http://www.military.com/news/article/army-mods-sniper-competition-rules.html?ESRC=eb.nl
Snipers from around the world will soon shoot against each other at Fort Benning, Ga., but this year they'll have to leave their fine-tuned rifles and high-powered optics at home.
For the first time in the eleven-year history of the U.S. Army International Sniper Competition, all competitors will use the same sniper rifle and optics of equal power.
The new rules are designed to "level the playing field, so it isn't so much an equipment race," said Capt. Daniel Wilcox, who overseas Army Sniper School at Benning as commander of C Company, 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment.
The Sniper School-hosted competition has become a popular event for the sniper world. Teams come for the chance to showcase their skill but also to learn different techniques and tips from fellow snipers.
This year, teams from Canada, Australia, Ireland, Germany and possibly Thailand are expected to participate, Benning officials said. So far, there will also be 16 teams from the active-duty Army and National Guard, as well as from the Marine Corps and Air Force.
The competition is scheduled for Sept. 23-30 and will include a sniper symposium, range time for zeroing weapons and competition events running Sept. 27-29.
Benning officials try to make each competition more challenging, and this year is no different. They announced their intention to prohibit teams from competing with their own sniper rifles in a May 19 memo to all competitors.
Members of the sniper community question the restriction since it runs contrary to training practices that encourage these precision shooters to become intimately familiar with the sniper weapons they take to war.
Benning officials maintain that the competition will test all of the competitors' sniper skills -- from stalking to detecting concealed targets -- not just shooting.
But there will be several shooting events where contestants will have to engage stationary and moving targets, both day and night.
Each sniper team will be issued a bolt-action rifle chambered for 7.62mm. The rifles, which are on loan from the Army Marksmanship Unit at Benning, are very similar to the Army M24 sniper rifle but have a short action instead of a long action, Benning officials say.
Competitors will be allowed to bring their own day optics, as long as they are no greater than 12 power. While it usually depends on the mission, some snipers use up to 20 power optics. Night optics will be issued prior to the competition.
The tighter restrictions are designed to "keep the outcome of the competition based around shooter ability and not equipment; this is in keeping within the best interests of all the competitors and the spirit of the competition," according to the memo.
Each sniper team will also be issued an M110 semiautomatic sniper rifle to serve as a spotter's weapon and two M9 9mm pistols.
Wilcox took command of Sniper School in June after the new rules were approved. He said he is aware of concerns snipers have about going into a competition with an unfamiliar weapon.
"They will be given two days to shoot that weapon before the competition," Wilcox said. "They are not going to just show up, and we hand them a gun and it's time to go. We will see how it works. We are going to do it, but I'm not going to say it is going to be like that forever."
In addition to the new weapons rules, this year's competition will run at a faster pace with most events occurring simultaneously over approximately 72 hours, Wilcox said.
"Last year they tried to do the 72-hour continuous ops thing -- and that sounded really sexy -- but what they didn't really do was run events simultaneously, so even though the intent was to keep them going for three days, they would get to an event and be in a holding area for two to four hours," Wilcox said.
"Two to four hours times 10 events, that's 20 to 40 hours of sleep in 72 hours. That's more sleep than I get during the work week. There will be less down time over the course of the competition."
Before the competition starts, competitors are required to attend a sniper symposium Sept 23-24. Each team will have to give a 10-15 minute presentation about their training program, weapons and lessons learned from past operations.
The winning team will have their names put on a trophy that remains at the Sniper School. A number of companies will be donating prizes as well.
"There is going to be cool stuff, guns and optics for the winners," Wilcox said.
Snipers from around the world will soon shoot against each other at Fort Benning, Ga., but this year they'll have to leave their fine-tuned rifles and high-powered optics at home.
For the first time in the eleven-year history of the U.S. Army International Sniper Competition, all competitors will use the same sniper rifle and optics of equal power.
The new rules are designed to "level the playing field, so it isn't so much an equipment race," said Capt. Daniel Wilcox, who overseas Army Sniper School at Benning as commander of C Company, 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment.
The Sniper School-hosted competition has become a popular event for the sniper world. Teams come for the chance to showcase their skill but also to learn different techniques and tips from fellow snipers.
This year, teams from Canada, Australia, Ireland, Germany and possibly Thailand are expected to participate, Benning officials said. So far, there will also be 16 teams from the active-duty Army and National Guard, as well as from the Marine Corps and Air Force.
The competition is scheduled for Sept. 23-30 and will include a sniper symposium, range time for zeroing weapons and competition events running Sept. 27-29.
Benning officials try to make each competition more challenging, and this year is no different. They announced their intention to prohibit teams from competing with their own sniper rifles in a May 19 memo to all competitors.
Members of the sniper community question the restriction since it runs contrary to training practices that encourage these precision shooters to become intimately familiar with the sniper weapons they take to war.
Benning officials maintain that the competition will test all of the competitors' sniper skills -- from stalking to detecting concealed targets -- not just shooting.
But there will be several shooting events where contestants will have to engage stationary and moving targets, both day and night.
Each sniper team will be issued a bolt-action rifle chambered for 7.62mm. The rifles, which are on loan from the Army Marksmanship Unit at Benning, are very similar to the Army M24 sniper rifle but have a short action instead of a long action, Benning officials say.
Competitors will be allowed to bring their own day optics, as long as they are no greater than 12 power. While it usually depends on the mission, some snipers use up to 20 power optics. Night optics will be issued prior to the competition.
The tighter restrictions are designed to "keep the outcome of the competition based around shooter ability and not equipment; this is in keeping within the best interests of all the competitors and the spirit of the competition," according to the memo.
Each sniper team will also be issued an M110 semiautomatic sniper rifle to serve as a spotter's weapon and two M9 9mm pistols.
Wilcox took command of Sniper School in June after the new rules were approved. He said he is aware of concerns snipers have about going into a competition with an unfamiliar weapon.
"They will be given two days to shoot that weapon before the competition," Wilcox said. "They are not going to just show up, and we hand them a gun and it's time to go. We will see how it works. We are going to do it, but I'm not going to say it is going to be like that forever."
In addition to the new weapons rules, this year's competition will run at a faster pace with most events occurring simultaneously over approximately 72 hours, Wilcox said.
"Last year they tried to do the 72-hour continuous ops thing -- and that sounded really sexy -- but what they didn't really do was run events simultaneously, so even though the intent was to keep them going for three days, they would get to an event and be in a holding area for two to four hours," Wilcox said.
"Two to four hours times 10 events, that's 20 to 40 hours of sleep in 72 hours. That's more sleep than I get during the work week. There will be less down time over the course of the competition."
Before the competition starts, competitors are required to attend a sniper symposium Sept 23-24. Each team will have to give a 10-15 minute presentation about their training program, weapons and lessons learned from past operations.
The winning team will have their names put on a trophy that remains at the Sniper School. A number of companies will be donating prizes as well.
"There is going to be cool stuff, guns and optics for the winners," Wilcox said.