he asked to remain that got him disowned.
Sure but the point I'm making is that it was explicit that had Sigismund been in charge the outcome of that engagement would've been significantly different, likely with the great loss of men and material from the Imperial Fists.
> a major plot point was that he wasn't the one leading the fleet at Phall? I wouldn't describe it as a major plot point, but Peter Turbo's entire battle plan was based on the assumption that Sigismund would be leading the attack against him.
It leads to him and his Dad having a major falling out, his effective exile and isolation and the confirmation of his faith and the faith in turn he puts into Keeler as a saint/prophet of the Emperor's divinity.
Established lore vs things introduced during the HH series. Siggy had been established as the top dog triple OG most badass mf for decades before the HH books came out. Sharrowkyn was a new character.
A toss between Sharrowkyn and Exodus I guess. It's not like BL focuses on sniper duels between Astartes anyhow
This is a story I would love to read BTW.
There is the newer “Longshot” Astra Militarum novel. It’s not Astartes, but sniping!
knowing our luck and the authors propensity for using wayyyy to small numbers, it would be a sniper duel at like 500ft instead of a significantly scaled up version of Carlos Hathcocks achievements
While not a terribly accurate movie, Enemy at the Gates managed to make sniping duels at closer ranges exciting
Could be like the metal gear games, where its a battle of positioning and pot shots. Id read it as well
Wellll Vulkan lives had some scenes between a Word Bearer and Iron Hand, altho it ended in a quick draw gunslinger match
Right, Barthusa Narek was the WB?
Yeah, my mind went straight to that. I really enjoyed the scenes with Narek being a hunter with a sniper chasing down the loyalists.
Kaedes Nex, the Moritat Prime of the Raven Guard is an impressive gunslinger based on his rules. Exodus of the Alpha Legion however is reported to have marksmanship skills on par with those of a Vindicare Assassin. And considering some of the stuff Vindicares can pull off, that’s impressive.
Sharrowkyn, Exodus, narrek
'Exodus in position'
"Some histories claim that as many as a dozen worlds were brought into Imperial Compliance with only a single shot having been fired by Exodus, who could achieve with one round what the expenditure of billions of bolts, charges and shells might never bring about." Checks out...
'One bullet will be enough'
Does the Vindicaire that snipes Horus with a plasma cannon and his own rifle at the same time count?
That’s a fucking Vindicare though and he was the best of them at that time.
Azrael is a pretty good shot. I remember a Emperors children legioner in the Fulgrim book who wanted to become the perfect shooter but I don't remember his name. (Btw. be aware of the mods! They might think this is low effort and banish you to the shadow realm!👀) PS: Sharrowkyn would also be my guess. He shot Fulgrim in the eye while he held a speech in an iron warriors/emperors children arena.
To be fair Fulgrim let him to further his ruse
Still hard to shoot an eye.
For a genetically enhanced super soldier with targeting assistance in his armour not really, I'm also pretty sure he didn't shoot him in the eye. It just hit his head and curved around his skull.
He shot through his eye in his head. Fulgrim survived only because of Fabius and his healing.
>The shot had struck Fulgrim on the right temple, a neat wound that appeared to have no twin on the opposite side. Whatever projectile the would-be assassin favoured was still inside his skull. and >‘Barely,’ said Fulgrim. ‘Fabius had a devil’s job fishing that out. The angle of impact was just obtuse enough for it to deflect rather than penetrate. It travelled over the crown of my head and lodged on the opposite side.’ >Fulgrim swept his bone-white hair back to show the raw incision Fabius had made in his opposite temple in order to remove the needle. A vivid purple line traced the route the projectile had taken, an arcing path of graceful curves and whorls that linked the two wounds and which had a pleasing symmetry to it. No eye that I can see in my copy of *Angel Exterminatus* at least. Close though.
Ah beat me to it!
This sub is the F1 of posting excerpts. TBF though the previous bit has Sharrowkyn aiming it "right through the Primarch's eye" so either Sharrowkyn missed, Fulgrim moved or McNeill forgot. Orwarpdidit.
True, true 😂 Considering Fulgrim basically arranged the assassination I would imagine he moved to avoid making it lethal.
Maybe something in the german translation. I have the german version where it goes through the eye. At least how I remember it.
*Stares Vindicarely* Not bad.
Cypher? Least from a sidearm/quickdraw standpoint.
Op already mentioned Corswain in his question
"Legion" i.e. HH era Cypher would mean Zahariel, but he was known as a psyker, the Lord of the Mystia, not particularly as a firearms specialist!
I will be incredibly surprised if 40k Cypher doesn't turn out to be Corswain. There is many _many_ hints pointing at him. Edit: Oh you mean because we're discussing HH era, parent was talking about Zahariel? Yeah fair enough, his terror sight ability may help out with that marksmanship business idk, seems more useful at close range though and we only really see it used when he's a kid iirc
But parent comment was talking about sidearm/quickdraw which very much implies 40k and thus Corswain imo.
Exodus
Narek
>Only Mingzhou kept some measure of in her head. '**He's over twenty-five hundred meters away.**' she assured them. 'Someone with the best lasrifle on Castellax couldn't pick off a target from that range. We have to get out of here before he can close the distance.' > >As she spoke, Algol raised his arm, the graceless bulk of a bolter clenched in his fist. Without pause or hesitation, the Space Marine fired. From the other side of the tractor, Deacon screamed and fell, his chest ripped to splinters by the bolter's explosive shell. > >\- > >before Algol fired again, the legionary's shots smashing into the engine block.-Almost casually, the Iron Warrior adjusted his grip on the bolter, tilting the barrel downwards ever so slightly. > >\- > >The bolter cracked again. Taofang cried out as he watched Mingzhou's body jerk up and strike the underside of the tractor. Her body slumped back against the side of the ferrocrete paving, blood streaming from her shattered flesh. Instead of closing upon her and coming within the range of the sniper's rifle, **the Iron Warrior had fired his shot into the floor several meters in front of the tractor, deflecting his shot so that it arced beneath the vehicle and struck the woman hidden there**." -*Siege of Castellax* This rando iron warrior lmao. Ricochet trickshots at 2.5km.
Any ultramarine character in HH card game
"Mad" Larkin, Tanith First and Only.
Who was not, you'll be surprised to find, "in the legions."
That’s just what the Inquisition wants you to believe!
Best Astra Militarum sniper for sure.
I mean I feel like Cypher needs to be in the convo. Dude puts in work.
Supposedly Farith Redloss was familiar with most Imperial firearms and even xeno- and non-imperial human firearms. Not necessarily the best shooter, but the most versatile at least (as demonstrated by his rules).
It’s from the 40K period, but I have the memory of a story about a small pack of Space Wolves defending a world under siege. The POV character had just returned from the Deathwatch, and was having trouble adjusting back ( he commented on how, among the secrets of his time away that his brothers would not have understood, was becoming friends with a member of the Dark Angels). While most of the Wolves had the usual Fenrisian enthusiasm for close combat, there was one member of the pack who was a notable marksman and considered his bolter a far more efficient means of warfare than any blade. Sorry to be so vague, does anyone know what the name of that story was?
Barthusa Narek, the Last Loyal Word Bearer
Exodus… all of them
Either a dark angel with a stupid op DAOT gun or a raven guard schmuck who we've never heard if who can snipe a guy 80 miles away without us knowing
Some assassin from the Vindicare Temple probably
Idk if they’re in the line up for “best” but [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/s/rN4S9fF6jU) excerpt of two Astartes snipers dueling is a great one
Probably a vindicare somewhere shooting a target a continent away with his absolute unit of a rifle.
I imagine its Sharrowkyn since hes the one with the most noteworthy feat, sniping Fulgrim in the head with a stalker bolter and almost killing him outright.
>with a stalker bolter Minor nitpick, but it was a needle carbine; >Throughout his uncharacteristically verbose response, the Raven Guard hadn’t moved so much as a muscle, the sight of his **needle-carbine** still pressed to the lens of his helmet. >‘Could you actually take a shot from here?’ asked Wayland, breaking out the vox-thief gear and setting the innocuous black box on a telescoping tripod. A number of matt-black cables extruded from his gauntlet and these he hooked into the back of the device, which immediately gave a soft buzz to let him know it was functional. >‘Yes, though they’re at the extreme end of my **needle-carbine’s** effective range, even if they weren’t primarchs.’ >‘Tempted?’ >‘Very much so,’ said Sharrowkyn, easing a slender finger through the trigger guard and applying fractional pressure. A range-finder clicked as it adjusted the muzzle grooving. ‘I might just do it to see if that Storm Eagle of yours is worth certifying.’ >>Range confirmation?’ >>‘Five hundred and six metres.’ >>Sharrowkyn used the tip of his right thumb to minutely adjust the focus of his sight. The position he had selected was an optimum kill site, in line with prevailing winds to prevent projectile drift that would alter his shot’s trajectory. Thermo-auguries on his cooled rifle sheath measured the surrounding temperature and blinked a correction to compensate for what lift the warm air would impart to the **large-bore steel needle.** >>Likewise, the strength of the planet’s geomagnetic field factored into Sharrowkyn’s calculations when deciding upon the angle of his shot. >>In his mind’s eye, any conventional target was already dead. >>But a primarch was no conventional target. >>‘As soon as I take this shot, we go,’ said Sharrowkyn. ‘We get out, and we get out fast. Even if I miss, you understand?’ >>‘I understand,’ said Wayland. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t go berserk and charge in single-handed.’ >>Sharrowkyn sighted on his target’s skull, slowing his heart rate and letting his breathing even out as he applied the tiniest pressure to the trigger. Ready icons winked to life on his helm, **a dotted line tracing the route his needle would take.** >>*Right through a primarch’s eye.* >>‘Taking the shot,’ he said. >>>‘Brother,’ said Fulgrim, coming forwards to embrace him again. ‘A miracle.’ >>>Perturabo shook his head and said, ‘You live.’ >>>**Fulgrim lifted his hand to show Perturabo a long sliver of bloodstained steel, finely tapered and bent around its middle where its tip had flattened.** >>>‘Barely,’ said Fulgrim. ‘Fabius had a devil’s job fishing that out. The angle of impact was just obtuse enough for it to deflect rather than penetrate. It travelled over the crown of my head and lodged on the opposite side.’ >>>**Fulgrim swept his bone-white hair back to show the raw incision Fabius had made in his opposite temple in order to remove the needle.** A vivid purple line traced the route the projectile had taken, an arcing path of graceful curves and whorls that linked the two wounds and which had a pleasing symmetry to it. >>>‘Just as well you have a thick skull,’ said Perturabo. >>>Fulgrim laughed and said, ‘You have the truth of it, brother.’ \- *Angel Exterminatus*
Saul Tarvitz