Now I guess its time to break it out again:
The History of Military Sniping, and how it relates to the Game of
Paintball.
Ok. So I got bored, and I am sick and tried of this stupid sniper debate. I
got a Barnes and Noble gift card for Christmas, and didn’t know what else to
get so I picked up several books on Military Snipers. Here are my findings.
< -- Note: Due to a problem with my code, you have to Highlight my
rifle comparison tables to see them. It’s a bother, but if someone knows how to
fix it, PM me. -- >
First lets go over the basics of what a sniper is, and what a sniper is not.
“A sniper…is considered a specialist, whose prime function is to kill
selected high value targets at long range using superior skill and armament. A
sharpshooter, by contrast, is a rifleman (proficient or otherwise) who acts in
an opportunist manner, taking shots at the enemy when the chance arises”
From SNIPER by Adrian Gilbert
Keep this in your mind as you read the rest of the article.
The American Revolution
(1775-83)
Sniping first came onto the battlefield during the American Revolution.
Standard infantry of this period were equipped with “Brown Bess” smoothbore
muskets. The Continental Congress approves 10 independent companies, armed with
long rifles. The men of these companies were the first snipers.
Comparison between the “Brown Bess” musket, and the Long Rifle.
“A soldiers musket, if not exceedingly ill bored (as many are), will strike
the figure of a man at 80 yards: it may even at 100, but a soldier must be very
unfortunate indeed who shall be wounded by a common musket at 150 yards,
provided that the antagonist aims at him; as to firing at a man at 200 yards,
with a common, musket, you might as well fire at the moon.” –British Major
Hanger, on the “Brown Bess” musket
In contrast, the American Long Rifle (as carried by the Irregular
companies), was effective in ranges up to 300 yards, and headshots could be
achieved at 200. At these ranges American Snipers picked-off high ranking
British Officers. During the battle of Saratoga
an American sniper brought down British General Simon Frasier from a range of
300 yards. Despite its advantages the long rifle had several disadvantages. Its
slow reload time(2 shots a minute), and lack of bayonet fixture made it useful
only as a skirmisher weapon, not for use as a standard infantry weapon.
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Long Rifle
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Brown Bess Musket
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Range:
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300 yards
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80 yards
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As you can see from the table, the Rifle outranged the common muskets of the
time by over 200 yards.
The War of Northern Aggression (American Civil War) (1861-65)
During the Civil War, the standard infantry rifles were the Enfield(for
the south), and the Springfield(for
the north). These were muzzleloading rifles with effective ranges up to 500
yards. The confederacy managed to acquire Witworth and Kerr rifles from Europe
for their snipers. These rifles had an effective range of well over 1200 yards,
and hits were reported at over 1500 yards.
Confederate Snipers were selected in a manner which has been used to select
snipers in most present wars. The best men from each infantry regiment entered
into shooting competitions. They were required to hit man-sized boards at 500
yards. The best shooters were given the prized Kerr and Witworth rifles. They
then went through extensive training in the use of these rifles.
The snipers were warned never to get within 400 yards of the enemy, but to
use their superior range, to keep the enemy at a safe distance.
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Kerr & Witworth Rifles
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Enfield/Springfield Rifles
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Range:
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1200+ yards
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500 yards.
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World War I (1914-18)
US Snipers during World War I used modified, and accurized versions of
the standard service rifle the Springfield
1903, equipped with 2 to 4 power scopes. Snipers during the war mostly sniped
from behind the MLR, the main trench line. These snipers were Infantrymen taken
off the line, and equipped with scoped rifles. With their rifles they could
pick the enemy off 3 or 4 trench lines back from the MLR. The marksmanship
standard for infantry of the time was to be able to hit a standing man from
around 100 yards. The snipers were trained to hit targets from over 500 yards.
World War II (1938-45)
World War II snipers were selected in different manners during the war. I
will concentrate on the Marine Corps Snipers trained at Green’s Farm because
the documentation of this school and its snipers is the best. There, snipers
were instructed in 5 week courses in marksmanship, camouflage, and field craft.
They were trained to approach a target using stealth and to eliminate the
target from long distances. These snipers were required to hit a moving target
at 500 yards, and to hit a stationary target at 1000. They were equipped much
the same way as snipers in WWI were. These snipers used accurized
versions of the M1903 Springfield service rifle, the A1 or A3 variants equipped
with 2 or 4 power scopes. Marine Infantry qualified at 500 yards.
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M1 Garand
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M1903A3
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Range
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500 yards
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1000yards
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Ammunition
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.30-06
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.30-06
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Korea
(1950-53)
Korea, in
the latter part of the war turned into a bogged down war of attrition, looking
somewhat like the trench warfare of WWI. This, alongside Korea’s
terrain of rolling hills combined to make it prime sniper territory. Sniping
tactics in Korea did not change much from the tactics of WWII so I will not
elaborate on them. The rifles also remained the same. Snipers in Korea were
equipped with 1903A3 Variant Springfield’s, and National Match M1’s(which were
used in competition shooting because they were more accurate than the standard
M1) Equipped with 4 power scopes(the M1D model). The accuracy of the M1 was not
as good as that of the Springfield, due to the need to offset the scope, and
have major Eye Relief built-in to the rifle due to the Clip Feed of the M1.
These M1’s still were able to reach ranges of 500 yards accurately. In Korea
the use of the .50 caliber round for sniping was first seen. M2 Machine Guns
mounted with a 10 power scope were able to reach ranges of 2800 yards
effectively, Snipers also experimented with .55 Caliber Boy’s antitank rifles
modified to take .50 caliber rounds, and mounted with scopes which had the same
range as the M2, but was able to be carried by a man whereas the M2’s were
limited to fixed positions.
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M1D Sniper Model
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M1903A3 Sniper
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M2 Machine Gun
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Range
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500 yards
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1000 yards
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2500 yards
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Ammunition
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.30-06
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.30-06
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.50 Caliber
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Vietnam (1965-75)
Vietnam is the perfect example of how a sniper can be employed during
combat. The restrictive ROE and vast open fields and rice paddy’s of Vietnam
became prime sniper territory. The Marine Corps and the Army both Fielded
Snipers. Army snipers were equipped with accurized versions of the M14 service
rifle, accurate out to 700 yards. The Marine Corps fielded snipers equipped
with Winchester Model 70 Hunting rifles firing the .30-06 cartridge, and later
in the war snipers carried the M40, which fired the standard 7.62x51mm(.308)
cartridge both of these rifles had an effective range of over 1000 yards. Also
snipers used modified M2 .50 caliber machine guns, fitted with scopes. These
were accurate to ranges out to 2500 yards. Normal infantry of the time fired
the M16 Assault Rifle, and the enemy fired the AK-47 assault rifle. These
rifles were designed for infantry combat which takes place in ranges of only
around 200 yards, and can only be fired accurately up to 500 yards. Thus
snipers were able to operate with impunity from beyond the range of effective
return fire of the enemy.
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M16
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Winchester 70
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M40
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M14 Sniper
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Range
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500 yards
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1000 yards
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1000 Yards
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700 yards
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Ammunition
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5.56mm
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.30-06
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7.62x51mm
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7.62x51mm
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Now through all these wars several things have remained in common among
snipers, lets analyze these facts:
A sniper acts independently from standard infantry, not as a part of a
unit but in a one or two man team.
This is possible in paintball, most of the time in
scenario games, I am alone behind enemy lines trying to accomplish a mission.
But you do very little if any tactical good for your team waiting in one spot
for an entire game, hoping a target of high-value (such as the opposing
general) walks by.
A sniper does not act at random, he selects targets of high value and
eliminates them.
Targets of High Value in a military sense are:
- Officers:
- Generals
- Field Grade officers
- Company Grade officers
- Forward Observers
- Crew Served Weaponry:
- Heavy Machine Guns
- Artillery Batteries
- Mortar Crews
- Non Commissioned Officers
- Radiomen
Targets of High
Value in Paintball:
- Generals
- Tank Crewman (if there are
tanks)
- Um…. Yeah… that’s all I can
think of...
The problem with selecting high value targets in a
scenario paintball game is, there are very few. The vast majority of players
play independently, not under any command and they do what they want. What
officers and team captains there are do not look any different than any other
players.
The Sniper fires at targets from
beyond the range of return fire by the standard infantry weapons, or from
distances that were beyond the training of the normal infantryman.
As you can see from the diagrams of the Sniper Rifles of
the Period in comparison to the standard issue infantry weapons, the sniper
rifle always has a great deal more range than infantry weapons, and the sniper
has been trained to an accuracy standard that is beyond that of standard
infantry training.
This is where sniping in paintball fails. All paintball
markers except those equipped with the Flatline or Apex systems fire the same
distance, around 25 yards or 75 feet. The Flatline will reach ranges of up to
150 ft, but because the ball loses velocity at the same rate as a normal
paintball, the chances of getting a break, or a single accurate shot at those
ranges are close to zero.
The sniper uses a single
accurate shot to take his targets down.
The ammunition expended to kill ratio of a sniper in
Vietnam was 1.7 rounds per kill. The average infantryman expended 50,000 rounds
per confirmed kill.
It is possible to take targets down with a single shot
in paintball. However it is near impossible to eliminate a target with a single
shot from beyond the effective range of return fire by the enemy.
A sniper uses camouflage and
concealment to hide himself from his enemies to eliminate his targets.
No qualms with this, it can be done. Most every scenario
paintball player does it. Using camouflage doe not make you sniper.
Now as you can see there are
several places where sniping fails in paintball. Now look at the definition of
a Sharpshooter:
“A sharpshooter… is a rifleman
(proficient or otherwise) who acts in an opportunist manner, taking shots at
the enemy when the chance arises”
From SNIPER by Adrian
Gilbert
Ok, this looks a little more
feasible in the game of paintball than the sniper definition doesn’t it?
For paintball purposes we can
strike rifleman, because there are no rifles in paintball.
“who acts in an opportunist manner,
taking shots at the enemy when the chance arises”
This sounds feasible. The
definition of a sniper that Spec Ops puts forth is one of an “ambush player”
that fires from concealment, using camouflage. The problem with the Spec Ops
definition of a sniper is that it perfectly describes the definition of a
sharpshooter in a military sense.
So we will set forth the definition
of a Sharpshooter in paintball. This is what most of you would call a Sniper in
paintball.
A sharpshooter takes shots from
concealment, shoots at targets as the opportunity arises, and uses a marker
that has the same range as everyone else’s. This is not a Sniper. This is a
sharpshooter. You will never be a sniper in paintball simple ballistics prevent
this from ever happening.
The fact of the matter is if you
think you are a sniper in paintball, your terminology is wrong. The definition
of a sharpshooter, fits paintball a lot closer that the definition of a sniper.
But for those of you who insist that you are still snipers, look at an analogy:
You work for a living. Your job is to go to people’s houses and businesses, to
pick up their trash and take it to the dump. You drive a Garbage Truck. What
would you be called, a Garbage Man, or a Professional Truck Driver?
You would be called a Garbage Man,
would you not? As much as you would prefer to be called a Professional Truck
Driver, everyone would call you a Garbage Man because it fits what you are
doing better than the title Professional Truck Driver does.
The definition
of Sharpshooter, or a Designated Marksman fits what you are doing in paintball
a whole lot better than Sniper does. Stop fooling yourself.
References:
SNIPER- Adrian
Gilbert
One Shot-One
Kill- Charles W. Sasser and Craig Roberts
Marine Sniper-
Charles Henderson
Authors Note:
In my haste of writing this, I may have gotten some minor facts mixed up, or in
the wrong place. Please contact me with the correct info if you have something
to add, or a correction.
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