Airsoft Sniping Guide

[Davidvaini]

1. In airsoft, range of a sniper rifle doesnt have enough range difference between other airsoft guns, to constitute a traditional supremacy of range.

2. In order to be effective, you must realize the strengths and weaknesses of an airsoft sniper rifle.

3. One of the strengths of a sniper rifle is also one of its weaknesses to the average player attempting to be a sniper. This Strength/Weakness is the range of the rifle. People think that since an airsoft gun has increased range over basic rifles (120 feet average range), that they can play the range supremacy card. This turns into a weakness however because sniper rifles don't have enough range difference to overcome the semi auto/full auto capabilities of DMR's or even upgraded rifles. Range of a sniper rifle can be further, but in order to effectively use the range supremacy card, the range of a sniper rifle in airsoft would have to be around 300 feet or greater.

Now there may be some very effective shooters than can fire an airsoft sniper rifle and hit the target on the first shot, but as far as the average airsoft player is skilled, using the range supremacy card will become a disadvantage.


4. Now that we realize that the average airsoft player cant rely on the range of the sniper rifle, you have to be able to be able to realize your other strengths and weaknesses.

5. One strength is your environment. But at the same time its also your weakness. Being able to blend into the environment and be completely still will make you invisible to the enemy. A good way to think of being successful at blending in, is by thinking of yourself always laying out an ambush.

6. The number 1 goal is to be able to be in a spot in which you cant be seen until you are able to take them out without noticing where you are and without being eliminated yourself.

7.lack of patience is the number one thing that proves fatal to most airsoft players attempting to be a sniper. Patience is important, since you don't have the range difference, you have to be well hidden until the enemy moves across your sights. if the movement of the enemy is not going to be in your sights, you may move but it is highly discouraged. If you do move, move very slowly in which you do not make your environment be your weakness. Your environment can be your weakness if you make too much noise.

8. Sniping in real life is different than sniping in airsoft because of the limiting range difference. This makes a lot of tactics from real life sniping useless in airsoft. It is important to realize since its different, that the role has to change slightly.

Two different definitions:

"Regular Sniping is a highly trained marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles. In addition to marksmanship, military snipers are also trained in camouflage, field craft, infiltration, reconnaissance and observation techniques."

"Airsoft Sniping is highly trained marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or long distances.Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles. In addition to marksmanship, Airsoft snipers have to be trained in camouflage, field craft, infiltration, reconnaissance and observation techniques."

To think of it this way: Real sniping is more focused on range difference, while airsoft sniping is more focused on camouflage, field craft, infiltration, reconnaissance and observation techniques.


More to come!

P.S I know there are quite a few airsoft players here on spudfiles, while its not directly related to spudguns itself, it does have its place for people who shoot pneumatic/electrical guns that shoot BBs.

If you would like to comment, please do!

[geardog32]

Ghillie Suit! one can be made easily buy sewing multiple flaps of burlap sacks that are shredded to an old set of fatigues. then when in your environment you can tie pieces of natural shrubbery to your suit. very easy to do and very effective. when i used to play paintball guys used them and were very hard to see.

[Davidvaini]

The best ghillie suit is one that allows for adaptation of local folliage. This means that a good suit allows you to put on leafs and other vegetation from the area.

A good example is a WebTex concealment vest:

[hi]

aim small miss small

edit- "Airsoft Sniping is highly trained marksman..." that made me laugh.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Now there may be some very effective shooters than can fire an airsoft sniper rifle and hit the target on the first shot, but as far as the average airsoft player is skilled, using the range supremacy card will become a disadvantage.

I think it's only these exceptional shooters who can call themselves "snipers", in short one who choses to do battle with an accurate single shot rifle isn't your "average" airsoft player.

Surely it can't be *that* difficult for a reasonably experienced marksman to hit a man sized target 100 metres away. There should be regular practice with man sized targets set up at various ranges in say 10 yard increments for the shooter to be familiar with projectile drop and how to compensate for it, ideally with a mil-dot scope. The shooter should also be able to predict with reasonable accuracy how various degrees of wind will affect projectile drift.

The equipment should also be discreet enough to be inaudible at the chosen shooting distance in such a manner that the shot does not reveal the shooter's presence allowing another shot to be taken in case of a miss. A rifle that can be reloaded with minimum hand movements will also give an advantage in terms of camoflauge.

Making this effort will ensure that you can keep a significantly greater distance from your opponents, keeping you out of range of their weapons making it much easier to remain hidden.

[SP00K]

Good tips! I'll take this into consideration the next time I play.

[Davidvaini]

Surely it can't be *that* difficult for a reasonably experienced marksman to hit a man sized target 100 metres away.

With an airsoft sniper rifle it is. Getting an airsoft gun to shoot 100 metres requres the gun to be completely re-done with nothing but aftermarket parts.. and precision heavy weight BBs and even then.. there is no guarantee that it will hit 100 meters even remotely accurately. Especially considering the highest FPS I have seen allowed from any field is 600FPS measured with .20g.

A lot of people now says are doing some upgrades to their guns to get their range at around 200 feet. It does not cost much to upgrade your gun to get 200 feet.. but to upgrade it to get 300 feet costs a hell of a lot more.

So there is a growing trend where most of the rifles on the field are either DMR's or other semi auto/full auto rifles with similar range to airsoft sniper rifles.

This is why I say unless you are crazy good with a crazy good rifle, using range supremacy becomes a weakness in airsoft.

Since range is close between Airsoft Sniper Rifles and Airsoft Assault Rifles, the key to sniping in airsoft is to really use camouflage, field craft, infiltration, reconnaissance and observation techniques.


Now would using range supremacy is a very very useful tool if you know your enemy doesnt have a gun capable of shooting with similar ranges.

But in large skirmishes or even medium to small skirmishes.. its very hard to keep track of the range of all your enemies. A lot of people won't even tell you how far their gun shoots just for that very reason.

[ALIHISGREAT]

I watched an Airsoft sniping vid (of a real game) where the sniper was very effective due to the fact he was teamed up with two support gunners.

This was a good tactic because then the sniper turns more into a designated marksman who is there in the heat of the battle to pick people off instead of super range to pick people off.

And as i understand it support and snipers both have extended range over regular AEGs making this a good combination of weapons to put together.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

This is why I say unless you are crazy good with a crazy good rifle, using range supremacy becomes a weakness in airsoft.

Since range is close between Airsoft Sniper Rifles and Airsoft Assault Rifles, the key to sniping in airsoft is to really use camouflage, field craft, infiltration, reconnaissance and observation techniques.

If you don't have the equipment to take shots at significantly longer ranges than your full-auto equipped opponents, why disadvantage yourself with a single shot rifle?

I'm not disputing the effectiveness of your techniques, I just have my doubts that you can really call it "sniping". Historically snipers have always sought out the best equipment for the job, even if it meant buying expensive commercial rifles in preference to their service issued weapon. Also, practice makes perfect. I believe that if you truly took the time to know your rifle, even if it means having the trajectory of a howitzer, you would be able to hit a person reliably at extended range. Even if it means only hitting your target 5 times out of 10, the fact that you're separated by a significant distance means you're more likely to stay concealed and get another shot off.

Marksmanship has always been the focus of the sniper, it is the ability to take shots beyond the capabilities of the average infantryman that sets him apart. In my opinion, deviating from this fundamental tenet means it's not really "sniping".

[POLAND_SPUD]

if the difference in range is insignificant, then wouldn't a normal rifle work better ??

[ramses]

There should be regular practice with man sized targets set up at various ranges in say 10 yard increments for the shooter to be familiar with projectile drop and how to compensate for it, ideally with a mil-dot scope. The shooter should also be able to predict with reasonable accuracy how various degrees of wind will affect projectile drift.

mil-dot is kind of useless with airsoft.

1 mil=~3.6" at 300 feet.
assume 300 fps muzzle velocity in a vacuum (no drag)
flight time is 1 second
acceleration of gravity is 32f/s/s, so in 1s... the bb dropped 16 feet, or 192 inches, and at 300 ft, that would be 53.333 mils of drop!!!! *

does your mil-dot scope have a range of >53 mils?

in the same way, for use of a serious range advantage a custom adjustable scope mount would be needed to even be able to see the target at a great distance


*yes, I know 300fps is high and hopup exists, and there is air resistance, but I am lazy and 1s of flight time is easy to figure out...

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

1 mil=~3.6" at 300 feet...

...at 10x magnification.

For man sized targets at such a relatively short range you can get away with much lower magnification (consider many assault rifles even have 1.5x scopes) and this significantly increases the distances between mil-dots.

does your mil-dot scope have a range of >53 mils?

No, but I wouldn't zero my scope at 1 foot and expect to compensate for drop at 300 feet either

[ramses]

no. it is 3.6" at any magnification. most mil-dot scopes are only accurate on a single magnification setting. that is to say that the recticle is applied to the image after the magnification. this is illustrated in the attached pictures (which are backwards, sorry). assume the scale is accurate at 5x.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

That's my point, while 1 mil is technically ~3.6" at 300 feet in most scopes this is only true for a certain magnification, I have 2 mil-dot scopes and the magnification is set accordingly.

However, for the purpose of airsoft sniping, turning the magnification down will allow you to compensate for a lot more drift and drop within the parameters of your projectile.

[ramses]

The mil is just another measure of angle, like the MOA. When you sight in you scope, the windage and elevation knobs are calibrated into clicks of usually 1/4-1/8 MOA. when you calibrate your scope, do you need to have it set at a specific zoom setting?

EDIT: I can see that I am sucking at explaining this, so here and here