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if anyone who was in any branch of military as a sniper please list the gear you either used or what you would have used
sniper gear?
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No, but I knew a two. Ghilie suits, dope book, drag bag, face paint, spotting scope, rifle, scope, quality ammo, wrist band ammo carrier, rangefinder, radio, pistol, spotter carries a M4 or sniper rifle or both as well, very rarely a supressor, bipod, food that don't need heating. To be honest, it's not much about gear but more about training and patience.
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no gear needed...only a good rifle,good ammo....and about 15,000 rounds down range
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Back in the day when I went through sniper training in Viet Nam, all of us had to shoot a minimum of 1200 or more rounds. We all had to have an extremely high number of hits on targets at different distances. I want to say that out of just 1200 rounds you had to have like 1100 good hits on target in daylight and nighttime shooting scenarios. You were not given much slack at all and you had to EARN your place in the sniper community.
#1. Forget the ghillie suit. A suit can be useful in SOME situations but not all. What you have to contend with more than anything is LOCAL CAMOUFLAGE NEEDS. More than likely a good brown, olive drab or standard military camouflage uniform (I prefer tiger stripes.) like woodland pattern coupled with local plants will effectively hide you. Keep in mind that in wintertime, in a cold snowy landscape, you will want white over garments to blend in with snow. So pick your uniform and camouflage for the place where you will working.
#2. You're going to need top-of-the-line gear that is reliable. You will also need gear that is effective. This is why snipers in Nam used different rifles to get their jobs done. Most of the sniper rifles were either bolt action rifles in 30.06 or 7.62 NATO National Match rifles or they were semi-automatic 7.62 NATO National Match rifles like the XM-21 rifles. I had an XM-21 rifle that I loved. It was a great shooter! You can now get the XM-21, M-21, some M-14 rifles and really good M1-A rifles to use in the semi-automatic forms if you shop around and look really hard. The new SASS rifle system is also something to consider for long range accurate shooting. The SASS rifles are upgraded AR-10(T) rifles with silencers and high powered scopes.
#3. You need to be able to shoot from zero to 900 meters or more depending on the TYPE OF SNIPING that you're looking at. That means that you have to practice, learn from your mistakes and adapt from there. You also have GOT to allow for side winds at really long distances, generally out beyond 400 meters, so that your bullet is pushed into the target by the wind from either the right or left side.
#4. The most useful thing about a real sniper is the fact that he has the option to shoot or not shoot. More than anything, a sniper gathers information, data on the enemy forces and watches them. A sniper may live 8 out of 10 days behind the enemy lines and generally only a very short distance from the enemy's own quarters. One of the standard jokes among snipers is that they might have a hard night getting any sleep because of so many enemy troops so loudly snoring. Does that tell you how close snipers get to their prey?
#5. When a sniper shoots, he does so knowing that his bullet WILL, without a doubt, strike the intended target. A sniper does not shoot until he's ready and until he's 100% positive that his bullet will hit home. For an American sniper a 300 yard/meter shot is nothing. Most European and Asian armies used to have it programmed that their riflemen could only effectively or realistically shoot about 300 meters maximum. From zero to 300 meters American snipers can almost routinely make head shots. Out beyond 300 meters most American snipers tend to go for center of mass body shots. What allows our snipers to exceed the enemy's expectations is our training, amount of practice and our really good gear. What also keeps us ahead of the enemy is our snipers are allowed, authorized and encouraged to THINK THROUGH A SITUATION.
#6. So, what kind of sniper do you think that you want to be? There are a variety of different types of snipers. Some of the different kinds of snipers are:
A. Close range but extremely accurate snipers. The extremely close range snipers use scoped pistols with silencers or small bore rifles with scopes and silencers. Israel uses such snipers to take out rioters or dangerous enemy personnel inside of urban (city) areas.
B. General purpose snipers are the most common type of snipers around. GP Snipers use a medium bore precision rifle to shoot from zero to about 1,000 meters or so. These snipers are often found in standard military infantry units. A GP Sniper can do a variety of different sniper missions to include close range sniping and heavy duty sniping.
C. Heavy duty snipers are the ones who use the .50 caliber BMG heavy sniper rifles. These guys can take out special equipment, small vehicles and eliminate enemy snipers shooting from long distances. HD Snipers are the ones who can and do make sniper shots out beyond 2,000 meters or more.
D. A new type of sniper is the one who uses lasers to hit his target. No... Not the laser rifle of science fiction fame. The guy who uses lasers is using a laser designator device to paint a building, vehicle or other location that either an artillery shell or laser-guided bomb will hit. In some cases, depending on the angle of attack, a sniper with a laser designator can actually guide a missile into the opening of a cave to collapse the entrance and strike deep inside of it. This is a sort of new type of sniper mission but it sure does have impact.
#7. You will probably need a variety of scopes to be an adept sniper so that means lots and lots of money will be needed to make your dream of being a sniper come true. In Nam we were issued a night vision scope and a daylight scope. We also were proficient with our rifle's metal sights too. At one point, some rifles had a day scope, night vision scope and an infared scope as a part of the entire system BUT nobody cared to carry or lug the infared scope. Most guys left those infareds behind or didn't even bother to sign them out. I used a day scope, night vision scope and metal sights and got everything done I needed done.
#8. Your scope is a big concern for what you plan to do. With the new technology out there, one of the systems that I would seriously consider looking at would be a 6.5 Grendel rifle or a really good M1-A rifle with a 10 to 50 power scope with at least a 40 or 50 millimeter end on it. I would also look at possibly trying to get a scope with an illuminated reticle in it. I would consider using a Redfield scope or other higher quality scope like a Leupold to meet my needs. Your ammo, like your scope, will need to be of high quality too.
Then you need practice, practice and practice your shooting until you think you're sick of it. Don't forget that dry-firing has its place with good shooters. For every round you will actually shoot you should probably dry fire 10 to 100 shots as practice.
You want to know what's really funny about sniping? Do your research and, on average, a sniper's median or average shot is made at 142 meters or about, rounded off, 150 yards for Americans. That's what snipers have learned from WW1, WW2, the Korean War and out of Viet Nam. Long distance shots are really few and far between. A 150 yard average shot can be performed by a decent rifleman with just about any medium bore rifle. Even a scoped AK, SKS carbine, FN/FAL and most .22 LR carbines can get that job done. At one point during the Korean War, there were some American snipers who used scoped .30 caliber carbines for nighttime sniping missions out of perimeters. So think it all through very carefully before you commit to a sniper type program. Heck, you might even want to get some decent tactical or practical rifle training before you commit to anything close to a sniper concept. That would probably better suit most peoples' shooting needs.
#1. Forget the ghillie suit. A suit can be useful in SOME situations but not all. What you have to contend with more than anything is LOCAL CAMOUFLAGE NEEDS. More than likely a good brown, olive drab or standard military camouflage uniform (I prefer tiger stripes.) like woodland pattern coupled with local plants will effectively hide you. Keep in mind that in wintertime, in a cold snowy landscape, you will want white over garments to blend in with snow. So pick your uniform and camouflage for the place where you will working.
#2. You're going to need top-of-the-line gear that is reliable. You will also need gear that is effective. This is why snipers in Nam used different rifles to get their jobs done. Most of the sniper rifles were either bolt action rifles in 30.06 or 7.62 NATO National Match rifles or they were semi-automatic 7.62 NATO National Match rifles like the XM-21 rifles. I had an XM-21 rifle that I loved. It was a great shooter! You can now get the XM-21, M-21, some M-14 rifles and really good M1-A rifles to use in the semi-automatic forms if you shop around and look really hard. The new SASS rifle system is also something to consider for long range accurate shooting. The SASS rifles are upgraded AR-10(T) rifles with silencers and high powered scopes.
#3. You need to be able to shoot from zero to 900 meters or more depending on the TYPE OF SNIPING that you're looking at. That means that you have to practice, learn from your mistakes and adapt from there. You also have GOT to allow for side winds at really long distances, generally out beyond 400 meters, so that your bullet is pushed into the target by the wind from either the right or left side.
#4. The most useful thing about a real sniper is the fact that he has the option to shoot or not shoot. More than anything, a sniper gathers information, data on the enemy forces and watches them. A sniper may live 8 out of 10 days behind the enemy lines and generally only a very short distance from the enemy's own quarters. One of the standard jokes among snipers is that they might have a hard night getting any sleep because of so many enemy troops so loudly snoring. Does that tell you how close snipers get to their prey?
#5. When a sniper shoots, he does so knowing that his bullet WILL, without a doubt, strike the intended target. A sniper does not shoot until he's ready and until he's 100% positive that his bullet will hit home. For an American sniper a 300 yard/meter shot is nothing. Most European and Asian armies used to have it programmed that their riflemen could only effectively or realistically shoot about 300 meters maximum. From zero to 300 meters American snipers can almost routinely make head shots. Out beyond 300 meters most American snipers tend to go for center of mass body shots. What allows our snipers to exceed the enemy's expectations is our training, amount of practice and our really good gear. What also keeps us ahead of the enemy is our snipers are allowed, authorized and encouraged to THINK THROUGH A SITUATION.
#6. So, what kind of sniper do you think that you want to be? There are a variety of different types of snipers. Some of the different kinds of snipers are:
A. Close range but extremely accurate snipers. The extremely close range snipers use scoped pistols with silencers or small bore rifles with scopes and silencers. Israel uses such snipers to take out rioters or dangerous enemy personnel inside of urban (city) areas.
B. General purpose snipers are the most common type of snipers around. GP Snipers use a medium bore precision rifle to shoot from zero to about 1,000 meters or so. These snipers are often found in standard military infantry units. A GP Sniper can do a variety of different sniper missions to include close range sniping and heavy duty sniping.
C. Heavy duty snipers are the ones who use the .50 caliber BMG heavy sniper rifles. These guys can take out special equipment, small vehicles and eliminate enemy snipers shooting from long distances. HD Snipers are the ones who can and do make sniper shots out beyond 2,000 meters or more.
D. A new type of sniper is the one who uses lasers to hit his target. No... Not the laser rifle of science fiction fame. The guy who uses lasers is using a laser designator device to paint a building, vehicle or other location that either an artillery shell or laser-guided bomb will hit. In some cases, depending on the angle of attack, a sniper with a laser designator can actually guide a missile into the opening of a cave to collapse the entrance and strike deep inside of it. This is a sort of new type of sniper mission but it sure does have impact.
#7. You will probably need a variety of scopes to be an adept sniper so that means lots and lots of money will be needed to make your dream of being a sniper come true. In Nam we were issued a night vision scope and a daylight scope. We also were proficient with our rifle's metal sights too. At one point, some rifles had a day scope, night vision scope and an infared scope as a part of the entire system BUT nobody cared to carry or lug the infared scope. Most guys left those infareds behind or didn't even bother to sign them out. I used a day scope, night vision scope and metal sights and got everything done I needed done.
#8. Your scope is a big concern for what you plan to do. With the new technology out there, one of the systems that I would seriously consider looking at would be a 6.5 Grendel rifle or a really good M1-A rifle with a 10 to 50 power scope with at least a 40 or 50 millimeter end on it. I would also look at possibly trying to get a scope with an illuminated reticle in it. I would consider using a Redfield scope or other higher quality scope like a Leupold to meet my needs. Your ammo, like your scope, will need to be of high quality too.
Then you need practice, practice and practice your shooting until you think you're sick of it. Don't forget that dry-firing has its place with good shooters. For every round you will actually shoot you should probably dry fire 10 to 100 shots as practice.
You want to know what's really funny about sniping? Do your research and, on average, a sniper's median or average shot is made at 142 meters or about, rounded off, 150 yards for Americans. That's what snipers have learned from WW1, WW2, the Korean War and out of Viet Nam. Long distance shots are really few and far between. A 150 yard average shot can be performed by a decent rifleman with just about any medium bore rifle. Even a scoped AK, SKS carbine, FN/FAL and most .22 LR carbines can get that job done. At one point during the Korean War, there were some American snipers who used scoped .30 caliber carbines for nighttime sniping missions out of perimeters. So think it all through very carefully before you commit to a sniper type program. Heck, you might even want to get some decent tactical or practical rifle training before you commit to anything close to a sniper concept. That would probably better suit most peoples' shooting needs.
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The most important thing is a good rifle/scope combo this custom fitted to you. Next is practice/proficiency because the most expensive rifle in the world is worthless in the hands of a mediocre shooter. While the average service rifle can be accurate in the hands of a skilled shooter. Good Ammo is needed. However, you may need to do trigger time with different varieties to find out what your piece likes. It is possible to have two exact same rifles that prefer different loads. I recommend a good M-1907 Leather Sling and stay away from Bipods. A pack, butt-pack or even a log is a much more stable platform when used with the leather sling. A good spotting scope is a must for shooting long range because in order to hit at long distance, you have to be able to read/adjust for wind. I could spend all day but I suggest the following sources that will answer all questions. U.S. Marine Corps FMFM 1-3B SNIPING and The Ultimate Sniper by John Plaster.
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504 Posts
try the klmk camo....its old but it works better than most things ive seen
http://www.russianwarrior.com/Images/68uni_klmkcarry.jpg
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/507/photo1610050036mc.jpg
here is an example of its effectiveness
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e264/Kamysh/AgimontIII_sat028.jpg
http://www.russianwarrior.com/Images/68uni_klmkcarry.jpg
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/507/photo1610050036mc.jpg
here is an example of its effectiveness
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e264/Kamysh/AgimontIII_sat028.jpg
paulycracker has a pretty good list except for the supressor(in nam there weren't enough to go around, but all of snippers that i knew wanted them) the gillie might be usefull but it really depends on the situation. in nam they didn't have them, being a LRRP in nam i worked w/a number of snippers. the AVERAGE shot taken by snipping is ACTUALLY between 350 yds & 450 yds. with the exception of those employing .50's. there are some people out there that do alot of reading about supossed snippers and snippercraft, then try to pass it ALL off as fact. be carefull of them. being a snipper is about simplicity,except for the math, reguardless of the new technologies that come along. you can get both army and marine field manuals, i sugest reading them.
a PS to my last reply, if you realy wany to know about snippers, read about gunery sgt. carlos hathcock (whitefeather) i don't rember the name of the book. but if it weren't for him and maj. land there probably wouldn't be any permanent snipper training programs today, marine or army. in nam there wasn't a standard rifle used by snippers, they were a mix of usualy heavy barreled target rifles of various manufactures and the m-14. untill around '68' or '69' when the rem 700 was standardized for use as the m-24. the standard ammo was 168gr .308 match. anyway i hope this helps.
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168gr Match was never used in combat. It is a hollow point and prevented use by the Hague Convention.
173gr M118 was the sniper's round.
The Marine sniper rifle was designated M40A1, M40A2, and currently M40A3.
Been there, got a tee shirt. By the way it is spelled sniper
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The name of the first book is "Marine Sniper 93 Confirmed Kills" by Charles Henderson. I was in Gunny Hathcock's 2nd class when they brought the Scout/Sniper program back. He was medically retired not long after that. The Marines developed the M-40 off of the Remington 700. The Army continued using the M-21 variant of the M-14 until the 80's. They went to the M-24 variant of the Remington 700 then.
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Hey SARDOG, where you located in Southern Illinois? I grew-up in East Saint Louis (Had a 1st Sgt who said I should have gotten a Combat Action Ribbon for surviving there!) but live in Okawville now.
Sniper gear?
My first question is, why do you want to know what we use for gear?
My second question is, what do you intend to do with this info?
My third question is, what do you think that gear will do for you without the proper training and discipline it takes to be a "Sniper".
A ghillie suit is useless unless you know how to employ it in the field. Your weapon is only as good as the user.
Not trying to be a [email protected]$$, just have reservations about giving out trade secrets on certain "military" info.
My first question is, why do you want to know what we use for gear?
My second question is, what do you intend to do with this info?
My third question is, what do you think that gear will do for you without the proper training and discipline it takes to be a "Sniper".
A ghillie suit is useless unless you know how to employ it in the field. Your weapon is only as good as the user.
Not trying to be a [email protected]$$, just have reservations about giving out trade secrets on certain "military" info.
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About 75 miles ENE of you.
I can't imagine even going East St. Louis now. Been about 15 years since I've been there. If it ain't got gravel on it, I don't drive on it.
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I still work there. Work Midnights on the Alton & Southern Railroad. On New Years Eve, we have to take cover for awhile around midnight. Like flying bombers over Baghdad during Shock & Awe.About 75 miles ENE of you.
I can't imagine even going East St. Louis now. Been about 15 years since I've been there. If it ain't got gravel on it, I don't drive on it.
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436 Posts
Sniper Equipment
Depends on the mission... But i'll pack a ghillie suit, Rifle 60rnds(M24 SWS) sniper weapon system, Which consists of a rem 700 thats tricked out. and a Very nice Leupols mark stevens scope that is military grade you cant get the exact one but a very similar one.(look up M3A or MK4 scope 10x power fixed) Bino's, Spotting scope (ATLEAST 40X power) My side arm, M9 (baretta 92 FS)3-4 15 rnd mags. Depending on the mission( I would bring my M4 with an acog scope w/220 rnds), Plenty of water, a few Mre's, obviously my uniform, a ruck for the gear, a Drag bag for my sniper rifle. as it will most likely be packed away till i get into the position. I would carry my Ammo in a chest rig or something like that. Usually NO BODY ARMOR. pistol is usually in the small of my back because i will be prone in a comfortable shooting position. I would carry a small water proof bag with, pens and pencils 2 calculators my DOPE(Data Of Previous Engagement) book/ sniper log. In this book you have EVERY detail of your shooting Progress in EVERY wether condition/ very detailed with Temps, wind speed direction, altitude, distances, ect. Carry 2 Samd socks (filled with popcorn kernals)BIG socks) a few Knives 1 would be my KBAR and a small tactical folde(benchmade) . My partner would Carry No sniper rifle, he would carry an M4 with an ACOG and an M203 Grenade launcher, and an M9 with all of the same Gear. we would bring Com equipment, Have your Recovery Team QRF (Quick Response Force) on the way to get you before you take out your target! (you will only be able to take 1 shot 2 max if you want to make it out before you are spotted. I take 1 then retrograde back to your fall back position.) That is if your in an urban environment like Iraq you will only be able to sustain a 5 min fire fight. 10 MAX! and thats streatching it. I think that pretty much sums it up... "SNIPERS ARENT MADE THER CHOSEN".
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YOU ARE ABSOLUTLY CORRECT! we had "snipers" prior to nam however they were seen as cowards Frowned upon. and were disbanded after each war. Hathcock Began a sniper program in country back in nam, and set the standard... BTW he has 93 confirmed kills and more than 500 probable kills.
7.62x51 nato 168gr LR is my fav load....
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I was just told to tell you this, drop 20 cats in the bushes and if one walks up to you and starts loving you, you did not learn the first rule of a sniper, concealment. I know a sniper he is on the cell right now laughing. He said join the Army, they will teach you. LOL!
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