DANGER... SNIPER AT WORK!

Over the past few issues I’ve turned my focus onto Bolt Action Spring Rifles, an area that has become of increasing interest to me during the C-Virus lockdown. As I’ve said before, the “bolty” is an airsoft platform that is almost purpose-designed to be enjoyed in isolation and one that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed re-embracing during the latter part of 2020 into 2021.

Whilst AEGs and GBBs are undoubtedly the very lifeblood of airsoft, especially in a game situation, when there are no games and you can’t even meet with your friends, then a rifle designed for “solitary use” can honestly become your friend. I know that I am massively lucky to have my own range set up in some private woodland owned by friends, where I do the majority of my testing for Airsoft Action, and that many of you will not have this luxury. However, where you have space to shoot safely then I can only recommend to you that you get yourself a 6 mill bolty and have fun honing your shooting skills!

But games are returning thankfully, not only in the UK but around the world and I’d like to take a moment to look at what being an “in-game” sniper really means, as it’s not what many think it is and for this, I’ll look at the role of the military sniper in a bit more detail.

The fact is that a military sniper is rarely the “lone wolf” that we see so often on an airsoft game - “that guy in a ghillie” who just disappears at the start of the game and you never see again until ENDEX. Yes, they may be superb shots and their fieldcraft may be on a par with an Amazonian tracker, but if all you feel of their presence is a BB hit at random times throughout the day with no other purpose than to tickle their own fragile ego in the videos they subsequently post online, then they are not, to me at least, a “real” sniper.