Sniper Guide By An AEG User.

[balberoth-the-destroyer]

Sniper Guide

By an AEG user.

 

Purpose.

The purpose of this guide is to educate snipers about certain aspects of their craft that I feel are neglected, some of these are applicable only to inexperienced snipers, some apply to all.

My credentials are as an AEG user most of the time, in a semi-DM role, and a sniper some of the time, so I can see the game from both sides.

Some of the points I am going to make are contrary to popular belief, and some fly in the face of 'accepted' airsoft sniper doctrine, these points will be explained in full, if you choose to disagree that's your perogative.

 

 

Glossary of terms.

BASR - Bolt Action Sniper Rifle

Comms - Communications, you are in radio contact with your team.

DM - Designated Marksman, a rifleman with a DMR (see below) moves with the squad and engages targets at longer ranges than a standard rifleman is able to.

DMR - Designated Marksman Rifle, a more accurate and longer ranged version of a standard rifle, usually with an optic, possibly an upgraded M16/M4, G36, M14/EBR, SPR, etc

MED - Minimum Engagement Distance, the closest distance that your site allows you to shoot someone with a high-powered rifle.

TOI - Targets Of Importance, important squad members, machine gunners, DMs.

 

 

Role of the sniper.

The sniper has three roles in airsoft:

Primary

Reconaissance, he works as the eyes and ears of the team, telling the commander where the enemy are, what they're doing, etc, this is the most important role of a military sniper, and also the most important one in airsoft, but not everyone has comms or is part of a team, so...

Secondary

Counter-Sniper, he kills enemy snipers, to prevent them from achieving the primary or tertiary objectives.

Tertiary

TOI, he kills important members of an enemy squad, primarily machinegunners, DMs and radiomen.

 

The sniper rifle.

Obviously you know what this is, and a detailed analysis of the sniper rifle is not what I'm planning for this guide, but there are a few points worth mentioning:

Do not overestimate your rifle.

Airsoft sniper rifles are pretty good for what they do, but they don't really shoot very far or very accurately, and they are badly affected by wind, even so most snipers massively overestimate the reach and accuracy of their rifle, resulting in them trying to engage targets at ludicrously long distances, which only serves to expose their position.

Practice with your rifle

Pretty obvious really, the more rounds you put through your rifle the more accurately you will fire it.

Tweak your rifle

Fairly obvious too, set your rifle up exactly how you want it, upgrade it as much as your budget allows, work on it as much as possible and find ways to improve it, doesn't have to cost anything, put a little bit of PTFE tape here, an o-ring there, generally make your gun better.

Use good quality ammo

Totally obvious.

Camoflage your rifle

Honestly, I've lost count of the number of times I've spotted a sniper because I saw a black thing sticking out of a bush, it's such a giveaway, and so easily avoidable.

 

The backup weapon.

As sniper rifles fire at a high FPS most snipers carry a backup weapon for targets within the MED, this can be anything from a gas pistol to a shotgun even up as far as a compact AEG.

I would recommend using a compact SMG, like an MP7 or a TMP, as these usually have better performance than pistols and retain full-auto capability, while still being small and easily holstered.

Practice with your backup weapon as much as possible, get to know it well, because it's the thing that you must rely on when the *beep* hits the fan.

Play games with just your backup weapon, for reasons I'll explain later.

 

 

Equipment.

Clothing

This is where my view diverges from accepted sniper doctrine, do not wear a ghillie suit!

Remember that before and after a game you are in the safe zone chatting away where everyone can see each other, the last thing you want is to be recognised and for someone to be looking for the pattern of your suit on the field.

Ghillie suits were originally designed by Scotsmen hunting a very elusive and easily spooked bird, these hunters were called Ghillies, and the suit they made for the purpose was named after them and adopted by practically every military sniper in history.

They work by providing a base layer of camoflage that needs to be added to with local vegetation, this is done by the sniper while he is in position, which is why it doesn't work for airsoft.

As an airsoft sniper you will probably not be sat in one place for hours/days on end, you will be moving from place to place, leaving you little time to add foliage from the local area to your suit.

You will also fall foul of the snipers secondary objective, counter-sniping, as he will be looking for a moving ghillie suit, trying to follow your movement until you are in range where he can kill you, don't give him this oppportunity by making yourself noticeable, if you are wearing simple combats he will struggle to tell you apart from any other player on the field, and may simply ignore you by accident!

Footwear

It is important that you have good supportive footwear, as a sniper you will find yourself moving through less hospitable terrain than the average rifleman, and as such you will need boots with good ankle support, wearing trainers is a recipe for disaster.

 

 

Training.

Rifle Training

Obviously you should fire your rifle as often as possible, if you're still struggling to achieve good groupings then you may want to look at real shooting techniques and learn from them.

Most of the US Army Field Manuals are available online, download all the ones relating to sniping and read them, they contain lots of valuable shooting techniques that apply to airsoft.

Fieldcraft/Backup Training

This may seem like an odd combination, but it is actually very valuable, as it achieves two goals at the same time.

Enter games using only your backup weapon, but playing a normal sniper role. This will help your fieldcraft and stealth skills no end, while also improving your familiarity with and ability to use your backup weapon.

You will be forced to rely even more on stealth than normal, as you don't have the handy get-out clause of a long ranged rifle, you will have to sneak close to AEG users, this will help you no end when you find yourself moving around only 10m away from the enemy, you will be able to move around and remain quiet without alerting the enemy to your presence.

Grenade Training

Learn to throw grenades proficiently, they are an invaluable tool for the sniper, and I've also seen too many people throwing them in stupid places and generally being dumb and unprofessional with them.

 

 

What to do when...

You are discovered by a group of the enemy

Get out of there! you are no match for a group of AEG users any day of the week, you may think that you can take them all with your backup weapon, but you are wrong! they have greater range, ROF, and mag capacity than you have with your backup, and you won't have the chance to use your rifle.

Bear in mind that the AEG user is used to the kind of fighting that your little battle is about to become, you are not, so unless you are totally backed into a corner seek to escape.

This is where grenades come into play, you have two types of grenade, lethal and screening, lethal are pea-grenades or flashbangs at most sites, and screening are smoke grenades.

 

The first thing you want to do is pop a smoke directly in front of you, swiftly followed by one covering the direction you are not going to retreat in.

Let these smokes build up some volume, and then throw another smoke directly in front of you, about halfway between your position and where you think the enemy are, adjusting to the left and right depending on terrain.

Now you want to move, by this time you will either be just in range of the AEG users, or just about to come in range, a dangerous time for you, but you have the advantage of two smokes to screen you, and one (the second one thrown) to distract the enemy, they will be expecting you to move toward the second smoke.

Begin moving backwards and towards your chosen direction at 45 degrees, this will give you the best balance of distance evasion and lateral evasion, move as fast as you can without giving yourself away, try to locate members of your team as soon as possible.

Do not fire either your rifle or your secondary, you will only give away your position, and the enemy will know that you are just firing into the smoke.

 

You are discovered by a single enemy

Not so much of a problem now, assuming that he isn't using comms to summon help.

This becomes a simple game of strengths vs weaknesses, play to your strength and your enemies weakness.

Your strength in this scenario is your long-range capability, his weakness is his lack of it, so seek to engage him while you are out of his range.

You have lost the advantage of stealth, but can gain it back with a tactic similar to the one above, I'd argue however that it's not worth three smokes and the risk of getting killed, if you kill him then you won't exactly have given your team a major advantage.

When he is getting close to being able to fire effectively at you, consider popping a smoke and then moving in with your backup, he will probably think that you are escaping, rather than closing to engage him with another weapon, especially if you've been firing your rifle and not hitting him.

Finally, remember that he has to close to engage you, you can afford to stay still and wait for him.

 

You spot an enemy sniper

If you haven't been spotted by him, then kill him! this is your secondary role, and a very useful one for your team.

 

You are spotted by an enemy sniper

Size up the situation quickly, if he seems to be good then consider escaping, you're no use to your team in the dead zone.

If you feel confident that you can have a sniper fight with him, then pop smokes everywhere, and move to a firing position, it always helps to be closer because you have regained stealth at this point, but he has lost it, the last thing you want to do is lose your own stealth by missing your shot at him.

Finally, if you have comms then radio your team and tell them where he is, they may be able to move in and overrun him.

 

You are defending an objective or position

This depends on whether you have comms or not, if you do then you can be far more valuable to your team.

WITH COMMS

Position yourself in such a way that you can monitor as many of the routes to the objective as possible (preferably far away from the objective), remain hidden and radio your commander to tell him where the enemy are, where they're headed, what the composition of the group is (weapons, etc).

Keep an eye out for enemy snipers, they will probably be looking to pick off your machinegunners.

You should fire only at the commanders discretion, as he does not want to lose you as a reconnaissance asset.

When given the order you should target snipers, DMs and machinegunners, killing these will make a great deal of difference to the defensive effort.

WITHOUT COMMS

Stay fairly close to the base, once again monitoring the routes in, this time you are not under the commanders control to fire, so whenever you get the opportunity to fire on a target do so, regardless of their role, but targeting TOIs first where applicable.

 

 

 

A few things you should not do.

Use a hicap if your backup is an AEG.

Should be pretty obvious, you will need to move quietly with enemies close by, you may need to draw your backup with enemies close by, with a hicap any movement you make will be accompanied by a rattle, this may not be an issue for AEG users, but it is to you, because you will be detected.

Overestimate your rifle.

Explained earlier.

Overestimate your capabilities with your backup.

Explained earlier.

Waste time and ammo shooting random players.

You have a specialised role on the airsoft field, able to do things that other players cannot, don't waste this by becoming a slightly longer ranged DM.

Wear a Ghillie suit.

Seriously, it's my No1 way of finding snipers on the field, look at them in the safe zone, memorise the pattern of their suit, and spot it on the field.

Wear standard camo, that way nobody will realise that you're a sniper in the heat of the moment, and other snipers may either accidentally ignore you, or just be snobbish, thinking that you're a newbie and not a threat to them.

Wear trainers.

You'll just hurt yourself.

Leave your rifle black.

Explained earlier.

 

 

Conclusion.

This concludes my sniper guide, I hope that it has been useful for some people, as I said, some bits are contrary to 'accepted' knowledge (the Ghillie suit bit particularly) but they are based on my observations of what has made snipers dangerous in games I've played, and how I've dealt with them, from a purely practical point of view these are the tactics that have worked for snipers against AEG users in games that I have played, some are not entirely militarily accurate (although most are) they are simply effective.

[The Bushman]

Interesting guide and lots to debate. However, I would suggest as your guide is based on your experiences, that it is best suited to games and sites that you play.

 

I think there are several good points here when it comes to skirmish events.

 

1) Wearing your ghillie in the safe zone is not clever and you are far better donning your cam once teams have been split up. If your ghillie has been studied by your opponents, then be sure to add local vegetation to it just before the game starts.

 

2) Dressing and acting like a "newb" will not work. I would not ignore a chance of a shot on someone simply as they look "newbish." The idea of a good ghillie suit is that you cannot see the target and therefore cannot choose to shoot it. Ghillies are best suited to sitting still (and therefore defense).

 

3) Do not fire too early unless you feel the shot is worth giving your position away. ie If you intend to open up from long range then expect to fall back early, if you hit or miss. This can work as gives you ample time to stealthily fall back into your real ambush/trap.

 

4) Do occassionally play with your backup (no rifle) as suggested.

 

5) Practice as much as possible.

 

6) Many players overestimate their equipment. What really matters is how you use it.

 

 

If I were to focus for a second what I don't want "snipers" to do when I used to have an AEG, then I would say "fall back and fade away." This tactic of hit and fade is best done early and has a nasty habit of winding up the AEG players. Then next time they may want to press the attack (to stop you fading away again) and this could be your downfall if they have team mates nearby.

 

So my advice to bolt players up against far superior AEG (high cap) fire power is to stay one step ahead and reposition early under cover. I think popping 3 smoke pyros is somewhat over the top to cover the movements of 1 man (who is trying not to draw attention to himself). Never fall into the trap of a stand up fight. Use movement to beat firepower.

 

Indeed my old team, were masters of knowing at the split second crunch of an engagement, if they should fade away or press the attack.

 

If you do attack try to get a flanking angle that provides clearer shots on players taking cover from a more frontal assault. If ever possible try to get behind opponents for the best position. Look for crossfires and concealed windows of LOS.

 

I also noticed that you thought ghillies, hunted "snipes" and think you are somewhat confused. They used ghillie suits to hunt deer and also catch poachers. Poachers used them to avoid the ghillies (gamekeepers). While hunting the easily spooked "snipe" is what got you the title of "sniper" way before the military used the phrase. These 2 origins of words are not related.

 

Good Hunting

[thewallhitme]

pretty useful guide. although it is basically restating what lots of people have said, its very clear and its nice to have everything in one spot.

 

+1

[greg]

Blimy, someone was bored!!

 

What about, fourthly,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ambush, campy campy camp camp.

 

'Cos lets face it, that's all most snipers do.

 

"The campers Guide!"

 

 

Greg.

[sneaky-fab]

Nice guide,

 

But i dont agree with the ghillie, it is the most effective tool of a sniper to enhance his consealment

 

second, the "pop smoke" thing is quite unrealistic because who has smoke grenades ?

 

Its a good "convential airsoft sniper guide"

 

now i want a "Non covential airsoft sniper guide a.k.a. Airsoft sniper guarilla style guide "

[c_a_r_t_e_r_3_5]

the "pop smoke" thing is quite unrealistic because who has smoke grenades ?

 

I thought that as I was reading it! It would be cool to use them though.

 

I also agree with the movenment thing;

 

"Myth - The deciding factor in combat is firepower.

Reality - Trading firepower for mobility increase life expectancy during combat."

 

A great guide.

[Zmarre]

Fourth purpose of a sniper should be psychological warfare. Nothing is so imitation to the enemy as a sniper killing one of them. (Except for a Norris roundhousekick)

 

You can min literally dozens of minutes precious time when distracting enemies from long distance in an open field.

[charlieboy69]

interesting concept about not using a ghillie suit, but i would say that that would only really work on attack, but u still would probably get noticed before you were in range.

 

 

i swear this has been posted before, and it is for paintball...but meh wat the hey. it could easily could be applied to airsoft

 

http://www.specialopspaintball.com/tactics/index.asp

 

the "ambush sniper" and "ghost flanker" are the most important ones.

[angelmaker]

Little nit pick. The ghillie was named after Scottish game wardens that made the suits to catch poachers. A sniper is the name given to British officers in India that hunting a bird called a snipe.

[w733commando]

the "pop smoke" thing is quite unrealistic because who has smoke grenades ?

 

You don't have smoke grenades at your local site?

[CaptWilkes777]

I'm a non-sniper and this thread peaked my interest.

Is this a plausible tactic for an airsoft sniper? If I were a sniper I'd set up behind the 'frontline', presuming that it is clearly defined, out of the range of the enemy but with a 'shield' of men between you and the enemy. If the frontline moves you can move realtively freely with it, none of the enemy are in range so theroretically you could be wearing a bright pink t-shirt with a bullseye on it and never get hit. However for this to work you'd have to ensure no one was going to come up behind you and be prepared that at long distances you may not knock up as many kills as you like.

 

EDIT: also the thing about conserving ammo, it may be practical in military terms but in airsoft its just not neccessary, you can easily carry 6000 bb's at any one time which is difficult to get through with an AEG let alone a sniper.[correct me if I'm wrong I'm just talking from my 'rifleman' type role.]

[scithe]

4) Do occassionally play with your backup (no rifle) as suggested.

 

agreed with that. however at the same time i find it helps to do backyard skirmishes with only a cruddy spring rifle against aeg's or gbb's. this helps you get used to having only one shot, and since you dont have better range or accuracy than your opponents like you would with your sniper rifle, you begin to rely purely on skill.

[The Bushman]

agreed with that. however at the same time i find it helps to do backyard skirmishes with only a cruddy spring rifle against aeg's or gbb's. this helps you get used to having only one shot, and since you dont have better range or accuracy than your opponents like you would with your sniper rifle, you begin to rely purely on skill.

 

Yes, thats the idea. My Backup is 210fps and has 60 shots only.

 

Good Hunting

[charlieboy69]

Yes, thats the idea. My Backup is 210fps and has 60 shots only.

 

Good Hunting

 

mine has 30 at 210 fps (aep g18)

[sneaky-fab]

My backup is a old springer with no hopup and often jams ( BB's in the slider )

 

For the point blank shots

 

"Fourth purpose of a sniper should be psychological warfare" = True, I prefer to be death then lying in the mud and see my friend dies while his guts are al over the place . But since this is airsoft the only psychologic damage you can do is suprise then and upset them ( for being shot without visual contact and you had no change to fire = Q_Q )

[The Bushman]

Charlieboy69 : My backup is also a G18C and has 30 shot mags. However, I should have explained that I am limited to 2 mags for a full 2 day event. if I take it as my only gun, I am allowed an extra magazine of 30. Hopefully that explains.

 

I have a springer and do rate it as a backup but its loud and that is never good.

 

These days for skirmish, the G18C is a perfect backup as you can give those pesky AEG players a taste of their own medicine if they end up too close. The rest of the time you are disadvantaged which makes you play better to regain the advantage IMO.

 

Merry Christmas + Good Hunting

[greg]

Charlieboy69 : My backup is also a G18C and has 30 shot mags. However, I should have explained that I am limited to 2 mags for a full 2 day event. if I take it as my only gun, I am allowed an extra magazine of 30. Hopefully that explains.

 

I have a springer and do rate it as a backup but its loud and that is never good.

 

These days for skirmish, the G18C is a perfect backup as you can give those pesky AEG players a taste of their own medicine if they end up too close. The rest of the time you are disadvantaged which makes you play better to regain the advantage IMO.

 

Merry Christmas + Good Hunting

 

 

Great mind think alike, I to do the G18 aep.

 

Only 1 mag, but a speed loader (90rnd pistol mag type).

 

If you tap the plastic muzzle with a 10x.75 thread you can use a Maruzen P99 fixed silencer to virtually eliminate all the sound. Great when 'they' get within your min engage dist, but haven't seen ya.

 

 

Greg.

[Trasher]

My backup is a suppressed Mk23 w/ two mags, I've more kills with that in woodland than my sniper rifle.

NBB pistols for the (silent) win!

 

[greg]

My backup is a suppressed Mk23 w/ two mags, I've more kills with that in woodland than my sniper rifle.

NBB pistols for the (silent) win!

 

 

Love the mk23, find the glock/maruzen a little more quiet & compact. Plus the full auto! Lacks the socom's punch though.

 

 

Greg.

[ScottyT]

+1 for a good read!

 

Best Backup Ever: TM Scorpion w/ drum mag FTW! The accuracy and range on it is ridiculous for a gun of its power/size.

[Trasher]

Love the mk23, find the glock/maruzen a little more quiet & compact. Plus the full auto! Lacks the socom's punch though.

Funny thing is, people complain sometimes about power when I shoot them w/ the bone stock, 1 Joule Mk23, but they never complain when shot by the 3 Joule+ sniper rifle.

[Staceh]

Go without the Ghillie? Are you insane, as a sniper your biggest advantage is your concealment, you've a very minimal range advantage, but your seriously lacking in the firepower stakes.

 

If your spotted, your pretty much stuffed, so the answer is don't get spotted.

 

[balberoth-the-destroyer]

My point about the Ghillie was that it does not give you an advantage in concealment.

The ghille suit works (in military terms) by concealing you from detection by an enemy at long range, in airsoft we never operate at long range, as I said, I've spotted many snipers because they were wearing a ghillie suit, they really are easier to see at short range than regular camo if you study the pattern beforehand.

For the last few months I've been studying the ghillies of the other team snipers before the game, and since I started doing so I have never been shot by a sniper, I've been able to spot them and avoid them entirely.

If I see a sniper wearing regular camo I consider him to be far more of a threat than a ghillie suited one, because I know that he will be harder to spot on the field.

[Trasher]

Go without the Ghillie? Are you insane, as a sniper your biggest advantage is your concealment, you've a very minimal range advantage,

Going without ghillie perfectly makes sense, depending on terrain, tactics, etc. Keep in mind, the ghillie is not as effective at the very short airsoft ranges.

 

If you shoot somebody, the rest will immediately know you're inside a 70m circle. They'll know the general direction where you shooting from. You move or fire again, there is a very good chance they'll spot you. If you don't move, don't shoot, they can still spot you because of the short range (unless you have a very-very good ghillie). If you find a good spot to snipe, you don't need a ghillie to be effective and stay concealed.

[Staceh]

The ghillie is there to assist you in your fieldcraft, you dont 'need' a ghillie, but it does help.

The short ranges make no difference at all, the ghillie is not a invisibility field, its primary purpose is to break up your outline thus making it harder for the human eye to distinguish you from your surroundings. Theres been many occasions that people have literally walked a couple of metres past me in open fields because of a very basic ghillie suit, theres been two occasions in the last 3 months where I've been trodden on because of my ghillie suit.

If i'd have been in just DPM they would have spotted me very easily indeed.

 

My ghillie suit is not particularly good, in fact its a mix mash of hessian and old camo netting, all stuck onto a concealment vest.

 

For me at least going without my ghillie suit is giving up my one advantage over a AEG user.

 

My point about the Ghillie was that it does not give you an advantage in concealment

 

What are the 5 's' of fieldcraft.

 

Shape

Shine

Shadow

Sillouette

Sound

 

A ghillie breaks up your shape, it takes the shine off your clothing, it makes your shadow unidentifiable as a humans, it changes your sillouette.

However, it does make noise.

 

So 4 out of the 5 boxes are ticked by wearing this garment, so i put it to you, its a BIG advantage in concealment, and one you should employ as a sniper.

 

What your talking about is being a marksman, NOT a sniper.

Just outta interest, what site do you play at? Sounds like your snipers could use some lessons in the basics if their suits are giving them away.