| A lot of airsoft snipers face a significant barrier to their | | | | first one: |
| ability to fulfill their position as a precision marksman | | | | Aiming - the first thing that needs to be taken seriously |
| because they bring with them a whole host of bad | | | | when using an airsoft sniper rifle is to understand basic |
| habits that have been established while engaging in | | | | aiming techniques. Point, shoot, fire is the oversimplified |
| skirmishes as the member of a squad wielding | | | | version that many shooters take when in fact aiming is |
| assault-style AEGs. | | | | composed of two major elements. Sight alignment and |
| Unlike those who join the military, there is no barrier to | | | | sight picture. |
| entry and no basic marksmanship training required | | | | Sight alignment is making sure that your rear sight is |
| before getting involved in airsoft. Getting started is | | | | properly aligned with your front sight to ensure that |
| pretty much as easy as buying a gun and showing up | | | | your rifle is pointing in the direction that you THINK it is. |
| at an event. Load gun, point, shoot, done. | | | | Sight picture boils down to properly placing your sights |
| Unfortunately, this translates into an entire group of | | | | on your target. |
| players that lack a basic understanding of the | | | | When shooting with a rifle that doesn't have a scope, |
| fundamentals of marksmanship and how to employ | | | | paying close attention to both sight alignment and sight |
| them. Now this may not seem like such a big issue in a | | | | picture are essentially important. |
| squad-type setting with close up engagements being | | | | Sighting in with a scoped sniper rifle however, is a |
| the norm where simply sending enough shots toward | | | | different experience from aiming with a non-scoped |
| your target fast enough may be the major determining | | | | gun. Sight alignment is not as much of an issue as the |
| factor, but this is not the case once a player buys an | | | | scope itself compensates for the proper & |
| airsoft sniper rifle and starts to take up long-range firing | | | | straight alignment of the rifle. It is important to know |
| positions. | | | | exactly how your scope works, and follow the |
| If a player finds himself on terrain that requires | | | | instructions to properly zero it in well before showing |
| constant movement between concealment points, then | | | | up at the safe zone of any competition. |
| the exertion of getting from place to place along with | | | | If your airsoft sniper rifle did not come with a scope, |
| getting into a sometimes unfamiliar position can often | | | | then it's HIGHLY advisable that you do your best to |
| make aiming a very difficult proposition when the | | | | get one ASAP. With few exceptions all of these guns |
| crosshairs are bobbling all over like sugar-high kid in a | | | | do not come equipped to properly aim without a |
| moon-walk. | | | | scope. Trying to operate as a airsoft sniper without a |
| Other than working hard to maintain a high level of | | | | scope is a lot like building the fastest NASCAR ever |
| fitness, the only thing that can help overcome these | | | | but then failing to budget for some good racing fuel...the |
| obstacles so that a player can properly fill the role of | | | | thing is just not going to work right. |
| an airsoft sniper is mastering the Fundamentals of | | | | Your scope will come with instructions on how to |
| Airsoft Marksmanship. These four principles will enable | | | | properly zero it in so that your shots actually end up |
| any sniper who is struggling to accurately place shots | | | | where you aim. If no instructions are provided, you can |
| with his or her new airsoft sniper rifle to be able to | | | | find various guides simply by searching the internet. |
| quickly improve accuracy and become the most | | | | Once your airsoft sniper rifle and scope are zeroed |
| feared operator on your team. | | | | and ready to go, aiming is as simple as setting your |
| In this four-part series, we'll outline what these four | | | | sights on your target and squeezing the trigger. Both |
| principles of marksmanship for the airsoft sniper are, | | | | sight alignment and sight picture should naturally fall into |
| and how you can employ them yourself. Here's the | | | | place. |