When a sniper takes his shot, s/he would immediatly leave the area... Does s/he take the rifle with him/her?

Question

I'm looking for an answer from someone with field experience...

I'm basically asking that when a sniper has taken his/her shot and is compromised and has to immediately get out of the area, would he/she take the rifle with him/her, or leave it there because of weight / mobility issues?

Answer 1

How about when they used to send out a forward scout to draw snipper fire, inorder to determine the snippers position! F_CK! What a h**l of a job, why would anyone want to draw snipper fire ?

Answer 2

Snipers don't work like they do in the movies.

For a start, most snipers have a partner called a spotter. Have you ever been looking through a pair of binoculars or a rifle scope and been concentrating so hard that you don't notice someone is standing behind you? The spotter's purpose is to watch your back, and to see anything you can't see through your scope. They can also help you carry equipment.

A sniper's rifle is often their most precious possesion. Most good snipers have built that rifle from parts themselves (possibly even having carved the stock from wood themselves) and they know each peice intimately. The last thing they want to do is waste those thousands of dollars and man-hours by dropping their rifle and running. A good sniper also collects every single spent shell casing, doesn't smoke on the job (and if they do, they pick up their butts) and has multiple escape plans.

These days, most snipers are unlikely to have 'their situation compromised' anyway, as their employed to reduce danger to VIPs (such as the snipers on the rooftops ready to take out direct threats to visiting VIPs during APEC in Sydney last year).

Also unlike the movies, when someone gets hit by a sniper, bodyguards don't immediately pull out their sidearm and return fire, it's not their job and they don't know where the bullet came from unless the sniper was careless and allowed the sun to reflect off his scope, showed himself, or someone just happened to see the muzzle flash. The bodyguard's job would be to protect their target, even if it's just been hit by a bullet (any crowds around would be stampeding, and there may be secondary and tertiary threats that want to make sure the target is dead), and attempt to revive the target if possible.

Another note, handguns have an effective range of around 12 feet. Beyond that, it's a lucky shot.

Answer 3

Sniper Rifles are usually fairly light, so they would be taken. Leaving them behind would cost too much money.  

Answer 4

Depends on the situation and the weight of the rifle. The sniper would usually prefer to take the rifle along. A snipers rifle is a personal thing. Snipers usually don't carry another weapon other than their sidearm pistol. Of course their spotter will have his weapon though.

Answer 5

I'm not a sniper but why leave your weapon? Especially one like that? I mean reach out and Touch Someone!

You guys that do this are Incredible Shots and I take my hat off to You! I can group my 270 in a quarter @ 400yds. That would be off by a Foot with some of the shots you folks take.

Answer 6

Yes they will. Okay when a sniper takes the shot they don't just drop and run like crazy. They leave the same way they got in by crawling and being one with their surroundings. Snipers are trained to the extent that even after the shot has been taken the enemy still has no clue where the h**l they are. Thats how good and valuable a sniper is.  

Answer 7

Duh

Answer 8

It really depends whether or not you are talking about a military sniper or just an assasin sniper. An assassin might want to hide his rifle somewhere before leaving the area. Preferably wiped for fingerprints and disassembled.

An army sniper would most likely bring his rifle with him, unless he is really in a sticky situation and has to flee the area fast (being shot at). Most likely such a sniper has brought an extra weapon and sidearm more suited for fighting in close combat.

However, since I am not an American I do not have US army or Navy training, so I can not say what these organizations guidelines are.

For your sniping needs, check out Paladin Press.

Answer 9

i believe he should run incase the enemy tries to locate the firing position.

Answer 10

Yes, we take our rifles with us as well as the spent shells.

Answer 11

There are very few situations in which an Australian soldier would leave his weapon behind, but this isn't one of them. Weapons security is a big thing, and losing a weapon could land a soldier in jail.

Leaving behind a weapon under any circumstances, especially to the enemy is bad juju. It's not just a case of saving resources - the sniper may need to use that rifle in another fight. They're not that heavy, anyway.

One apocryphal story tells of a grunt in East Timor who left his weapon behind somewhere, lost it, then was sent to a military prison after a local militiaman picked up that rifle and used it to fire at Australian troops.