Introduction

There are 3 Skillsets than an Adept Sniper must be a Master of. Sniping is a Three Legged Stool. If one of the Skills is less than the Other - The Stool will become unbalanced and fall over. These 3 Skillsets are ;

• Tactics
• Fieldcraft
• Marksmanship

I will detail each Skill and then bring them together to show how these Skills MUST merge, so as to have the Sniper be a Successful Element in any FireTeam.

Tactics

A Single, Solitary, Lone target, Unaware of Your Presence, is a Target that Anyone can take out. It is more Advantageous to to take the Shot when It is the Right time to do so. By this, It's meant that The Sniper should always 360 His Target whenever Possible. A Sniper should always Investigate the Area that He is about to Construct a Shoot from.

I.E.

• Is the Guard or Badguy part of a Larger Patrol just out of Your View ?
• Will Dumping this Target bring other Badguys ?
• Where will other Badguys or Targets enter Your Field Of View from ?
• Do you have a Covered Egress route from Your Primary Hide to Your Secondary Hide ?
• Where is the Body of Your Team, and Will they come under Fire by Your Taking a Shot ?

If the Sniper has not thought out these points of the Situation fully - It will In all Likelihood, result in Your Death, the Deaths of Members of Your Team, or Both.

"Roamers" (Solitary Targets out on Patrol) - As I like to call them - Should be looked at as Decoys or a Traps to the Sniper. DO NOT takeout a "Roamer", unless You have Scoped Him, and Your Surroundings fully.

Always make sure as well that Your Muzzle or the Barrel of Your Rifle is not protruding from Cover as You take the Shot. This will have the Effect of Concealing Your Weapon's Muzzle Flare to the Enemy, hence making It that Much more difficult for the Enemy to Locate You.

Patrols are very tricky and A Sniper is well advised to "Feel out" a Patrol.

I.E.

• How may Men in the Patrol ?
• What is the Patrol's Course ?
• What is the Interval of the Patrol ?
• Is there Overlap with another Patrol ?
• What is the Proximity of Reinforcements to the Patrol You intend to Target ?

When engaging a Patrol - Hopefully Your Target will go down as Designed. Unfortunately this will prompt the Remaining Enemies to seek Cover. A Sniper must ensure that when Targeting a Patrol, that the Patrol has the Least amount of Cover available when the Shot gets taken. Do it right and As You take Your First Shot - They'll scatter to Find Cover with nothing close enough to save themselves from Your Second, and if Necessary - Third Shot.

FieldCraft

There are a Great Deal of Qualities evident in this Skillset, but only a Few applicable to the Game in its present Incarnation. The first I will detail is called ;

Cover and Concealment

A Sniper is expected to be a Master of Camouflage and Concealment. With the advent of the "Ghuillie Suit", this has been made an Immeasurably easier Task for Snipers to accomplish. For Light - Open air Desert Type Settings It is suggested to Use the Specialist BDUs, and when In a Woodland Setting - The Ghuillie Suit is the Hands down Winner for Superior Camouflage.

Use all Rocks and Trees that You can, as Cover to Scope Targets From. Think ever smaller Circles until You come to Bear on the Center of Your Objective. If You follow this Doctrine You should be able to Scope any Remaining Remnants of Opposition that You or Your Team may still be facing at the Center. Remember - At Each place You pause for Cover - Make sure that You Check 360 Degrees around Yourself before Moving on to the Next piece of Cover. One last thing on this - Slug Crawling, though not pleasant to Look at - Is a Great way to get to a Rock-Solid Hide. As a Sniper - Take Your Time and Be patient - Never rush a Shot unless You or Your Team is in Imminent Danger and there is No other way to save that Team Member or Yourself. Patience Is Your Job...Practise It.

Stalking

When The Sniper is about to engage a Patrol, or has let the Enemy know that He is out there, He MUST make sure that He LOW WALKS (Walking while Crouching) or SLUG CRAWLS (Crawling while Prone) as he Moves around the Objective. In fact - This should be the Desired Mode that a Sniper is to assume while Out on OPS. The Lower Your Silhouette is, the Less of a Profile You will present to a Potential Enemy Shooter, hence maintaining Your Operational Effectiveness as a Sniper.

A Sniper always Leads in the "Stalk" as He will be responsible for Setting Up the Shoot and selecting the Best Hide. When Egressing, the Scout is to Lead as Targets - If they Present - Will come into View at a Disadvantage to the Sniper's ability to Scope them. At Egress, the Scout is Geared More effectively ( Medium Assault Rifle or SMG ) to Deal with any Threats that may Present while moving from the Primary Hide to the Secondary Hide.

Marksmanship / .... click here to continue