Sniper / spotter GUIDE - S.O.

P
CREATED BY

A sniper/spotter's role is all dependant on the mission at hand.Here is a basic

guide to what a sniper/spotter job actually contains, and the insight to what is
expected of them when chosing this role.

Snipers don't just shoot people. They are often ordered to destroy
material/static objects. A sniper may shoot generators, radios,
transmitters or fuel supplies.

Putting a .50 caliber round in the engine block of a helicopter is just as

effective as putting one in the man who drives them.

Snipers are what military strategists refer to as force multipliers. Simply puta force multiplier is a small team that through the use of special tactics, can
do the damage of a much larger force. because of the nature of their
missions, snipers travel with very little gear, patiently moving under the
cover of night or day.
The relationship between a sniper and his spotter is very important. First and
foremost, the two depend on each other for survival.
Sniper teams work in the "no man's land" between or behind enemy lines.
They often have little or no support from their unit, and if they don't
accomplish their mission, the safety of the whole platoon may be
compromised.
They often have to stay completely still for hours at a time to avoid
detection, waiting for the right moment to take the shot.

A SNIPER OUTLINE

A sniper's primary role is RECONNAISSANCE.

Because snipers are masters of stealth, they are perfectly suited to sneak
behind enemy lines to provide command with information about the enemy's
size, strength and location.

Their secondary role is HIGH VALUE TARGETS or "HVT".

You can be deployed and tasked with hunting key people - section
commanders, section leaders, pilots, armored veicle drivers even technicians!
By tracking enemy movements or observing them, snipers would wait
patiently for the unsuspecting target to present the opportunity for a perfect
shot,resulting in a confrmed kill.

Their 3rd role is the SUPPORT ROLE.

What Support roles can consist of :

OVERWATCH
When a sniper is in an overwatch position, he sets himself up in a concealed
place that gives him a clear view of the battlefeld. There you can support the
assaulting force by taking out enemy forces that are endangering the
advancing platoon.
Maintaining this overwatch position can also proctect your fellow team-mates
from any incoming threat that has not yet been spotted or "pid" using there
ability to provide visiabilty and security for a distance up to 1km.

DEFENSIVE POSITION
In a defending role, snipers set up to help secure a position that is controlled
by their platoon. They may set up on a roof and help ground forces defend
their position,or place themselfs around the target area so that they can trace
all movement from friendly or enemy positions.

A SPOTTER OUTLINE

A spotters primary role is protecting the shooter. The most important

job of the spotter is to protect the shooter. For this task the spotter
shoulders an automatic assault rife for use when moving and
navagating through terrain until they reach the target.

A spotters secondary role is SPOTTING.

The spotter carries his own special spotting scope that is much more
powerful than the scope on a sniper rifle. The spotter uses his scope to help
the sniper observe objectives,set up the shot and track targets.
High velocity, long range rounds like the kind used in a sniper rifle actually
leave a vapor trail as they fly through the air. The spotter can track the shot
by watching for that vapor trail or keeping eyes on the position to see a
splash or kicked up dirt or something simmilar from the rounds impact zone.

A spotter's key tasks would include:

Use a map or photographs to determine the best route to the

objective, a position or a rendezvous point.

Establish an escape route, and a fallback/regroup position in the event

that you are separated.

Locate/spot the target.

Range the target, read the wind, and elevation and notify the shooter
to make the correct adjustments.

Notify the shooter of hit/miss when shots are fired.

Be in contact with command elements to relay information, take kill

orders , confirm kills/ objectives.

The main duty of a sniper team .

Though it only takes one person to fire a sniper rife, it really takes two
soldiers to get the most out of the sniper-rifle weapon system. That's why
snipers always work in pairs.
A sniper team consists of a sniper and a spotter. The two man team offers
many advantages over the deployment of a lone sniper in the feld.
The two soldiers work together to get to the objective safely and discreetly
and then set up a position.

Here is the general approach they

will take:

They walk,crouch,crawl from the drop-off point to the objective.

Set up a position.

Confirm that the position is well camoflaged and that they have
sufficient cover in case they were to take incoming fire or be spotted.

Establish an escape route.

Getting into position, the sniper takes a spot on the ground that offers
him the best field of fire. The spotter lies on the ground next to him,
just slightly behind the sniper. He places his spotter scope so that it is
as close to looking down the rifle barrel as possible.

locate the target or know it's on its way.

Work together to range the target, read the wind, elevation and adjust
for other variables that may affect the shot.

Notify command when you have "eyes on" or request "green light" to
engage the target.

SNIPER "IN GAME" HINTS/GUIDE

Zeroing is a basic task but is the most important when lining up your shot.
using the < up > and < down > directional arrows on the right side of your
keyboard you will increase or decrease the value of the zeroing on your shot.
Using < left > and < right > directional arrows on your keyboard will make
adjustments to the wind value.
You will have to bind these keys again as default is different , but this setup
seems to work the best this can be done easily in game using the AGM tab in
the menu.

This is what the mils adjustment should look like, this will appear in game at
the top of your screen if any of the keys suggested are pressed. The top is the
adjustment for range, the right is the adjustment for wind.

Equipment
KESTREL
When you are a spotter the most important elements that need to be related

to the shooter are "head wind" and "cross wind" you can take these readings
from the area's stated.

Accurate wind speed measurements are crucial to a snipers operations

ranging from a paratroop drop zone, as well as to personnel such as artillery
specialists.
Using a kestrel allows you to read the wind, temprature, head wind, humidity
and some even give a gps co-ordinate, this allows military professionals to
keep track of real-time conditions, and make informed judgments , they have
a high durability in the often harsh environments in which they are used.
"In game" the kestrel can be accessed using your self interaction key and
clicking kestrel on the menu, when you have fnished using it you can simply
press escape "esc" and it will dissapear from your screen.

Rangefinder

This is the standard rangefnder for military personal,to equip it simply press
"B" then your screen should look like this.

On the right is the "range reading" and on the left is the degrees or " your
bearing from north" you DONT need this tho (left side) as the kestrel with
give you this reading ! more will be explained later on in the guide.

Now remember this is a laser guided system so its very accurate be sure to
have the central square/circle, in the center of your target otherwise you
made recieve the wrong reading.
To then read the range simply press your "tab" key and the range will appear.
Then close your rangefnder and remember the range, then using the mil dot
system on your scope you can make the sufficient adjustments.

Weapon system
Here you have the two main weapons that a British and American sniper
team would choose, firstly the L115A3 -

The L115A3 or LAPAUA is the long range rifle for the british army. it fires a .
338 caliber round from a 5 round magazine and its range is 1100m plus. This
is only carried by the sniper team although it was used at infantry level with
the marksman in a section but that was deemed inadiquate in areas of
opeartion like iraq/ afghanistan. This weapon can provide long range fire and
a large defence area for the sections on the ground so therefore it becomes a
great asset.

Then secondly the m110 rifle -

The "M110" or "M110 semi automatic sniper system - M110 SASS" is an

american semi-automatic sniper rifle that is chambered for a 7.62x51mm
NATO round loaded into a 20 round magazine, this weapons effective firing
range is around 800m.
Also with the "m110" there was the addition of a suppressor as part of the
platform, this was because of the combat experience in built up areas mostly
"urban" like afghan or iraq it showed the need for supressors to aid in the
protection of the snipers by deception and concealment.
The supressor has develpoed into an integral part many sniper teams over
the past decade.

In this part of the guide we will cover the kestrel and the AtragMX
FIRSTLY : this is the procedure you would take to effectively range , adjust
and kill a target folowed by the methods in which to do so.

You MUST remember to CLICK done / ok / enter , after each or any

action on the atragmx
And you MUST be looking/facing at the target area when making
calculations

1. Range target
2. Open kestrel
3.Open atragmx
4.Range adjustments
5.Wind adjustments
6.Temprature adjustments
7. Humidity adjustments
8.Altitude adjustments
9. Direction of fire
10 . Target inclination

Equip the range finder and range the target as shown below :

Remember this reading !!! it's best to write it down.

Now equip you Atragmx in your ace 3 interaction menu , in your equipment
slot and it will appear on screen like below:

Ok so before we dive in to this complicated system we need to START by

selecting your weapon of choice that you are currently using in the Atragmx
you can do so by :
Simply clicking "gun list" and then scrolling through the list to find your
chosen weapon.
like below:

When you have found you weapon you can now see all the characteristics
that the weapon has like bore , bullet weight ,mussle velocity ect ect , the
Atragmx gathers this information on its own.
See below:

EXTRA
Important Information
THIS NEXT PART IS NOT NEEDED TO BE USED OR DONE.... BUT ONLY IF YOU
WISH TO CHECK THAT THE INFORMATION IN THE ATRAGMX "IN GAME" IS
CORRECT...
YOU MUST KNOW THE WEAPON YOU ARE USING (LAPAUA MAGNUM) AND THE
AMMO IN WHICH IT USES (.338 MAGNUM) THEN SIMPLY FIND AND MAKE SURE

IT MATCHES.
ALSO SOMETIMES THE RIFLE TWIST IS NOT CALCULATED PROPERLY ,
THEREFORE A 3RD PARTY CALCULATOR IS RECOMMENDID JUST SO YOU CAN
CHECK IF YOU LIKE.
Twist rate stability calculator (can create your own bullet twist calculations)
http://www.bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/

Weapons (can check barrel twist + barrel length correspond)

https://github.com/acemod/ACE3/blob/master/addons/ballistics/CfgWeapons.h
pp

Ammo (can check mussle velocities with different tempratures + ballistic

coeefficients coresond if needed)
https://github.com/acemod/ACE3/blob/master/addons/ballistics/CfgAmmo.hpp

Range
Now enter the range you recorded earlier by simply :
"Clicking the target tab in the top right of the atragmx >>> then place the
range in the correct field at the bottom right "target range (meters)"
like shown below:

REMEMBER TO CLICK DONE !

WIND ADJUSTMENTS
Open the kestrel using the ACE 3 interaction menu and it will appear on
screen , we now need to gather reading's for the following to place in to the
atragmx :
1. headwind speed
2. wind direction
3.humidity
4.barrow
5.temprature
6.altitude

Press the "down arrow" on the kestrel until you see the title "headwind" then
simply click the target tab and place the information into the "wind speed
section"
like below:

note:
When typing "wind speed" you will see you have number 1 and number 2
before each box .. number 1 is the box for lowest wind reading you have got
while stationary at your position , number 2 is the box for the highest reading
you have recieved while sitting at your position.

Wind direction
Typicially in arma 3 a clock face system is used the diagram below explains a
little more.
see below:

Simply press "shift- k" and a small arrow will appear in the top of your screen,
just imagine that arrow was on the OUTSIDE of a clock pointing at the
numbers, this number must then be placed in the "wind direction (clock) "
section.
like below :

Note: this arrow says 10'o clock, so you would type 10 into the section
highlighted above.
REMEMBER TO CLICK DONE !

Humidity
Select the "humidity" setting on the kestrel by scrolling with the down arrow ,
then on the Atragmx select the "atmosphere tab" then select "TBH" like
shown below :

Then enter the "humidity" in the last section like shown below , remember to
click done after!

Now do the same process with the Kestrel and Atragmx for "barro" or
"barrometric pressure"
like shown below:

Temprature and altitude

This is the exact same method , enter the "atmosphere tab" , click "AT " and
then enter the correct values.
like below :

Direction of fire

Use your kestrel to find the "direction of fire" by looking for the setting
"direction" then place the information in the relevent slot in the Atragmx
(under the target tab)
like shown below :

Just so that your more aware this is your current bearing /degrees from north
on a compass , simply enter the number written on the kestrel into "deg from
n"-"dir of fire"
remeber to click done !

Inclination angle
Now select your vector "rangefinder" and look at the target , now if you press
"shift - R" you can change/cycle between settings while LOOKING DOWN
SCOPE , now set it so that you have a reading of degrees on both sides.
like shown below:

The reading on the "right" side is your "inclination angle" this must be
calculated and entered before taking the shot !
Simply enter the value in the "right side box" on the atragmx
like below:

remeber to click done !

Completion
Now you have completed the whole process , if you now press "update" on
your atrag mx you will see ALL of the correct updated information.
see below :

The areas highlighted in blue will now show the correct "elevation" and "wind
adjustment" that the sniper will have to make.
see below:

Upon reciving this information the sniper can now make the relevant
adjustments to his scope and begin engaging targets.
Also when the information has been passed into the atragmx it will now
create its own range tables , allowing the shooter / spotter more easy acces
to recorded information , and less reading to calibrate when time is not of the
essence .
See below:

Just note that this range table is estimated by the atragmx , and you are
always going to be better of rangeing the taget and makeing new
calculations.
REMEMBER THE WIND AND TEMPRATURE IS ALWAYS CHANGING SO PLEASE
CHECK BEFORE EACH SHOT.
BOTH THESE FACTORS CAN CAUSE YOU TO MISS A SHOT! SO BEWARE !

EXTRA
HERE ARE SOME LINKS OF SOME IMPORTANT WEAPON AMMO PARAMETERS
FOR "SOME" WEAPONS AND "SOME" MUSSLE VELOCITY VARIATIONS WITH
REGARDS TO TEMPRATURE.
mussle velocity variation table:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zt61od7t9apkut6/AB%20Muzzle%20Velocity
%20Variation%20Table.xlsx
calibrated ammo parameters:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1zbw9f0ielp8aed/AB%20Calibrated%20Ammo
%20Parameters%20%28Actual%20BC%20%26%20MV%29.xlsx
Thanks for reading , you have now completed sniper / spotter training and
learned how to use the new ace 3 advanced ballistics equipment !

ADVANCED TACTICS,
EXPLANATIONS AND TIPS!
Chapter 1:
EXTERNAL BALLISTICS AND ADVANCED SNIPING GUIDE.
As the bullet leaves the barrel, it faces 2 major external forces of mother
nature:

GRAVITY - this force pulls down the bullet in flight, causing it to drop
from the line of departure as it gains range.

AIR RESISTANCE - air friction due to the air density which slows
down the bullet in flight. When the bullet loses velocity, the gravity
more easily pulls it down. Those 2 forces cause the bullet to slow down
and drop which resulting in a curve trajectory. Bullet trajectory solely
depends on these 2 factors:

BALLISTICS COEFFICIENT(BC) - aerodynamic value of a bullet to

retain its initial velocity while flying through the air (how well is the
bullet to fly through the air without losing its velocity). This value
depends on bullet shape and weight. High BC value means the bullet
can reach farther without losing much velocity. BC value ranges from
0.1 1.0!

MUZZLE VELOCITY (MV) - the initial velocity produced inside the

barrel , It depends on how well the powder can push the bullet. High
velocity makes the bullet able to reach farther (so that's why we need
high BC for the bullet to retain its velocity) You must measure those 2
factors precisely because BC & MV will lead us to the 2 crucial Ballistic
aspects in Long Range Shooting:
1) BULLET DROP:

Bullet Drop solely depends on:

A) Range:
The farther your target, the bigger your bullet drop! Distance will increase the
bullet drop so range your target before shooting!
B) Angle of firing:

For a bullet to strike a target at a Slant Range (RS) and an incline of , the
rifle sight must be adjusted as if the shooter were aiming at a horizontal
target at a range of RH = RS cos ()where Slant range x Angle = Horizontal
Range.
So when shooting uphill/downhill, you must adjust your scope at horizontal
range not the slant range!
Under 15, it doesnt really matter! Above 15,and it matters, Aim at
Horizontal range not Slant Range! Heres the quick adjustment:
15 adjust as if aiming at a 95% Slant Range.
20 adjust as if aiming at a 93% Slant Range.
25 adjust as if aiming at a 90% Slant Range.
30 adjust as if aiming at a 86% Slant Range.
40 adjust asif aiming at a 76% Slant Range.
45 adjust as if aiming at a 70% Slant Range.
55 adjust as if aiming at a 57% Slant Range.
65 adjust as if aiming at a 42% Slant Range.

C) Air pressure

Lower Air Pressure actually decreases the Air Density, and therefore
decreases the drag so resulting in less Bullet Drop. Higher Air Pressure
actually increases the Air Density, and therefore increases the drag so
resulting in more Bullet Drop.
D) Air temperature:

Higher Temperature actually decreases the Air Density, and therefore

decreases the drag so resulting in less Bullet Drop. Lower Temperature
actually increases the Air Density, and therefore increases the drag so
resulting in more Bullet Drop.
E) Ammo temperature:
Higher ammo temperature will increase the Muzzle Velocity and therefore
decreases the Bullet Drop significantly. Lower ammo temperature will
decrease the Muzzle Velocity and therefore increases the Bullet Drop
significantly,Ammo temperature corresponds to Air Temperature.
F) Air humidity
Higher Humidity actually decreases the air density, and therefore decreases
the drag so resulting in less Bullet Drop. Lower Humidity actually increases
the air density, and therefore increases the drag so resulting in more Bullet
Drop.

G) Vertical Coriolis effect (earth rotation)

When shooting east, the bullet drop decreases! When shooting west, bullet
drop increases! Coriolis effect depends on your Latitude and Azimuth/Bearing.

2) SIDEWAY DRIFT/WINDAGE:
Wind always makes the bullet deviate from its trajectory. Your bullet will drift
in the direction of the wind. To compensate for this, you must aim into the
wind, to the right or left.

Windage solely depends on:

A) Wind direction -Wind Direction will affect the mount of side drift! the
angle of the wind determines the wind value basicially Wind Direction affects
wind speed value.

Types of wind:
1.HeadWind & TailWind (12 oclock & 6 oclock/0) dont matter too much but
at further range Headwind will slightly increase bullet drop and Tailwind will
decrease bullet drop slightly.
2. CrossWind does matter because it has the strongest effect on the
horizontal path of the bullet!
Types of Crosswind:
a) 9 o'clock & 3 o'clock wind (90) give full effect so wind speed x1
b) 11 oclock, 1 oclock, 5 oclock, & 7 oclock (30)give little effect so Wind
Speed x 0.5
c) 10 oclock, 2 oclock, 4 oclock, & 8 oclock (60) give almost full effect so
Wind Speed x 0.86
d) 45 wind give little effect so Wind Speed x 0.7

B) wind speed - messure with kestrel or in game mirrage effects!

C) Spin Drift - (bullet rotation)

Even in completely calm air, with no sideways wind at all, a spin-stabilized
projectile will experience a spin-induced sideways component.
For a right hand (clockwise) direction of rotation this component will always
be to the right. For a left hand (counterclockwise) direction of rotation this
component will always be to the left and at extreme long range (beyond 1000
m), spin drift increases significantly.

D) Horizontal Coriolis effect - (earth rotation)

When shooting north, the bullet deviates slightly to left! When shooting
south, the bullet deviates slightly to right! Coriolis effect depends on your
Latitude and Azimuth/Bearing.

Chapter 2:
SCOPE
Because of external ballistic factors (Bullet Drop & Wind Deflection), your
point of aim (where you are aiming) is not going to be point of impact (where
the bullet lands) so you always have to compensate for it using your scope.
There are 2 ways to compensate for the external ballistic factors:
A) Downrange scope adjustment - (holdover/track)
To compensate for Bullet Drop or wind, you can hold your reticle over or
before/after the target.

Just place your reticle above the target so the bullet will drop directly onto
the target (or to the right or left depending on wind direction).
In other words, the shooter is aiming higher/ further than the target's
position in the sight to allow for the bullet's drop during travel rather than
adjusting mil's on the scope.
This method is usually called Arkansas Elevation.

To compensate for Wind Drift, you can aim into the direction of the wind. You
can aim to left or right, depending on which way the wind comes from. If the
wind blows from the right, you aim to right. If the wind blows from the left,
you aim to left. In other words, the shooter is aiming at a point horizontal to
the target's position in the sight rather than adjusting the sight to
compensate. This method is usually called Kentucky Windage.

B) SCOPE ADJUSTMENT
Ideally snipers want point of aim and point of impact to be exactly the same.
So They line up these points by adjusting the scope. Basically, scope
adjustment is almost the same thing as Holdover! But instead of placing the
reticle above the target & aiming into the wind, you actually adjust your
scope optic so the optic lines up the point of aim & point of impact,
There are 2 types of scope adjustment (correlating with those 2 ballistic
factors):
1. ELEVATION ADJUSTMENT - Elevation Knob (the turret above your scope
to dial it in, rotate it clockwise! to dial it out, rotate it counterclockwise! (click
on arrow key )
2. WINDAGE ADJUSTMENT - Windage Knob (the turret on the right side of
your scope) to dial it in, rotate it clockwise! to dial it out, rotate it
counterclockwise! (click on arrow key )
The scope reticle and the scope adjustment both work in Miliradian! To
operate the scope reticle and scope adjustment, you must useMiliradian

(Mil)as your angular measurement! Miliradian (Mil) is the unit of

measurement being used in sniping/sharpshooting! We always use Mil
because its so much better in measurement than degrees, thus more
precise.

Just Remember, at 100 m, 1 Mil = 0,1 m (10 cm) & 0.1 Mil = 1 cm !
At 1000 m, 1 miliradian = 1m (100 cm) & 0.1 Mil = 10 cm !

GUIDE COMPLETE !!