It is believed that in the Russian law enforcement agencies, unlike similar Western structures, little attention is paid to the development of the sniper business. Some domestic experts argue that world-class arrows are only in the Center special purpose FSB of Russia, but they are armed with old British rifles.
Meanwhile, in trade publications and social networks you can see photographs from various competitions of sniper pairs, where not only employees of the Federal Security Service participate, but also military personnel of the Ministry of Defense and Internal Troops, even police officers armed with modern rifles, including those of foreign production, and equipped with GPS receivers, weather stations, rangefinders, etc. .d.
So how is sniping developing in Russia, what are the snipers of various law enforcement agencies armed with, what equipment and uniforms do they prefer to use? To these questions, the publication agreed to answer the active snipers from the Command of the Special Operations Forces of the Ministry of Defense, the special operations brigade of the Southern Military District, one of the airborne units, The Center for Special Purpose of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and SOBR TsSN of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Sniping tactics
Currently, in the Russian Ministry of Defense, sniper units (companies, sometimes separate platoons) are included not only in the Airborne Forces and the Marine Corps, but even in motorized rifle and tank brigades. Also, each battalion or detachment of special forces includes a sniper group, pairs of which are assigned to reconnaissance groups "for the task," as they say in the special forces. In special-purpose units of the internal troops, sniper pairs are not reduced to separate groups, but are routinely included in platoons.
For several years now, a sniper school has been operating in the Russian Ministry of Defense in Solnechnogorsk near Moscow, where trainees take three courses: the first is individual training, the second is action in a pair of snipers, and the third is obtaining the “Instructor” qualification. The training is quite difficult, so the percentage of those expelled is also high.
Similar courses operate in the FSB and FSO, and in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and in the internal troops they look with envy at colleagues from the Ministry of Defense. " It is immediately clear that the military leadership is sick of this matter, understands how snipers should act. Who wouldn't give a rifle to anyone?", - says the officer of the BB.
It is noteworthy that, regardless of the department, the steam is equipped according to a single principle. The first number is armed with the so-called precision weapon system - a non-automatic sniper rifle, also called a bolt or simply a bolt. The second number of the pair, in turn, is armed with a self-loading SVD, it also carries all the equipment, including a tactical telescope (TZT), a range finder, a weather station, etc.
The organization of the pair, where the second numbers are armed with automatic sniper rifles, is traditional for the units of the armed forces of Great Britain, France and the Federal Republic of Germany, it is sometimes called English.
In the American scheme, the second number is armed not with an automatic sniper, but with an assault rifle with an underbarrel grenade launcher. It is noteworthy that both schemes are present in the US military. In particular, in the Marine Corps, sniper pairs are organized according to the American scheme, and in the US Army there is an English one, where the first number is armed with an M-24 rifle, and the second with a self-loading M110.
« After the Great Patriotic War, Soviet snipers never operated in pairs. There was one shooter with an SVD. But already in Afghanistan, they began to attach a submachine gunner to the sniper for protection. He, however, did not wear any equipment, but he defended the sniper and worked with him in tandem. Snipers acted the same way during the first Chechen war.", - recalls a SOBR officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
According to the interlocutor, sniper pairs of the FSB Special Forces Center were the first to work according to the English scheme, from where it gradually spread to other law enforcement agencies.
It is noteworthy that in addition to the bolt rifle, the first number for close-range combat is also armed with the Ak-74 (in the internal troops) or the silent AS / VSS (in the special forces of the GRU and the Airborne Forces).
« I carry the rifle in a backpack in a special compartment, and in my hands I have an AK-74, as well as a pistol in a holster on a belt system. It turns out that the sniper has the greatest load in the unit. Instead of AK, a sniper can be armed- says the officer of the internal troops.
His colleagues from the GRU special forces and the Airborne Forces have a similar ammunition load. True, according to the officer Airborne troops, the second number would still be advisable in addition to equip another AK with PBS.
The tasks of the sniper pairs differ from agency to agency. " The main thing for us is observation, adjustment of artillery fire and aviation actions behind enemy lines. In exceptional cases, the elimination of enemy commanders and especially important targets. The most important thing is stealth, we are first of all scouts", - said the officer of the special forces brigade of the Ministry of Defense.
His colleague from the Airborne Forces adds that in conditions of a local conflict, spetsnaz snipers have other tasks: “ In the so-called buffer zone, we, having settled covertly, can direct artillery and aviation fire at enemy detachments, as well as independently hunt for his personnel, and sometimes equipment.».
An example of such work is the actions of the SBU sniper pairs in Novorossiya last August, when they completely blocked the road between Krasnodon and Luhansk, not only adjusting artillery fire, but also independently destroying enemy vehicles.
For snipers of the SOBR Ministry of Internal Affairs, the main task is to monitor and destroy terrorists, often in urban settings. " We are involved in search and reconnaissance activities. It happens that we look for, block and destroy terrorists in settlements, in the forest or in the mountains", - admits the officer of the internal troops.
Once in position, the sniper pair deploy weapons, equipment, communications and surveillance. " The second number with the help of TZT helps the first to find and identify the target. The rangefinder determines not only the distance, but also the elevation angle of the target, and data on the wind speed, humidity and temperature are taken from the weather station. Based on these parameters, the first number calculates the vertical and horizontal corrections and enters them into the sight with the help of special drums, as they are officially called - "angle input mechanisms"- says a special forces officer of the Ministry of Defense.
But the work of the second issue does not end there. " After the shot, the second number is closely watching the target in TZT. Ideally, the sniper should hit it with the first shot, but at long range the slightest gust of wind can lead to a miss. In this case, the main task of the second issue is to track the contrail of a bullet flying next to the target and to correct for the second shot.
Depending on how the bullet passed relative to the target, the first number changes the aiming point and fires a second shot. You can, of course, again try to introduce corrections to the sight, but if the shot must be fired quickly, then it will be much faster to move the sight and the rifle to the right or left.", - explains the paratrooper officer.
“If the bullet went higher or lower, then there was an error in measuring the distance to the target. The laser rangefinder gives an accurate distance, but, unfortunately, they are not available in all units, and often the range has to be measured using special scales on the sights and TZT, ”says the special forces officer.
What's in the cases?
It should be noted that at present only the special forces of the Interior Ministry's Internal Troops are fully "packed" with domestic sniper weapons. “We are armed with and MC-116, respectively SVD and AS and VSS. The SV and MC are chambered for the domestic cartridge 7.62x54 mm, it is close to the western one .308 (7.62x51) ", - says the officer of the internal troops. Until recently, the snipers of the SOBR TsSN Ministry of Internal Affairs were also armed, but now the squad has received Finnish TRG rifles of the "Sako" company, caliber .308.
Sniper rifle SV-98
Sniper rifle MC-116
The units of the Ministry of Defense use Austrian rifles from the firm "Mannlicher" SSG-04(caliber .308) and SSG-08 (.300 and .338). “Some 'experts' like to say that the Mannlicher is a rifle designed for hunters, and that it is not suitable for special forces operating behind enemy lines. The sniper complex requires respectful attitude to yourself, all the little things are important, from this success develops. While you are running, sometimes something will fall asleep in the trunk. There may be moisture if caught in the rain, - the Airborne Forces officer shares his experience. - You take with you a can of oil and a wiper to "drive away" the barrel before firing. A good sniper will have no problem. We must watch the rifle. "
It is noteworthy that the Command of the Special Operations Forces tried to purchase the 7.62 mm NK-417 of the Heckler und Koch company as a self-loading rifle, which is used as a weapon of the second number of a sniper pair in the American Delta and DEVGRU. " A couple of years ago, they tried to push through the purchase for our needs HK-417, but failed. Thanks to Alexei Navalny, if you remember the story of the allegedly inflated prices for the purchase of Austrian Glock pistols and later with sights", - says the officer from KSSO.
Sniper rifle SSG-04
Sniper rifle SSG-08
SSG-08 caliber. 388(8.6x70) are in service only in special-purpose centers of the KSSO, causing the envy of snipers from other special forces units of the Ministry of Defense, their colleagues from law enforcement agencies.
“The ammunition of caliber .388 has many times better ballistic coefficient, longer firing range than that of .308. Much less influence external factors... For example, when shooting at 500 meters, on my SV-98, I have to make corrections, make take-offs. And the shooter p.338, there is wind - no, he lies down and hits the target without any unnecessary movements. To be honest, my dream is SSG-08, but the Interior Ministry has none. In the same caliber, I would not refuse the Russian T-5000, ”says the officer of the internal troops.
A colleague from the special forces brigade agrees with him: “ On the profile, we mainly work in the mountains, maybe there are small distances compared to the plain, but the weather, altitude, pressure difference strongly affect, often you need to shoot upwards with a significant excess. Of course, from SSG-04 we hit the target, but from SSG-08 it would be much easier».
According to the SOBR officer, the Finnish TRG, due to its dimensions and barrel length, is good for solving police tasks, but the snipers of the detachment would very much like to get models of sniper rifles for 8.6x70 mm caliber.
Unlike foreign rifles, Russian ones, according to the interlocutors of the publication, have to pay increased attention and constantly improve. “I don’t want to say anything bad about SV-98 and MTs-116, but everything in them is somehow not worked out, not thought out. For example, the new version of the SV-98 - the stock is light, but what prevented you from making a folding stock? The British AW has had one for more than 20 years. The regular bipod does not hold the rifle in place. Barely, it falls to one side, which means that the sight is lost. These are sniper rifles, everything should be neat, miniature, and there the screws are the same as in the electrical outlet, ”the Interior Troops officer assessed.
But all the interlocutors of the publication declared their interest in the Russian company Orsis. “Orsis” is still damp, but I am sure that it will be brought up and everything will be fine, ”the Airborne Forces officer notes. His colleague from the Internal Troops emphasizes that the T-5000 is produced in Russia: “ The current international situation is difficult, and foreign firms may refuse to provide services. Even if you just need to modify the rifle, it is much more difficult to contact an Austrian or Finnish company than our Russian one. If necessary, I can drive up to Orsis at any time and solve all the problems».
Sniper rifle T-5000
The officers of the Ministry of Defense who use the "Mannlicher" note that from the point of view of ergonomics, there are no special complaints about the rifles. According to a sniper from the Airborne Forces, the only thing that was additionally installed for the SSG-04 were the so-called suppressors, nozzles to attenuate the sound.
« In fact, these are mufflers that mask the sound of a shot, but since the bullet is not subsonic, when it exits the bore, it overcomes the supersonic barrier and a pop is heard. It is much quieter with a suppressor", - explains the officer of the Airborne Forces.
On the MTs-116 and SV-98, SOBR officers and officers of the internal troops buy new bipods on their own, preferring Harris products, pads and adapters for Piccatini and Vivera rails.
Both the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the special forces of the Ministry of Defense use a bullpup large-caliber 12.7 mm, also known under the designation 6C8 "Cord". The SOBR TsSN is armed with a silent large-caliber one. It should be noted that the Russian military department has purchased a small batch of South African sniper rifles Truvelo .50.
« We use 12.7x108 mm ammunition as a sniper cartridge, and 12.7x99 mm ammunition in the South African rifle, aka NATO's 50BMG. In terms of characteristics, this cartridge is better than ours. True, the Truvela itself is a very specific rifle. The recoil is so strong that the first shot pushes you off the spot. After a couple of days, your shoulder, spine and even go to the toilet more often because of the impact on the kidneys.", - the special forces officer shares his feelings.
A colleague from the Internal Troops adds that shooting with most large-caliber rifles generally affects health not in better side: “These are not only problems with the spine, lower back, etc. The pressure generated after the shot negatively affects the eyeball and the fundus. In our subdivision there is only "Kord", and in others there is also. At OSV-96, due to the flame arrester and the design of the rifle itself, the recoil momentum is less than that of the 6S8. But Kord has slightly higher accuracy. "
Large-caliber 12.7 mm sniper rifle ASVK
Silent large-caliber sniper complex VSK "Exhaust"
In all units, not only simple SVDs are in service, but also SVD-S with a folding stock. However, all interviewed snipers emphasized that they prefer to use the pre-1970 SVD. " Until that time, the rifle was produced with a groove pitch of 320 mm, but later, so that from the SVD it was possible to shoot not only special sniper ammunition, a step was made 240 mm, and this greatly affected the accuracy", - explains the officer of the internal troops.
His colleague from the Airborne Forces emphasizes that from the "old" SVDs, an experienced shooter can put bullets in a circle equal to one so-called Minute of Angel (1MOA - a bullet hitting a circle with a diameter of 2.98 cm from a distance of 100 meters). New rifles fit only 2 MOA.
I see the goal!
In the SOBR and the special forces of the internal troops, there are certain difficulties with standard sights for bolt rifles. " We regularly have PPO-3, PPO-5 and POSP. It cannot be said that it is the best way... For example, they have to be "zeroed" when used every day. True, now Leupold and Night Force have appeared. But there are technical problems, because on the MTs-116 and SV-98 the sight is mounted on the so-called dovetail, and all modern sights are installed on the Piccatini or Vivera rail. You have to look for adapters for your own money, then modify them.
But even here a problem arises: due to the adapter, the sight turns out to be higher than the place of the standard installation, which means that the aiming line "lifts up", which is not very good", - notes the officer of the internal troops. According to him, now the division has a Russian 5-20 sight of the company "Daedalus". The same ones are already being regularly supplied to SOBR.
“If we compare the“ Night Force ”sight and the Dedal's 5-20 sight, then the latter has lighter optics. When you look through Night Force, there is too much yellow. When shooting at night it is important to adjust the illumination of the reticle. When you look at a bright object, for example, at a lighted window of a house, you need to increase the brightness, and decrease it in a night forest. Often you have to do this very quickly in order not to lose the goal. On "Night Force" you need to open a special compartment, get a screwdriver from there and twist the backlight with it. And at 5-20 there is a special rubberized button, you press it and there is no problem, ”an officer of the Interior Troops issues a conclusion.
In addition, the 5-20 scope has a so-called blockage level indicator. " When you shoot at night, chances are you will overshoot. It is clear that in this case, especially at long range, it will not be possible to hit. It is very easy to make such a mistake on our sights. At 5-20, if you tilt the sight even one degree, the reticle starts blinking until you straighten the sight", - sums up the officer of the Interior Ministry.
Snipers of the SOBR Ministry of Internal Affairs put not only on the SV-98 and MTs-116, but also on the Finnish TRG various sights of the Leupold company, purchased for their own money.
The officers of the Ministry of Defense are also not completely satisfied with the standard sights on their Mannlichers. "The Leupold Mark-4 is a so-called multi-turn, when you make amendments you have to turn the drums for too long, so there is a great chance of losing zero," says the Airborne Forces officer.
For night shooting in the Airborne Forces and special forces of the GRU, special attachments are used - night vision devices installed in front of the lens of an optical sight. " At 500 meters, you are already shooting at the silhouette. Light loss on the attachment itself plus on the scope - that's the result. But I think that for rifles of this class like SSG-04 and SSG-08, it is better to make a separate night sight combined with a thermal imager, or just a thermal imaging sight. We do not have such yet"- complains the officer of the Airborne Forces.
The special forces of the Interior Ministry use not only standard night sights DS-4 and DS-6, but also attachments, including thermal imaging. “There are no special complaints about DS. With these scopes, I shot even at long ranges and kept within 1 MOA. The American PVS-27 is a good night nozzle, but it is very expensive. True, we sometimes manage to take them through acquaintances and friends. When performing service and combat missions, we mainly work at a range of 350-500 meters, so it is much more convenient to put the attachment in front of the sight, ”explains the Interior Ministry officer.
According to him, in the last trip, the snipers of his subdivision managed to test the thermal imaging attachment of the Infratek company: “ The weather was bad. Fog. Visibility 5-10 meters. And through the nozzle, I could freely conduct aimed fire at 250-300 meters. There are much better products, from the same "Daedalus", but for us, alas, they are not bought».
To be continued…
Most civilians word " sniper»Is associated with the image of a shooter who always hits the target (in any conditions and from any distance). Some ordinary people have heard that a sniper does not shoot at everything that moves, but only at the most important targets: officers, signalmen, etc. But few people know that perhaps the most important task of an army sniper in a war is to provide continuous psychological pressure on enemy soldiers, to suppress their combat activity as much as possible. Such combat work is commonly referred to in military literature as " sniper terror».
During the battle, snipers act alone, more often in pairs. Sometimes, at certain moments of the battle, it is advisable to use snipers centrally on the scale of a company or even a battalion, which makes it possible to increase the fire effect on the enemy in the main direction at a decisive moment.
When acting as part of a sniper pair, responsibilities are distributed as follows: one sniper is observing (observer), the other is fire (fighter). The observer sniper conducts reconnaissance, target designation and adjustment of fire in the interests of the fighter sniper, who hits the identified targets with well-aimed fire, after 20-30 minutes they can change roles. This tactic of action allows snipers to constantly be in good shape, because long-term observation dulls the acuity of perception of changes taking place on the battlefield. Sometimes they can fire at the same time.
To reach the flank and rear of the enemy and inflict a sudden fire defeat on him, sniper groups (4-6 snipers and a machine-gun crew) can be created.
The task of snipers in battle is to find and destroy the most important targets with fire (enemy officers, members of ATGM crews, mortar and gun crews, snipers, observers, etc.), thereby ensuring the conduct of successful actions for their unit.
In an offensive battle, when attacking the front edge of the enemy's defense, snipers are located in the center of the battle formation or on its flanks and fire at the enemy's firing points, which create the most unfavorable conditions for an offensive. They move on the battlefield from one cover to another, using terrain folds whenever possible.
When fighting in the depths of the enemy's defenses, the sniper's actions should be the most proactive and aimed at destroying the weapons that hinder the development of the offensive. Snipers can also be used to cover the flanks.
In some cases, company or platoon commanders may leave a sniper near them to solve sudden tasks.
In defensive combat, snipers take their place in the battle formation of their unit and are used to provide joints and flanks. Snipers can also act in conjunction with the outpost to destroy the officers, observers and scouts of the enemy. During the Great Patriotic War such a method of action by snipers was widespread, such as the sorties of pairs of snipers to carry out ambushes and free "hunt" in the no-man's land behind their barbed-wire obstacles and minefields.
During the actions of snipers in front of our front line or on the front line, they perform the following tasks before the enemy starts attacking:
- destroy the most important targets, as well as targets inaccessible with conventional weapons;
- conduct observation of the enemy in order to identify signs of his preparation for an attack, change of positions, withdrawal, etc. In this case, special attention must be paid to the obstacles in front of the forward edge of the enemy's defense. A clear sign of an impending attack may be sappers making passages in their minefields;
- study the locations of the enemy, his weapons, observation and command posts and other important objects.
With the transition of the enemy to the attack, snipers fire primarily at the officers, soldiers who have rushed forward, and according to the calculations of the fire resources supporting this attack.
When the enemy wedges into the defenses, snipers, acting as part of their subunits, concentrate fire against the wedged enemy or advance to the flanks of the enemy and defeat his manpower and fire weapons with flanking fire.
Depending on the situation and the nature of the fighting, snipers may remain behind enemy lines. In this case, in addition to destroying manpower, they can destroy (disable) radio stations, helicopters on jump sites and other important objects, create in the minds of enemy officers and soldiers an image of a sniper-killer, which is everywhere and nowhere. The image of danger doubles, traumatizing the consciousness, gives rise to extremely painful sensations and experiences. Being in the agonizing expectation of death, a person eventually gets tired, which leads to depression, heart or gastrointestinal diseases. Due to prolonged nervous load, the relationship of servicemen can be disrupted (mutual grievances, suspicions, quarrels, etc., increase).
To become a master in any field requires hard work and training. A sniper is a person who has perfectly mastered the art of marksmanship, camouflage and observation.
History is rich in real life examples of techniques and methods used on the battlefield. Many of them are still relevant today.
“In the art of misleading the enemy, the Zaporozhye Cossacks were the real masters. It is necessary for the Cossacks to find out what is going on among the Turks, and they have settled down on the bare sandy shore: the place is open, you cannot get anywhere. But the Zaporozhets will strip naked, smear himself with clay, and then let's ride on the sand. From head to toe he dresses in a sandy caftan, only his eyes shine, and crawls to the shore. He will look out for everything, but not a single Turk will notice.
The Cossacks sailed on their boats both to the mouth of the Danube and to the shores of distant Anatolia. A large Turkish ship will chase after them. His broad yellow sails are flying fast. The black muzzles of the cannons are looking menacingly. And you can't fight him, and you can't get away from him by oars. Then they will scoop up the grasses in the sun and the blinded Turks lose them for a while from sight. And the Cossacks will go to the shore, flood the boats, and themselves - under the water. They stand at the bottom and breathe through tubes made of reeds.
Ataman Ermak showed remarkable Cossack intelligence in battles with the Siberian Khan Kuchum. Swam with his squad on plows across Tobol. The scouts told him that the noble Kuchumov official - Esaul Alyshai - had blocked the river with chains where the bank was pressed against the bank, and was guarding the Russians. Ermak ordered to tie bundles of brushwood and put on caftans. As they began to approach the ambush, they planted the stuffed animals on the plows. Yermak left only the helmsmen on the plows, and went ashore with the rest of the squad. Hiding behind the bushes, the Cossacks advanced towards an ambush. The plows swam up to the chains, began to stray into a pile. Alyshai waved his saber. Arrows flashed, Alyshaev's warriors climbed onto the plows. Then a Cossack squad unexpectedly hit them in the back. After a cruel battle, having lost half of the soldiers, Alyshai barely made his way to the forest.
The ability to remain invisible was the main rule of all Cossack military art. Before receiving a horse and weapons, the young Cossack was subjected to a test: he had to lie for several hours in the reeds, grass or bushes under the very nose of the enemy and not reveal himself with a single movement.
Hunting tricks and skill were passed down from generation to generation among the Cossacks. The Black Sea scouts (scouts) were especially sophisticated in the fight against such a vicious and dexterous enemy as the Turks. You had to keep your eyes open with them, but the scouts knew how to disappear literally in front of their pursuers. " (Petrov V.V. Snipers Encyclopedia of Military Art. - M. 1997. - 624 p.)
The old hunter and dashing plastuncle Uncle Eroshka in Leo Tolstoy's story "The Cossacks" scolded the officers who, flaunting courage, pranced in front of the enemy in plain sight. “You’ll go on a hike, be smarter, listen to me, the old man,” he said to Olenin. - When you have to be on a raid or a campaign (after all, I’m an old wolf, I saw everything), but if they shoot, you don’t go in a heap, where there are a lot of people ... It's worst of all: they are targeting people. I used to be far away from the people, I walk alone: they never wounded me ... Otherwise, your brothers all love to go to the hills. That's how one lived with us, he came from Russia, he went all the way to the hillock ... As soon as he envies the hillock, he will jump. I galloped up once. Jumped out and glad. And the Chechen shot him and killed him. Eh, the Chechens are deftly shooting from the podsoshek! There is a hunter for me. I do not like it being killed so badly. I used to look at the soldiers at yours, I wonder! That is stupidity! They all walk in a heap, and they will sew red collars. How not to get there! .. ".
Before the Sevastopol company in 1854-1855. before the eyes of the enemy, not only ardent youths flaunted, having read romantic stories, but entire armies. The infantry in those days, according to A. V. Suvorov, was "in great density." Looking at the army lined up before the battle, one might think that it was not commanded by a commander, but by a theater director. Rows of infantry, even, as if on a line, drawn, squadrons thick as cornfields, towering in colored squares above the plain, white harnesses on blue, orange and scarlet uniforms, plumes, magnificent sultans of guards' caps - all this seemed to be on display. With the advent of long-range breech-loading rifles, the dense lines of infantry, beating a step under the drum, hesitated. The shooter, who received a new gun, could now, lying on the ground, start a fire fight from 500 and even 1000 meters. Under the frequent and well-aimed fire of breech-loading rifles, the closed formation crumbles. Fleeing from the destructive lead, the soldier changes his colorful uniform for a protective tunic, hides in pits and hollows, crawls on his stomach. The soldier buries himself in the ground and where the picture of the marching columns opened earlier, desertion reigns. With the introduction of smokeless gunpowder, the traitorous cloud disappeared, which, like a ball of cotton, hung over the shooter and, as it were, indicated to the enemy: “Look! Here!"
Having buried itself in the ground and repainted its guns and machines in khaki colors, the army, as it were, put on a fabulous invisibility hat. Already in the first world war(1914-1918) a sea of paint - green, yellow, gray, brown - was spent to merge the color of cannons, machine guns and uniforms of soldiers with the color of grass, sand and earth.
Special factories produced amazing products: stumps, trees, grave crosses and bog bumps. They were exactly like real ones, only they were made of steel. Hidden behind the armor of these "masks, the invisible observers saw everything that the enemy was doing.
In 1916, the war on the French front took on a positional character. Opponents, buried in the ground, stood in one place for months and knew literally every single peg. The space between the trenches - the "neutral zone" - was examined with microscopic care. Every empty tin can thrown out of the trench was immediately subjected to brutal shelling. It seemed there was nothing to think about to build a new observation post almost in front of the enemy, but this is what the French came up with.
In one place on the no-man's land, the soil was bent. Both trench lines crossed the Paris road here. At the top of the hillock, which gave an excellent overview of the German positions, there was a stone pillar, and on it a plaque with the inscription: so many kilometers to Paris.
The French took a picture of this stone and sent the picture to the factory. There, a replica was cast from steel, hollow inside, with a hole for the observer. We made a plaque and an inscription. At night, the French scouts put a steel fake instead of a real stone. From the trench to this unique observation post, a communication line was dug. For more than a month, a French observer sat in an imaginary stone and watched without hindrance what was going on in the enemy's trenches. The Germans never guessed about this trick.
In another place, also convenient for observation, lay the corpse of a Bavarian huntsman. The huntsman was already huge in stature, and then he was swollen from the heat. The French also photographed him, ordered a steel double from the factory and dressed him in a jaeger uniform. At night, the metal Bavarian lay down in the place of his rotting brother. In the "corpse" the observer comfortably settled down.
Our Siberian riflemen in the Carpathians (1915) did without factory equipment. In the mountain valleys lie granite boulders, densely clad with moss. The Siberians carefully removed the moss cover from the granite and reinforced it on a wire frame. It turned out to be a wonderful mask. You will not suspect deception even ten paces away. The shooter will climb into a moss cap, make a few holes and hit his choice. It is necessary to change position - the "boulder" slowly, centimeter by centimeter, crawls to the side. He did it with the endurance and patience of a taiga hunter. It happened more than once that such "boulders" crawled close to the Austrian trenches and, having looked for everything that was needed, safely returned to their own.
A sniper's best friend is the countryside. In the forest, it is hidden by trees, stumps, twigs, heaps of brushwood, in the swamps - reeds and sedges, in arable land - furrows and borders, on stubble - heaps, heaps and unharvested bread. In the city, the sniper has plenty of space - houses, attics, basements, walls and fences, sewer wells and factory pipes, as if specially created to hide him from the dashing eye. Even in the bare steppe one can find good hiding place- dunes, tumbleweed bushes, stones and rocks, half-covered with sand
But you need to know the nature of all this well, otherwise you will get into a mess. Stands, for example, in a clearing tall pine... The branches are dense, the visibility is good and it is convenient to shoot. And if you climb onto it, you will bitterly repent. Individual items always attract the enemy's attention. He also knows very well that a scout or a sniper can hide on such a pine tree. The sniper moved a little and disappeared. Trees for camouflage must be chosen wisely. The sniper will not notice that there are many nests on the birch - he will sip grief. If they frighten off crows or rooks, they will scream, start running around and raise such an alarm that a blind man will see.
A hunter, sneaking up on a game, always observes two very important rules... First, he makes sure that the objects behind and serving as his background - trees, bushes, mountains - are approximately the same color as his clothes. Secondly, if he notices that the game is alert, he freezes in place and lies motionless, like a stone, until it calms down. The sniper does the same.
He is especially attentive to his movements. The movement is a terrible traitor. It attracts the eye of the observer like a magnet to an iron needle.
The tallest grass, the tallest branches will not hide the sniper if he moves inadvertently.
And an experienced warrior and open area not easy to notice. Either he crawls slowly, millimeter by millimeter, without stirring a single blade of grass, then he will run across with such speed that it seems to an outside observer that it is a bird's shadow, then it will freeze like a statue, and lie for hours without moving a single muscle.
Shine also becomes a dangerous traitor. The glasses of binoculars shine in the sun, the sight, the bayonet, metal items of clothing and equipment shine. The observer knows this well. A little bit of a sunny bunny played somewhere, he was already alert and looking out for the reason.
During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), Soviet sniper Mikhail Malov was once asked what, in his opinion, was a dangerous unmasking sign. "Shine!" the sniper replied without hesitation. “Recently a button on my tunic came off. I sewed on an unpainted copper one and forgot about it. I should have removed the machine gun. And our company stood in a moss swamp. I sewed bunches of moss on myself everywhere, smeared my helmet with clay and also stuck the moss, and smeared my face with grass: there is such a juicy one, I don’t remember what it’s called, just touch it - all hands are green. He made up his conscience. Between the bumps and wild rosemary I crawled to the Germans, looking out. I didn't lie for three minutes, suddenly "chvak - bullet, chvak!" - the second. This shoulder scratched. Have noticed. I walk back. Well - there was a funnel, plopped into it. I get upset and think: "What is my lack?" Then I saw a button. Shines, damned, shines with heat - June, the sun. Because of her, he almost died. "
Every soldier who has sniffed gunpowder, and especially a sniper, is wary of this "traitor". Going out on a mission, he carefully insures himself against shine. He smears the helmet with mud if there is no cover, and if it snows, pastes it over with paper. The rifle is "powdered": it will lubricate the barrel with grease, and sprinkle it with sand or earth over the oil. In winter he wraps it with a white bandage.
One of our most talented snipers, Abdul Seferbekov, made a pipe out of birch bark and put it on an optical sight to hide the shine of the lens. In the bushes, if the position was reliable and he hoped to settle there for a long time, he built a hut of branches and leaves over the sight.
There is old tale about how a man sold his shadow, and then missed her very much. Any sniper will willingly give up his shadow for nothing, and even give something to boot. She will not yearn for her and, on occasion, will remember her with an unkind word for her tricky nature.
A sniper sneaks behind the wall, the sun shines on his back. He did not have time to reach the corner, and the enemy was already waiting for him. Who issued? Own shadow, stretching out in two heights and running ahead. Everywhere she hurries with denunciation. On a moonlit night on the snow, it is imprinted with a blue silhouette, it will tremble in dark ripples on the water and, as if cut from black paper, will lie on the sand on a sultry noon. Fortunately, the sniper knows the right way to get rid of the obsessive companion. It is worth hiding in someone else's shadow, as your own will disappear without a trace. The shadows of houses, trees, fences, hills not only destroy the "informer", but also hide the sniper.
Every soldier, especially a sniper, must always be on the alert. It is betrayed by a branch swaying in calm weather; in severe frost, gives off steam from breathing; give out withered leaves when everything is green; gives out a flash of a shot, a careless step, dead wood cracked under the foot. It is difficult to list all the unmasking signs. The list would be huge and yet incomplete.
A smart soldier has a disguise at hand. Spruce legs, leaves, reeds, moss are everywhere. The sand lies - the sniper will bury itself in the sand, the snow will turn into a snowdrift. He doesn’t work in the city either. Here he will be rescued by piles of bricks, sheets of roofing iron, collapsed plaster or padded equipment.
In the factory district of Stalingrad, on a very important site, there were several iron petrol storages. In one of them, riddled with fragments of bombs and shells, our sniper sat down. A fierce battle took place here. Even the Stalingraders, accustomed to everything, said that "at the gas storages you smoke makhorka from the same pouch with death." Several times the line passed from hand to hand, and the sniper remained in place, unnoticed by the enemy.
Not far from Leningrad, while retreating, Soviet troops blew up a railway bridge across the Neva. Two farms, adjacent to the shore occupied by Soviet troops, remained intact, and the third, twisted by the explosion, hung in the air. The sniper V.I. Pchelintsev crawled here along the railroad bed and hid under the crosshairs of the beams, almost in the very middle of the river. It was very cold. The iron farms were covered with frost, and Pchelintsev felt the frost creeping under his sheepskin coat. He wanted to stretch his numb body, but it was impossible to move, and he only wiggled his fingers vigorously. It was not fun to lie in the frosty wind in the icy ravines, but the enemy's positions were visible from here at a glance. The fascists had densely braided the edge of the coast with coils of thin wire, a fence on low stakes stretched further, and even further - dugouts and trenches that went into the forest. When the enemy appeared, Pchelintsev did not feel how the cold metal of the bolt burned his fingers. He applied carefully so as not to fog up the sight eyepiece from breathing.
Despite the chilling cold, Pchelintsev conducted sniper fire from the destroyed bridge for a week. He killed seventeen Nazis, spotted and mapped enemy dugouts and machine-gun points, which were then destroyed by the fire of our artillery. The Nazis began shelling the bridge with mortars when the sniper had already changed position.
The actor constantly has to change his costume, gait, make-up. It is not for nothing that the actor was called an actor in the old town. A poorly made-up actor is in the worst case threatened by the whistle of an indignant audience, a poorly disguised sniper - the whistle of an enemy bullet.
In battle, the slightest oversight can be fatal, so the sniper, leaving for the firing position, dresses in the most careful way in order to confuse the enemy. It should be remembered that the sniper in the green on the grassy lawn is invisible. But as soon as he crawls into arable land or approaches a log hut, he will immediately give himself away. A green silhouette on black soil or against a brown wall will be visible from afar. In this setting, a camouflage robe is indispensable. Green spots will merge with grass and leaves, brown with clay and pine trunks, gray with sand, with rocks, with concrete walls, black with black soil and charred beams, white with snow.
If a sniper in a camouflage dressing gown and a lizard that changes its color bet on which of them is better able to become invisible in the most diverse environments, bet, reader, on the sniper. The tropical lizard will surely lose the bet.
The mistake of our military theorists lies in the fact that the sniper, as a military specialty, is considered in the complex of the entire fire training of subunits. Usually, the company commander hands the first weapon that gets into the hands of the recruit, writes the number on his military card, and from that day on, the soldier who received the sniper rifle is called a sniper.
In most countries of the world, snipers are trained in special training centers three to six months. The selection is made on a competitive basis, out of 20-30 candidates, only one remains, but the best one.
The end of February was marked by the Fifth International Competition of Special Forces Snipers, which took place at the training ground in Balashikha. The tournament was attended by 23 teams, consisting of military personnel from various special forces of Russia and Belarus. All the prizes were taken by the Belarusians, so the 1st and 3rd places went to the teams special unit in the fight against terrorism "Almaz" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Bashkortostan, 2nd place - was won by the fighters of group "A" of the KGB of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Next, we propose to take a look at how these competitions were held.
The main goal of the tournament is to exchange experience and check the level of training of sniper pairs in shooting at short distances, in conditions as close as possible to combat.
Mandatory: to participate in the competition, each shooter must have one rifle with a telescopic sight and a whole arsenal of equipment and equipment strictly established by the rules of the tournament. Exchange of equipment is strictly prohibited. Even inside the sniper pair.
Compete with their standard weapons. It may be the familiar Dragunov sniper rifle, or Heckler & Koch. It all depends not so much on habit as on the financial capabilities of ministries and departments, which include sniper units.
The different types of weapons of the tournament participants do not interfere with a fair fight, the judges say. Exercises are performed at distances from 40 to 200 meters. At this distance, all rifles perform relatively similar tasks. At the same time, do not forget that in the “rifle-sniper” scheme, the main place is occupied by a person and his skills.
Competitions become more difficult every year. For example, an exercise with a moving target is included in the annual program, but the individual elements can be very different: there can be two goals instead of one, or they can move from left to right, and not vice versa. The assignments can be repeated from year to year, but there is always an element of novelty.
The training camp and the drawing of lots before the tournament took place at the Vityaz special training center near Moscow. From there, snipers in groups made an eight-kilometer march to the shooting range. The main part of the route went through the forest, but there were sections where the soldiers crossed the route. The reaction of passing motorists to groups of snipers in full combat gear with weapons at the ready can only be imagined. And if it's no joke, then the time for the march to the shooting range is limited, and if the team does not arrive at the checkpoint on time, "everyone, goodbye, regardless of the reasons."
Exercise # 1 - Ambush Operation
This exercise has several elements. The first is an impromptu tunnel - an imitation of moving to a firing position on bellies.
Further, at the turn of the opening of fire, the deuce independently produces a "volley" at destructible targets. The task is to simultaneously make a shot, in the lexicon of snipers called a doublet. The bricks are set on a scale, and if one brick breaks, the second will fall. The pair should work in sync.
The next stage is the identification and defeat of an unexpectedly appearing anatomical target. For a certain period of time, two groups of targets appear synchronously - the waist and the "head". There are scoring zones on the targets, which means that it is important not just to hit, but to hit the enemy “to death”. Each sniper has three rounds - one for each target.
The exercise is evaluated as follows: in case of a miss or error, points are deducted, if the target is successfully hit, they are awarded. For example, if you miss at least one destructible target - minus 100 points, for hitting an anatomical target in the zone of instant death - plus 25 points, but a seriously wounded enemy will bring only 15 points.
Exercise # 2 - Working from a Vehicle
Snipers are inside the car and shoot at a target - a target, which "hides" behind an obstacle - a double-glazed window. This simulates the execution of a police operation. The task is to hit the target at a distance of 100 meters in a limited time (45 seconds) through a double-glazed window. Each sniper has his own target. Shooters produce a simultaneous "volley". The time between shots should not exceed 0.3 seconds.
The glass breaks on impact, the bullet can fragment and change its flight path. Therefore, the sniper must know how the ammunition behaves, understand the structure of the bullet, and correctly calculate the distance from the glass to the target. It is necessary to shoot taking into account all these factors.
Exercise # 3 - High-rise
A pair of sniper fire from a high-rise building. The bottom line is this: the group gets a photo - orientation. Storming the building, the deuce takes a position from which a shot is fired at a target corresponding to the orientation.
The distance to the target is 250 meters. Only one target is hit, all the others are hostages. After firing, both snipers must hastily evacuate along the outer wall of the building using climbing equipment.
If the shooters do not meet the time limit, an explosion occurs, imitating the beginning of a mortar attack. This means that the mission is failed and the sniper pair is considered destroyed.
The assessment is based on two indicators: the time it takes to complete the task and the quality of hitting the target. The exercise time is 1 minute 45 seconds.
Exercise # 4 - Moving target
Two pillars, between them - a moving target that needs to be hit. The sniper pair takes a prone position and fires at a target that moves at the speed of a running person. The distance to the target is 170 meters, the time to shoot is the time the target moves from one “shelter” to another.
The shooters do not know the speed of movement - there is no preliminary display. They only know that the target will move from right to left. The fighters must calculate the distance, approximate trajectory and speed of movement, and then shoot.
There are two options for firing - with accompaniment, when the shooter is watching the movement of the target, or on approach. Snipers shoot at the same time, but synchronization is not so important here. The target's speed is unknown, which means that you need to shoot virtually into the void, relying solely on your experience.
V in this case the target has no hit zones, here it is important to just hit without killing a civilian or, as the shooters call them, "grandmother". She has nothing to do with the gray-haired old woman and can look anything. A young guy may be depicted on the target, but it will still be a "grandmother" for the shooter.
Exercise # 5 - Targets from the rear
When performing a combat mission, the sniper detects an enemy group from the rear. His task is to quickly switch to a backup weapon (in this case, a pistol) and hit the enemy. The exercise is performed individually, but the result of the sniper pair is still assessed. The distance is up to 10 meters, the number of shots is unlimited, the shooting position is arbitrary, the time for the exercise is four seconds.
On the one hand, everything is very clear. The main difficulty lies in the fact that the targets are from the rear and not all of them are “enemies”. Among them there are "grandmothers". Within four seconds, the shooter must not only hit the target, but also not touch the civilian. At the same time, the sniper does not see the target before the start of the competition, but is distinguished by their small details. So, the guy from the picture may turn out to be a killer with a pistol or just a passer-by with a bottle of beer.
On one target is a journalist. But on another target, the same girl is already holding a pistol, not a microphone.
Killed enemy - 20 points, seriously wounded - 15, light injury - 10 points. If there is no hit in the criminal, then the exercise is not valid - 0 points. Killed hostage - minus 50 points.
Exercise # 6 - Classic
100-meter shooting range. Here they test the ability to shoot in difficult, stressful situations. In three minutes, you need to have time to run 500 meters to the firing position from the starting line, take a position for shooting and hit the target. Each shooter has five rounds. The top three shots from each sniper in the pair are counted.
After a run, it is difficult to regain your breath, concentrate and prepare yourself for shooting. The faster the shooter runs, the more time he will have to fire.
Exercise # 7 - Targets with hostages
Final exercise. The range to the target is 200 meters, the number of cartridges is one for each shooter in a pair. After the timer beep, five seconds are given for the shot. Split - the interval between shots of fighters in a pair is no more than 0.3 seconds. Both the total time and the interval between shots of snipers in deuce are evaluated.
Synchronicity is essential here. There are two difficulties: the first is not to get into the hostage, and in this case the hostage, the second - at the moment of firing, a series of distracting attention and making it difficult to aim explosions is made. Hitting a "terrorist" - 50 points, that is, the maximum sniper pair can earn 100 points at this stage.
The competition was held in a traditional format for one day and included seven exercises. The tournament was attended by 23 teams from various law enforcement agencies Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. The organizers were: the Foundation for the Support and Development of Tactical and Fire Skills and the Russian Precision Shooting Federation.
Types of sniper pairs:
V modern army basically two options are used.
A pair of shooters act to destroy targets on the firing line, as well as inside enemy locations. Or one shooter is in a free hike ("free hunt") and acts independently.
To successfully complete the mission, the sniper takes a well-fortified place. During this, one should quickly evaluate the objects that have appeared and weigh the reasons for their elimination. If the goal is justified, then you need to act with a single shot. For greater efficiency, you should hit targets that are distant from the front of hostilities. A situation in which a bullet from nowhere hits the enemy creates an additional psychological moment and can delay other enemy forces.
Created a patrol of snipers in the amount of 4-8 people, together with support leads reconnaissance activities and violates effective work enemy units. If you need more firepower, then the group is reinforced with a machine gunner or grenade launcher.
The greatest result is brought by the fight of snipers in their positions. There are three main ways this tactic is used:
1. A group of snipers is located within its own forces and blocks the actions of enemy reconnaissance and the activities of the main forces with fire.
2. Snipers, alone and in pairs, conduct an independent "hunt" away from their positions, causing discord in the enemy. The main goal is to neutralize high-ranking command and create panic attacks in the military environment.
3. The so-called "group task" for several snipers. The main tasks are to accurately reflect the enemy offensive and neutralize the main objects. Also, the tasks include ensuring the camouflage of the movement of the main forces and the creation of imaginary military activities in a certain territory. Sometimes each company or unit has its own group of snipers. Such an organization would be an additional strengthening of the point firepower of a separate unit.
One of the representatives of the pair makes reconnaissance and indicates the targets, and the other fires to kill. At short intervals, snipers switch roles. It should be borne in mind that with a long time of control of the territory, the perception of the surrounding situation is dulled. If the snipers began a firefight, where the target is not one, but several, then the fire begins to be conducted simultaneously.
It is worth emphasizing that pair work depends on the performance of both participants. The assistant organizes the means of observation, draws a line of movement on the map, gives fire support to the sniper with the help of appropriate means, removes traces of movement for both, helps in every possible way in organizing the fortification, monitors the surroundings especially vigilantly and notes progress in the log, provides communication with the base and uses camouflage funds.
Organizations of snipers in the amount of 4-6 people and reinforced with a PKM-type machine gun are used for approaching the side parts and for quick fire maneuvers in the rear.
The most great results obtained from a long daytime ambush. Such unexpected points are set in places where the enemy may appear. The main meaning of such a position is a surprise attack and demoralization of the enemy.
To choose the best place for an ambush, you should analyze all intelligence information. If there is an active enemy activity in a given square, then the group is supported during advancement. In advance, before the trip, everything is negotiated: call signs, coordinates, routes and areas of fire support.
The most common time to approach a deployment point is at night, so that you can be ready in the morning. When the transition is made, you need to be extremely quiet and not give yourself away. When the set point is reached, all preparations begin at a fast pace. It is imperative to carry out all operations in the dark and be in full readiness an hour before dawn. With good visibility, the team begins to search for targets and other planned operations. Very often, during the early morning hours, the sentries can lose their focus and become a good target for a sniper. While the observation is in progress, the parameters are determined external environment(temperature, wind direction and speed). Conditional markers and landmarks are indicated. All day snipers remain in full camouflage position and do not move. There is a change of responsibilities and a complete lull.
If a target appears in the affected area, then it must be quickly assessed and a decision made to open fire or ignore. It goes without saying that after the opening of fire, the location of the deployment will become known and therefore one should proceed very carefully. Both shooters begin to aim at the object, and if one misses, the other corrects the error. Also, after a successful fire, another secondary target may appear. This situation is also corrected by the assistant.
After the perfect shot, the head of the group makes an operational decision about further actions and informs them to the team. At the same time, if there is no special need for retreat and the situation allows you to stay in cover, the team stays until dark. Maneuvers to retreat from a firing position are undertaken in the dark and are carried out as quietly and inconspicuously as possible. Places of deployment are brought to their original state and traces are carefully destroyed. It is worth noting that in very small situations, the old position can be reused if it has not been exposed. If the situation requires it, the deployment is mined and masked.
Checkpoint with snipers:
Security tactics at checkpoints are carried out with their own specifics in the presence of snipers. The sniper unit must have a set of actions that must be performed while guarding. The most convenient positions for viewing, shooting, adjusting, as well as secondary targets should be located both inside the territory of the object and outside. The conditions for the functioning of the checkpoint presuppose its openness and therefore the sniper on duty must be constantly in cover and maintain full concentration. For this purpose, he must observe several rules: take into account the fact that he can be observed from a distant point; rarely change your location; use protected optics from sunlight; maintain a thoughtful position; make all movements and changes extremely quietly and without unnecessary fuss. The most ideal solution is a thoughtful maneuver with a minimum amount of movement.
Each checkpoint must be guarded in a circle. With this scheme, the main forces of snipers are concentrated in the center and are not used in protection every day. Close cooperation of individual sniper groups is a prerequisite. For example, if there are several objects on the road, then they are protected by joint efforts. Also, all information should be promptly disseminated through communication channels to all posts in order to exclude a surprise attack.
Among all modern soldiers, the sniper is in a special position. The very name of this military profession commands respect that borders on fear. This man with a gun is able to do what is inaccessible to others, namely, to hit a target with pinpoint accuracy from a long distance. Sometimes, when the target itself does not even suspect that it was on the fly.
Without this skill, everything else loses its meaning. First of all, the cadet is taught to shoot from a prone position with a support. Since in practice the sniper has to shoot from different positions, he is taught to shoot prone without support, shooting from the knee, shooting while standing and sitting.
The instructors set the technique - teach the correct aiming, teach how to hold your breath and set the correct descent technique. Eliminate technical errors, such as blinking at the moment of a shot, delaying aiming (aiming), excessive tension of individual muscle groups and other flaws.
Read about the initial training of a sniper in the article "". After a sniper has successfully completed basic training in open-sight shooting, he is trained to use the "optics".
Using a telescopic sight.
The presence of an optical sight allows you to hit targets at a long distance. The optical sight allows you to hit small, camouflaged, hard-to-see targets that are difficult to see with the naked eye. "Optics" makes it possible to conduct aimed fire in poor visibility and poor lighting, up to the possibility of hitting targets in the light of the moon. Plus, to observe the enemy, identify targets, determine the distance to them, and, in addition, adjust the shooting.
However, shooting with optics is harder than using an open scope. Moreover, as paradoxical as it sounds, the greater the magnification of the sight, the more difficult it is to shoot.
Most often, sniper sights used in all armies of the world provide a magnification of 3.5-4.5 times. During World War II, German snipers used ultra-precise Mauser Gewehr 98 rifles, equipped with optical sights with a magnification of 2.5 times. And that was enough. Of course, the Germans also had sights with a tenfold increase, however, such sights were used only by outstanding masters.
Switching to "optics" at first, the shooter suddenly discovers that he began to shoot not better, but worse. The stronger the magnification, the more the target "jumps" in the visual field of the sight. Accordingly, it is more difficult to "catch on" for it. "Targeting" occurs. Accordingly, the shooter tries more and more and strains, because of which the target "jumps" even more.
Only professionals of the highest qualification are capable of using "optics" with high magnification, and even then, using an emphasis (for example, in an ambush). For snipers who are part of mobile reconnaissance groups, a sight with a high magnification is contraindicated. Mid-range shooters hit better when using low magnification scopes.
The optical sight makes life easier for a trained shooter, but for an untrained, on the contrary, it complicates it, just like in that saying about a bad dancer.
When working with "optics", the sight field on all sides should be completely clean, without any kind of darkening.
The eye should be brought closer to the eyepiece gradually. A somewhat narrowed visual field will expand until its "front" border becomes clearly visible. For a given shooter, this will be the working distance between the eye and the scope. In the future, this border must be constantly monitored. To develop this skill, you can carry an optical sight with you for several days and use it like binoculars.
Development and improvement of shooting skills
To develop shooting skills, the shooter methodically, over and over again, shoots blank chambers (as if the cartridge in the barrel is a combat one), trying to "remember" where the front sight was looking at the moment the trigger was pulled. In this position, the shooter and his instructor can immediately see all the mistakes made. Periodically, after 2-3 shots, the shooter shoots with a combat one (so that the shooter does not lose concentration, and also in order to check and evaluate the results achieved).
Sniper training is painstaking, hard work, because the muscles must "remember" everything that is needed for marksmanship, so that then everything happens automatically. However, when using the same exercise, the human body gradually gets used to it and stops responding to it. New stimuli are needed.
The following exercises are used to train experienced snipers.
"Sniper qualification"
Two growth targets are set at an unknown distance (400 to 600 meters). The task of the sniper pair is to determine the distance using only one aiming reticle, without a rangefinder, using binoculars or a telescope, and then execute one shot at each of the targets.
"Shooting at small targets."
Distance from 500 to 600 meters. A pair of sniper stands at the firing line. An easily destructible object (for example, a brick) is used as a target. Palm rests cannot be used. On the signal, you need to hit the target as quickly as possible. The limit of shots is 10. The result is assessed by the number of shots and the time spent on them, and if the target is not hit, by the number of points on the chest target installed behind the brick.
“Police. Shooting on command "
Distance from 150 to 200 meters. The target has affected areas. On command, two snipers shoot at the same time. The task is to hit the target with the first shot, within one second. The result is assessed by the number of points.
“Police. Shooting at small targets with approach "
Distance 150-200 meters. 3 circular targets (diameter 70 mm). The task is to reach the firing line (100 meters), with the help of improvised means (pole, rope with a "cat") climb to the 2nd floor of the building, fire 3 shots at each of the 3 targets. The exercise is given 1 minute.
"Night shooting"
The sniper pair needs to find enemy soldiers at an unknown distance (600-900 meters) in a given area. 3 growth targets with affected zones are illuminated with a kindled fire. In total, 5 shots are given, the time allotted for execution is 5 minutes. In this case, snipers should not be detected. Illuminated bullets are prohibited.
(version - a target is a weakly illuminated ball, one sniper is firing. The number of shots is unlimited).
"Night sniper ambush"
An ambush sniper pair is monitoring. After the signal at a distance of 100 meters at a speed of 5 km / h, a dummy moves (a rubber ball imitates a head). The sniper pair must hit the dummy (conditional enemy). After passing 200-300 meters, the dummy will disappear from the field of view.
"Defensive Sniper Combat"
A sniper pair must, from a camouflaged defensive position, destroy a machine gunner who is in sight at a distance of up to 1000 meters. After the first shot, 5 enemy soldiers appear at a distance of 250 to 500 meters, advancing on the position of a defending sniper pair (5 stationary targets with a rubber ball instead of a head). The number of shots is unlimited.
The execution of the task is assessed according to such criteria - defeat / non-defeat of the machine gunner, the number of soldiers hit, the time spent, the number of shots.
"Sniper on the offensive"
At a distance of 600, 800, 1000 meters, the signalman, commander and machine gunner of the enemy are located. The task of the sniper pair is to destroy all 3 targets one by one. 1000 m - a sphere with a diameter of 400 mm, 800 m - a sphere with a diameter of 300 mm, 600 m - a brick. Target display time is limited. The performance of the task is assessed by the number of targets hit, by a long-range shot, by the time spent on hitting targets and the number of shots.
"Sniper ambush"
After a sound signal from a distance of up to 500 m, a vehicle starts moving at a speed of 30 km / h. The balloon in the car imitates the head of the enemy commander. After passing 250-300 m, the car disappears from sight. From a distance of 350 m. After the first shot, 5 targets appear at a speed of 5-7 km / h. move towards the ambush and complete the movement 50 m before the firing line.
The task of the sniper pair is to destroy the enemy commander and the rest of the targets in the shortest possible time.
"Tactical sniper duel"
The exercise is performed by 2 sniper pairs. At a distance of 1500 meters, 2 different colors were installed balloons with a diameter of 400 mm (each pair has its own color). The task of the sniper pair is to destroy the enemy's ball without allowing themselves to be detected. The number of shots is unlimited. Competitive sniper pairs shoot from an acceptable distance for themselves. Any maneuvers are allowed. The judges observe the pairs, if detected, the exercise ends, the task is considered not completed. For observation, the judges can use any optical devices. The execution time is limited to 30 minutes. The assignment is assessed by the time spent.
"Shooting at the ordered distance"
Competitors must, make a forward march, moving to the control point. Each sniper pair chooses the distance independently. The minimum target visibility distance - 650 m
The task of the sniper pair is to hit the target from the maximum distance, while spending the least amount of rounds.
After hitting the target, the ranges are measured and points are calculated (1 meter of distance is equal to one point gained).
It has been empirically established that shooting training should be carried out no more often than every other day, and the duration of such training should not exceed 2.5 - 3 hours. Otherwise, the so-called "overtraining" appears and then grows, which is well known in any sport.
Observation training
Each sniper is also a little scout. Indeed, before destroying a target, it also needs to be detected, as well as imperceptibly approaching a distance from which an aimed fire can be fired. Wait for the right moment or the signal to attack. And before the attack - carefully observe the terrain, so as not to turn into a target for the enemy (for example, for his counter-sniper group). The targets of a sniper are not always recklessly waiting for their hour of death. More often they disguise themselves using the slightest opportunity. The sniper's task is to notice any, even the smallest deviations in the state of natural objects, the slightest changes in their location. A branch swayed a little, despite the fact that there is no wind? It means that there is a man lurking there. An extra Christmas tree appeared somewhere in the distance? It means that something is disguised in this place. Has grass been applied? It means that not long ago someone passed through this place.
The sniper must train observation. Moreover, he has time for this. Shooting training, together with preparation for them, takes at most half a day, and is carried out no more often than every other day.
Several very different objects are laid out in front of the sniper: stones, buttons, cartridges, cigarettes, watches, compass, chevrons, stars from shoulder straps. The sniper is allowed to inspect this still life for several hours, after which they are covered with a tarpaulin (a still life, not a sniper) and told to list all the objects that he remembered. This is followed by provocative questions. What kind of cartridges / cigarettes? How many buttons were there? What time did the clock show? Each time, less and less time will be devoted to inspecting such an exposition, and the expositions themselves, of course, will change.
Then the lesson is carried out in nature. The sniper looks at the landscape, then turns away, giving the opportunity to make any changes near the target field (break a branch, throw a cigarette butt, put a tin can). After that, the sniper should turn around and talk about what has changed. Gradually increase the distance (from 100 to 300 meters)
Then, already at the range, snipers (already with optical devices) watch the terrain for hours, looking for camouflaged positions.
Experienced snipers, reinsuring themselves in advance from their colleague “on the other side”, mentally put themselves in his place (like in chess) and figure out where and when the enemy is equipping a sniper position. In a tactical game, this makes it possible to win, as in a real battle, but there life itself is at stake.