Tactical & Survival Sniper Challenge

Individual Event

This course is designed to test each sniper’s ability to accurately estimate range and direct precision fire at targets from both supported and improvised positions.

This course is a head to head competition.

Equipment Requirements

Each shooter will need the following:

The Sniper Challenge is a "blind event."   The brief details listed below will be the only information on this course provided to competitors prior to the start of the Competition.  This course is an all-encompassing skills course for Snipers utilizing all relevant sniper skills to include stalking.

Patience and Discipline

By developing the qualities of patience and discipline through a concept referred to as, ``This is the last shot for the rest of my life,'' we will see if you have the discipline to call yourself a sniper. During range fire, you will be required to individually load each round,  fire it, ``call'' it, observe the results through the spotting scope, and then record it.

Why do you have to record it? This is why professionals do it but it is not mandatory.

Recording each shot individually is critical. Every snipers should maintain a record book to note the history of their fire with a particular rifle. Not only does this help snipers to concentrate on each shot, but it also helps them identify minor deviations in the ``book'' data versus their rifle and ammunition. This generates information for the data card. For example, a sniper may learn that the first shot fired in practice--the so-called ``cold barrel zero''--could vary by several inches from subsequent shots. It's only through such exacting attention to detail that the sniper can develop into a precision marksman who focuses not on three-shot groups but on individual shots.

PRACTICAL SHOOTING EXERCISE

Taking into account the various stresses under which a sniper must operate, these events have been developed to display your qualities in performing--concentrating, displaying patience, discipline, and confidence.

First, a practice session will allow players to warm up and fine tune their weapons. During practice fire, you will fire at bull's-eye targets individually and at your own pace, using a prone-support position with bipod or sandbags. Record each shot and confirm their zero, thus preparing yourselves for the events that follow.

After a fair amount of time warming up you will move to the second phase, snipers engage specially modified silhouette targets.

To underscore further the emphasis of one-shot kills, you will receive only one round for a number of engagements. If you miss a balloon, you cannot engage it again.

The Fleeting Target

Most frequently used in training because it almost duplicates reality, you will be issued a green light and given general knowledge of where the suspect will appear. You will wait an unannounced time until the target surfaces, which will only be for a few seconds.

At the start of this round, you are allowed to see the target and comfortably ``lock on,'' Then, the target is lowered and rotated. At some point over the next few minutes, the target reappears only once. You will have less than 5 seconds of exposure to take out the target.

While pacing back and forth behind you, the official will suddenly shout, ``Green light,'' and slaps your leg. This puts you on notice that within the next few seconds, the subject will appear and should be fired upon.

Multiple Hostages

In this event, two similarly colored balloons tightly bracket a third balloon, which represents the suspect.

From 35 yards you will engage the target. (Your choice of position)

You will have "one shot" to take out the suspect without taking out any hostages. Points will be awarded based on success and deducted based on hostage elimination or a complete miss.

You must correctly adjust for wind; vertically, and for trajectory/range.

Surgical Shooting

This timed event elevates the complexity level of hostage rescue shooting. Down range are three 8 1/2 x 11-inch portraits juxtaposed on a target. At the start of the event, you, positioned 40 yards from the firing line, are allowed 10 seconds to study the mug shot of the suspect. Then, each shooter must dash halfway to the firing line, snatch one round, low crawl the final 12 1/2 yards to the weapon, load it, spot the correct suspect, engage the suspect, and dash back to the finish line. The timing starts from the instant the shooters see the mug shot. The exercise is a ``no go'' if a shooter fails to hit the suspect or mistakenly hits the hostage. This tests your ability to focus on a suspect's face instead of attire (to preclude changing clothes), as well as to display concentration, discipline, and physical conditioning.

Photographs of similar-looking people may be used to increases the degree of difficulty. For example, targets of all white males with short hair, using side views of the suspect, or altering a suspect's appearance with sunglasses or changing the hairstyle or length of hair. 

The Simultaneous Engagement

Three balloons are arranged exactly as in the multiple hostage exercise, only this time there are one hostage and two suspects. This will require that the two suspects are taken out in less than 10 seconds. You will fire when they hear the ``n'' in one from a count down from three.

This demonstrates your ability for controlled breathing in order to be able to both fire and talk. (This technique is primarily use to teach partners how to time fire the weapon so that an accurate shot can be squeezed off at someone else's order. In addition to being useful against multiple targets, this technique can be used to smash through plate glass with one round and take out a suspect accurately with a round arriving a split second later.)

Noise and light distractions increase this exercise's difficulty.

NEUTRALIZING SHOTS

This event demands true precision, for it challenges the shooter to place accurately a round in a suspect's neural motor strips or brain stem, the tiny impact points for head shots that neutralize a human almost instantly. This is a ``no option left'' engagement, because the suspect is pressing a weapon against a hostage and anything but a neutralizing shot could still allow the trigger to be pulled.

Since the intended impact points are less than 2 inches wide, you will engage these targets from your choice of location from between 30 to 65 yards. The targets will be life-size human head photographs or mannequins, side views for engaging the neural motor strips (above each ear), or a back view for engaging the brain stem. These areas will be highlighted, both to help the sniper focus on the correct impact point and to evaluate the results clearly.

FIXED TARGETS

Posted 60 yards down range is a single target board displaying three different 8 1/2 x 11-inch targets. All sniper rifles are grounded on the firing line, and you are behind the line 10 feet until issued an "Engage" command by the range officer. You will race to your weapon, load and fire upon one target only. You will then relocate to a new location outlined by an official and engage target number two, move to a third location and engage target three. Shooting positions will vary and may require climbing with your gear to elevated location. (un-timed event)

You will be Issued 30 rounds and will engage each target with 10 rounds until you are empty. Points will be tallied based on your hits.

Shots that have landed off the targets will deduct 5 points each missed shot from your overall score card.

THE FOLLOW UP SHOT

This exercise is actually a contradiction to the philosophy of one-shot kills. In this drill, you must re-bolt your weapon instantly and prepare to re-engage the same target.

For this exercise, two or more balloons will be placed on a single silhouette. You will be issued the same number of rounds, all of which will be loaded into the rifle. To add pressure, this is a timed event that begins when the first shot is fired and ends with the last shot fired. Regardless of time lapsed, the shooter earns a ``0 point'' if no balloon is hit.

COVER AND CONCEALMENT

Your stalking and concealment techniques will be evaluated by a panel of 3. You will be given 15 minutes to conceal yourself out of the site of the judges. The judges will then use a scoring system that gives you points based on categories:

BONUS ROUNDS

From 30 yards 9 balloons will be released at the same time.

(3) Blue = 5 points

(3) Red = 10 points

(3) Yellow = 15 points

This is an un-timed event but you will have 15 bb's to get as many as possible before they are out of range or you are out of bb's.

The Fog of Battle - The breaker of all ties.

Posted 50 yards down range is a single target board displaying three different 8 1/2 x 11-inch facial photographs. All sniper rifles are grounded on the firing line, and you are behind the line, around the range officer. On the range officer's command, one or more smoke grenades will be released down range. While the smoke builds, the snipers study a mugs shot identical to one of the target photos. The range officer then gives one round to sniper. When satisfied the targets are thoroughly masked by smoke, the range officer issues the green light and all snipers rush to their weapons.

Peering through rifle scopes, the snipers wait for the smoke to dissipate enough to identify the correct photo. The first shooter to shout, ``Got him,'' is the only one allowed to engage, and this shooter has 5 seconds to do so. Some shooters ``call'' the target prematurely; others miss or don't even get a shot off. Others are prone to choke up in front of onlookers.

CONCLUSION

Accuracy is not the sole determinant of a sniper's performance. Qualities such as concentration, discipline, confidence, and patience must be honed to fire successfully under pressure. These procedures and shooting exercises can contribute to a shooter being psychologically and physically prepared to neutralize a suspect--one of the most pressured situations in law enforcement.