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SIGSHR · January 28, 2011, 03:50 PM

I was never a sniper in the Army, and I met only one graduate of Sniper School, and that was about 1980 or so. Knowing what I do of the Army (OK, I retired from the Reserves in 1998 and am way out of touch) I know that support from sniper programs waxes and wanes and is probably one of the first things cut when defense budgets are cut, and I have known quite a few people who joined the Army with the intent of going to sniper school and left in disgust when they couldn't get a slot.
It seems to me that what distinguishes snipers are 1. The quality and rigor of their training, and 2. The skill of their armorers. Those of us who have served know that you usually have to make do with what you get rather than getting what you'd like. Bench rest shooters can carefully tune their ammunition to their needs, carefully trim their cases, ream out primer pockets to what they find is the optimum death, carefully weigh each powder charge, choose from a wide selection of powders and bullets. Military snipers and their armorers-I doubt it. Perhaps they get match ammunition, that's it.

January 28, 2011, 03:50 PM	#24
SIGSHR Senior Member Join Date: September 13, 2005 Posts: 4,700	I was never a sniper in the Army, and I met only one graduate of Sniper School, and that was about 1980 or so. Knowing what I do of the Army (OK, I retired from the Reserves in 1998 and am way out of touch) I know that support from sniper programs waxes and wanes and is probably one of the first things cut when defense budgets are cut, and I have known quite a few people who joined the Army with the intent of going to sniper school and left in disgust when they couldn't get a slot. It seems to me that what distinguishes snipers are 1. The quality and rigor of their training, and 2. The skill of their armorers. Those of us who have served know that you usually have to make do with what you get rather than getting what you'd like. Bench rest shooters can carefully tune their ammunition to their needs, carefully trim their cases, ream out primer pockets to what they find is the optimum death, carefully weigh each powder charge, choose from a wide selection of powders and bullets. Military snipers and their armorers-I doubt it. Perhaps they get match ammunition, that's it.