Warm weather, lots of extra greenery, more big events on. Ideal for sniping, no?

Er, no. Not for me anyway. Although most of the time I’m happy running alone, behind enemy lines, there are times when I like to chip in as part of a team and do something a bit different. This summer, I’m doing a Black Hawk Down event with Stirling Airsoft, which has been on my wishlist since I started airsofting. I’m a massive fan of the film, and the last couple of months I’ve been getting organised with a few friends to take part, hence being a little quieter than usual around the sniper community.

We’re playing the part of the US Army Rangers, so I’m busy trying to build a more old school rifle out of a Classic Army M15a4 I picked up on the cheap at my local site, which I’ll do a feature on for anyone interested. Although I have a tricolor desert shirt, I won’t be going full character purely because its a big investment for two days, although it is tempting to run it long term. If you watch the way Delta Force in particular work in the film, its a really effective and good looking loadout for urban areas (woodland games I’d probably return to the sniper kit).

We’re without our usual big event commander, so we’re having to take on the admin for the first time within our team. It’s a surprising amount of prep work, for kit, ammo, food arrangements for the weekend, comms and roles etc, and making sure we can jump into that battle and give a damn good account of ourselves.

For anyone that knows me, sniping is life and all day every day I’m studying, learning and experimenting, chatting to other players on Facebook and watching videos. It’s my passion and I want to be the absolute best I can be. But I don’t play much during the summer. Given the abundance of extra vegetation, I’ve heard some sites described as “sniper heaven” once they’re overgrown, green and leafy. But in reality, I think its the total opposite.

The extra cover you have is also extra cover the enemy has. You can lose your sight lines, allowing the enemy to close you down before you spot them, negating any advantage you have with your rifle. I play from prone shooting positions a lot, because I think it’s a less obvious place for people to look for you. A lot of snipers will hide behind cover or obstacles, such as fallen trees and these places are the first and most obvious places that the enemy will investigate. Being flat to the floor, having plants growing means there are things likely to restrict view but also for the bb to catch on. Hearing I think is very important and it’s easier to hear enemy movement when there are dead leaves on the ground, and no vegetation to dampen or block noise. From autumn to spring, the sites feel more open and give a better advantage to us snipers.

So, while the sun is shining and and I can hide in just bdu’s if need be, I’m going to be enjoying getting out in the warm weather with an m4 and a few friends, travelling and doing something a little different. Drop some comments in and let me know what you’re up to this summer. Always looking for things to do.