Sniper School:

[Omnicool]

I'm looking to get some feed back on a paintball sniper school I'm think of offering during the month of June. It would be held in the upstate of South Carolina. Size would be limited to about 20 students.

It would be a 5 day week school, 8:00am to 5:00pm, that would include everything from classroom to in the field training. It would cover areas of a sniper from its history, physical fitness, preparation, equipment and gear, markers, ghillies, target detection, stalking, and a lot more...

I would be the lead instructor, but there would be others including a career sniper.

I'm estimating the cost to be around $250.00 for the week and that would include a case of paint as well as your lunch, all air and field fees. You would be responsible for bringing your own gear and marker. There will, however, be a chance to test new gear and gear that pertains to being a paintball sniper.

It would be gear for all level of player from beginner to experts. As a beginner it will be intense and you will need to know your basic equipment, safety and game play.

What do you think?

Do you think there is enough interest?

And the most important do you the there would be participation?

Play safe and have fun,
Omnicool

[ace007]

I would think you would find interest. You might have to do some smart promotional work.

The hour you propose might pose a problem, but it'll pose a problem for some people no matter what.

Idea: Cut it down to 3-5 hours per day & offer a class at night too.

If you have the stamina, you might could organize it so that you have 2 different levels during the day. Example:

level 1 & level 2: exactly the same for first 3 hours. Then level one goes home. Continue for 3 more hours with level 2 class, who are paying more. This will only require some real planning to make it possible to repeat this for 5 straight days. Perhaps you just go in to more detail in each of the extra 3 hours of training. People would feel like they really got something if they actually learned something different that the level 1 guys didn't get exposed to. But then you need to be able to do day 2 (& so on) with something both groups need to learn.

Take short break, then do a evening, level 1 class for 3 hours. It'll be Summer time, so the daylight will be there.

A little thought & you have a nice money maker there.

[Little_Ho]

nice idea just one or two things to think of consider.....


maybe different times for class ( iam second shift) and think of Guys working 3rd...lol
Then i would need to take Vacation for it. So price is not too bad but consider i would take off a week and pay that money....well my Vacation time is limited so maybe weekend classes would be an idea.

Other than that its a nice Idea and maybe offer a trail pack with Pictures and results and what you offer in detail so the People can see what they going into...lol

I would maybe consider a class if i dont have to use my Vacation for it....


Just a thought......dont be haten....lol

[havokrooster]

i think its great russ. youve definately got the stealth down. i learned that at midnight madness when you snuck behind our base, layed on the ground for an hour in the middle of winter relaying intel and then barrel tagged me in my own damn base!

[Omnicool]

I've thoght about a Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday class, but there is so much materail to go over. May could do some evenings and then a weekend, but I would have to think on that some more. I could condence thing, but I don't want anyone to think I'm just craiming something together.

havokrooster you know I'm a sniper at heart.

[ace007]

BTW-- you are talking about REAL sniper training--not just paintball, right?

[Omnicool]

Real sniper training, to use in paintball event. Paintball Sniper Training, not just playing around on a field. There will be classroom and field exercises.

Originally Posted by ace007

BTW-- you are talking about REAL sniper training--not just paintball, right?

[sarge of 501 Rangers]

Marksmanship

The current trend among players and manufactures is to push the technological envelope. Higher rates of fire, electronic triggers, and faster loaders; All are a waste of money if the basic player skills are inadequate or missing all together. Poor marksmanship or shooting skills can turn an Angel in to an expensive noisemaker.

H.A.B.I.T.
Good shooting is a HABIT. Proper Holding, correct point of Aim, controlled Breathing, Instinctive body position, and gentle Trigger control. The basics must be mastered before you can move on. Learn the easy, and then move on to the complex.
Holding your marker must be firm enough to support it, but must not be so tight that you are straining your muscles. When you strain your muscles, they start to shake. The result is that your marker will shake and this makes aiming more and more difficult. When supporting your ‘gun, it is your goal to make a triangle of bone. The human body is the worst weapons platform that can be designed, so we have to work with what we’ve got. Our aim is to turn our bodies into a truss or scaffold of bone so that we use as little of our muscles as possible.
Aiming at a target isn’t as simple as pointing your marker in the right direction & hoping for the best. There are two factors to consider. They are distance, and wind. A paintball falls under the influence of gravity. When we don’t aim up enough, the ball falls short of the target and misses. The farther away the target is, the higher up we have to aim. Therefore accurate judgment of the distance becomes critical. Practice on the range helps out here. Wind can blow a ball off target. The faster the wind, the more the ball gets blown off target. Again, hit the shooting range. When shooting at a target, soldiers, police, and other law enforcement agencies are taught to shoot at the “Center of Visible Mass”. Simply stated, it means shoot for the middle of what you see. On a person, if you can see their whole body, that point is roughly in their stomach. If all you can see is from the waist up, then the center of visible mass is in the middle of the rib cage. Shooting for the middle of the target gives you the highest possibility of making a successful elimination. That’s the goal of proper aiming.
Controlling breathing serves three purposes. First, it supplies the body with the Oxygen it needs. Second, proper breath control helps you fight “Buck Fever” and keeps you calm. Finally, when done properly, proper breathing ensures that you have the same chest size, so the shape of your body is always the same.

The eye contains a large number of specialized cells that are designed to detect light and transfer that information to your brain. This process takes a lot of oxygen. When the body goes hypoxic, a lack of sufficient oxygen (O2) in the body tissues, one of the first symptoms is blurred vision. In order for the muscles to function, they burn sugar and O2. In order to keep an adequate supply of O2 in our bodies, we have to breathe properly. The tendency of the shooter is to get excited when they have their target in their sights. You get excited and start to shake. Relax. When we breathe, our chest expands and contracts moving our arms. If we are breathing in and out, as we pull the trigger, the marker will not be aligned with the target, and we miss.
So breathing control is simple. Take a couple of deep breaths. This will relax you and saturate the blood with O2. When you are ready to pull the trigger, take a deep breath, and exhale half way. Be careful that you don’t hold your breath for too long, or your vision will start to blur and you’ll have to start all over again. Always exhale the same amount. Stay consistent. We don’t like gas pressure changes in our guns, so why should we accept them in our own bodies? Watch your sights rise and fall. When all the pieces fit together, at the point where you exhale and hold your breath, you should be pointed directly at the target.
Instinctive body position is just getting comfortable. The more comfortable you are, the less muscle pressure you have to use. There are four basic fire positions that must be mastered in order to be effective.
1. Prone: This position has the shooter lying on the ground, which makes it the most stable position available. The gun is pointed at the target, but your body is not. You are lying at an angle to the target with your legs spread apart and elbows on the ground.
2. Sitting: Not going anywhere soon? Have a seat. You can sit on a down slope, or on an up slope. Sitting down slope, you sit on your butt, and plant your heels in the ground, legs apart. Your elbows go into the pocket of flesh formed between the hamstring and the knee joint. Proper placement of your elbows in these pockets makes the triangle of bone and keeps you relaxed and stable. Sitting up slope, sit cross legged on the ground and place your elbows in the hollow formed by the knee joint and the Tendon, the longest muscle in the body. Its sole purpose is to let us cross our legs. Placing your elbows in these pockets will keep you stable and make your shot count.
3. Kneeling: Use the kneeling position when you have waist high cover or need to get lower and make yourself a smaller target. For right-handed shooters, go down on your right knee, and place your elbow on your knee if possible. With a little examination, you will find a small pocket just behind the kneecap where your elbow fits nicely. This is the only stable point on your body in this position, but sitting on your right heel will help steady your upper body.
4. Standing: Standing is used when you have high cover, or need to get a shot off quickly. With right-handed shooters, the left foot takes a small step forward, and points at the target. The right foot stays still, and in roughly perpendicular to the target. Legs comfortably apart. There is no support for the arms unless you can


brace your elbows on your harness somehow. This may take some getting used to, but if you have to wait for a target for a long time in this position, it’s worth it.
Trigger control is one of the hardest skills to master in marksmanship. When the trigger is pulled properly, the marker will not move. Often missing your target to the side is the result of poor trigger control. Straining against it causes vibrations that shake the ‘gun off target. Jerking pulls your aim off to the side. The trigger must be pulled gently back in line with the body of the marker. Mentally draw a line with your finger from the trigger to the back of the grip. This will keep your pull in line and under control. Practice makes perfect.
Range Practice:
When training on the range, wear the clothes and gear you play in. All of it. Goggles included. Aside from the safety aspect, get used to them. Know how their constriction affects how you work with your marker. In the Law Enforcement Training, they have a saying. Train like you fight, fight like you train. Make your training environment as close to what you’ll be playing in as much as possible.
Grouping and Zeroing
Grouping and zeroing is the process of setting up your sight and working on your technique. Grouping is firing a series of shots all aimed at the same location. Where they hit on the target is irrelevant. The important part is the size of the grouping. When your shots are consistently in a small tight pattern, it is a good grouping. It proves your marker is set up well, and your paint matches your barrel and you are practicing the principles of good marksmanship.
Grouping is best done in the prone position. Fire five slow, deliberate shots to the same point of aim on the target. Concentrate on your Hold, point of Aim, Breathing, Instinctive position, & Trigger control. When you’re done adjust your sights, according to the manufacturer’s recommendation, to the center of your cluster of hits. Repeat the process. Group five shots, move your sights. Take your time. The time spent setting up on the range will make things flow smoother on the field. Make several small corrections rather than one large one. This will mean more groupings, but we can always use the practice. Remember using the H.A.B.I.T. can help your Marksmanship…..SARGE www.501rangers.com