I have questions for you expereinced snipers.

15970 Views 33 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Duct Tape, Jan 8, 2005

olson

Discussion Starter · Dec 4, 2004

Hello everyone, ill start off saying i am new here and im only 16, but i am VERY interested in becomeing a scout sniper. the problem is i have no idea which one i wanna be, marine , seal or just a regular army scout sniper. all i wanted to know was what are the differences in these and which type of terrains does each catagory cover and when can i enlist myself in the military. Also im getting a 30-06 mossberg rifle for chrismas, is this a good rifle to get some skill from?? and what rifle would you recomend after i gain skill from this one. thanks for your time.

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spade

· #2 · Dec 4, 2004

Hey, olsen. Welcome to the board. I am assuming you are american for this response. As far as your choice for rifle, as long as you get some trigger time I think you'll be fine. I think alot of us would reccomend the remington 700p chambered for .308, but it seems like as its a christmas present beggers cant be choosers. Think long and hard before you make the decision to enlist. Once you decide you wish to sign your life away you can do so at the age of 17 with your parents consent. Also I've gotta tell you that your not going to go to basic training, then straight to sniper school. Not unless your screwing the presidents daughter at least (which wouldnt be a bad thing in my opinion). If you wish to join the SEALS then youve got to be navy or marine corps first. The marine corps basic training is 13 weeks long at paris island and its pure fucking hell. If you cant run very well, then dont join. I belive the army basic training is 9 weeks long. in both branches you'll have to be slotted for infantry and pass as an expert marksman to even get an opening for sniper school. As far as the terrain you be working on, they all pretty much work through the same conditions which for right now is sand, sand, and more sand. The seals just do it in smaller groups. All SF units do. I wouldnt discount the army though, as the army ranger's Delta force are just as highly trained (some would argue more so and i think i would agree) than the seals.

Whatever you do, good luck.

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Jeff_850

· #3 · Dec 4, 2004

id reccomend you buy an AR-15 type weapon with a 20" barrel or hold off completely
they all say you pick up all kinds of bad habbits when you shoot on your own
before you touch the sniper rifles you will have to master the M-16
and wait till you are slotted for a sniper position
till that time you will likely be an infantryman

spade

· #4 · Dec 4, 2004

jeff, lol the kids 16... he cant buys **** and its a christmas present. lol he doesnt have much of a choice.

olson

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 4, 2004

haha guys this isnt what i planned for, i wanted to go to scout sniper school like right off the bat, you know?? i dont wanna go into the army or marines i wanna be ONE OF THE ELITE SNIPER GROUPS. i dont wanna be into the big groups and hit the enemy head on i wanna sit back and take my targets carefully, is there anyway i could get around this??? i mean im sure basic training isnt bad for me but i want to be a sniper i dont wanna get screwed outta not being able to be a sniper and then they just make me be an infiltry. that would piss me off. so what things can i do??
thanks

spade

· #6 · Dec 4, 2004

nothing, youve gotta go about it just like everyone else. Its impossible, get it out of your head.

olson

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 4, 2004

man that sucks, so i have to join the army and i hve no garontied chance that i will be a sniper. why dont they just have a branch of trianing made just for snipers. this is terriable my dream is shot to ****

Jeff_850

· #8 · Dec 4, 2004

olson,
the elite groups like Special forces ARE Army and elite groups like Focre Recon ARE Marines
in the military and everywhere in life too no one cares about dreams they care about accomplishing thier mission... for the military its defending freedom
they take the best troops they think would make the best snipers, expert marksmen who have military experience and put them through sniper school
there is no guarntee you will ever become a sniper or special forces soldier
you might be stuck with infantry and if you become a sniper chanecs are you will be covering an infantry unit unless your a SF sniper

olson

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 5, 2004

so what are you trying to say jeff??? just because its a 16 year olds dream to become a sniper that he will do a shitty job??? also how good of a marksmen do i have to be to become a sniper and what other qualifications would increase the chances of me becoming a sniper

westpointranger

· #10 · Dec 5, 2004

Olson, there's something you have to understand. If you REALLY want to be a sniper, you'll go through hell and high water to get there. From what I can see, you just think it would be a cool thing to do. If you don't want it bad enough to go through basic and be whatever the heck they tell you to be, you don't want it.

Jeff_850

· #11 · Dec 5, 2004

olson,
im just saying you have to go through the army's training and then to sniper school like everyone else
they take people who score expert on marksmanship, get good pt scores and are motivated
and they dont appreciate people taking any phase in training lightly, all training you get you might need even if you are a sniper the stuff you learned in basic and infantry school are relevant

mele

· #12 · Dec 5, 2004

These guys speak the truth. In order to become a sniper in the US Army, you first have to become infantry, then after a while you can try and get into a sniper slot, and then if you pass all the qualifications they will let you go to sniper school, and then finally, if you pass sniper school, you get to be a sniper. It took me 2 years before I got put into the sniper slot. They only want the best.

Once in a slot, to go to the school you have to:
Score at least 70 on all three PT tests
Qual expert with M16
Have a GT of 110 or better on ASVAAB test
not be color blind
MUST BE INFANTRY (or special forces)

Then, once you get to sniper school, 50% of the students fail.... its not easy. But you know what? Its worth it.....

Infantry basic training / AIT in the army is 13 weeks. (standard "basic" training is 8 plus the 5 weeks of advanced infantry training)

MEL

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olson

Discussion Starter · #13 · Dec 10, 2004

well guys thanks, and i mean it would be really fun i think to be a sniper but i want to have like a 100% chance of being a sniper and thats no possible from what yall say, i mean i woudl loe to be a sniper and if i was garontied a spot i would work through hell and high water like you say but, there isnt a 100% chance so what if i joined then didnt get to bea sniper i would be stuck in infantry haveing a shitty time. well thanks guys for the information tho it really helped

spade

· #14 · Dec 10, 2004

yeah, you couldnt be a sniper anyways... snipers often need to be able to spell. LMAO, just joking man.

Jeff_850

· #15 · Dec 10, 2004

remember that snipers ARE either part of an infantry unit or special forces unit
they train with the unit and dont think that snipers are 'better' than infantry and the job is every bit as dangerous as an infantryman if not more so

mele

· #16 · Dec 10, 2004

1st an Infantryman, 2nd a sniper.

Infantry is the queen of battle. By far the most important and deadly piece in the military arsenal. EVERYTHING else (perhaps even snipers) is there to support the infantry, and no piece of ground is claimed until the infantry puts their leather boots on that piece of ground!

In my book, nothing commands more respect on a dress uniform (army) then to see the crossed rifles, the blue cord, blue disks and a CIB.

Mission of the infantry: "Locate, close with, and destroy the enemy".

Mission of the rest of the military: "Support the infantry"

MEL

spade

· #17 · Dec 10, 2004

amen. Snipers are simply infantrymen with an above average accuracy and range. Oh, and the ability to crawl through cow **** while wearing the hottest material known to man, and now being seen.

Kamatz

· #18 · Dec 10, 2004

Although you're by no means wrong - it's a tad simplistic, wouldn't you agree?:wink:

Sure, without some grunts to take and hold ground there's little or no reason for anyone else to fight. But without food, without ammo, without support - the grunts are hungry, useless targets (oooh I bet that pisses some people off - but really, no offence intended).

My point is that there is no such thing as "the king of the battlefield". They (as in infantry, diesel-jockies, jet-jockies, arty-boys, etc) all rely on each other. Logistics might be dull and "useless" according to some people - but without some guy delivering food and ammo, the soldiers wouldn't, obviously, be able to fight for much more than a few days. Without support they'd be slaughtered by units they have no chance of fighting. So, my humble message is, they're all equally important - from grunts to chefs. :wink:

mele

· #19 · Dec 10, 2004

Heheh... you forget you are talking to several infantrymen!!

The point of my obviously biased comment was that all other job professions in the Military can be argued only support the infantry. The F-15 pilots provide air superiority so that the A-10's & F-16's can bomb ground targets, so that the infantry can move in and occupy the territory. The artillery is called in to suppress the enemy so the infantry can come in and occupy the territory. Patriot missle batteries are there to protect the infantry, so they can go occupy territory.

Now, the not so biased opinion. Of course every job in the military is extremely important. But it is true that the infantry is the key component in the military. No on else has the same mission as the infantry. And as such, they are afforded certain privledges and recognitions that others are not. On your dress uniform (in the army) no one else is allowed to wear branch cords and no one else gets disks beneith their branch and US disks on their uniforms. In fact, special forces do not even get the cords & disks, though they can recieve CIB's now (Combat Infantryman's Badge).

The term "Queen of Battle" (as far as I understand it) is given to the infantry and refers to the chess piece. The queen on a chess board is the most powerful piece because of its extreme flexibility of movement. If you kill the queen, things are just about hopeless. Now, the artillery guys like to call themselves the "King of Battle" because they like to think that if the artillery is killed, the game is over....

MEL

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Kamatz

· #20 · Dec 10, 2004

Naaah, kill the arty and we'll just call the flyboys :mrgreen:

On a serious note, yeah, of course. Infantry has - and always will - be a significant part of any armed force. Many a fool has figured out how useless tanks are in built up areas. Even todays heavy behemoths get nicked by a handfull of well placed RPG7s. Even the M1A2s in Bagdad. That was a foolish attempt to place armour in the center of the city asap - completely without infantry support...stupid. With infantry, the RPG crew would most likely have been spotted and given a serious beating by indirect fire from coax and the maingun on several tanks.

As for badges and such. It's not quite like that here. But ask a grunt about the weather and he'll tell you everything about how great the infantry is. :mrgreen:

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