It just keeps getting weirder
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"Or, you could go with Occam's Razor and say that the assassin was just a terrible shot."
RSBN was reporting that the killer was 150 yards away. Yeah, I know -- there are military sharpshooters for whom that would be no probem. But for just about anyone else, 150 yards is a long way off.
Point is, even a military-level sniper is likely to have problems with a moving target at 150 yards. More than one bystander would likely be hit.
First, he was NOT a "moving target." On the contrary he was as stationary as a deer drinking water. In the hunting world, that's basically the deer jumping into your freezer.
Second, standard practice distance for hunting is 100 yards (at least where I grew up). That's the range were we calibrate our sights, because you know if you miss the bullseye at that range, your sights are off. Common long range practice is 200 yards. Hitting 150 yards may seem like a lot for anyone who doesn't shoot, but for anyone who spends time at the range on a semi-regular basis (or grew up hunting), they will have ZERO issues hitting a standing target at 150 yards. Hell, it wouldn't even be hard to hit someone in the eye at that range, much less "anywhere in the head area".
The hardest shot would be scratching the ear.
Now if you put your target out to 500 yards, then it starts getting a little bit "military-level sniper" range. Under 200, and your just talking anyone who grew up in Texas.
No isn't...150 yards is nothing on iron sights using an 81 year old Garand that's been bashed to hell...
Sharpshooters are typically deployed in pairs. One acts as the spotter, who does the calculations, and one is the triggerman, who is responsible for adjusting the rifle and taking the shot. Trained marksmen also do not usually aim for the head if the center of mass is exposed.
For anyone who doesn't realize how far 150 yards is and how difficult a shot is at a distance, a target that would be 6ft tall at 1 yard shrinks to just under half an inch (31/64ths) in size to the naked eye at 150 yards, and that's the size of the target from head to toe, not just the head.
The human head, meanwhile, is about 9 inches from chin to crown for someone 6ft tall, which reduces to less than 0.05 inches at 150 yards, assuming you have no magnification. An untrained shooter would probably need at least 10x magnification to make the shot, and that's assuming they account for wind and have their scope properly zero'd in for that distance.
EDIT: To make one thing clear, I think we are all collectively very lucky that the shooter did not account for wind direction and speed, because that is the most likely reason that Trump wasn't killed.
I just heard the shooter was a flat earther and didn’t take the earths curvature into consideration. That’s why he missed 😬
There are plenty of teenagers out there that could hit a target at 150 yards with a high powered rifle and a scope. I haven't shot that far in many months and am pretty confident I could hit a man-sized target under the right conditions.
The fact that this kid was from Bethel Park though...not an area known for breeding hunters. I have questions. Also "what was the caliber" and "did he have a scope" and "was there wind"? Many variables in play here.
Ultimately its why I think the hypothesis that he was aiming for a "near-kill but not an actual kill" is hilariously bad.