Sniper rifles and sharpshooting...

I need names and information on popular sniper rifles and good target shooting guns...
My character is a sharpshooter, and she needs some guns.

Also, some common shooting/sniper vernacular would help a ton!!

Well, a .50 caliber is always a beast of a sniper rifle.

Not a gun person, but my friend's gun-nut ex told her that a Ruger mini 14 (a military-issue assault rifle) is a good rifle for an assassin - good at long range with a good scope, and light as well. I also know that some snipers use the drug Diazepam: it relaxes them, steadies their hands, and slows their breathing.

Diazepam is actually pretty good for the steadying.

First off, this person is going to have to know about gun safety inside and out. Any kind of sharpshooter would have to. This means they have to know the correct way to put a gun away, which involves a lot more than you think. You need to get this part right, or people won't believe you.

The main thing about a sniper is that a sniper waits. They don't go actively hunting their prey. They sit in one spot for days and weeks at a time, watching the activity of that place and seeing at what time of the day conditions are the most favorable for them. Even if they see their eventual target in this period, they probably won't take the shot unless time is a factor.

When it is time to take the shot, there are a few things to remember. First off, when aiming at the target, a sniper begins with his crosshairs at the bottom of the target, and then moves them up along the body until they are pointing at the head. This helps make sure that the aim on the target is good.

When taking the shot, a shooter must be calm. If you're too excited, and jitter at the last second, it could throw off your shot. What is important are deep breaths. Slow, deep breaths as you keep the target in the crosshairs. And when you are ready to take the shot, make it a part of your breathing. Inhale, pull trigger, exhale. Don't hold your breath, simply incorporate the trigger pull into the breathing routine that you have.

And, finally, here is a list of some of the more popular sniper rifles:

Accuracy International Arctic Warfare Rifle

Barrett M82

Dragunov

M21

M24

Walther WA 2000 Would recommend not using this one, as it is incredibly rare and the price of one would make your character noticeable if they managed to get one at an auction.

Wikipedia list of sniper rifles Be logical when looking at this list to pick a weapon. I would recommend not using any of the higher model number Barretts, for one. Anything below the XM107 can't be silenced or easily concealed. The XM107 is definitely out. The 'X' at the beginning of the model name indicates that it is still in testing phase, not able to be utilized by anyone. Plus the thing fires 25mm grenades. That might sound cool, but for anyone who's not sniping for tanks it is overkill.

Anyone else frightened by Conrad's encyclopaedic knowledge of sniping?

Guns and the knowledge of them are not scary things. A gun is a simple tool. Proper usage of a tool does not a frightening person make. Improper usage of a tool does.

Edit: Also, .50 caliber is overkill. Not even most military-issue sniper rifles use it. It's nearly impossible to silence.

AspiringAuthorA..M. wrote:Well, a .50 caliber is always a beast of a sniper rifle.

I couldn't agree more. An M-2 does make a statement.

Conrad Rice wrote:Guns and the knowledge of them are not scary things. A gun is a simple tool. Proper usage of a tool does not a frightening person make. Improper usage of a tool does.

I strongly agree with you too. Thanks for your help! I know a bit about guns, but not as much as my protagonist needs.

Conrad Rice wrote:Guns and the knowledge of them are not scary things. A gun is a simple tool. Proper usage of a tool does not a frightening person make. Improper usage of a tool does.

In the UK, only bad guys have guns.

That's just a remark on the "effectiveness" of your anti-gun laws.

Conrad Rice wrote:That's just a remark on the "effectiveness" of your anti-gun laws.

I don't think so. I feel perfectly safe knowing that absolutely nobody bar some police officers and the most hardened inner-city gangsters are carrying guns.

edit: My original comment was a joke. I don't particularly feel the need to turn this topic into a contest over gun laws.

Conrad Rice wrote:Edit: Also, .50 caliber is overkill. Not even most military-issue sniper rifles use it. It's nearly impossible to silence.

But it would really make one heck of a statement.

CheyTac Intervention This gun is one hell of a sniper gun, specialized for very long range sniping. Can hit 3 shot out of 6 at a human size target from 2,530 yd (2,313 m) away. In the hand of a professional, of course.

A video clip from You Tube of it in action here.

And I think anyone who play enough FPS games would have quite a considerable amount of knowledge on sniping. Mainly the psychological and tactical element of sniping though. Not like any gamer actually have the chance to even touch on a sniper rifle. Still, I'm also a sniper enthusiast,so I had researched a lot about sniping.

A sniper is usually going for recon mission more than assassination, since nowadays there are many method to counter a sniper, which make it much more difficult to kill a target and able to get away. Also, in urban warfare, the enemy may place traps near possible sniper spot, like booby traps on roof tops doors of buildings, and careless snipers may fall to them.

When sniping, a sniper is almost a mathematician at times, mainly to calculate the trajectory of the bullets. Especially when the target is very far away, or the wind is strong, the bullets can travel in an very hard to predicted way.

A sniper is also a tactician, and need to be quick thinking and have fast reflex. Never only concentrate on your target alone, but also knowing the surrounding environment of the target. Say you see your target hiding behind a wall, but there is some explosives, such as fuel tank above your target or near the wall, shoot at it. The tactical element also goes to choosing your target. A sniper does not shoot at anyone. Each shot must count. Primary target of a snipers are: Other Snipers,Commanders, Medics, Specialists, Communicator, and such. But sometimes, it is needed for a sniper to shoot at many enemies as he/she can to create a psychological effect upon an enemy troop. A very skilled sniper can create an impression of a whole team firing upon the enemy, and struck fear to the target, causing distress and sometime even made them retreat. However, for the same psychological effect, if a sniper is caught, they will suffer more than normal soldiers, usually being torture of kill on the spot even if the sniper surrender. It is the reason why a manual for sniper form the American civil war period(if I remember right), say that a sniper, before being caught, must discard every thing that may make him/her being recognized as a sniper.

Since sniping only advantage is to be able to attack at a very long range where your enemy could not find you easily, or if you have camouflage like a ghillie suit, you will be at a disadvantage if you let your enemy found you out by some mistake, such as flare from sunlight reflected on your scope, or flare of your gunfire, or keep shooting at one spot too long and let your enemy trace down the trajectory of the bullet, for example. If you are lucky, they might dispatch some team to search the area and try to trap you, in this case, plan out a way to escape is possible. But if you are not lucky, the enemy might decided to bombard the whole area you are sniping from, and being blown up is very easy. And yes, they would go that far, if it is not known how many snipers might be there, so there might be a chance they would get a whole team.

If possible, it is best to work with a partner or a team, they could cover your back, or warn you of things you couldn't see fast enough looking through a scope.