Any tips for 16yr old who dreams of being scout sniper?

[Gunfighter14e2]

I recall a few threads were many were correct,............. if you were shooting arty or dropping MOAB's.
Ret ranging like, map to ground or paper, is becoming a lost art as many believe in buying in. In the subsonic shoots we do, knobing an LRF's are not allowed. Interesting to see an hear the FNG's until,...... they learn it's not that hard. My 308 217gr subs take 64moa(over the H/S zero) to get to 400yds so missing a range call is a easy miss, much quicker than missing a wind call, same percentage wise.

 

[Ctowle]

I would guess around 275yds. I guessed that because I would estimate a deer to be 48in multiply that by 22.77 and divide that by how many mils it is through your scope and you have your answer in yds. That is the method I have read up
on.

 

[TheGerman]

I would guess around 275yds. I guessed that because I would estimate a deer to be 48in multiply that by 22.77 and divide that by how many mils it is through your scope and you have your answer in yds. That is the method I have read up
on.

Not even close. A few things to look at while you try again:

- Formula for yards is (27.78 x target height in inches) / mils
- Find out what your reticle subtensions are. They vary from reticle to reticle and not all of them mean a hash or dot on the elevation line is a MIL. In this example, the hash and dots are .5 MIL apart. Learn whatever reticle you end up using, they are not all created equal.
- If you have time (i.e. you're in a defensive position and can take time to set everything up), start running the range on different parts of the target and see if they match up. Most targets will be obscured by cover, landscape or will be in a different position than 'standing perfectly still while standing straight up' so don't get used to ranging things, especially people and animals, based solely on things like overall height when standing up. Know heights from shoulders to top of head, waist (belt) to shoulders, waist (belt) to head, width of torso. Then you can run these separately and they should all be very close as far as distance calculation. For a quick and dirty range on a human male, if you can get their entire body on the reticle just use that number in mils and divide 2000 by it or 1000/mils from the belt to head.

Do some more reading.

 

[earthquake]

Of course, get in shape. Sign up for 0300 Infantry MOS. Make it through Boot Camp first. Make it through ITB and soak up everything. Learn from good NCO's, emulate them. Keep your distance from the shitty ones...you'll sniff them out.

Not sure how things are done today, but when I went through it back in '93, once you hit the Fleet in an Infantry Battalion, your SS platoon occasionally holds an indoc to select new members. You didn't "apply" to the platoon. You had to ask permission from your platoon Sgt to take the indoc.

If given permission, you show up when they tell you and proceed to be brutalized for a few days. If 25 guys show up, and they only need 4, you better be one of the top-4!

STA was obviously the best time I spent in the Corps. It's also not the only path to SSBC. Recon, Force, and now MARSOC can get you there, and I'd recommend over a BN SS plt. (Lots of shit to deal with in an infantry BN) if I had to do it all over again, I'd consider Marsoc or Recon.

You will learn everything they want you to learn on the job. An education and being physically fit would be my priority for the next 2 years. And don't fret about what being a grunt will do for you after your service. I went to college afterwards and my career is about as far from trigger pulling as it gets. I have a lot of interests in life, as you may too. You don't have to shoot guns for a living....that's what precision rifle matches are for!

Good luck.

 

[Ctowle]

Not even close. A few things to look at while you try again:

- Formula for yards is (27.78 x target height in inches) / mils
- Find out what your reticle subtensions are. They vary from reticle to reticle and not all of them mean a hash or dot on the elevation line is a MIL. In this example, the hash and dots are .5 MIL apart. Learn whatever reticle you end up using, they are not all created equal.
- If you have time (i.e. you're in a defensive position and can take time to set everything up), start running the range on different parts of the target and see if they match up. Most targets will be obscured by cover, landscape or will be in a different position than 'standing perfectly still while standing straight up' so don't get used to ranging things, especially people and animals, based solely on things like overall height when standing up. Know heights from shoulders to top of head, waist (belt) to shoulders, waist (belt) to head, width of torso. Then you can run these separately and they should all be very close as far as distance calculation. For a quick and dirty range on a human male, if you can get their entire body on the reticle just use that number in mils and divide 2000 by it or 1000/mils from the belt to head.

Do some more reading.

So the formula you gave came out to 546 yds is that correct??

 

[TheGerman]

Was that a question or your range to target? You're half guessing and half applying something and hoping it works.

By the way, the actual answer isn't the only thing they will be looking at in determining your overall aptitude to get things done that aren't just laid out for you and for you to think out of the box once things don't follow the original plan. This stuff isn't even really a large portion of the course any more as far as the shooting/target engagement portions and you'd already be gone; not because you didn't MIL something right or you sucked at math, but because you didn't take the time to utilize the resources you have available to you at this time to make 10000000% sure that your answer, and subsequently a round going downrange, were as close to correct as humanly possible under the time constraints. This shows a lack of both knowledge and more importantly, a lack of a deep desire to do whatever it takes to get it right; this is why you'd get dropped.

Better to figure that out here and get that out of the way. This has very little to do with the deer in the reticle; that's what you need to understand.

So let's try this again for an ultra rare 3rd attempt. This time follow what I'm asking and use whats available to you:

What's the distance to target? How did you figure it out; what info is it based on? Seeing as how you have unlimited time; how did you cross check your info? Are you willing to place the mission's success on your answer?

 

[Ravenworks]

Thank you. You have to be a lance corporal before you can apply for scout sniper school. Which my older brother who has been in the USMC for two years just got. So you pretty much have to be in for two or more years to apply for the school. I will also try out that ammo.

You can make LCPL within a year if you hussle.
Finish in your top 10 in bootcamp and you'll make PFC.
Come home on leave and do recruiters duty and you'll be a LCPL in under a year.

 

[Conrad101st]

BTW, back to the FBI interview, I never said i wanted to be a sniper or kill people, just be on the HRT. The three dudes interviewing me were probably accountants or lawyers. And yes it was a huge fail on my part for not knowing my audience and for being too honest that I wanted to get paid to do fun stuff b/c it sounded way more fun than being a white collar crime analyst as I just had gotten my MBA. Obviously I probably looked mercenary and flippant. BIG F’ING FAIL INDEED. I have a huge list of those.

In retrospect probably best that I failed the interview as I then went to law school and now have another path that is more suited to me.

My only point from the original vignette was that perhaps telling someone from the get-go “that you want to be a sniper” is potentially risky if not handled with a very controlled presentation. Was just adding to the conversation and trying to illustrate the danger of being too blunt.

 

[Dthomas3523]

Ok. Here you go. In th army the best rangers and green berets were always boys that came from the sticks. Learn to hunt, run mountains, swim in your local lap pool until you puke, practice shooting at extreme inclines and fasting for at least a day at a time. Then repeat for about 1 year. Set yourself apart from even the best average guy at basic training or boot camp. Know you are on another level before you even get there. Also have faith in the lord. That is a must because after you have taken lives. Your faith is the only thing that will keep you sane and able to remain normal. I’ve seen it firsthand.

You body/mind gains literally nothing from limiting calorie intake (especially to the point of fasting). In fact, it very well may have a negative impact on your training.

It’s like sitting in a cold shower everyday for a year in preparing for a selection. You get there day one, and guess what........water is still fucking cold.

 

[Redmanss]

This thread turned into one hell of a circle jerk.

 

[TheMammoth]

You body/mind gains literally nothing from limiting calorie intake (especially to the point of fasting). In fact, it very well may have a negative impact on your training.

It’s like sitting in a cold shower everyday for a year in preparing for a selection. You get there day one, and guess what........water is still fucking cold.

The large amount of intermittent fasting proponents in the world would strongly disagree.

 

[Dthomas3523]

The large amount of intermittent fasting proponents in the world would strongly disagree.

Go ahead and do 24hr fasting with intense selection preparation workouts then.

 

[Dthomas3523]

The large amount of intermittent fasting proponents in the world would strongly disagree.

Please educate yourself better on intermittent fasting. Typically used for weight loss and such. You’re also advised to keep cardio at low intensity during fasting.

Typical selection work up and training is not low intensity and requires a good amount of caloric intake.

The above poster who recommended it did so in the typical bullshit of “practice staying up for a week straight.”

These strategies achieve zero for mental toughness as selections are going to be no less difficult mentally once you are there.

Had the OP asked for weight loss or some other advice, it would be different.

 

[TheMammoth]

You body/mind gains literally nothing from limiting calorie intake (especially to the point of fasting). In fact, it very well may have a negative impact on your training.

This is what you said. It's so absurdly false that it just begs to be mocked but I chose to engage politely. Yeah, the other guy didnt know what he was talking about either but your blanket statement is weapons grade autism.

Please educate yourself better on intermittent fasting. Typically used for weight loss and such. You’re also advised to keep cardio at low intensity during fasting.

And you should definitely educate yourself. I have been intermittent fasting for two years for a whole mess of reasons outside of fat loss, and I have never kept to low intensity cardio. intermittent fasting isn't "no calories" it's time restricted eating and it's fucking phenomenal. I was trying to be polite by saying people would disagree with you but...




****Edited out assholery because arguing is stupid.


Dont be afraid of IF, kid. It's another tool in the toolbox.

 

[Dthomas3523]

So, I am going to hijack this thread because now I have a question. How do you tell the army that you want to be a sniper because you want to kill people and not look like a complete fucking lunatic? I’m serious.

The reason I ask is because my interview with the FBI after I got my MBA. They asked me why I wanted to join the FBI and I told him because I wanted to be on the hostage rescue team and their eyes rolled back in their head and basically the interview was over.

I suspect the trick is to get in the system and let them suggest the obvious to you. Hey your high speed,a good shot and have attention to detail. Have you thought about...

I suspect that may be the case for most snipers. I can’t imagine anyone who starts out with the goal of wanting to be a sniper is going to pass the psychological exam.

Based on this response alone, you’re not a fit candidate for LE work. Possibly not military either.

Your goal should be to help people, and willing to do what is necessary in the moment to achieve that.

The fact that you are suggesting that you say what you need and then try to get into a specialty unit only furthers my point.

The FBI (and any other agency) is looking for people who want to help people via enforcing the law.

We have enough bad apples that just want to shoot/or kill someone (extremely small percent), we don’t need another one.

 

[Ctowle]

Sorry that i haven’t been on in a while, we have been getting a lot of snow, so between plowing/shoveling snow and school I haven’t had much free time at all. I will probably not be on again until the end of next week. And I will get back to you @TheGerman on that distance. I am not completely understanding what you are asking about how I read the reticle, I don’t know much about scopes and long distance shooting, that is why I signed up for this forum, I want to learn.

 

[RackOpsTactical]

The key to getting in is the indoc. The key to the indoc is fitness. They will teach you all the skills you need for shooting and stocking in the school assuming you were to pass the indoc. In my opinion the best thing to do now is practice the following: run - swim run , pack run , gas mask run all in boots and pants. Stay away from weights do pull ups instead.

Finish high school with the goal of graduating in the top 3. Get as good at the above as possible. Don’t get tattoos or in legal trouble either before or after enlisting. Trust me on this, the Corps of 20 years ago is not the same in regards to tattoos or legal issues.

 

[Sled]

My advice is forget about practicing shooting, and learn to learn. Those who do best in life are not good because they know everything, they do well because they are good at learning. Focus on your studies and not your shooting. The Military will teach you to shoot, and if you get in Sniper School they will teach you to shoot really well. It will be easier to learn to shoot the way they teach you than it will to unlearn bad habits you picked up between now and then. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but there it is.... my 2 cents.

 

[HogsLife]

Study hard in school. Snipers ain’t no dummies. Not only do you have to be physically fit, but more importantly you have to be mentally tough. There are a lot of PT studs that wash out because they are mentally weak.

Join the Marine Corps.

Go infantry ( you gotta be an 03 to try out for the Scout Sniper Platoon) MAKE SURE TO GET GARANTEED INFANTRY ON YOUR CONTRACT! Do NOT go “Open Contract” or take your recruiters “word” for it. Get it GARANTEED! Don’t go Security Forces!

You need to qualify Expert on the Rifle Qual ( don’t blow off your snap in time. It MATTERS!)

You need to be a High 1st Class PFT’er (ie 275 or above) Strive for 20 Pull Ups, 100 sit ups in 2 min, and 3 miles in less than 18:10. That’s a perfect score of 300. That’s your goal. Do pack runs but not more than 1 a week. They are horrible on your body. Build your way up slowly. A 50lb sandbag is typical SOP.

You need to have a GT score of at least 100 I believe. When you take your ASVAB, make sure you ask what your GT score is. Study and retake if need be.

S-2 or bettter swim qual

Try and meet these requirements out of boot camp. Some Scout Sniper Platoons will screen new guys SRB’s as they arrive to the battalion and if they meet the prerequisites may take you straight into the platoon without an actual Indoc depending on their needs.

When you hear the Battalion Scout Sniper Platoon is running a screening, sign up for it and don’t let your platoon commander / platoon Sgt try an talk you out of it. They will typically try and do this with their good Marines because they don’t want to lose them.

Take and pass the screening. This is where being mentally tough comes into play. It’s typically 3-5 days of hell. A lot of great PT’ers will drop out. Probably even better PT’ers than you, but their weak in the head. when you’re going through a shit ton of pain and suffering it becomes really easy to forget how bad you wanted it. Be mentally tough and don’t give up.

If you pass the screening and get to the platoon , it’s only the beginning. Study hard. Again, Scout Snipers aren’t dummies. You will get pumped full of classes. When the other guys are going out to the bars and partying, you’d better be in your barracks room studying your flash cards.

I’m sure the cadre in your platoon do what they’re supposed to do and get you ready for school. If you get a school slot, being physically fit and mentally tough is not enough. You have to be skilled in Land Nav, Stalking, Known and Unknown Distance Shooting along with many more skills in order to pass. The above listed ones are typicallly the skills that people drop out on.

If you pass school, welcome to the community. Again, it’s only just the beginning. Study hard, shoot civilian comps, hone your skills and pass them along the guys coming up. Get them ready for school.

Well there’s a down and dirty path to becoming a Scout Sniper.

Also, I don’t agree with going to college and becoming an officer first. If you wanna go that route,’go enlisted first. Become a Scout Sniper. When you decide to get out, let the Corps pay for your college, and then come back as an Intel Officer. This way you can be a recon / sniper platoon commmander. These billets are reserved for Intel Officers. Prior enlisted (Mustangs) always make better officers because they’ve played in the dirt with the men

FWIW, my parents had issue with me joining too for a some of them same reasons. Finally I got tired of arguing and went down and talked to a recruiter on a Wed, Friday Meps and Tuesday I was in Boot Camp. They were proud none the less when I graduated Boot. Parents are parents. They’d rather see their kids go to college but you gotta do you man.

Keep your head on straight, do good in school, stay out of trouble and stay the course.

Good luck dude!

 

[Strykervet]

I was army but some of it applies no matter what service.

If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about shooting. You need to start running, doing PT. In the army I think the requirement was 70% or some such on the old PT test but if you were infantry you pretty much were in the 90's or maxing it out anyway. You'll get to shoot when you get there and unless you're shooting NM courses there's not much you can really learn on a range yet. IF you can shoot NM courses, ideally with an AR and iron sights, that'd be okay. Some ranges have youth programs and can help with that.

I think the marines tell you what job you get, don't they?

If you're too smart, the army will try to put you in MI or some other MOS. I had to go 3 times before they'd give me what I wanted. Tried to intimidate me into signing up for what they needed. Whatever you do, DO NOT sign the form at MEPS until you get whatever it is you want (provided that's possible).

For marines, they like fresh HS graduates. Anything other than that and you only get a slot if they need it.

Take trig or calculus if you can. Differential and integral calculus is nice to know and will give you a chance to get the trig down better. If you can take classes at a local CC, that's even better (and they do a better job at teaching higher maths).

Did I say run yet? Yeah, run. A lot.

Keep your record clean. Don't piss hot at MEPS!

Talk to a recruiter now and see what they can do for you. You may be able to get a temporary military ID so you can use base facilities if there's one close to you. You could also get rank before entering (up to E4 in army, not sure about marines) if you passed the PT test prior to going in, if you learned how to march and some other details, if you have college.

The army will put you closer in touch with your goals of going to a sniper school. You also will get a shot at SF, guaranteed. I think you can get that in your contract too. I know you can get airborne and a shot at the ranger batt. straight out of basic (and you can get that in your contract too). My biggest military regret was not going SFAS ASAP. If you go ranger or SF, you may get a chance at other sniper schools including SOTIC. You might also get to go to a foreign or another branch of service's shooting schools.

With parents permission, you can join the army at 17, not sure about marines.

If you can knock out you associates degree before joining, you may be able to finish college while in the military (you could easily do this in 1.5 years unless you start while in HS, then maybe a year or less depending on how many classes you take and how much you can knock out in HS). Then you can apply for OCS at some point when you're done kicking doors and shit, wanna settle down some but still wanna be a badass. You'll get paid more too. I know a guy that did just this.

You should also do a lot of running starting now. Speed and endurance. Run until you puke. Or dry heave. Then hands on head and walk or shuffle the rest of the way back. If you're not puking, you're not putting in all the effort. Don't forget to drink a lot of water too.

When watching TV, do as many pushups and situps as you can during every commercial, on top of what you normally do. Swimming is good too.


Good luck to you!

 

[Strykervet]

Oh yeah, the mental toughness... Hard to explain this, but you just DO NOT ever quit or give up. You keep going. If someone tells you that you can't make it, fuck him and do it anyway just to spite him. You gotta be like that.

 

[HogsLife]

I was army but some of it applies no matter what service.

If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about shooting. You need to start running, doing PT. In the army I think the requirement was 70% or some such on the old PT test but if you were infantry you pretty much were in the 90's or maxing it out anyway. You'll get to shoot when you get there and unless you're shooting NM courses there's not much you can really learn on a range yet. IF you can shoot NM courses, ideally with an AR and iron sights, that'd be okay. Some ranges have youth programs and can help with that.

I think the marines tell you what job you get, don't they?

If you're too smart, the army will try to put you in MI or some other MOS. I had to go 3 times before they'd give me what I wanted. Tried to intimidate me into signing up for what they needed. Whatever you do, DO NOT sign the form at MEPS until you get whatever it is you want (provided that's possible).

For marines, they like fresh HS graduates. Anything other than that and you only get a slot if they need it.

Take trig or calculus if you can. Differential and integral calculus is nice to know and will give you a chance to get the trig down better. If you can take classes at a local CC, that's even better (and they do a better job at teaching higher maths).

Did I say run yet? Yeah, run. A lot.

Keep your record clean. Don't piss hot at MEPS!

Talk to a recruiter now and see what they can do for you. You may be able to get a temporary military ID so you can use base facilities if there's one close to you. You could also get rank before entering (up to E4 in army, not sure about marines) if you passed the PT test prior to going in, if you learned how to march and some other details, if you have college.

The army will put you closer in touch with your goals of going to a sniper school. You also will get a shot at SF, guaranteed. I think you can get that in your contract too. I know you can get airborne and a shot at the ranger batt. straight out of basic (and you can get that in your contract too). My biggest military regret was not going SFAS ASAP. If you go ranger or SF, you may get a chance at other sniper schools including SOTIC. You might also get to go to a foreign or another branch of service's shooting schools.

With parents permission, you can join the army at 17, not sure about marines.

If you can knock out you associates degree before joining, you may be able to finish college while in the military (you could easily do this in 1.5 years unless you start while in HS, then maybe a year or less depending on how many classes you take and how much you can knock out in HS). Then you can apply for OCS at some point when you're done kicking doors and shit, wanna settle down some but still wanna be a badass. You'll get paid more too. I know a guy that did just this.

You should also do a lot of running starting now. Speed and endurance. Run until you puke. Or dry heave. Then hands on head and walk or shuffle the rest of the way back. If you're not puking, you're not putting in all the effort. Don't forget to drink a lot of water too.

When watching TV, do as many pushups and situps as you can during every commercial, on top of what you normally do. Swimming is good too.


Good luck to you!

The Marines don’t tell you what you’re going to be completely, provided you didn’t sign up “Open Contract”. You can chose your occupation and get garanteed Infantry 0300. You can also choose a Primary choice (ie 0311) and a secondary choice (ie 0341). Most of the time you will get your primary but not always, but none of that matters as long as you’re 0300 infantry you can try out for the Sniper Platoon, being you’ve met the other prerequisites

 

[Redmanss]

The Marines don’t tell you what you’re going to be completely, provided you didn’t sign up “Open Contract”. You can chose your occupation and get garanteed Infantry 0300. You can also choose a Primary choice (ie 0311) and a secondary choice (ie 0341). Most of the time you will get your primary but not always, but none of that matters as long as you’re 0300 infantry you can try out for the Sniper Platoon, being you’ve met the other prerequisites

This is completely accurate. Marines do OccField assignments when recruited, so you get your occupational field (Infantry is code UH) and you go into that "field", and you're later specifically placed in the finer details for your MOS as qualified according to "Needs of the Corps". But like he said, 03xx is all you need to go to a Scout Sniper Platoon. Most are 0311 that go to the sniper platoons (due to higher numbers they're drawn from), but many are also TOW gunners, SMAW/Dragons, etc, doesn't really matter so long as you know your way around a map and have the balls to get through the screening/INDOC.

OccField also means "Aircraft Maintenance" doesn't mean you'll be working on the weapon systems of F-18s or JSFs, you might be fixing the shitter in some VIP transport jet too. Blue water to the toilet, clear to the sink....