Another more exciting aspect of Snipers as a life savior is that of a designated marksman. Something a bit new to my thinking in a squad, fireteam or platoon.
The one DM will be sniping important enemy targets. I read a story over on Military dot com where one DM was able to take 20 enemy lives and silence a machinegun nest or two and save a number of his fellow Marines. Ranges were at 200 yards or so.
Or you can reach back to world war one where the old German Kaiser Helmets used to lose thier "Spikes" at certain ranges. And a place in France where Marines sharp shot Germans at many hundreds of yards.
For the very best in Sniping, you might want to look over the SAS in the UK. Those folks.... whew. You can rent the Movie Enemy at the Gates I think is of the Russian Soldier at Stalingrad who became a sniper out of necessity.
Saving Pvt Ryan had a pretty accurate sniping bit I think in the world war two era in that movie.
Both Union and Confederate forces had sniper weapons that were defined by extremely long tubes to sight through and worked alone targeting important people.
In the Revolutionary times Sailing ships had Marine sharpshooters in the fighting tops (Half way up the masts and sails on platforms) aiming to take out the enemy officers on the opposite ship's quarter deck. But on land, sniping was considered somewhat dirty and dishonrable because of a different way of life in those days.
Or keep it simple and use your nearest local Urban Law Enforcement agency large enough to have a Swat team with snipers.
The important part of this is to gain a desire to learn/want to immerse into sniping and then produce a work easily understood by others. I think the Class really does not want to sit for days to see a shot made.
If you are really getting into it, you may learn of how our enemies after 9-11 would capture Marine Sniper weapons and used them against American Forces and how they would shoot.
There are a number of videos on the internet that will show actual sniper shoots, good, bad and the ugly against enemy forces, american forces and against suspects here at home who have thier handguns shot out of hand or something.
Video games dont have a very good ... sniping situation. Usually the view distance in the games are limited to way less than the ranges a good shoot are typically shot at and the games dont replicate wind and other effects on the bullet.
And finally, dont forget about the SNiper's Spotter. This is a most important part of the team that makes it all work. While the sniper on the Barret is eating the muzzle blast and dust kicked up by the gun, the Spotter can tell instantly what the results were.
Or you can simply review the Maresk Captian Rescue using the recent SEAL sniping of the three bad guys in the lifeboat situation. That particular shoot will probably become a part of our history in a good way, with that story being told and retold long after we all here are dead and gone.
Im happy shooting a dinner plate sized target at 20 yards center mass with a one ounce slug and pleased. These people who qualify, train and go out and do this stuff has to hit with much different ranges and sometimes through glass or other objects to make the shoot work. I can never ever be a sniper. But I have always thought that they have saved many lives over the years.
They are also good for information. If they see... a group of something important, it will not be hard for them to communicate that actionable intel up to thier commander who will then transmit to the appropriate asset under his command or kick it higher for them to handle.
Finally, I have heard or read stories of a naval weapon that is kept aboard a warship and is fired from a cannon of some size. This particular.. munition could have possibly been used to kill a specific bad guy inside his apartment (Through the window) from a hundred or more miles away from the sea.
Myth? Real Story? Wild Imagination?
Who knows? I sure dont.
