Counter Sniping

I am going to try and talk only about counter sniping and the like. HOWEVER, I am liable to get sidetracked and end up talking about how eating cereal without milk each morning increases your patience and steady’s your aim…


Anyone can take out an inexperienced or ignorant sniper rather easily. These would be the ones who hang out in a tree, don't use effective camouflage, shoot everytime someone moves in front of their sights, etc.

But how do you take out the experienced sniper?
(All references to snipers, spotters, etc., are referring to experienced snipers, from this point on.)

Of course, a counter sniper unit can be sent out. A counter sniper unit can be any group or individual who is knowledgeable on sniping. That way they know where the sniper would most likely be located. They will also be able to distinguish minute discrepancies in the environment that were disturbed to conceal the sniper.

Counter sniping takes time. Counter sniping units are usually only sent out when a sniper is known, or highly expected to be to be in the area, and when time is not top priority.

Depending on the experience level of the sniper, the counter sniper will need to look for different things.

Inexperienced snipers will put themselves in a position where they either have cover, or a good vantage point. While experienced snipers look for places like this, they more importantly avoid any obvious place of concealment and will position themselves where the human eye is not attracted.


There are several effective counter sniper tactics. And one will not be the best for every situation. Unless you are in the field and can determine the situation, you can’t decide what is best.


A sniper will always have a planned route of escape, and if he determines a counter sniper unit to be a threat, he will divert. He may decide to take them out and maintain his objective, and after eliminating them, move to a new position.

Effective counter sniping. Sniper on Sniper

You know there is a sniper in the area, what do you do?

1 – Try not to let him see you. That was obvious, wasn’t it? Often, if you know there is a sniper out there, he knows you are there anyway. Don’t make his job easier.
2 – Scan the area you suspect him to be. DO NOT tunnel vision, this will get you shot and wondering where it came from. ‘Man, he has to be right there! I know it!’...
3 – Note any places you think the sniper may be. Under logs, In a foxhole, concealed in a nice
clump of grass. You want to take special care observing these positions. Note the smallest details in them. If something changes, you want to see it. Again, Don’ tunnel vision
4 – Keep your patience. Just because he is not shooting, doesn’t mean he’s not there.


The more aggressive tactics…

- Charge his position, zigzag and fire. Don’t run with a buddy, stay as far away from each other as possible. If you have radios, use them. When in doubt, talk (don’t tie up the frequency, though) If you think he may have your position covered, get some suppression from your team, reposition yourself.

- Communicate! If you see something a little suspicious, tell your team. If you see the sniper, don’t go Rambo! Tell your team. They may have no clue of his exact position and can’t help you out.

- If you see the sniper turn tail and run, tell your team. Don’t chase him by yourself. That’s a bad habit to get into. Even with your team, assess the situation. Should you chase him? Could it be a trap? What do we do!?

- Always, always try to get as many different positions on the sniper as possible. Get a guy at his 12, 3, 6, and 9 and everywhere in between.

- Think before you ditch your cover because you think you can get a shot on him if you move just a little more this way…

- You have guys all around his clock, still don’t see him? Move in. Have suppression fire come from his 12 and flanks. Then, have the guys on his six start toward his position. Assume he knows your coming. Don’t try to be TOO stealthy. Don’t make a ruckus, but don’t move inches by the hour either. If the six’s come under fire, try moving in on his 12. Whatever it takes, get to his position. Compromise him, and sweep the area briefly. Snipers don’t typically operate alone.

- If you suspect a position, try to get his six covered ASAP. Send some rifleman around,
zigzagging to his six. Once they get there, they should be aware that the line is now to their
six, and a sniper to their twelve. Watch which directions you have cover from, and which
direction you have guys covering.




The following are a few things I don’t like happening to me in the field, and what I do when it happens.

- Receiving suppression fire. Even if I am confident they do not know my exact position, the fire is still coming at me, which is typically a good indication they know I’m there.

What I do about it?

Assess my situation. Is it one gunner shooting for me? Does the squad look like they are planning to come for me? If not, I pick ‘em off then get out. If they seem like they want my blood, or have begun moving on me, I don’t bother shooting. I get my out of there.

- Knowing I am being flanked. If I am stuck in my position, didn’t have time to pick up and head out, I start to worry. You would be crazy not to be concerned in that position.

What I do about it?

Well, it depends. Sometimes, My spotter will take on advancing enemies, as I move back to a covering position. As he comes back, usually still firing as he comes, I cover him with my rifle. Basic tug and pull until we are all right.
Other times, when, my spotter has been taken out, fully surrounded, etc., I take out my side arm, and give them a fight.

- Being surrounded.

What I do about it?

Ask myself how I got into this position… Start shooting. I’m surrounded, I’m not going
anywhere. Starting off, I usually use my rifle, then, as my friends close in on me, my
sidearm comes out.


- Watching squads run in my direction. Especially if they know my position. I know my Ghille suit is not perfect, and if they overrun my position, I will be reduced.

What I do about it?

Tug and pull out. If one of us is eliminated, pretty much head out with my sidearm loud.



In regards to keeping it short, my article ends… Here.

Of course, suggestions, corrections and tips are welcome

I was looking for me previous post, on Sniping… But it seems to be missing… Ah well.

This was writen without any intensive re-reading. So I apologize now for anything I need to apologize for.

Mike

1st of all that is WAY off topic 2nd of all any type of forum generally has a section where you can search through threds you started or threds you posted in... you can also search through threds others have posted in...

---ON TOPIC---

not sure if you (or anyone checks this) but...

when I am going solo at a sniper because my team doesn't have anyone to spare to hunt the sniper (I am not a sniper (yet)) so I am carrying an AEG... should I attemped to hunt the sniper prone going from cover to cover and proneing around until I know I am within a certain area of him... or should I charge in a zig zag motion?

and what do I do about their other teamates? worry about them helping the sniper hold his posision or just stick to the task of taking out the sniper?

You don't want to go prone all over, but you don't want to charge him. IT's best if you have a buddy, because most snipers I play with are bolt springers and cannot hit two targets in a short time. Whenever a sniper starts to snipe, he gets tunnel vision and most inexperienced spotters will be tunneling in on the action, leaving the flanks open. If the sniper misses your buddy the first time, keep him moving. the whole thing is misdirection with a sniper. once you are close enough, take out the spotter(s) first, and you can easily outgun the sniper (usually, depends on his sidearm). Most snipers, however, aren't as trained in cqb as you should be, so you should be able to kill him. also, if the sniper calls for help, you buddy (if still alive) should be in a good position to ambush the enemy troops while you give them fire.

I would just like to add that when going against a sniper with a spring bolt action, if you have an aeg, you can usually still be able to take him out without having to travel to far into his range.

I am training myself to be a counter sniper. My weapon of choice is a completely overhauled TM SR-16 and a ghillie suit. I have a very sharp eye for noticing the smallest disturbances in nature (ex. small chipmunks in a bush, squirrels hiding in the leaves)

I am a more effective hunter while by myself. I do not have to worry about my team and I can focus on tracking the snipers down.

This definatley earned a bookmark on my computer. nice work

Anyone with a bolt action rifle is scared of AEG-ers.

True but, I am a strictly semi person. If I use full auto, they leave a trace leading to my position. That is bad since, I can usually get some pretty good cover and hide for a while.

I call myself an airsoft sniper and all you are talking about ways to find and take down snipers. I was wondering what kind of places are very obvious and would call attention to me?
Sorry if this is in the wrong board but the sniper tactic boards are not helpful at all... grrr...

There are the obvious places a sniper would go. Some of them would be under a bush, in a tree, in some rocks, near some brush...anywhere that a sniper could easily find cover. To be an effective countersniper, you have to be an effective sniper.

So places where one has easy cover means doom for him/her? where is unobvious cover? oh and by the way, good guide.

agreed.

Snipers are really afraid of AEG's. I have a little advantage though. I have used my pistol in many basement fights before I got the sniper so I am decent with close ranger. Still, though, I don't like AEG bullets going past my head.

The interesting thing is that a good share of snipers are not this tactifull(SP?) when they're trying to take you down. Since most people that consider themselves snipers, just have a small scope on their gun. The average "sniper", usually doesn't even know how to use correct sniper tactics. They think that if they sit in one place, they can still take out everyone out.

I common thing to remeber when you are "sniping", is that you will not get many shots, and very few kills compared to other types of players; you will not always get to shoot at your target. Just sitting in a concelaed position with a gun with a scope, doesn't make you a sniper.


Cheers, Graham.

Tedd,

The obvious places, are anywhere that you think you think you want to be. Areas that stick out, like bushs or trees. Positions that provide a good vantage point - In trees, the top of a hill, etc.

Avoiding those areas is simply a general rule (or not so general.) If you are in a field, and there is one tree... And you decide to sit next to it - Guess what?

Our eyes are automatically drawn to anything that stands out. That lone tree is the only thing that sticks out. Any one moving through the area is going to repeatedly look at that tree.

Now, I'm not saying these positions should be avoided entirely. If you have a well crafted ghille, and are confident in your abilities of concelament, maybe that one vantage point wouldn't be so bad.

As for hills, the top of the hill will sillouhette you. Stay off of it. Move just a few yards, or even steps onto the slope of the hill, and you will be in a better position.

Trees - Stay out. Very very rarely will I, or any expereinced sniper I know, climb a tree. Climbing a tree has only one advantage - Vantage point. The disadvantages - No escape route, easily spotted, no cover. Trees are bad.



That depends. You need to judge the situation.

Going prone or sneaking up on him, may get you shot if he sees you, since you will be moving slower and stopping regularly.

Charging him will obviously reveal your location, and get you shot at, but, do you think he can hit you? Who knows. Maybe he's some crack shot. Maybe he sucks... Or maybe he has a spotter carrying an AEG... Uh oh...

If you think you can sneak up on him, that is your best option. Get on his flank, and if possible, just walk up on him and get a surrender.

No one tactic will work every time. That is what you have a brain for.



That is very true. You can usually tell who knows what they are doing, And if they don't, it's pretty simple to take them out. No tips needed.


Thanks for all the replys guys, and sorry it took me two years to get back to y'all.

Mike

Great guide, Mike. (I assume you're Mike.) Very informative, information seems right on track. It's good you're knowlegable on both Sniping and Counter-Sniping.

I hate getting out of an encirclement. I done it plenty of times before and it sucks so bad... So snipers listen up! If a counter sniping team is coming, relocate to a more defendable position (preferablly one that gives you an excellent field of vision and some nice shots at your old place, or if you are good enough just pick off the team one-by-one to discorage them from advancing ( I find the moment that they break from cover the easiest time to nail 'em) or to eliminate them if there a small team or just one person. But if you are unfortunate enough to be surrounded do this: create an opening and run like hell in a zig-zagging pattern. If you have a spotter; have him/her lay down some coverfire and then rotate (most people I've played against are more afraid of high powered guns rather than ones that fire more rapidly) so they can reload if out of ammo and hopfully prevent that from happening. Also call your squad for reinforcements. But mostly, just pray, pray a lot!

All of this has been field tested by me and worked. V *u*

Mike-this is an excellent guide.
I love sniping in video games. I would prefer rifleman position on an airsoft team-I like taking down snipers because there such a pain in the in games (assuming your a newbie and can't hide from a sniper-it's very easy. Explanation later.) Take the defense of Stalingrad in Russia in WW2. The Russian Army had (and has) the largest amount of snipers ever. How did they beat back the mechanized, advanced Germans? THEY KNEW THEIR AREA! If you tend to have wars in the same place, LEARN YOUR SURROUNDINGS. If its a public area, scout it out plainclothes (snipers to detectives) and learn all possible cover spots. If it's not public (A.K.A. a P2P Airsoft Field) you could ask the owner if you could just scout it out in between matches. I hope they would say yes, assuming their nice.
Some hints to hide from a sniper-
In the standard issue woodsL
-Cover is your best friend (always is your friend. )
-Don't run through the field skipping and shooting in the air: try to use distractions to move troops
-Smoke grenades are a suggestion (if you don't know what to do with them I will personally drive to your house and teach you how. Or slap you across the head.)
-If you've got a field (plain old football-style) your dead. Snipe-fest.
Urban:
-More easy and more hard here
-Speed is of the essence
-Distraction
-Clear all the houses! (sheds, buildings, whatever)

I can't think of anywhere else.


Mind you, this is my first post.
HI WORLD!

Good job mike this forum was very informative.
But I have some questions: what would be a good gun
for counter sniping. And when I surround a sniper should I
provide cover fire so that my friends could get closer?

Thanks Johny Rambo.

What gun should you use for counter sniping?

You can use whatever gun you feel comfortable with. However, the gun you use will determine which tactics to use as well. For example- you have a sniper rifle, you aren’t going to charge the snipers position like that. And obviously if you have a shotgun, or some sort of AEG, you aren’t going to sit back and try to pick him off, either.

You need to find which works best for you, and which you are more comfortable with.

Also, if you are working as a team you can use other tactics as well.

Let me outline a few tactics here.

SOLO.

Let’s say you are alone, and you have a sniper rifle. You know there is a sniper in the area, and have a good idea of his position. You can wait him out. Most air soft snipers are not patient enough to sit for extended periods of time. Also, if you sit and wait, you may be able to find the sniper just from repeated searching of the area.

--

If you can’t sit it out, there are riskier tactics to try. You know the sniper is in the area, and don’t know his location. One way to find it out is to locate some cover a couple yards ahead of you, anywhere from three to ten yards. The idea is to run to this cover, while watching for movement in the direction you think the sniper is. If he gets a shot off, you should be able to determine his location from that. You typically don’t want to choose anything under three yards, since the short distance won’t allow the sniper to get a shot off, and you won’t have enough time to observe his position. Anything over ten yards is kind of a stretch to run, and may give him enough time to get a good shot on you. When you get to your position, it’s just a matter of skill. If you seen his position and know you have a shot on him, pop up quick and take the shot, bearing in mind his rifle is trained on your position as well, and trying to be sneaky by peeking around will get you killed very quickly.

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If you have an AEG, or any gun that will keep the snipers head down, you can charge them. Make sure your mags are full and in quick reach. Put a few round into his position before you leave your cover, then spray it as you move to cover further up, and closer to his position- if at all possible, keep to one side of the snipers position. Don’t charge him head on, it’s harder for a sniper to shoot at the extreme flanks. Also, keep in mind that most people are right handed, and that makes it harder to shoot to the left in a prone position, so charging up their right side might make your chances a lot better. Move from cover to cover, each time following the same procedure. Full mags, shoot before you leave your cover, and spray as you move. Once you get behind the sniper, you may have a shot on him as he lays there, or as he tries to retreat. If you don’t, get as close as you can, and move up using suppression fire if needed.


TEAM.

If you have a teammate, you can set up in a position that should give you a shot on the snipers suspected location. Have your buddy run from cover to cover, or zigzag across the snipers line of fire. The only downside to this is if you don’t find the sniper quick enough, your buddy dies, and you didn’t get the sniper. This tactic is much more effective than the previous one, as you can concentrate solely on the sniper, and not worry about getting shot yourself.

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If you are familiar with the tug and pull tactic, you can use this if you have a teammate. One person remains behind cover, and provides cover fire as the other moves up to cover. Once there, they provide cover fire for the other guy as he moves up. Repeat until you get your kill.

--

Again, what gear you have will affect your tactic and you need to use common sense- don’t try to snipe with an AEG…
Or maybe, do try it. I’ve almost given my position away laughing when I’ve seen it before


To answer your second question, Johny, if you are working with a teammate, and you are ontop of the sniper, your buddy can provide the suppression fire as your charge. Or, if that’s not an option, you can provide cover fire as your buddy approaches, allowing both of you to move on the sniper together.


Sorry for taking so long guys.

Questions and comments are always appreciated.

Thanks for all the response.

Mike.

I personaly think that A DMR would be a good rifle for the job to be a counter sniper. You most likely have the same power scope as him (3-9x40) so you can pretty much guess what he is seeing in the oposite dirrection. you also have some pretty decent range to your weapon so you can try to be a sniper yourself (given you know his position) if you don't know his position use the one tactic above and run from one tree to another but give the sniper enough time to get the shot off! be sure to listen for the sound of the bolt opening and closing. you might be able to tell the general direction he is in by the sound of the bolt.

Experienced snipers will hide in the most un likely places (from what I have seen) so if you see that place where you think a sniper would be. (depending if you know all the people on the feild. I am pretty sure the guy with the VFC .50 cal replica is going to be a little bit more experienced then the kid with a super 9 rifle!) Look for a place that a sniper wouldnt be. like at ground level. Sure they don't get a good shot off. but if you are in seeing distance of them. you will get popped.

If there are n00bs0up snipers out there then just look at someplace high or a tree, you will most likely find them there.



I belive that a sniper team (spotter and the sniper) is the best team for the job to be a counter sniper unit (may have been stated before) The sniper will know where a fellow sniper would be hiding, and the spotter has excelent vision to find the disturbances. If the sniper has an aeg, and the spotter has an aeg for this. It would be perfect, Sidearms work also using the stated tactics in the earlier posts.


Hope this made somewhat sence and helped someone out!