Airsoft sniping (the ACE version)

[cloakndagger]

To clarify myself, as all of us have made valid points, dmr and sniper are shades of the same airsoft grey. In general they shoot farther and harder than assault gunners. Where the difference lies (in my mind not nescisarily in the scheme of things) is the state of mind and actions. A dmr is the long range guy in the squad, who cwn be directed onto target or is provided his target by the squad.  Snipers are more on their own. They hunt as an individual unit, they decide what time and where to engage. Most times they are the only trigger pullers in their general area and cannot look to a squad for support or extra ammo etc. I guess my point is, imho, snipers are sefl contained units while dmrs are part of a larger unit. Yes s sniper can work in conjunction with a squad but he is the decision maker.  As far as guns, they all shoot bbs, you can in airsoft, potentialy make a mp5 sniper and an sr25 cqb. So we can toss the idea of "sniper rifles" making a sniper. Also, as ace said, camo is also more a state of mind than an item of clothing.  If you can blend yourself into your surroundings you are camoflaged, regardless of if youre wearing a ghille, woodland, xcam, or jeans and a t shirt. Can i do it? Maybe sometimes, but im not in a position where i need it very long.  Once again, state of mind. On the subject of sniper spotters, not any old joe friend makes a good spotter. In airsoft the spotter is more of a butt saver than actual spotter, you know where your bbs are goin, its not that far away. To be a good spotter you must communicate without words, and you and the sniper must know what each of you are going to do before either of you has to signal it. The sniper spotter combo in aprsoft does not hold the critical lattitude as in real life.

So, theres my take, and creeper loves turtles,
shootyalater

[Blaze]

Actually ACE. If your a sniper? & you have woodland on & you blend decent with the field? & you have a spotter in a white tee shirt & tan jeans sitting by you? Someone see's him & they spray the area? there going to know whats going on 80% of the time & pobably hit you during that spray. This iswhy I dont use a partner unless Echo comes with me. When Echo & I do a sniper run we scan the field & plan where we will meeet & where we will split up. . Id rather have my sniping partner in the same camo as I am & Blending into the area. so we can work together with experence of play together & hand motions without screaming across the field kinda as Cloak just said. My point made clear exactly.

[DYNOMUT]

I guess you HERD DAT!!

[ACE]

Actually ACE. If your a sniper, you have woodland on, you blend decent with the field, and you have a spotter in a white tee shirt and tan jeans sitting by you? If someone see's him and they spray the area. Their going to know whats going on 80% of the time and probably hit you during that spray. This is why I don't use a partner unless Echo comes with me. When Echo & I do a sniper run we scan the field & plan where we will meet & where we will split up. . Id rather have my sniping partner in the same camo as I am & Blending into the area. so we can work together with experience of play together & hand motions without screaming across the field kinda as Cloak just said. My point made clear exactly.

Your point is kind of stupid as no smart person is going to wear a WHITE SHIRT IN A GAME WHERE PEOPLE ARE SHOOTING AT YOU. That is just common sense. My point was, if you had read, also cloaks point, was that you don't have to wear a certain kind of camo just to be a sniper in airsoft. If your going to run with someone that is wearing white then you deserve all the BB's that fly toward you. I was hoping people that read this had some common sense, apparently I'm wrong and should expect less out of people. =/

Blending in doesn't just mean wearing camo or a ghullie suite and think your blending in, much to your "sniping experience", sorry to disappoint you. Blending in means you know what colors blend into what type of surrounding your in, knowing when and how to move, when to shut up, and when to hold your fire. This is common sense stuff. Trying to call someone out on something that people with sense don't do is just silly.

Also I took the time of correcting your common sense grammatical and spelling errors for you so others could understand it.

[CaptKirby]

Totally agree with ya ace. Not to mention, there is no point in having a spotter if they are at the same spot you are. The point is for them not to be the same place as you.

[Blaze]

Lol obviously you havnt been to Fulda gap & out of state to play airsoft cause there are alot of players who come in jeans & a white tee shirt which proves my point & yours.

[/quote]

Your point is kind of stupid as no smart person is going to wear a WHITE SHIRT IN A GAME WHERE PEOPLE ARE SHOOTING AT YOU. That is just common sense.
[/quote]

Not everyone is smart at playing airsoft ok?.



& when i have a spotter with me? he dosent fire a shot 85% of the time cause we dont want to blow the cover. he usually stays behind while i work my way around to the other side of the area so that both sides are covered in case they tr to slip behind your team mates. Dont run off telling people there experence of airsoft isnt quite correct when you dont know there style of playing. Ive never been on the field with you & you never been on the field with me so you really dont know how i play & what i do. Im telling my opinion & how i play airsoft alone with everyone else .

[ACE]

Now to get back on topic.

Totally agree with ya ace. Not to mention, there is no point in having a spotter if they are at the same spot you are. The point is for them not to be the same place as you.

Thanks kirby, that is a very good point. A person alone makes a smaller target then if they had someone within a few feet of them looking around to see whats going on.

I personally don't run with a spotter unless, like nyghtbringer said, two people are needed to hold a position that is hard to take such as the bridge we were watching over. Neither of us were technically playing the spotter role, we were both in that case snipers.

I am trying to get away and lead others away from "bolt rifles are the only sniper" mentality. A few reasons behind this are: 1. Most bolts action airsoft guns are heavy, long, and slow you down. Most. Not all. 2. They limit you most of the time to long range only because of their high FPS. 3. They make other people love to shoot at you when they see you walking around with one. I call this the "OOO sniper lets kill him" mentality.

Any advantage you can give yourself as a sniper, is worth it. I have almost exclusively been using my AEG for the past several months to perfect this idea. It barely breaks 400 FPS, accurate to about 200 feet and semi accurate within 200-250. This is a stock ASGI m4 with a 363mm madbull tightbore and a madbull hop up unit as the only upgrades. Very cheap upgrades to any gun, and well worth it. In most fields, your fps range will classify as a AEG would or at most a DMR role, which most fields have a minimal engagement distance of 40 feet i think. Acceptable I think. Gives you the option to switch to full auto in those "Oh crap" moments.

This is just my rambling but I think it is something new players should consider when they decide they want to snipe. So if they decide they don't want to snipe anymore, they don't have to go buy a new gun.

[echo214]

well, for me its just preference. i would rather have a bolt action sniper shooting 400fps with .25s, than an AEG shooting the same. less noise, fewer bbs used, no batteries, and fewer breakable parts.

[CaptKirby]

I would agree once again with ya Ace, in that a big bulky sniper is not really a great idea since it makes it hard to have an auto sidearm(which I have previously stated I recommend) for the some of the same reasons you mentioned using an auto to snipe. It gives you that ability to switch in an "Oh crap" moment, or simple change roles to assault when the opportunity presents itself.

However, I do still advocate a bolt action(if you want to be a true sniper) for one main reason; how quiet you can make the rifles. I have had plenty of occasions where I was able to take out 4,5,6 people with my bolt action because they simply had no idea where I was. I was slowly able to pick them off because only thing they saw or heard was the bb hitting them. This is very hard to do with an AEG. Someone who is really stealthy with their movements and very quiet with their shots is a very dangerous combo.

However, as we have said that kinda sniping takes a lot of money and a dedication to your craft or you will get destroyed(been on that end plenty too). So as you do I always suggest a new person start with an AEG and potentially use their AEG to fall into the DMR role (being sneaky, move quietly, flanking, relay positions, and all the other stuff we have talked about) and just use an accurate AEG.

Side note: Echo had a decent point being that a well maintained sniper(though expensive to build), breaks less, is cheaper to fix when it breaks, is way easier to fix, uses fewer bbs, and does not require battery charge. Sometimes I will snipe simply cause I didn't hear about the local game till day off or forgot to charge a battery(or just low on ammo). This way I can still play, have a great time and not have to miss it cause I don't have enough bbs or my battery is dead.
 

[cloakndagger]

To reinterate, the gun doesnt make the sniper, the sniper makes the gun.

[CaptKirby]

Totally agree,but a gun can help or hinder you.

[nyghtbringer]

However, I do still advocate a bolt action(if you want to be a true sniper) for one main reason; how quiet you can make the rifles. I have had plenty of occasions where I was able to take out 4,5,6 people with my bolt action because they simply had no idea where I was. I was slowly able to pick them off because only thing they saw or heard was the bb hitting them. This is very hard to do with an AEG. Someone who is really stealthy with their movements and very quiet with their shots is a very dangerous combo.

I will kindly disagree with you Kirby. at 200', depending on the gun, the sound can be negligable. also, if you fire single shots, you can space them out so you are not imediately found. At one of the AOW games i went to, i was in a blind and it was rather hard to see me. i took out 3, maybe 4, people before they had a chance to figure out where i was. and thats with my AEG M14.

I've gone the bolt action route. I personally prefer the disadvantages (battery charge, sound, weight) to an AEG for a DMR/Sniper role b/c of the advantages (increased ammo clip, no bolt action, full auto capability).  With an AEG "sniper" rifle, I dont have the downtime of cocking my gun after every shot, and if i hit a crap storm, i have the full auto capability, thus only needing a pistol sidearm. Even when I ran the bolt action, I would not want to carry a whole nother rifle. gets bulky and makes it harder to sneak. (IMO)

[CaptKirby]

Yeah I know what you mean, to each him own. But as far as the sound, your right at 200' you can use an AEG(that has been properly quieted) without an issue. But I have been 85-100 feet away and killed 5-6 people without them having a clue where I was with a bolt action.
 
Both bolt action and DMR work fine in a lot of cases, it really just comes down to personally preference and what works best for you. It really just comes down to your play style. Cause I often engage at various ranges with the sniper between 85-250+ feet, so having the silencing at those closer ranges is very helpful. But if for example you don't really engage that much closer(or if you do you don't care about stealth) then yeah a DMR might be the better option.

As far as the bulk again personal preference, carrying a MP9 or MP5 really is not much different to me than carring a pistol. P90 is a little more bulky but because both the sniper and P90 are farely light I have never had a problem moving and being sneaky with it.

And depending on the field and game type and such I will make the same choice you do, and go with my DMR because in that situation like you said the downsides for the DMR are less of an issue.

[echo214]

well, m14s are generally quiter than most of the other AEGs, but also weigh more, which makes it more difficult to carry a bigger backup weapon.

[CaptKirby]

well, m14s are generally quiter than most of the other AEGs, but also weigh more, which makes it more difficult to carry a bigger backup weapon.

Right, which makes them a good canidate for a DMR. And I was not saying you should carry a larger than pistol sidearm for an DMR, cause a DMR has the auto you can switch too.