Re: What Makes a Sniper
WOW! i get to use this twice in two days:
SNIPER - (present definition) a person professionally and highly trained to observe, report findings, or to engage and eliminate specific targets of oppurtunity to gain a tactical advantage uses a wide array of tools to accomplish the assigned tasks, and generally uses a highly modified precision rifle (sniper rifle as it used by a sniper) to eliminate those specified targets, usually from a concealed or unknown position in order not to be comprimised.
sniper -(originally) a person that hunts for and is successful in harvesting the elusive above game bird. usually had to be concealed (by the use of special areas - enter the "hide"- or special clothing - enter the "gillie suit"- during the shot as snipe have excellent eyesight.
once common in scotland, a ghillie (the person themselelf) was a hired person (a proffesional hunter / guide that used unconventional tactics for success) used to catch poacher's on the royal's land. they used special clothing to be concealed or hide themselves from view (AKA ghillie suit), from the highly observant and skillful poachers. the poachers that had escaped capture from the ghillie also began to employ the ghillie's suits to remain stealthy as they had to evade detection both from the ghillie and the royalty's normal gaurdsmen as they poached the royalty's game.
snipe- –noun 1. any of several long-billed game birds of the genera Gallinago (Capella) and Limnocryptes, inhabiting marshy areas, as G. gallinago (common snipe), of Eurasia and North America, having barred and striped white, brown, and black plumage.
2. any of several other long-billed birds, as some sandpipers.
maybe a glossary of terms will help the newbies realize that(at least in my opinion) a definition of a "build" worth reading:
BUILD (noun or verb depending on usage)- A weapon, sporting arm, rifle, pistol, shotgun etc. (project) that has substaintial components added or enhanced that operate and are engineered in conjuncture with each other for the intended purpose of launching a projectile downrange and hitting a designated target with more consistancy / accuracy than a factory manufactured weapon, sporting arm, rifle, pistol shotgun etc., or exceeds the average accepted performance metrics of a factory manufactured weapon, sporting arm, rifle, pistol, shotgun, etc. or at a higher rate of speed in cycling rounds + accuracy than a factory manufactured weapon, sporting arm, rifle, pistol shotgun etc.
(in my opinion a build starts with a bare receiver or frame, then specialized components are added to achieve the above directives, and to achieve the below)....
LONG RANGE SHOOTING (verb?)- To accurately and consistantly hit a target with a projectile at a greater distance than is normally accepted by a majority for the performance parameters of any given weapon, sporting arm, rifle, pistol, shotgun, etc. whether it is "built" or not.
Example: A .45 cal 1911 pistol used at 10 yards to hit a target accurately and consistantly may be considered average distance. A .45 cal 1911 pistol used at 75 yards to hit a target accurately and consistantly would probably be considered long range shooting.
A .45 cal 1911 that shoots well at 10 yards, but is not good at all at 75 yards until components are added or enhanced and has acheived the goal of launching a projectile consistantly and accurately on a target should be considered a "build" to make a "precision firearm" for the intended purpose of "long range shooting"
(a scoped .308 rifle at 100 yards is almost always considered short range, however an open sighted 30/30 at 100 yards may be considered medium to long range)
PRECISION FIREARM (noun)- A weapon, sporting arm, rifle, pistol, shotgun, etc. that is used for the intended purpose of launching a projectile downrange and hitting a designated target with more consistancy / accuracy than a factory manufactured weapon, sporting arm, rifle, pistol shotgun etc., or exceeds the average accepted performance metrics of a factory manufactured weapon, sporting arm, rifle, pistol, shotgun, etc. Most precision firearms are "built" (see build) for objectives described above.
ACCURATE RIFLE (noun)- Any rifle that consistantly launches a projectile to a target with better results than what is considered by a majority average parameters for comparable rifles.(MOA and sub MOA)
SNIPER RIFLE (noun)- Any rifle that is used by a S N I P E R, otherwise, it's a precision firearm / rifle.
<span style="color: #FF0000">so technically, in the traditional sense, if you ever shot a snipe, your a sniper. of an "official" sense, if you passed and qualified any military or LE sniper qualification course and graduated sniper school, you are an official sniper that can sew a new tab on your uniform.</span>
otherwise it's just another word that's been bastardized for shock value in various medias or used by someone as an adjective to boost their own ego, or it's meaning has been twisted to the point that it depends on what point of view you are coming from to describe some unique actions taken of someone that has caused a particular event to happen (lee harvey oswald, dc sniper, etc.). a bell tower and a rifle is "good enough evidence" to fit the description.
some define a sniper simply as a person that takes the life of another using unconventional means or from a concealed location - whether or not they can extract successfully or not.
"sniper's shoot people" is only a partial truth as assassins, murderers, and serial killers do the same. while snipers DO POSSESS the skills and ability to nuetralize threats effectively in a "scientific" manner, snipers also skillfully and professionally observe and report troop movements, provide security / surveilance details, paint equipment and other targets with laser designators for other types of ordinance to neutralize targets, convey coordinates for direction of artilery and other types of fire - some true designated snipers never having to take a shot on another human in their entire tour - a murderer, serial killer or assassin rarely do the same.
a "game animal" that has been shot from a shooter in a prone position dressed in a straggly burlap outfit from a concealed location that one has inserted themselves into undetected by using a remington 700 with a big scope and a bipod from say, a longer distance that is traditionally shot from - does not a sniper make -perhaps it was just taken "sniper style" as the movies depict what a sniper is.
the butcher at the local meat market can't be in the same class as a surgeon, though they both use a form of knife.
