Editing Rifle (section)

===Range===

Barrel [[rifling]] dramatically increased the range and accuracy of the musket. Indeed, throughout its development, the rifle's history has been marked by increases in range and accuracy. From the [[Minié rifle]] and beyond, the rifle has become ever more potent at long-range strikes.

In recent decades, large-caliber anti-materiel rifles, typically firing between 12.7&nbsp;mm and 20&nbsp;mm caliber cartridges, have been developed. The US [[M82 Barrett rifle|Barrett M82A1]] is probably the best-known such rifle. A second example is the [[Accuracy International AX50|AX50]] by [[Accuracy International]]. These weapons are typically used to strike critical, vulnerable targets such as computerized command and control vehicles, radio trucks, radar antennae, vehicle engine blocks and the jet engines of enemy aircraft. Anti-materiel rifles can be used against human targets, but the much higher weight of rifle and ammunition, and the massive recoil and muzzle blast, usually make them less than practical for such use. The Barrett M82 is designed with a maximum effective range of {{convert|1800|m|mi|abbr=on}}, although it has a confirmed kill distance of {{convert|2430|m|mi|abbr=on}} in [[Afghanistan]] during [[Operation Anaconda]] in 2002.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.macleans.ca/canada/national/article.jsp?content=20060515_126689_126689 | author-link = Michael Friscolanti | last=Friscolanti|first=Michael|title=We were abandoned|journal=[[Maclean's]]|publisher=[[Rogers Communications|Rogers Publishing]]|date=2006-05-15|pages=18–25}}</ref> The [[longest recorded sniper kills|record for the longest confirmed kill shot]] stands at {{convert|3540|m|ft|abbr=on}}, set by an unnamed soldier with Canada's elite special operations unit [[Joint Task Force 2]] using a [[McMillan TAC-50]] sniper rifle.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canadian-elite-special-forces-sniper-sets-record-breaking-kill-shot-in-iraq/article35415651/ |title=Canadian elite special forces sniper makes record-breaking kill shot in Iraq |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |first=Robert |last=Fife |date=21 June 2017 |access-date=28 February 2018}}</ref>