Drizzt
January 12, 2004, 09:55 AM
Nebraskans on target, win Sniper Competition
BY LARRY PORTER
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - David Kroupa was combining corn on the family farm near Pierce, Neb., when the cell phone call came from the commanding officer of his Army National Guard unit.
Would Kroupa be interested in teaming with Kris Hector, another Nebraska farm boy, to compete in the U.S. Army International Sniper Competition?
Kroupa's first thought was to reject the offer. He had returned from Bosnia less than a month earlier and wanted to kick back a bit longer. Besides, his help on the farm was welcomed.
"But I only had to think about it for only a second or two, then I was good to go," Kroupa said. "Any time you get to shoot, it's pretty fun."
Hector, 28, and Kroupa, 24, had a blast during the event held in November at Fort Benning, Ga. The Nebraskans won the championship against 20 other teams of highly trained military snipers from Canada, England, Germany and, of course, the United States.
Hector, who grew up near Johnson, Neb, placed second in this prestigious competition a year earlier with a partner from Florida. When Hector learned that his partner couldn't compete this time, he placed a call to Capt. Gordon Bjorman of Lincoln, Army National Guard state marksmanship coordinator.
"The reason I called Capt. Bjorman," Hector said, "is that in the National Guard, Nebraska definitely has better long-range shooters than just about any other state."
That's because Nebraska's rural youngsters grow up hunting - and hunters make the best snipers.
"Everybody knows that Nebraska has some of the best long-range shooters in the world," Hector said. "That's because so many kids in Nebraska shoot rifles while growing up. It's second nature. It's part of our culture, and that's the big reason why we're so good at it.
"Farm kids now are doing the same things David and I did when we were kids. They're deer hunters, coyote hunters, squirrel hunters. They're potential snipers."
Bjorman said the shooting skills and stealth required of a hunter are valuable qualities when the military sifts through its ranks in search of long-range shooters.
"We recruit hunters because they have instincts you can't teach out of a book," Bjorman said.
Although Hector and Kroupa plinked around with BB guns at an early age before starting to hunt with rifles, Hector had an extra incentive to become a sniper.
"My dad was a sniper in Vietnam," Hector said. "I really got the desire to learn how to shoot a rifle from the time he told me stories about going to sniper school and being in Vietnam."
Hector joined the army in 1994 and became one of only 11 soldiers ever to graduate from sniper school straight out of basic training. Hector now is a part-time instructor at the National Guard's sniper school at Fort Robinson, near Little Rock, Ark.
Kroupa went to sniper school in 2001 after joining the National Guard.
The competition is open only to graduates of sniper schools, and four of the Canadian competitors currently are instructors at the Canada sniper school, Hector said.
Because Kroupa had less experience as a long-range shooter, he was the triggerman - the designated sniper - during the competition.
Even though he was the spotter, Hector also had to shoot a customized M-16. He shot at targets at distances of 100 to 600 yards, while Kroupa's targets were from 100 to 1,000 yards. Pistol shooting also was among the 14 events.
As the spotter, Hector had to read the wind and consider other factors - temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, muzzle velocity and distance - before calculating where Kroupa should place the shot.
A 1-mph wind will cause a bullet to drift approximately 10 inches over 1,000 yards, Hector said. That same bullet will drop 350 inches - 29 feet - over 1,000 yards.
The sniper shoots a .308 Winchester, a bolt-action rifle with a 24-inch barrel, and the ammo is a 175-grain long range Sierra Match King bullet. A fancy scope helps increase the accuracy at that range, but the success of the shooter ultimately depends on the spotter.
A bullet traveling 1,000 yards is most affected by wind about three-quarters of the way to the target.
"The wind could be blowing from right to left where you're shooting," Kroupa said. "But you can see from the trees past the target that the wind is blowing left to right. The spotter has to figure out which way the wind is blowing three-quarters of the way to the target."
The most accurate way to judge how fast a wind between 1 and 18 mph is blowing is to read the mirage - the heat waves - through the scope.
"The wind will actually make waves in the optics," Hector said. "When the wind pushes the heat waves, you can see them bend."
As the spotter, Hector takes into consideration all the factors, then tells Kroupa where to hold for the shot.
"I don't argue," Kroupa said. "Whatever he says, that's what I do. And that's what you have to do because he's the man. I just pull the trigger."
The sniper-spotter team is the same in a wartime scenario. They go together to gather intelligence and to take out targets. It is much like a marriage, but with one exception. There is no divorce.
"You're both professionals," Kroupa said. "No matter what your personal differences are, you'll get it done because you have to. His life and your life are pretty much one. If he goes down, you'll probably go down, too, so you've got to make it work."
How Hector and Kroupa made it work can be seen Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. when the international sniper competition will be aired on the Outdoor Life Network.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=38&u_sid=970935
BY LARRY PORTER
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - David Kroupa was combining corn on the family farm near Pierce, Neb., when the cell phone call came from the commanding officer of his Army National Guard unit.
Would Kroupa be interested in teaming with Kris Hector, another Nebraska farm boy, to compete in the U.S. Army International Sniper Competition?
Kroupa's first thought was to reject the offer. He had returned from Bosnia less than a month earlier and wanted to kick back a bit longer. Besides, his help on the farm was welcomed.
"But I only had to think about it for only a second or two, then I was good to go," Kroupa said. "Any time you get to shoot, it's pretty fun."
Hector, 28, and Kroupa, 24, had a blast during the event held in November at Fort Benning, Ga. The Nebraskans won the championship against 20 other teams of highly trained military snipers from Canada, England, Germany and, of course, the United States.
Hector, who grew up near Johnson, Neb, placed second in this prestigious competition a year earlier with a partner from Florida. When Hector learned that his partner couldn't compete this time, he placed a call to Capt. Gordon Bjorman of Lincoln, Army National Guard state marksmanship coordinator.
"The reason I called Capt. Bjorman," Hector said, "is that in the National Guard, Nebraska definitely has better long-range shooters than just about any other state."
That's because Nebraska's rural youngsters grow up hunting - and hunters make the best snipers.
"Everybody knows that Nebraska has some of the best long-range shooters in the world," Hector said. "That's because so many kids in Nebraska shoot rifles while growing up. It's second nature. It's part of our culture, and that's the big reason why we're so good at it.
"Farm kids now are doing the same things David and I did when we were kids. They're deer hunters, coyote hunters, squirrel hunters. They're potential snipers."
Bjorman said the shooting skills and stealth required of a hunter are valuable qualities when the military sifts through its ranks in search of long-range shooters.
"We recruit hunters because they have instincts you can't teach out of a book," Bjorman said.
Although Hector and Kroupa plinked around with BB guns at an early age before starting to hunt with rifles, Hector had an extra incentive to become a sniper.
"My dad was a sniper in Vietnam," Hector said. "I really got the desire to learn how to shoot a rifle from the time he told me stories about going to sniper school and being in Vietnam."
Hector joined the army in 1994 and became one of only 11 soldiers ever to graduate from sniper school straight out of basic training. Hector now is a part-time instructor at the National Guard's sniper school at Fort Robinson, near Little Rock, Ark.
Kroupa went to sniper school in 2001 after joining the National Guard.
The competition is open only to graduates of sniper schools, and four of the Canadian competitors currently are instructors at the Canada sniper school, Hector said.
Because Kroupa had less experience as a long-range shooter, he was the triggerman - the designated sniper - during the competition.
Even though he was the spotter, Hector also had to shoot a customized M-16. He shot at targets at distances of 100 to 600 yards, while Kroupa's targets were from 100 to 1,000 yards. Pistol shooting also was among the 14 events.
As the spotter, Hector had to read the wind and consider other factors - temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, muzzle velocity and distance - before calculating where Kroupa should place the shot.
A 1-mph wind will cause a bullet to drift approximately 10 inches over 1,000 yards, Hector said. That same bullet will drop 350 inches - 29 feet - over 1,000 yards.
The sniper shoots a .308 Winchester, a bolt-action rifle with a 24-inch barrel, and the ammo is a 175-grain long range Sierra Match King bullet. A fancy scope helps increase the accuracy at that range, but the success of the shooter ultimately depends on the spotter.
A bullet traveling 1,000 yards is most affected by wind about three-quarters of the way to the target.
"The wind could be blowing from right to left where you're shooting," Kroupa said. "But you can see from the trees past the target that the wind is blowing left to right. The spotter has to figure out which way the wind is blowing three-quarters of the way to the target."
The most accurate way to judge how fast a wind between 1 and 18 mph is blowing is to read the mirage - the heat waves - through the scope.
"The wind will actually make waves in the optics," Hector said. "When the wind pushes the heat waves, you can see them bend."
As the spotter, Hector takes into consideration all the factors, then tells Kroupa where to hold for the shot.
"I don't argue," Kroupa said. "Whatever he says, that's what I do. And that's what you have to do because he's the man. I just pull the trigger."
The sniper-spotter team is the same in a wartime scenario. They go together to gather intelligence and to take out targets. It is much like a marriage, but with one exception. There is no divorce.
"You're both professionals," Kroupa said. "No matter what your personal differences are, you'll get it done because you have to. His life and your life are pretty much one. If he goes down, you'll probably go down, too, so you've got to make it work."
How Hector and Kroupa made it work can be seen Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. when the international sniper competition will be aired on the Outdoor Life Network.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=38&u_sid=970935