These are examples of the more than 125 sniper rifles still in use today.

The British Whitworth, a muzzle loader, is considered to be the first long range sniper rifle and was used by Confederate soldiers during the Civil War.

By the 1870's, the perfection of breech loading magazine rifles led to sniper rifles having "effective accurate" ranges of up to a mile away from its target.

During World War l German rifles were fitted with illuminated scopes. By the end of World War II snipers were reported to provide "reasonable accuracy" over 656 yards.

Sniper rifles continue to be adapted and improved upon with the effective range of modern sniper rifles exceeding 1,094 yards, which make it one of the most accurate, deadly and efficient weapons in use now.

The science of long-range sniping came to fruition in the Vietnam War. Marine Carlos Hathcock held the record from 1967 until 2002 at 2500 yards. He recorded 93 official kills. He helped to establish the Marine Corps Scout Sniper School at Quantico, Virginia.

The American-made CheyTac M200 was featured in 2007 on the TV show “Future Weapons” where a former Navy SEAL hit a human-sized target at 2,530 yards. Its effective range is roughly 1.4 miles.

As weapons, ammunition, and aids to determine ballistic solutions improved, so too did the distance from which a kill could be targeted. In mid-2017 it was reported that an unnamed Canadian special forces operator, based in Iraq, had set a new record of 3,871 yards.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org