Updated November 5, 2026
MW4 Longshot Distance for Every Weapon Class
MW4 shows you a Longshot challenge and never tells you how far "long" is. So players tested it. Kill by kill, range by range, the community landed on a set of distances per weapon class within the first week after the 23 October 2026 launch. This page is the full list, class by class, with what each distance means in practice.
The MW4 longshot distance table
| Weapon class | Longshot distance |
|---|---|
| Shotguns | 12 meters |
| Pistols | 20 meters |
| SMGs | 30 meters |
| Assault rifles | 38 meters |
| LMGs | 38 meters |
| Marksman rifles | 38 meters |
| Sniper rifles | 51 meters |
One important honesty note: Infinity Ward has not published official longshot distances. These are player-tested figures, repeated across community testing since launch. They are consistent enough to plan a grind around, but they are estimates, and a patch could move them. If your kills at exactly 38 meters with an AR are not counting, play for 40-plus — some players report borderline kills right at the threshold failing to register.
How the rule works
The distance belongs to the weapon class, not the individual gun and not your build. Attachments do not change it. A long-range optic does not shorten the requirement, and a short barrel does not lengthen it. The killing shot has to land from at least the threshold distance. You do not need a headshot, you do not need to be mounted, and you do not need any particular attachment. One clean kill, far enough away, done. The Longshot medal popping on screen is your confirmation that the shot counted.
Class by class
Shotguns — 12 meters. The cheapest longshot in the game. Twelve meters is a normal mid-range shotgun fight once slugs are on. This is also why shotguns are the only class that can score longshots reliably on Shipment, which we went through lane by lane in our Shipment longshots breakdown.
Pistols — 20 meters. Twenty meters is a real fight for a pistol, but a fair one. Medium lanes on mid-size maps work. Treat pistol longshots as a side project while you grind other things on medium maps, and they finish without much pain.
SMGs — 30 meters. The sweet spot. Thirty meters asks a lot of an SMG without being unreasonable, and low-recoil options like the ISO Nightshade and VEL 46 stay accurate out there. Ground War and the bigger 6v6 maps both work. For most players this is the class where the longshot grind feels fair.
Assault rifles, LMGs and marksman rifles — 38 meters. Thirty-eight meters is a proper lane. You need maps with real sightlines and the patience to hold them. The M4 is the usual AR starting point. Marksman rifles sit most comfortably at this distance; LMGs do the same job more slowly. This is the tier where map choice starts to matter more than aim, so pair this page with our best maps and modes guide before you start.
Sniper rifles — 51 meters. The longest ask in the game. Fifty-one meters needs the biggest sightlines MW4 has: Ground War maps, the train tracks and center lanes on Coal, the longest streets and rooftops. Do snipers last, when you know the long lanes well, and expect a slower per-match count than every other class.
Longshot distance vs Point Blank distance
Do not confuse the two ends of the ruler. Point Blank, another Special Camo condition, is a kill at roughly 2 meters — the exact opposite of a longshot. Players regularly grind the wrong one for an evening because both names sit in the same challenge list unexplained. If your close-range kills are not counting as longshots, that is why, and if your long-range kills are not counting as Point Blank, same answer in reverse.
Why your longshot might not have counted
Three usual causes. First, you were a few meters short — most "it didn't count" reports are a 35 meter AR kill that needed 38. Second, you were on a map with no real lanes, which is the Shipment problem covered on the homepage. Third, you were checking the wrong weapon's progress: the challenge counts per weapon, so kills with a different gun do not move the one you are looking at. When in doubt, add distance. A kill from clearly past the line never fails the distance check.