Did The Gun Used In The Kirk Killing Have A Scope On It To.....

[global1]

shoot off such an accurate shot over such a distance?

And am I right the hit was accomplished in one shot?

Can a person that might not be a trained sniper pull off such a shot? Or is this the work of an expert sniper?

[herding cats]

1. They haven't said it did have a scope but I'm assuming it must have.

That's way too long of a shot for open sights.

Yes, it was one shot.

Yes, a regular person trained to hunt and/or target shoot could make the shot. There's no implication it was done by a professional.

[Fiendish Thingy]

2. I did see one report that named the rifle and said it had a scope.

But the reports of the distance of the shot vary from 500 ft. To 200 yards.

[herding cats]

6. I think the best I've seen it narrowed down to was 430 ft.

Which looks close judging by the drone images I've seen.

So that's what? 143ish yards? A decent distance but not too far at all for someone who knows how to shoot. Still, they'd need a scope.

[hookaleft]

21. That is what bothers me about the video

The kid that jumped off that roof did not have a gun.

[The Revolution]

22. Its pretty clear to me

That he is carrying something that could easily be a gun.

[Captain Zero]

3. I saw Frank Figiluzi on with a podcaster

,A couple nights ago, And he did not think the shooter was a trained sniper. Partly "because of the placement of the shot".

This was in response to the podcasters asking if this was a trained sniper because of the neck shot.

Frank kind of made a dismissive turn of his lips before answering. Seemed like Frank thought it might be a miss as far as intended placement ?

Frank is a former FBI agent.
I think he knows his shit.

[Ocelot II]

4. The rifle was an old bolt-action 30-06 rifle with a scope.

The talking heads on TV said it would have been a relatively easy shot for an experienced hunter; they wouldn't have had to be a professional sniper.

[Woodwizard]

35. I have a WW1 remington 30-06.

I restored it years ago it will hold a tight shot group at 500 yards prone using a sandbag with the stock iron sights.

I have no doubt it would do further out but my eyes are the limiting factor.

[Historic NY]

5. It looked like a Remington 700 they came standard w/ a scope....

My brother had one they were prone to problems. He had to send it back because no one was allowed to repair it.

[Greg_In_SF]

8. No

It was a 'Sporterized' Mauser chambered in 30.06.

It had a scope on it but the scope was nowhere close to properly mounted....which is the 985th indication this was in no way a professional hit.


EDIT: In the picture posted below you can see that the front scope mount has only a half purchase on the scope rail of the firearm. This could very easily be the reason for the neck shot when he would have been going for a head shot or aiming center mass. Not to mention the scope getting knocked around during transport of the rifle on to the roof.

[struggle4progress]

7. FBI Sniper Analyzes The Shot

Sep 13, 2025

Mike Baker speaks with retired FBI Agent and trained sniper Jim Gagliano about the fatal shot that killed Charlie Kirk—what it reveals about the shooter’s skill level, and why the details matter in understanding this assassination.

[Kaleva]

9. 200 yards with a rifle is a doable shot even without a scope

I haven’t seen anyone with a good knowledge of shooting say this shot was exceptional.

[ProfessorGAC]

28. I Shot In Competitions

Small scale, but competition nonetheless.
I only competed in scopeless distances since I never wanted to spend money on a scope.
We shot at 100 yards max. (30, 60, 100). I could hit the black on 4 of 5 at 100 yards nearly every time, and I'm no sniper.
I don't think 150 yard shot with a scope is exceptional, either.

[FBaggins]

10. No reason to assume that it was an accurate shot

It’s unlikely that he was aiming for the neck. He might have been aiming for the head and missed by several inches - or the chest and missed by a foot (a substantial amount at that range).

Heck - he might have intended to scare Kirk with a near miss and failed catastrophically

[Kaleva]

11. Yes

[Greg_In_SF]

12. Had to be a

missed head shot. A 30.06 round's drop at 200 yards is about five inches. Had he been aiming for center mass, unless he jerked the rifle, the bullet would not have gone upward.

[Kaleva]

14. When shooting uphill or downhill, point of impact will be high

I suspect shooter was aiming for the center of mass, the chest area, but as he was shooting downwards, the bullet hit the neck.

An experienced hunter would know to compensate for this.

[Greg_In_SF]

18. That is not always the case

and he was on the roof of a single story building.

[Straw Man]

20. It is always the case.

But by how much? That's the variable. A downward shot will hit higher than a straight shot unless (a) the scope was sighted in at the same degree of downward angle that the shot will be taken at or (b) the shooter knows how much to compensate, using "hold-under."

It was a one-story building, but a high-ceilinged one. In the video of the shooter climbing down, the building looks to be 18 to 20 feet high, as opposed to the 10 or 12 feet of a typical ranch house.

[yardwork]

29. It's fortunate that other people weren't killed.

The kid who shot at Trump last year killed somebody sitting in the crowd. (Which Trump never mentions when discussing his miraculous survival.)

[lame54]

13. He grew up with guns

[FBaggins]

31. That isn't much of a guarantee

I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met who “grew up with guns” yet seem to think that marksmanship consists of hitting the front half of a deer from half this distance half of the time.

[Buzz cook]

15. I've only heard it described as a 30-06

And a hunting rifle.
Most, but not all rifles of that description would be bolt action and most but not all rifles of that description would have a scope. If properly set up, most but not all such rifles would be accurate within 6" at that distance. Many would be more accurate than that.
200 yds is still close range for such a rifle. Many people could make a shot at that distance without a scope.
One shot is what's been reported.
A person with a few hours training could make this shot. More true if they were prone and firing from some sort of rest.

[DenaliDemocrat]

16. 99% Sure it had a scope

200 yards is not a far distance at all for a .30-06 with a scope. Military snipers shoot at 1000 yards. I grew up out west hunting where longer shots are the norm. Basically I don’t miss much anything 250 yards and under. I could teach you to hit a target at 200 yards consistently in about an hour or so. Doing it well under pressure is the real skill. “Buck Fever” is real.

[J_William_Ryan]

17. Conservatives

are still going to lie about 'liberals' hiring a professional hit man.

[Kaleva]

23. We had people here speculate that Trump hired a pro

[Kaleva]

25. I'll give you some limks

And then you can say they are trolls

[angrychair]

19. Are we sure it's his gun?

Saw him come down off the roof and run across a street and he didn't have a rifle in his hands. Saw pictures of him in that hallway, no rifle. When did he have the rifle to put in the woods that were after he game from the roof with no rifle in hand.

Just saying, how did he leave it in the woods if he didn't have it coming off that roof?

Video is out there. I would assume a lot of people had seen it by now.

[Woodwizard]

27. 200 yards is not a hard shot even with open sights

I bet at least half of the deer hunters in my town could easily do it.

More than likely he was aiming for the chest and was high on the shot.

[Jacson6]

30. The first time I shot an M16 in Basic with no scope.

I hit 16 out of 18 pop up targets that were 100 to 600 meters away. I was not shooting in automatic either.

[doc03]

32. It would be an easy shot for anyone with a little practice. Back in my hunting days

I would shoot groundhogs at that distance and further. It's been a half century but in army training we shot
pop up targets with a M14 and M16 rifle with no scope out to I think 250 yards. I received an Expert medal
with both the M14 and M16, that was the only military skill I was good at.

[Prairie Gates]

33. Oh God

[Jarqui]

34. There have been sniper kills at 1400 yds with 30-06

440 yds (1/4 mile) is well within the ability of the weapon for hunters.

At 200 yds, it takes about 1/4 second to get there. The sound of the shot arrives at 200 yds about 1/4 second after the bullet.

On a flat surface, Gravity drops the bullet roughly about 3 1/2". If he aimed at Charlie's nose, it might hit his neck just below his jaw. To me and many others, hitting Charlie in the neck is indicative of a miss to some extent. Very likely, not a professional level sniper. Though nerves could have caused it - even for an expert shot.

As 13/14 year old campers, targets with a 6?X scope on a .22 got boring quickly. We targeted the wings of horseflies (a somewhat moving target) who were attracted to the white target paper in the sun. Hitting the fly was too easy. I don't recall the distance precisely but it was roughly around 40-60 yds - anything closer was not practical with the scope. A 30-06 is considerably more powerful and precise. With a scope, ignoring nerves, missing a head/body shot a little (to hit the neck) wouldn't be very difficult at 200 yds.

[taxi]

36. Consider the deed to be the purpose, and the outcome the result.

We have to ask ourselves which outcome would have been the most catastrophic, an assassination attempt, a miss, or a death?
With that in mind let us suppose that the shooter knew the probability of hitting, no less killing, the target was slim.
It could be that missing the target altogether may have cemented the rwnj's more firmly, essentially giving them a rallying point around which they could easily coalesce. A non-fatal hit would have a similar unifying affect on the maga crowds.
Don't mistake what I'm saying here as being happy that a life was taken. What I am saying here is that the outcome of this event may have been the most favorable for democracy.