depth perception and scout sniper

[manwithbeard]

I checked the requirements online and all that was said is "correctable to 20/20 which i have with glass. I was wondering if any current or former USMC scout snipers could tell me if, and how much depth perception affects your eligibility.

 

[Gunz]

I wasn't a sniper but I can tell you this: your first hurdle is rifle qualification at bootcamp. It is a demanding and, in my opinion, the toughest and most comprehensive marksmanship course of any branch. Not only must you qualify, but with competition the way it is and with the limited number of slots available for Scout/Sniper school, it would help your chances if you shot high Expert. And shooting high Expert is not easy. Maybe 2 or 3 guys out of a 30-40 man platoon will qual that high.

So my point is, you might first ask the question, how does depth perception affect my ability to qualify high Expert with the rifle in bootcamp?

How bad is your depth perception?

 

[manwithbeard]

thanks for the info, and i failed the depth perception test at MEPS but my vision is correctable to 20/20

 

[manwithbeard]

thanks for the info, and i failed the depth perception test at MEPS but my vision is correctable to 20/20

 

[Gunz]

thanks for the info, and i failed the depth perception test at MEPS but my vision is correctable to 20/20

I honestly don't know how depth perception will affect your ability to hit a bullseye at 500 yards with iron sights. It seems to me if you can see the bullseye, and you can see the front sight post of your rifle on the bullseye and centered in your rear sight aperture, depth perception won't be much of a factor...on the range. But depth perception could be a huge problem for you in estimating distance to target in the field, something snipers have to be pretty good at.

I invite our snipers and medical folk to jump in here re depth perception and Scout/Sniper School.

@manwithbeard, just FYI, I believe you must have an infantry (03) MOS to be considered for S/S. (At least that's the way it used to be). And most guys who get a slot have usually done a year or two in the Fleet.

Scout/Sniper is one of the most physically demanding courses in the Marine Corps.