How Military Snipers Work

[Akyeame Kwame]

http://science.howstuffworks.com/sniper.htm

[Mordecai_7]

The rule of thumb is that they work in two-man teams, one being the spotter and the other being the shooter. They will switch roles every three hours. They depend on excellent camouflage and stealth movement. They may also double as recon scouts. In fact, a 21-man recon platoon carries a sniper element. The sniper's motto is: "One shot. One kill." They are very capable of doing this. The basic weapon is the M-24 or M-25 sniper rifles using a 10x Leupold scope. These weapons are vast improvements over the M-21 sniper rifle, which was a modified M-14, 7.62mm/.30 caliber. The spotter carries a "spotter scope" to scan for targets. He sets up the shot for the shooter. The M-107 Barrett is a .50 caliber sniper rifle, with more than 1 mile of range.

The USMC utilizes the M-40A1 sniper rifle, another 7.62mm weapon with a heavy barrel and good accuracy.

[Blaq Beard]

One determined soldier with a decent, zeroed rifle and a firm grasp of basic principles of marksmanship can deter a much larger force.

We should definitely strive to master the rifle and have the ability to consistently hit a 200yd target. Really a bare minimum skill set for both males and females alike.