Camping, laying around in bushes. Are snipers lazy players? I was following a post in a general airsoft group on Facebook and there’s clearly a very different perception of the sniper role from those who do it, and the wider community. But I don’t think it’s fair to label us snipers as lazy, or campers.

(obligatory camping pic…) 

Is it a lazy role for the less fit airsofter? An excuse to lie around until the game is over? Although non snipers will stereotype themselves as fast, hard hitting players who run and gun, getting stuck in where the action is, sprinting to respawn and back when it goes wrong and they get hit (at least the first couple of times, it tends to be a walk after that), I’d argue they probably cover less ground.

The sniper meanwhile, will usually be taking the longer route to attack the enemy down the flanks, or from behind. There is no quick out and back in, any hits will be punished by a very lengthy trip to respawn and so the sniper will be working much harder to stay out of the way. We’re not stupid enough to just push into a bad position because it’s easier. It’s a lot more work as well moving around the site sometimes on knees or crawling, twisting your body into awkward shapes to get through the environment without making noise, taking up good shooting positions behind whatever cover presents itself.

There’s also a mental effort too, being on your own for long periods of time and knowing that every miscalculation or bad decision can cost your whole games worth of effort, sending you back to respawn to navigate back into a fresh position. There’s no backup, no full auto switch and an endless stream of bb’s to dig you out of a hole. You have one chance and can’t mess it up.

Camping? Some do. Some are happy to show themselves doing it on YouTube too. But staying in one place for too long is a problem. If you play that site regularly, and camp the same spot, it’ll be the first place the enemy look for you. And although “dead men don’t talk”, you can bet in most games that they will, or they’ll be rushing back from respawn to exact revenge. Once you get that kill, you’ve got to get out of there at the first opportunity. Keep the enemy guessing, take shots from lots of positions and it’ll help you much more in the long run. And it’s a good habit to get into. Just make sure when you do move, that nobody is watching.

Often I hear people grumble about getting old or out of shape, and suggest that they put down the assault rifle and pick up a sniper rifle instead because its “easier”.

Good luck with that.