Sniper Training

[andysocial]

CNN repeatedly mentioned last night that John Mohammed, although former army, was never trained as a sniper.

As has been said repeatedly by anyone with any firearms training, 150 meters is not sniper range. If you miss a slow-moving target at anything closer than 300 meters with a scope, you're just a bad shot.

Comments

[talitha-oy.livejournal.com]

That had my attention too....Rod Bernson, the traffic reporter for Fox morning news, told viewers that anyone with any firearms training could hit a target at 150 ft, the range the Beltway sniper has been at. He said the sniper really only needed to be someone who knew his way around a gun, and had a decent rifle. He also said the sniper didn't even necessarily have to be military trained, like so many people have speculated. He said the average [deer] hunter would have the training and weapons to make these attacks.

Which is someone, to me at least, far scarier than an ex-military sniper assasin on the loose. :-/

Snipers

[andysocial]

There is a problem with defining "sniper" in the minds of the media, most of whom have been no closer to an actual firearm than Hunter Thompson has been to an AA meeting.

Sniper, as defined by civilians, means "One who shoots at other people from a concealed place." That is an accurate representation of this putz.

Sniper, as defined by the military, means "A skilled military shooter detailed to spot and pick off enemy soldiers from a concealed place." The implication is that he's also firing from a greater range than a normal marksman would be able to.

No sniper training is required to hide behind a building and shoot someone 50 yards away. The 50 meter target is considered a "gimme" on a military rifle range. You barely even have to control your breathing and trigger squeeze when you're aiming at something that close.

But then the media, after defining this moron implicitly in the simple "concealed" way, have to mention that he didn't receive sniper training in the army. Well, la-di-da. I didn't receive sniper training; I never even shot expert, but I'm sure I could hit something that was standing still 100 meters away, if I had a steady firing position. That's nothing. Being capable of shooting another human being that was not actively trying to do me harm, on the other hand, is something I am incapable of contemplating.

[ex-enygma701.livejournal.com]

CNN repeatedly mentioned during my lunch hour that he was trained in sniper shooting by our handy dandy military.

[andysocial]

According to the most recent story on CNN's page, Muhammed shot expert on the standard range. Lots of people do that. Besides, at the short ranges he was firing from, no special training would be needed beyond that any deerhunter has.

Re:

[ex-enygma701.livejournal.com]

Yeah, ok, whatever mister miltary junkie. They said he was an "expert marksman" through his training in the military. It's all a bunch of hype bullshit anyway. The guy offed something like 10 ppl, who cares why, he won't be doing it again, end of story.

Sniper

[andysocial]

Expert marksman is nothing too exciting. Sniper training is something completely different. Words matter, especially in any jargon-filled system like IT and the military. :-)