Snipers and sniper rifles

If you attend any big mil sims, you're going to see some sniper rifles... and you will see people use them wrong. I can't stand the guys with $600 semi-auto sniper rifles running full speed while firing as many shots as they can. this is not sniper behavior. playing a sniper takes a special mentality that is hard to fit into most airsoft scenarios.
real snipers take days to move undetected into the perfect position to take one shot... you don't have that kind of time in an eight hour event. and not many people have the patience to wait for the right shot. I understand sniping in video games is really cool. Airsoft is not a video game. if you don't have the mentality to wait, to move into position, or you cant figure out how far 50 feet is. sniping probably isn't for you. stick to your AEG.
If it is. we here at the road crew review have some suggestions.
1. Know your weapon. if you get a sniper rifle, decide on a weight and even manufacturer of bb's and stick to it. understand how your bb's fly at what ranges (it's not a strait line)
2. learn to use stealth and subtlty. I never thought i'd have to explain this (but I did), you're much quieter if you don't stomp on every twig in your path as hard as you can. move slowly, use misdirection (follow a group of your guys to draw enemy fire for you, taking them out when they give away their positions. throw something (not heavy or hard enough to hurt anyone) to make a distraction). the name of the game is find them before they find you, and find them 50+ feet away.
3. carry a backup pistol. not all enemies will conveniently stay outside of your engagement limit. even a cheap spring pistol is more useful to you at close range.
4. use camo wisely. All black is not an effective load-out. we have and are continuing to add articles about camo and concealment, don't need to cover that here.

There are two major roles to fill as a sniper, solo, and squad.

Solo: you, or you and a spotter, set out to accomplish an objective using stealth and descretion. Ambush is the name of the game. move into a position where you are concealed and have clear view of a spot enemies are expected to move through. when enemies are in sight, know when to take a shot. shooting the first person you see, as soon as you see him/her is a short sighted plan. he may be a point man (bait) with 15 other's behind him. your spotter is there to provide cover fire and watch your back. this method can make you very a very effective team, but it requires stealth and patience.

Squad: a squad sniperis part of a larger unit in field exercises. he is long range fire support. keep tward the back of the group (but not rear-guard) and help your unit in fire-fights. your point-man (forward scout, whatever you want to call it) can call you up to take a long shot when he sees one (anyone at the front should be observant). where you really shine is (still) in ambushes and squad support. shoot the guys, shooting at your guys.

I feel that the squad approach is better for airsoft, it makes better use of time and manpower, and is probably more fun, when you think about it. however works for you.

One closing note about sniper rifles. the upper FPS limit. is not a goal. if your gun is up to 450... you don't need more.

see you in the cross hairs,
Bishop