Snipers on TV and movies

[Alpo]

You ever see anybody on a show that actually looks like they know how to shoot the gun?

 

I just started re-re-re-re-watching NCIS season 3. That's the one where Jenny and Ziva first appear. First episode starts with a flashback showing Ari shooting Kate from his "sniper's nest", using his "sniper rifle".

 

And they have a nice close up of his hand as he fires. He has the second joint of his finger on the trigger, and he pulled the trigger so hard that the gun would have jerked to the right so much he would have hit Tony.

 

Going off slightly on a tangent, why do you suppose it is when somebody on television or the movies is looking through a telescope or a pair of binoculars, there's a crosshair on whatever they're looking at. But if they're looking through a rifle scope the crosshairs don't cross. They stick out from both sides and the top and bottom a little bit but the entire center section is clear.

 

[watab kid]

yup , they just cant get everything right as they just wont ask how its done or really listen to someone that knows 

[Stump Water]

20 hours ago, Alpo said:

And they have a nice close up of his hand as he fires. He has the second joint of his finger on the trigger, and he pulled the trigger so hard that the gun would have jerked to the right so much he would have hit Tony.

 

Trap/skeet shooter.  

 

Seriously though, how many people do you know that have been trained in precision marksmanship.

 

1. Take a breath.  Let half of it out.  Hold it.

2. While maintaining sight picture, with only the distal pad of your trigger finger, start even pressure on the trigger until it breaks.  It should somewhat surprise you when it does.

3. If you wait too long (and start shaking because you're holding your breath) go to step 1.

.

Edited February 18 by Stump Water

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

It's TV, so there's that.

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

50 minutes ago, Stump Water said:

Seriously though, how many people do you know that have been trained in precision marksmanship.

 

1. Take a breath.  Let half of it out.  Hold it.

2. While maintaining sight picture, with only the distal pad of your trigger finger, start even pressure on the trigger until it breaks.  It should somewhat surprise you when it does.

3. If you wait too long (and start shaking because you're holding your breath) go to step 1.

Tom Selleck did a good job of it for the bucket shot in Quigley.

[Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life]

The 2007 movie "SHOOTER" is about snipers and it is a good one. It is based on one of the books  about Bob Lee Swagger who is a sniper. Books are by author Stephen Hunter. The main one is "I,Sniper" it is pretty good too.

Edited February 18 by Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life

[Still hand Bill]

11 minutes ago, Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life said:

The 2007 movie "SHOOTER" is about snipers and it is a good one. It is based on one of the books  about Bob Lee Swagger who is a sniper. Books are by author Stephen Hunter. The main one is "I,Sniper" it is pretty good too.

The original book is point of impact by Stephen Hunter.  Quite a bit different than the movie which SH helped write the script.  He updated the movie script to make it more relevant to the Middle East climate of the time.  
 

my two favorites of his are snipers honor (about a female Russian sniper in the Ukraine) and the third bullet which is about jfk.  The third bullet also ties into the point of impact book.  

[Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life]

4 minutes ago, Still hand Bill said:

The original book is point of impact by Stephen Hunter.  Quite a bit different than the movie which SH helped write the script.  He updated the movie script to make it more relevant to the Middle East climate of the time.  
 

my two favorites of his are snipers honor (about a female Russian sniper in the Ukraine) and the third bullet which is about jfk.  The third bullet also ties into the point of impact book.  

Read both books, worth the read. I have read all of his and all are good, but those mentioned are the best.

[Rip Snorter]

Charles Askins Unrepentant Sinner has some factual pieces.

[Subdeacon Joe]

23 hours ago, Alpo said:

And they have a nice close up of his hand as he fires. He has the second joint of his finger on the trigger, and he pulled the trigger so hard that the gun would have jerked to the right so much he would have hit Tony.

 

On the other hand,  if it works for him, it works for him.  About 20 years ago one of the top shooters in some of the  Run-n-Gun sports had technically horrible technique,  but was consistently in the top two.   

 

I watched a LOLITS  (Little Old Lady In Tennis Shoes) with horrible form - arms half extended, a semi-Cup &  Saucer hold, standing straight up,  put 100 rounds from her 1911 into the 10 ring at 10 yards.  

 

One of the Petaluma SWAT members had, and admitted to having, thoroughly wretched form with his shotgun,  but he could walk 5 slugs across the shoulders of the small target in upper left at 50 feet every time.  50 feet being the maximum distance at that indoor range.

 

 

[Alpo]

This is true.

 

Me and a friend of mine went to the driving range one time. He had never swung a golf club before. So he gets up there, and I am watching him, and his feet are placed wrong and he bends both elbows on his backswing - he looks more like he's going to swing a baseball bat than a golf club. And I start to say something and he comes down and puts that thing about 400 yards down the middle. And then he did it again. And then again.

 

Then he asked me if he was doing it right. I told him to just keep doing it the way he was doing it.

[Subdeacon Joe]

Just now, Alpo said:

Then he asked me if he was doing it right. I told him to just keep doing it the way he was doing it.

 

"Nope.   But you seem to be doing everything wrong the right way."

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

1 hour ago, Alpo said:

This is true.

 

Me and a friend of mine went to the driving range one time. He had never swung a golf club before. So he gets up there, and I am watching him, and his feet are placed wrong and he bends both elbows on his backswing - he looks more like he's going to swing a baseball bat than a golf club. And I start to say something and he comes down and puts that thing about 400 yards down the middle. And then he did it again. And then again.

 

Then he asked me if he was doing it right. I told him to just keep doing it the way he was doing it.

 

That happened to me the first time I golfed.  On the driving range I was hitting these low rising shots straight down the middle. They weren't 3 or 4 hundred yards. My friend had never seen anything like it. Move over to the first T box and that was the end of that.

While people can have success shooting with different techniques I seriously doubt someone doing long range sniper type shooting will be successful  while jerking the trigger.

[Sedalia Dave]

 

 

[Dapper Dave]

I have a buddy who was a sniper in the Army and a sniper for my Dept - he taught me quite a bit about shooting long range, but I will never be anywhere near as good.

Movie snipers are like they say - actors who probably have never fired a real rifle at a real target in their lives, with some notable exceptions, like Mr Selleck and Mr Reeves.  The weird scope picture is probably just s the actors in the picture can be clearly seen.