[tet68]

Instinctively allowing for wind speed and bullet drop, Shadow's commander aimed 12 feet high.

Uh, toby, it's called training.
If he didn't know what his bullet was going to do,
he shouldn't have been out there, ie; he knew how many
clicks to come up, and how many over for the wind and
how to tell what the distance was, he didn't look and say
mmmmmm ah guess it's about 1232 yards.

Bahh writers.

[Fido969]

A twelve foot offset is still a HELL of a shot. After a certain distance and as more factors start to figure in then a random element will start to take over.

Secondly, there is an intrinsic problem with shots that far - the bullet travel time (that's 3600 feet). A bullet traveling 2900ft/sec will take more than a second to get there, and it is a guess whether the target will be where you aimed at that time. That's why long range hostage shots are a bad idea, the target moves a half step during the half-second a bullet will travel a relatively manageable 500 yard shot, and you've missed and now have a pissed-off target.

This looks to be a no-lose shot, though. And this guy had to be incredible just to identify the target and get a bullet that close.

[El Gato]

how to tell what the distance was, he didn't look and say mmmmmm ah guess it's about 1232 yards.

He may well have used a laser range finder to get it to the nearest meter, rather than the nearest 10 or so, which I would expect from an estimate at that range.

[papertyger]

Dude. There aren't that many clicks on a leupold scope, and the further you get from mechanical center (o,o, on the crosshairs) the greater the cumulative error from adjustment.

His training got him close, but I promise you, that shot was all shooter.

[Ichneumon]

[Instinctively allowing for wind speed and bullet drop, Shadow's commander aimed 12 feet high.]

Uh, toby, it's called training.

I don't see anything wrong with the wording. Over time, the results of your training (and subsequent experience) become something you do instinctively.