Re: International Sniper Competition Rule Change
My limited understanding,
The ISC (Int Sniper Comp) was not really intended to be about who walked away with the trophy, it was about the best of the best coming together and pushing each other to a higher level.
To that extent, they are doing a multi day seminar prior to the comp where all of the teams are presenting and learning from each other.
However IMHO, by forcing everyone to use a "rack system", they have made a huge leap backwards in terms of using the comp to push all of the shooters forward.
If someone brought a new rifle or piece of equipment to the ISC, it allowed the value of it to be measured, and it allowed other teams to learn about it.
Now it comes down to the shooters having to try and learn how to get the max out of a system that many of them are moving away from or will never deploy with.
If people are going to get hung up on it being a comp and who walks away with the trophy, then the classes they ran last year should be the answer. If they want a level playing field, then have a stock/issue .223 or .308 class. Then for those who are pushing the envelope, have an open class where anything goes.
In terms of this being a fair or level playing field, per many comments above, this will be far from the case. In a stress based comp like this, the shooters are going to have to rely on instinct/memory for much of what they will do, and you can't build that over 2 days. Shooters of this skill level will know their dope from years of shooting it, now they may be shooting a completely different set of numbers they can’t pull from memory. Scope setups and adjustments vary greatly, and now they may have to use something which could be completely foreign to them.
If working with a rifle and gear that you are not familiar with is a skill they want to stress, then have a stage in the event where everyone picks up something like a SVD/PSL, and have them shoot it. A military sniper must be able to adapt and overcome and accomplish the mission through whatever means they have access to. But that component/skill set is only one of many.
I would applaud everyone who has worked on the ISC over the years, no question that it has pushed the skills and equipment of the sniper community. I just hope that the main focus of the event has not turned away from learning and pushing the envelope which I believe was a big part of the original intent.
Best of luck to everyone involved,
M Richardson
