“People here who shoot have said that it wasn’t such a difficult shot.”
200 yards with a precise shot to the carotid artery with one shot is a pretty good shot. It was a certainly fatal shot designed to kill even if Kirk had body armor.
It was an experienced shooter. It didn’t have to be an army trained sniper. But this was not a casual shooter who bought a gun and practiced a few times out at the range.
Do you believe Crooks shot Trump?
Sorry… USMC trained shooter here. Lowly Marksman, lowest of the 3 USMC ranks , for 2 years out of four, and 200 yards with a rested rifle and scope is almost IMPOSSIBLE to miss. Did he have a rested, scoped rifle? Don’t know, but if he did, it wouldn’t take Jason Bourne. Jason Mraz could do it. As another poster said, your blind granny could do it.
The shooter almost certainly wasn't aiming for the neck, they probably missed the center of the torso where they would likely have been aiming. Under ideal conditions with a good rifle and an experienced shooter 200 yds would be an easy shot, but anyone about to commit a political murder probably has a lot of adrenaline pumping. If it's someone who just bought the rifle a week ago and isn't a practiced shot 200 yds might as well be the moon, most novices couldn't do it. There's not enough information to know right now whether this was someone who knew what they were doing or a nutcase who just pulled off a lucky shot.
I’m not so sure he was aiming for the neck. It wouldn’t make sense. People shooting down from a hight commonly shoot high. I bet he was aiming center mass and the shot landed high hitting Charlie in the neck.
Why do you think where it his is where it was aimed?
If aiming for center of head, some drop and pull to the right is not surprising.
Why do you assume such precision?
200 Yards is a pretty short distance, before my eyes went bad I could have done it with a pistol.
Most likely the shooter was trying for a head shot, but the artery is what he got.
So he succeeded despite nearly missing.
Most deer rifles are zeroed at 150-200 yards, I’d wager. Hold on the necktie knot. You can be pretty far off in your range estimation, but six inches, high or low, is still lethal.
He wasn’t aiming at his neck knucklehead. He was aiming for the head and missed a stationary target.
No one aims for the neck
The neck is 4 inches across the size of a grapefruit. I can hit those first shot cold barrel at 400 all day with at least 5 of my factory class rifles out of the box with cheap glass. 200 is nothing don’t read to much into it a regular shooter should hit in the black at 200 every time. I have shot quarter sizes groups at 300 with not expensive customer rifles my 6.5 creed bolt will do it. Hitting a human at 200 in the neck is not hard at under 300 for even a average shooter.
I have handed my 6.5 to my lawyers 15 yo who doesn’t shoot on the regular and from the bipod in prone he was busting grapefruits at 350 every shot. Again modern rifles are not the sloppy savages or Remingtons of the 1970s you can buy a factory rifle that will out 5 for 5 in a plate at 800 off the bipod , laser rangefinders are under $100.
I have a factory bone stock box fresh 7 mag in Remington 700 LR that has a MPBR of 350+ yards on a 4 inch radius targer. MPBR is the range that you can hold direct target and tour rounds flight ballistic arc is not above or below the radius out to that range. 4 inches a human head in size. Inside 350 yards point to the middle of the head pull the trigger you will hit it every time.
200 is .nothing to someone who has even basic shooting skills. It’s not more common because right wing people don’t go off the rails like lefties.
Look in history.
Lincoln...Democrat shot him.
MLK...leftie
Reagan..leftie
The Don twice lefties
The list goes on and on.
This is not to say.lefties don’t have shooting skills. I served with a slew of them they were in the service to learn how to wage war and shoot and other skills too. Sh1t soldier’s and Marines but they got all the same training that’s why they were there one and done types. We knew who they were they were not shy about their reasons for being there worse after the woke era started with Bambi.
Consider this.
A 200 yard shot is quite doable with 308 or 30-06 rifle, or a 270 - all commmon deer rifles.
A decent ‘deer rifle scope’ would give you a good sight picture.
BUT ... Shooting down without compensating means your shot will go high. The first deer I ever shot was from a tree stand down towards the doe. I shot out her spine, despite aiming for her heart. I have since greatly improved my shooting.
Couple possibilities here - shooter was aiming for a head shot, and didn’t compensate properly for the ballistics of the round, meaning the drop at 200 yards was more than expected, and the shot hit Charlie in the neck instead of the head.
Alternatively, the shooter was aiming for his chest, didn’t compensate for shooting down from a roof, and his/her shot went high.
Lastly, at 200 yards (estimated) your target is not that large in the scope, and/or dialed up to 10X the sight picture/aimpoint moves around a lot unless you control your breathing, and heart beat pace, really well.
Hitting a deer at 200 yards is not an expert shot, but it’s not as easy as a 100 yard shot.
All this adds up to ... this shot didn’t take an expert shot, but of course and expert could have made it.