I'm not sure who John Sedgewick was, but the famous last words of John Sedgwick were reported as "Those bastards couldn't hit an elephant from th..." (As reported in various histories of Sedgwick County, Kansas - named for the man.)

A traditional "standard of excellence" for long range rifle shooting is the "minute of arc group." This is a feat sufficiently difficult that record books are kept on the relatively few able to achieve it.

The odds are raised a bit since one is permitted to shoot the required "five consecutive rounds" before drawing the circle that subtends an arc of one minute from the firing line.

One minute of arc at one mile is 18.43 inches.

With excellent equipment and training, and under suitable wind and lighting, a person capable of shooting minute of arc groups with resonable consistency stands a fairly good chance of hitting an "intended target" approximating a person (or live game) sometimes, but the truly exceptional individual shots include a significant element of chance.

Having once killed a viciously charging jack rabbit at a fairly accurately measured 120 yards with an offhand shot with a .357 Mag handgun, I feel intitled to claim once having made an "impossible shot." I certainly wouldn't claim to be able to do it again, consistently, on demand. (The "10" ring on a 50 ft gallery pistol target is about 3 arc minutes wide, and at the time I did have a couple of fairly recent "9 out of 10" 3 minute groups from my competitive target shooting days. But, unfortunately, all my best groups were from practice sessions.)

The combat "solo operative" (sniper) is intended to "engage targets" where there is a reasonable probability of a successful hit; but the additional intent is to keep the enemy aware that they are vulnerable, thereby limiting their ability to move freely without lookking at the hills and shrubbery at all times. A "close miss" has about as much tactical effectiveness as a hit.

The theoretical purpose is similar to deploying land mines, which are not mainly intended to kill the enemy, but only to limited enemy mobility. They are supposed to be used to deny the use of land areas. Regulations require that each and every mine placed must be accurately mapped, with maps filed with upper command echelons. Minefields must always be visibly marked until they are cleared. It is thus obvious that only the losers will ever leave mines behind by being forced to retreat without clearing them. It could be expected that the winners would maintain the markings until the maps are available to clearance people (via treaty or capture?).

[Draw your own conclusions.]

John