The guide for an airsoft sniper

[Flea]

Alright personally im tired of all the new kids on the block wanting to buy a gucci *albatross* rifle and call themselves sniper just like that. This thread is not your average explanation, I will share stories and experiences and my own pictures during this "online lesson" I only hope to shine light upon those who think they can really dedicate themselves to being a sniper. So lets begin.

 

First and most important part of you being a sniper- The rifle

Rifle-The SWS(sniper weapon system) and the M16/M203 should be camoflauged to break up their very strong outlines. Use whatever you can, a drag bag,paint,ghillie wrap,etc..It needs to be similiar to your ghillie.

Optics-optics used by the sniper team must also be camo'd to break up the outline and to reduce visibility of the reflection of your lense. Cover your lense with mesh,stockings,sunshade or canvas with a small slit across the scope.

 

Terrain Camo

Snow: Blending of colors is more effective that textures and contrast in these areas,white with small amounts of green/brown should be worn if vegetation is present.

Desert: Blend your tan and browns, use as the surrounding vegetation as much as possible.

Jungle: Textures, contrasting colors, and natural

vegetation

Urban: Blended colors that are shades of gray, textured camoflauge is not as important.

 

 

Field expedient camoflauge

The sniper team may have to use different types of camoflauge if other means are not available. Instead of camoflauge sticks or face paint, the team may use charcoal, walnut stain, mud, or whatever works. You may not use oil grease and other related materials due to the strong odor. Natural vegetation can be attached to the body and boot bands or rubber bands or by cutting holes in your uniform.

 

Movement:

Remain still-movement attracts attention. The position of the sniper team is concealed when the team remains still, but the snipers position is easily detected when the team moves dramatically. Try your best not to move against a stationary background this makes you a awsome target, if you must do so..make sure you are completely concealed and preferably during liminted visibility. Move inches at a time, always scan ahead. Use shadows! they always play tricks with the mind.

*stay low to observe: When observing stay prone,squated or crouched.

*avoid shiny reflections

avoid skylining. Dont be like this guy unless you have a GREAT height advantage.

*observe noise discipline: Noise, such as talking, can be picked up very easily by enemy patrols and observations posts. The sniper team silences gear before a mission so that it makes so sound when the team walks or runs.

 

RULES OF MOVEMENT

1.always assume your area is under observation

2.move slowly. a sniper counts his movement progress by feet and inches

3.do not cause overhead movement of trees,bushes or tall grasses.

4.plan every movement before you make it.

5.stop look and listen often

6.move during disturbances like gunfire,aircraft noise,yelling,wind,etc

 

these are your stop drop and rolls of sniping.

 

Use the sniper low crawl when concealment is liminted

 

use the medium crawl when concealment is still liminted but you need to move faster and stay low.

 

hands and knees crawl when concealment is very available and you need to move fast.

 

sniper walk when concealment is lush,enemy are nowhere near and speed is very important.

 

here is a layout of a sniper team in rafters in a building..it is not a smart thing to stay on rooftops, everybody looks there first and you are a sitting duck.

 

When you move, take advantage of the following:

*avoid enemy positions and obstacles

*seel terrain that offers the best cover

*operate in difficult terrain(swamps,dense woods,etc)

*do not use trails or footpaths

*avoid built up areas

 

 

Rules for the spotter and sniper:

*the observer is point man;the sniper follows

*visual contact must be maintained even when lying on the ground

*interval of 20 meters or less should be maintained

*sniper reacts to point mans actions

*team leader designates movement and techniques and routes used

*team leader designates rally points

 

 

IF YOU SEE AN ENEMY YOU DO NOT WISH TO ENGAGE(large patrols, convoys, un-important player)

*assume best covered and concealed position

*remain in position until enemy has passed

 

If you are ambushed:

*observer delivers rapid fire

*sniper throws smoke and engages most threatening targets

*team moves to location where the enemy cannot ovserve or place direct fire on it

*if contact cannot be broken, radio for security element or supressive fire

*if sniper team gets seperated, return to next-to-last on route rally point

 

if you are receiving indirect fire simply get the hell out of the kill zone.

 

Target indicators

*sound

-most noticeable during hours of darkness

-caused by movement,equipment rattle,talking

-small noises may be dismissed as natural, but talking will not

 

*movement

-most noticeable during hours of daylight

-human eye is attracted to movement

-quick or jerky movement will be detected very quickly

 

*impropper camo

-shine

-outline

-contrast with background

 

*disturbance of wildlife

-birds suddenly flying away

-sudden stop of animal noises

-animals being frightened

 

*odors

-cooking

-smoking

-soap and lotions

-insect repellents

 

Types of camo(not including natural and artificial)

-Striping:when heavily wooded areas and when leafy vegetation is scarce.

-blotching: when ana rea is thick with leafy veg.

-Combination: when moving through changed terrain. it is normally the best all-around pattern.

 

SNIPER DUTIES AND DETAIL

 

definition:

airsoft snipers are operators that make use of long ranged and precise shots done with at a concealed position. Heavy emphasis on concealment practices are used. Practices include but are not liminted to: discipline on sight, sound and smell concealment. Usually operates with a spotter or alone but is never too far away from a main team. Remember, you are there as their eyes and ears, and guardian. The only time an airsoft sniper really operates alone with his spotter is during long range recon. Never will the shooter assasinate a target without a back-up plan, unless it is a death-wish.

 

Sniper duties

 

*Support: Making precise and long range shots to back-up main unit

*Recon- to make use of concealment skills to penetrate OPFOR domain and relay important intel.

*assasination: taking out specific targets in a concleaed position vital for the teams success, or if instructed by team leader.

 

 

Types of ghillie suits

1. stalker suit-jute is placed on cap, and the front and back of arms,legs,back,etc

2.crawler suit-jute is placed on cap, and back of arms legs and back

3.recon/tracker suit-concealment is placed on cap and upper jacket back

 

 

ill type more later on locations of hides.

[Senor Bear]

Hey wait a sec, isn't this an airsoft forum?

[1cem4n]

hey wait a sec, isn't airsoft trying to imitate real life military situations?

[litefire1546]

Nope. It's not a game, it's war.

 

Thanks for the lesson!

 

Flea, many attempts have been made by people to make a "sniper guide". The people who make them, including you, think that they are really cool delta force snipers and know everything about it, just because they saw a website about it. The tactics of real steel sniping are not applicable in the game of airsoft. The best way to learn to be a good airsoft sniper is to play in games and practice, not study a guide.

 

And, for real airsoft sniping guide, go to airsoftsniper.co.uk

[Flea]

Well I see what ya mean litefire but did I say I was a really cool delta sniper that knows everything about sniping? No. Real military tactics can, and do apply to airsoft. If they didnt, most of us wouldnt be playing this game. Countless men and women of various ages dont just gear up for nothing, a good amount of airsofters are current, or former military...so what makes you think real life situations do not apply to airsoft?

I dont care which way you look at it, being affiliated with the role of a sniper is technical whether your in iraq or playing in some local field.

 

airsoft sniper's and real world scout/snipers both have to stalk, and be comfortable in the practices of reconnaisance, concealment, etc

So litefire, other than the painfully obvious fact that an airsofter cannot reach out and kill a man from over a mile 1/2 away, the tactics do apply.

 

I dont know if you woke up in a grumpy mood or what, but id appreciate it if you kept out of this thread unless you have your own contribution to make as far as information goes. Once again, dont make an assumption that people think theyre really cool delta force snipers and dont try to make an *albatross* out of yourself by telling me what I think...

 

If you have a problem with this thread pm me, or report it for all I care there is nothing wrong with trying to help.

 

 

EDIT: Senor Bear, for airsofters in the US, the 400FPS rule isnt such a big deal. Quite a few legitimate fields allow members of their team(after going through a variety of safety courses) to shoot their bolt action rifles at 500-600 FPS. This, in my opinion is a good enough speed to easily greet your opposition with a bb from 300+ft away...as compared to the upgraded AEG shooting 400FPS, they can not reach nearly as far. When I say long range, im talking about the range comparison from a AEG and a BAR.

[Billy210]

Real life tactics just don't translate well to airsoft a lot of the time. Something to do with us using guns that have a FAR smaller range and less accuracy, having no fear of death, no really important reason to win, not as much time to set up tactics, no standardised equipment or leadership.......

[Flea]

well that deffinately is a problem for many airsofters..where the games just do not allow the airsofter to set up a well camoflauged hide, but for some it is possible. If this thread is pointless ill just request that i be deleted, so sense in wasting arnies bandwidth.

[Harry]

I have to agree with Flea... And The Guide is really well done

 

It depens on, what "kind of airsoft" are You doing. Somebody is OK with fast movement, running or jumping between trees etc... But there is a lot of people, who wants to do it "the snipers way". Two days of hidding and obserwing for a single shot (even if it is 50m distance).

 

 

 

And fear of death or reason to complete Your mission? It depens on the game. And the players. We do only milsim games (one day respawn or even one life...) and we are happy

 

 

Harry

URNA

[Flea]

awe man I wish the guys I played with had the patience to do 5 day ops. I would be in heaven...Harry want to move to the states?

[Billy210]

Just to make myself clear, I'm not saying real-life tactics are useless, I'm just saying that a certain proportion of them will have little or no use in the world of airsoft. The resource is certainly useful because airsofters can always learn something from real life combat. As you said, we ARE trying to emulate it, at least to a certain extent.

 

Many real sniper tactics would be more applicable to milsim styled games, such as observation and intelligence-gathering.

 

I find that the advice on camouflage, concealment and moving when close to enemy positions is the most applicable information, because all of these things are most important at short ranges, and airsoft is a short-range game, at the end of the day. There's not much point in studying 900 metre 7.62mm ballistics when you're firing a plastic 6mm pellet with a maximum range of around 200 feet (if you're lucky).

[SAS44]

Just like to say Flea I think this is quite a good guide. Now most knowlage comes from your own experince however, a lot of the things mentioned are a good starting point for some one how hasnt had to muc experince. Such has how move if your guna run and charge at the enemy our your trying to seek up on osme one then you going to want to do it stealthly.

 

Well done Flea great guide I will be shore to use some of your tips when I snipe next time. As am new to the sniping role (only a few games)

 

Thanks Jim

[Flea]

agreed. Unfortunately airsoft is a short range game, and we can only do so much when firing a round off. But then again, most of the games I attend are beginning to require more and more reconnaisance and observation far past my rifles range, in those recently frequent situations the methods of long range target identification and reconnaisance come pretty handy.

 

EDIT: SAS, thanks for the compliment...be sure to try and provide an after action report if you get the chance to try some things out.

[Senor Bear]

hey wait a sec, isn't airsoft trying to imitate real life military situations?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Unless you're playing milsim, no.

[SAS44]

EDIT: SAS, thanks for the compliment...be sure to try and provide an after action report if you get the chance to try some things out.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

A will do, and yes recon is her helpful, thats manily the role I played when i first sniped in a woodland area, even though I only got one kill which made me quite happy as it was from a fair distance, just performing the action of recon is quite for the team

 

Jim

[1cem4n]

Unless you're playing milsim, no.

 

so you're a paintsofter eh? i can see how people want to have fun and all but it's so much more fun when you play with a group of people who want to work together and use tactics

[thunderhammer]

A decent adatation of some generic snipers manual. I remember seeing those pics and most of the guide somewhere else...

 

And imho real sniper tactics are worth studying. While we dont have to hide our muzzle flashes, or carry the m16/m203, most of the tactics do apply. Even when you are playing this "Paintsoft". The trick is still to be hidden and deliver well placed shots. While the practice is what makes a good as sniper, reading guides doesnt do damage

 

Keep up the good work.

[Flea]

possibly airsoftcore or other forums? Posted some stuff like this a while back on other forums..figured I might as well post it on arnies. Hopefully when I finish the rest of the guide the second half will be used to share my own experiences and examples with pictures.

 

ha, maybe eventually ill be able to get around and post the rest of the guide.. lucky for us all we have to worry about is sound, and little at that. Most of the time your rifle fire will be mostly swept away by ambient noises if you are 200-300ft away..however realistically most shots are fired within 100-200ft. I usually would not reccomend taking a 100yard shot unless your rifle is capable and are experiencing "willing" weather conditions.

[Billy210]

I've got an e-book version of the US Army sniper training manual if anyone wants a copy. I don't really know how to upload an e-book though...

 

I think that's where Flea's page samples come from, the pictures reminded me of it.

[The Bushman]

Perhaps you should submit it to www.airsoftsniper.co.uk or ASGAR?

 

Much of what you say is from a field manual I suspect, along with the pictures. Some is not relevant, such as what to do if under "indirect fire". While other sections are more useful, espescially to a newcomer to using a limited ROF Airsoft gun.

 

Indeed much is down to how you view, what you are trying to achieve. I am not mil-sim or paintsofter so have different opinions. However, you are correct that players can do things they would never do in a real situation, as they have far more bravado and less worry of being actually killed. Physcology is what makes a real "sniper" so effective.

 

Players adapt their own techniques and style to suit their gaming environments. What works can be dictated by size of terrian, season, foliage, numbers of players, length of game, etc.

 

Games on smaller/narrower areas with more people and abundant cover will aid a bolt action player by providing more target oppertunities. The real skills involved in this game are more often knowing where is a good place to set up that will provide a good chance of a target at the desired range, without being obvious or likely to be flanked. Yet still provides a good reoute to withdraw unseen.

 

The question of location, is far harder for an Airsofter than a user of firearms due to the vastly reduced ranges achieveable. Even once you choose your spot, you must choose your facing carefully. If the target turns up at a slightly different angle, he can cause you problems of having to turn and fire or might just be in an arc with intervening cover that makes a shot impossible. If he closes the distance just a small way, it can be enough to put you at a disadvantage against his, or his team mates high ROF AEG.

 

As always, I could write more, but have run out of time.

 

Good Hunting

[Flea]

The pictures are just things ive saved from militaryphotos.net but I wouldnt be suprised if they were in a field manual of some kind. The writings are just information from field manuals, friends, and various websites. All of these things Ive tested on at least three occasions, and because they have worked I decided that they should be posted.

 

But I would like to make one thing clear, most of the time I will take advantage of being a defensive sniper for most operations. This is because it allows me to set-up with more time and I do not have to move as much in order to stay concealed. Being a defensive sniper lets you take the time most need to "veg-up" and dig in for the long haul. Whenever possible I strongly reccomend that you take advantage of being in a defensive position as a sniper.(new-comers)

 

New-comers should be aware that being an offensive sniper, in airsoft at least, requires a lot of moving around...because your opponet doesnt know your there(hopefully) and will run around and look like a fool doing so usually. Because you have to move around so much you may encounter terrain that you are not prepared for, which does not match your camoflauge and maybe even contrasts with it.

[Senor Bear]

so you're a paintsofter eh? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'm not in the mood for this. No I'm not a paintsofter, neither a milsimmer, but for sanity's sake don't you see there are more than two ways to play airsoft. I am merely of the viewpoint airsoft won't kill you, so why play like it?

 

A few points.

1. Bbs don't go very far.

2. Airsoft guns are generally not as accurate as RS.

3. I won't get killed by a bb.

4. "Airsoft sniping" is nothing like real life sniping.

5. The sites I play at allow 350 fps across the board. None of this "xomg wot fps yu gotz"

 

Anyway, how do you snipe like a paintballer

I was of the impression they were inaccurate noise machines with no shot stabilization system........Oh.

[Billy210]

I definitely agree that playing the assault role as a sniper is a completely different ball-game (lolz) to defending. My teammate and I are in the process of seriously reviewing our tactics, because they simply don't work in an attack situation.

 

I'm going to try and find that e-book online, because I've got no idea how to upload it. I'll link to it in here if I find it.

[Flea]

awsome, its an unfortunate thing with airsoft but I am sure eventually they will begin to push the range of 200-300ft...like all other games airsoft will continue to grow and become more realistic...assuming that the politics dont end it first.

[Billy210]

I certainly think that with increasing popularity, the technology used in the weapons will get better with time, and hopefully will allow more realistic ranges to be achieved without hurting people.

 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again- PCP air rifle technology is just waiting to be adapted into an ultra-consistent sniping system for airsoft use. It's just a matter of the manufacturers realising it.

[Harry]

Well, I would like to invite everybody to the Airsoft Sniper Cup 2007. This session is located in privat location in Czech Republic, but we would be happy to see some shooters from other countries

 

 

Basically, it says:

 

What is it about:

- airsoft sniper session including few real sniper disciplines as shooting from different positions, camouflage techniques, theory quiz and more

 

When and where:

- 25.-26.8.2007 close to Pardubice (about 100km from Prague)

 

Requirements:

- age 18+

- airsoft sniper rifle (only batch production(no homemade) - manual, gas, semi like PSG, SVD, MkMODs) and airsoft manufactured plastic BBs. That means no steel bullets etc. There is no FPS limit for AS sniper rifles - only 16J of muzzle energy (by law) - and I am not sure, if exist such powerfull AS rifle

- ghillie suit and BDU

- GBB pistol

 

Do not miss this oportunity - to meet some skilled AS snipers, to learn something and the most important thing - this challenge is like the real army sniper challenge, we will only use our "toy guns" . That means, that we will change only the distances and the "shooting part" will be adapted for airsoft shooting. Other disciplines will be "as close to real as possible". We are planning even night shooting like the army does For the shooting, we are using real army and police targets.

This Airsoft Sniper Cup is realized by my airsoft team "URNA Airsoft Team Pardubice", with help of profs.

And the same bonus as last year - we will have some VIP guests And we will do the saturday night BBQ and they will answer allmost any question (and THAT is sweet!...)

 

What You will need?

- AS sniper gun with scope (only batch production(no homemade) - manual, gas, semi like PSG, SVD, MkMODs)

- GBB pistol

- BDU and ghillie suit and concielment stuff

- red lightstick

- night vision can help (if You have any), but not nessesary

- anything what You need to sleep well (no cars in the shooting range allowed..)

- send the application form and fee 20,- EUR

 

Maybe I forgot something, feel free and ask, if You are interrested

 

 

There are some photos from previous Airsoft Sniper Cup 2006 session

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harry

URNA Airsoft Team Pardubice

 

PS: sorry for my english