Mission: Get Tactical

Mission: Get TacticalIntelligence:

In the animal kingdom, creatures adapt to their environment. Permutations of organisms arise to serve distinct and specific purposes. So it is, in the firearms world as well. Differing applications call for specialized firearms. A derringer might be great for the purse, but for precision shots at great distances, we enter the realm of the sniper rifle. This term is thrown around in the media as loosely as “high powered rifle”, but it is seldom fully understood by those reporting.

The true sniper rifle is a highly tuned, accurate, long range firearm, but in and of itself, it is just a static tool, albeit a very precise one. The world of the sniper is very complicated. Fluctuating variables must be taken into account: windspeed, trajectory, elevation, bullet grain, breath control, trigger squeeze and camouflage, to name a few. In military and law enforcement circles, sniping has evolved into a very specialized science.

Why is it called “sniping” in the first place? The term refers actually to a bird, the snipe, which was exceedingly difficult to hunt, find and shoot. Only a select few hunters even bothered with it, mostly for the bragging rights of saying they got one. The first use of the word “sniper” is credited to the original colonial American snipe hunters who outfitted their muskets with a rare and new invention from the well known statesman, inventor, and constant tinkerer Benjamin Franklin, who created an early rifle scope that consisted of two convex lenses held inside a long tube of tightly wrapped and hard-shrunk pigskin. To create the first reticle, Franklin burned a crosshairs into the glass using acid. It is said that the snipe hunters with their specialized muskets were so accurate that they were sought out by the colonists specifically to shoot British officers in field during the revolutionary war.

Sniping was not a widespread concept until World War I, when the Germans deployed hunting rifles with telescopic sights against the British. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. So the British took up Aldis, Winchester and Periscopic Prism Co. sights and tasked gunsmiths to affix them to regulation SMLE Mk III rifles, which previously had no scope mounts. Toward the end of the war, both the British and the Germans were deploying their sniper rifles with stiffer, heavier barrels that increased accuracy.

Unlike range competitions, military use of a rifle dictates that the rifle must be rugged, because it will inevitably get knocked around on the battlefield. For this reason, military sniper rifles often sacrifice a little bit of accuracy for the sake of durability. For instance, typical WW II sniper rifles were nothing more than hand-picked standard issue infantry rifles which were known to shoot well, and were then outfitted with two to three power scopes and custom cheek rests. Sometimes the bolt handle would be bent downward so that it wouldn’t interfere with the scope when working the action, but that was about it. Snipers proved so useful in that war, however, that toward its end, all sides had specially trained soldiers with specially equipped rifles.

sniper rifles fall into two distinct categories: military and law enforcement. As mentioned earlier, military sniper rifles sacrifice some degree of accuracy in order to obtain very high degrees of sturdiness, reliability and repairability under the chaos that is the “fog of war”. You can have such a tricked-out, specialized and accurized rifle that Aries the Greek God of War would be proud, but if it breaks in combat, “you ain’t doin’ your platoon much good.” As an Army vet myself, I can tell you about a saying we used to have: K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid.) The less you give Murphy to work with, the less that can go wrong. In addition, the military sniper is often required to carry or drag his rifle and equipment for long distances, making weight an important variable not to be overlooked. Lastly, much like businesses, military platoons have an operating budget, which heavily influences the kind and quality of sniper rifle and scope that the platoon has to work with. The US Army has its own sniper school, and the guys generally chosen to attend it are either natural sharp shooters or old-school hunting types that for whatever reason happened to sign up for service. Often, these guys spent their youth roaming hills and wood lines on the deer stalk, or going after running rabbits and squirrels to put food on the family’s table. If they didn’t shoot, they didn’t eat. This latter ethos gave rise to the likes of legendary Vietnam sniper Carlos Hathcock.

law enforcement snipers generally train for greater accuracy than their military counterparts, but at shorter ranges. There have been instances of police snipers actually shooting the gun out of the bad guy’s hand in hostage situations, there by ending the confrontation without anyone getting hurt. Some of the earliest examples of need for police sniper rifles arose among the West German Polizei (police) after the PLO hostage tragedy at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. The H&K PSG1 is one example of the kind of rifle that was specifically designed to meet this need, as was the FN Special Police Rifle.

inherently, one of the most fundamental elements of a sniper rifle is the scope. On a sniper rifle, the scope is long, telescopic and powerful, as opposed to the scopes found on assault rifles and submachine guns. The telescopic scope allows the sniper to see further and shoot much more accurately. The scope on a sniper rifle is generally greater than four power, but can go as high as 40 power. Two power means the image is two times closer through the scope. The lens is objective, and usually 40 – 50 mm in diameter, so it can let a lot of light in and through. In addition, some sniper scopes have specialized reticles to account for bullet drop and windage. Some even have illuminated reticles. There are night vision “Starlight” scopes as well, which became prevalent in the waning days of the Vietnam war. A Starlight scope can be used in conjunction with an infrared laser sight, which cannot be seen with the naked eye.

during WW I, when the concept of sniper rifles started gaining popularity, all rifles were bolt action. Today, however, the type of action is generally determined by the sniper’s intended purpose within his military organization. Bolt actions are cheaper to build, in general more reliable, and are easier to maintain, due to less moving parts. Semi-autos offer a greater volume of fire, and are better suited to engaging multiple targets. Regular Army and law enforcement outfits usually use bolt action in their sniper rifles. Semi-autos are used almost extensively by the Special Forces and Navy Seals. Barrels of sniper rifles are considerably longer than assault rifle barrels and hunting rifle barrels. It is not uncommon for a sniper to have a 24-30 inch barrel. This it by design, so that there is more rifling available to the bullet, since twisting stabilized a bullet’s flight. This is also to increase the amount of pressure that builds within the barrel while propelling the bullet down it. Sometimes, a tactical sniper rifle will have a fluted barrel. This is where grooves are carved into the barrel lengthwise. What this does is increase surface area and aid in cooling, all while decreasing weight.

the stocks of sniper rifles are considerably more adjustable than a normal rifle, since the more the sniper can get the gun to feel like a natural extension of his own body, the better his shot will be. It is for that reason that you sometimes see adjustable cheek welds and pads on sniper rifle stocks. Some sniper rifle stocks even have adjustable lengths and butt pads. Some tactical sniper rifle stocks even have thumb-holes. Most sniper rifles are designed to be fired from the prone position, and many will have some form of bipod attached. The steadier you can make the shooting platform, the more accurate the shot. In the interest of keeping the shot steady, many sniper rifles will feature stocks that do not touch the actual barrel. This is known in tactical jargon as “floating the barrel”. The reason this is done is that even vibrations too subtle for the shooter to notice can have considerable effect on bullet placement. The less contact the stock has with the barrel, the better. Going along with the stock, some sniper rifles will have a tactical sling on them. Sure, you can carry the rifle with the sling, but more importantly the sling itself serves as a stabilization tool, where the sniper will “lock” his arm into the sling so that it aids the stability of the rifle when standing, sitting or kneeling. You’ve likely seen guys do this at the range, or maybe in the movies. Legendary sniper Carlos Hathcock was said to have been very accurate locking into the sling with his arm while sitting “Indian style” with his knees up.When it comes to cartridge loads, the military prefers rifles chambers in 7.62mm (.30 inch), such as 7.62x51mm and 7.62x54mm, which shoot in the 800 – 1,000 meter range. Toward the later 1990’s and early 2000’s, a new type of sniper rifle came into existence: the .50 BMG. Previously, this big round had only been used in the .50 caliber Browning Machine Gun (hence BMG), which was almost exclusively vehicle mounted. When this round is used in a bolt-action or semi-auto sniper rifle, depending on the barrel, range was dramatically increased to 1,500 – 2000 meters. Other long reaching rounds include the .338 Lapua Magnum and the 14.5x114mm. The extended range offered by these rounds afforded the sniper further distance from his target, and such being, less reliance on fieldcraft.

fieldcraft is the catch-all category that refers to the sniper’s ability to use cover, concealment, and camouflage to blend into his surroundings, as well as tactical movement and wilderness survival. In some cases, there could be a sniper right in front of you, and you wouldn’t even know it. That would be one example of excellent fieldcraft.

one of the fieldcraft techniques that snipers rely on heavily is camouflage. There are certain elements that must be remembered when preparing tactical camouflage: movement, outline, color and pattern. The key in slipping undetected past humans and animals is outline and movement. A throwback to our lesser evolved ancestors, the movement issue is key. Without conscious thought, just as with the lower mammals, our eyes are tuned to immediately draw our attention to movement when trying to discern our surroundings. For that reason, military snipers practice movements such as low crawling very slowly, and moving very slowly and deliberately in general, while making use of shadows and backdrops. It is also best to break up the outline of something, so that it doesn’t look like its actual shape. Maybe you’ve seen the Bronco SUV’s favored by consummate hunter and outdoorsman / rocker Ted Nugent. The reason his Broncos are striped black and white is not to look like a zebra; it is actually to break up the outline of the truck and help it to blend in with the trees against the Michigan (where he lives) snow. The same impetus motivates snipers, who go a number of steps further to blend into their environment.

One technique employed by military snipers, and even some turkey hunters, is the ghillie suit. This term originated in the Highlands of Scotland, where a “ghillie” was a guy employed by a land owner to prevent poaching on his property, control predators, and generally monitor the health of the wildlife in the area. The ghillies wanted to blend in so that they could better catch the poachers. So they made suits out of jute, old rags, and straw, and then dyed the rag-suit the same colors as the foliage in the area. The idea worked so well that soon the ghillies became known among the nearby townsfolk as masters of disguise. The Lovat Scouts, a Scottish Highland regiment that was formed by the British Army during the Boer Wars, was the first known unit to wear ghillie suits into battle. So adept at camouflage, the Lovat Scouts eventually metamorphosed into Britain’s first sniper unit in 1916. The guillie suit is still used by snipers today, and is considered one of the best forms of camouflage in existence. Generally, a sniper will make his own ghillie suit out of an old pair of BDU’s (Battle Dress Uniforms), some netting, “Shoe Goo” shoe repair adhesive (curiously enough, sought after for ghillie suits because of it’s ability to stretch instead of break), and old burlap fabric and jute cord. The sniper will sometimes add padding, vents, and extra pockets to his ghillie suit, to make his low crawl more comfortable. Depending on the environment, snipers will insert bunches of plants, dirt and mud native to the region right into the netting of the suit.

In sniper think, the Holy Grail is the perfect shot, and a sniper is always pursuing that. The name of the game in sniper circles is Accuracy. The easiest way to explain the accuracy of a sniper rifle is to think of drawing a perfect circle around a group of shot holes in a target. Then measure the diameter of the circle. To determine how accurate a sniper rifle is, it is placed in a rest and fired in groups of five or three rounds. Then, the circles are measured and an average is taken. There is a thin line between good and poor, and that line is measured in a 1 MOA (Minute Of Angle) group. 1 MOA is a measure of the angle formed when the muzzle is at the top and the group of rounds is at the base. A 1 MOA grouping translates to a one inch group at 100 yards, a two inch group at 200 yards, and so on. So if you read that rifle brand and model X shoots at 1MOA, it means that that rifle is capable of shooting a group of five rounds within a three inch circle at 300 yards. If this sounds impressive, consider that, in many modern sniper rifles, it is possible to shoot 0.5 MOA or even 0.3 MOA, which means one inch groups at 300 yards, or 2 inch groups at 600 yards.