En la guerra, el estatus del soldado como combatiente mejora con el número de enemigos que consigue eliminar. En una guerra tan cruenta y turbia como la de Vietnam, los marines norteamericanos llevaban una cuenta exacta de sus víctimas (el llamado body count) y muchos se enorgullecían de ello. Especialmente los sniper, como se conoce en EEUU a los francotiradores.

"Esa sensación de poder, de mirar a alguien siguiendo el cañón del rifle y pensar: Vaya, puedo cargarme a este tío", escribió en una carta el soldado James Hebron. David Nelson, que también fue sniper en Vietnam, contaba con decenas de muertes en el bolsillo y un alcance mortífero, de unos 1.100 metros. "La suya fue realmente una gran actuación", afirma la historiadora británica Joanna Bourke en el libro Sed de sangre: Historia íntima del combate cuerpo a cuerpo en las guerras del siglo XX, editado por Crítica.

Agazapado y siempre camuflado, el francotirador hace un delicado ejercicio de constancia, temple y precisión hasta que dispara contra su objetivo. Se saben un peligro mortal, invisible y capaz de infundir terror. Nelson aprendió el oficio, "una posición muy individual y potencialmente fuera de control" -escribe Bourke- porque, para él, el espíritu del combate residía en "matar limpiamente, de forma rápida, con eficacia, sin malicia o brutalidad".

Sigilosos y certeros

Aunque llegaban con la cabeza lúcida, a muchos soldados les costaba mantener los escrúpulos. El propio Nelson descubrió que matar civiles era inevitable. "Un impacto limpio era un logro", decía él, que castigaba "con calma y la cabeza fría". En 1971, fue derribado y olvidado para siempre en la abrupta jungla de Laos.

En Vietnam del Norte, Carlos Hatchcock era conocido como White Feather (en referencia a la pluma blanca con que adornaba su gorra). Al igual que Nelson, Hatchcock se había apartado de los tiroteos frenéticos de la infantería para unirse a la brigada sniper, donde aprendió los secretos de la mira telescópica. Era pura precisión: actuaba en solitario y derribó a 93 enemigos (aunque se especula que fueron más de 300). Uno de sus tiros hizo blanco a 2.550 metros, récord de una baja a larga distancia hasta 2002. Los vietnamitas, desesperados, llegaron a ofrecer unos 50.000 dólares de la época por su cabeza, pero nadie pudo darle caza. Ni siquiera los counterspiner o cazadores de francotiradores.

El francotirador, que es miembro de las fuerzas armadas y por tanto combatiente legítimo, está llamado a causar daños innecesarios. Los norvietnamitas los utilizaron por primera vez en 1965, cuando asesinaron desde una montaña al jefe de una unidad estadounidense en el valle de la Drang. Además, el tirador consiguió escapar, dejando a la tropa desmoralizada e insegura. Y eran realmente efectivos: durante los años que duró la guerra, los sniper norteamericanos empleaban un promedio de 1,32 balas para abatir a un adversario, mientras que el soldado de infantería necesitaba de unos 20.000 disparos para causar el mismo daño.

Masacres planificadas

Los estadounidenses no duraron en utilizarlos para hostigar, emboscar y acosar a la población civil. Ocurrió en tragedias planificadas y dirigidas por el mando militar de EEUU como las de My Lai o Hué, donde los francotiradores dispararon desde las aldeas para que los soldados devolvieran el fuego y comenzaran así una masacre contra los civiles.

Por si fuera poco, Vietnam se había convertido en "un campamento para adolescentes creciditos sin ningún tipo de control. Las bromas, las juergas, desnudar a los camaradas para bañarles el abdomen con cerveza y el lanzamiento de muebles formaban parte del buen humor de los chicos después de una cacería exitosa", lo que propició el culto y la gloria para los sniper, explica Bourke en su libro. Tras la guerra, Hatchcock -que hoy es considerado un héroe de guerra y una leyenda dentro de los infantes de marina de EEUU- reflexionó en su autobiografía sobre su estancia en Vietnam: "Nunca gocé con matar a alguien. Pero debía hacerlo con esos bastardos... podían matar a muchos de los nuestros".

Las atrocidades estadounidenses, al descubierto

En 2006, ‘Los Angeles Times' publicó un artículo en el que denunciaba que la muerte de civiles por soldados estadounidenses fue mucho mayor de lo que mostraban los informes publicados por el Pentágono en los setenta. Igual que en Irak, se descubrieron irregularidades en todas las divisiones del ejército y se acusó a 203 soldados de abusar de civiles. Sólo 23 fueron declarados culpables. El periódico estudió documentos sobre los que el ejército había levantado el secreto oficial, procedentes del Grupo de Trabajo de Crímenes de Guerra de Vietnam y los Archivos Nacionales en College Park. Poco después, funcionarios del Gobierno retiraron las copias de las estanterías públicas al sostener que estaban exentos de las leyes federales de revelación de información. Los expedientes demostraban la existencia de siete masacres entre 1967 y 1971 (no figura la matanza de My Lai de 1968) en las que murieron al menos 137 civiles vietnamitas.

Fuente: Jesús Centeno. Público. El orgullo del francotirador.

-Leader (è il caposquadra, spesso puo' rivestire anche un altro incarico o specializzazione aggiuntiva)

-Scout (è il soldato che va in avanscoperta, quindi è necessaria un'ottima mimetizzazione e delle armi leggere e comode)

-Incursore (colui che fa irruzione negli edifici o che si lancia gambe in spalla alla ricerca del nemico. Consigliabile equipaggiamento medio/pesante.

-Artificiere (tale soldato è specializzato nell'innesco/disinnesco di mine e bombe. Spesso equippagiato con granate fumogene e a frammentazione, senza dimenticare le mine a pressione e a strappo)

-Sniper (Il cecchino, chiamato anche Uomo Albero, è il ruolo piu impegnativo e difficile, spesso nascosto per ore, aspetta per sparare un unico colpo. L'equipaggiamento richiede un'ASG dalle ottima precisione, una notevole arma secondaria e ottima mimetizzazione)

-Spotter (letteralmente: Osservatore. Il braccio destro dello sniper, elimina eventuali sniper nemici e rivela posizione di obiettivi ostili, fornendo piccoli dati balistici al cecchino che dovrà tarare l'ottica prima del colpo. L'equipaggiamento richiede 2 ottime armi elettriche, possibilmente due mitragliatori)

-Medico (il medico ha il compito di "curare" il soldati feriti che rimangono inattivi. Si porta sempre un borsone e una fascia bianca con croce rossa.

My buddy (who I will refer to as Lanfranc) and I play TF2 fairly often. It's a fun diversion that you can sink into for an hour and then disengage from without to much remorse.

My favourite class is the Sniper. One of the physically weaker characters, the Sniper relies on stealth, guile, and...oh yeah...a kickass rifle with a huge scope on it.

Part of my goal is to be able to have at least a 50% headshot ratio. So, in a moment of nerdery, I am going to post a JPG of the scoreboard from one of the TF2 servers I play on.

Check this out...

This is the scoreboard from earlier tonight, just before I logged off.
Click to enlarge...

Nawt tew shabby eh, Wankehs?

Dazu bedienen wir uns lediglich der unscheinbaren Aktionsleiste auf der linken Seite! Hier bekommt der Spieler Bericht über jede Aktion des Feindes oder sich selbst:

Die Leiste besteht aus zwei Teilen, einmal einem kleinen Bild und der dazugehörigen Nachricht! Der Gag ist, dass man die Bilder anklicken kann, einmal linke Maustaste, und schon wird euer Bild auf den Ort des Geschehens zentriert! Die Nachricht bleibt ungefähr für 10 Sekunden in der Leiste hängen bevor sie wieder verschwindet.

Wenn ihr von einem Scharfschützen nun attackiert wird erscheint folgende Nachricht:

Jetzt müsst ihr bloß schnell draufklicken und ihr werdet direkt mit dem Bild auf den gegnerischen Scharfschützen, der grade mit seinem Schuss einen Soldaten getötet hat, gezogen. Natürlich tarnt er sich nach dem ersten Schuss wieder, das sogar relativ zügig (1 Sekunde ca). Ihm bleiben ungefähr 3-4 unterschiedliche Richtungen um vor euren Einheiten zu fliehen. Doch jetzt kommt sein Verhängnis. Die Nachricht bleibt wie jede andere ca 10 Sekunden in der Leiste hängen, und ihr könnt selbst noch nach 9 Sekunden auf diese klicken und, obwohl der Scharfschütze schon längst wieder getarnt ist und sich in Sicherheit wägt, werdet ihr auf seinen aktuellen Standort zentriert!

Also wem es schon immer etwas spanisch vorkam, dass er seinen Sniper wie von Wunderhand von einem Mörser abgeschossen bekam, obwohl man ihn doch schön weggezogen hat,nachdem er geschossen hatte. Oder, dass man seinen Sniper, der den unmöglichsten Weg nutzte um zu entkommen, noch verfolgt hat und töten konnte, dem konnte ich hoffentlich zeigen, dass es sich hierbei nicht um einen Aimbot/Wallhack handelt. Nutzt es als Feature und revanchiert euch für all eure gefallenen Scharfschützen!

p.s.: Wusstest ihr, dass Scharfschützen nach jedem geschossenem Schuss länger benötigen um sich wieder zu tarnen! Es macht sogar einen Unterschied ob ein Scharfschütze hinter "grüner Deckung" schießt, was dann bedeutet, dass er sich wieder schneller tarnt, oder in"roter Deckung" liegt, wodurch er länger benötigt um sich wieder zu tarnen! Gleiches gilt natürlich für jede Einheit die sich tarnen kann!

φ xSaphirx

Le grand banditisme grenoblois est au cœur de l'assassinat sans précédent en France d'un détenu par un tireur posté à l'extérieur de la maison d'arrêt de Varces-Grenoble, dans l'Isère. Peu après les faits, un homme a été interpelé en possession d'une arme. Multirécidiviste, il est toujours en garde à vue lundi matin. La ville de Grenoble a été secouée ces deux dernières années par des règlements de compte meurtriers entre trafiquants de drogue. Ce crime a provoqué des incidents et un début d'incendie dans la maison d'arrêt, qui a été vite éteint. Lundi, le calme était revenu selon l'administration pénitentiaire. (Europe 1).

Enfoncé Chicago et Franck Nitti... Le Lac Michigan baigne les rives grenobloises.

Ca fait longtemps qu'on le dit... Evidemment, ça agace ce surnom de Chicago française. Et puis tout est relatif. Lyon, Marseille, certains quartiers de l'agglomération parisienne peuvent "revendiquer" cette appellation... Alors on se la joue discret depuis 20 ans...

Ca fait longtemps qu'ici on a remballé nos gangs de proxénètes et de racketteurs à la papa qui jouait à vitre ouverte et bras velus par la portière sur les quais de l'Isère...

Ca fait longtemps que les chaines de télévision ont remballé leurs 52 minutes sur la banditisme dans la capitale des Alpes...

Ca fait longtemps aussi que les ramifications de Cosa Nostra ont laissé tomber Grenoble et Fontaine pour des lieux plus plaisants et des créneaux plus lucratifs... (Enfin, c'est ce qu'on dit...)

Il n'empêche... Depuis quelques années, il y a comme un parfum à la Audiard, mais en pas drôle du tout, qui flotte sur la ville... Les "Italiens" qui dézinguent les "Corses", les "Gitans" qui bottent le cul des "Italiens", les "Maghrébins" qui plombent les "Gitans", tout ça sur fond de poudreuse dans les stations de ski. Et pas celle que vous croyez... Demi-sel, les Grenoblois ? Faut voir. Depuis 2007, c'est l'hallali du baltringue, la saint Barthélémy du malfaisant, du quai de Valmy à la Villeneuve, de Fontaine aux étangs de Champagnier...

Pas une semaine, un mois, sans règlement de comptes sanglant. Et puis là, on franchit un cran. On sort le sniper...

Pas étonnant si on a le mauvais goût de rappeler qu'on a beaucoup associé Grenoble et Sarajevo, géographiquement et sociologiquement parlant au moment de la guerre de Bosnie. La comparaison doit s'arrêter là. Pas étonnant non plus si on a l'extrême mauvais goût de rappeler que les joueurs de football grenoblois ont montré la voie samedi soir au Parc des princes en terme de balistique déconcertante. Pas étonnant enfin et surtout quand on visualise les lieux et la colline surplombant la prison.

Mais voilà, il n'y a pas de quoi rire. D'abord parce qu'on parle de vies humaines. Ensuite parce qu'on parle de trafics de drogues, essentiellement, qui développent une économie parallèle et inondent la région de came avec les dangers que cela représente. Je ne vais pas crier au loup, genre "Mais que fait la police ?", parce que tant qu'il y aura un marché (suivez mon regard) et tant qu'il y aura des mecs suffisamment givrés pour risquer leur peau pour une BMW dernier cri ou un week-end à Ibiza, il n'y aura pas grand chose à faire... Mais quand même.

En attendant, les mecs, drapeau blanc, je veux juste aller acheter mon pain...

It sounds like the stuff of a fast-paced movie thriller.  A prisoner, who faced interrogation about a murder, is exercising in the prison yard when a shot rings out; the prisoner falls dead and denies the authorities the information they sought.
 
Only in this instance, the scenario was not the product of a screenwriter's vivid imagination.  It actually happened in a prison in France.
 
Sghair Lamiri was shot in the chest while exercising in the yard at at Varces-Grenoble, in the southeast of France.  He was serving an eight-year sentence for robberies committed in 2001 and 2002 and was about to be questioned about a murder case.
 
Another inmate, a friend of the dead man, was shot in the hand, as five shots were fired by a gunman from a hill overlooking the prison.
 
The suspected gunman, aged 58, was arrested as he tried to flee from the scene on a motorbike.  He was carrying a rifle with a telescopic sight.
 
"He denies the facts," said French Justice Minister Rachida Dati, "but he was arrested when he was getting to his motorbike, which had a false license plate, and his rifle was still warm."
 
She added that it was the first time in France that someone in prison had been killed from outside.

She said: "It is an extremely rare incident, but also a very serious breach of security and a full investigation has been launched into how this came to happen."
 
Investigators believe Larimi, 29, was 'silenced' by gangland rivals.  He was jailed earlier this year and had been due to give evidence about a mafia-style massacre of nine men in Grenoble in 2007.  Those killings are believed to have been in revenge for the murder of Lassad Lamiri, the victim's brother, several months earlier.
 
Some 100 police and firefighters were sent to the jail after the incident.  Several prisoners refused to return to their cells.  Others threw flammable material into a workshop causing a fire that was later put out.

[Based on reports in The Times, The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail.]

An inmate in a French prison has been shot dead by a sniper from outside the jail, officials say. They say another prisoner was injured in the same shooting in the south-eastern town of Varces.

The suspected gunman was arrested shortly afterwards with his gun still hot, French Justice Minister Rachida Dati says. It is the first time in France that a prisoner has been killed from outside the jail, Ms Dati says.

Five shots were fired at the exercise yard of the jail, officials say.

The prisoner who was killed was about to be questioned in a murder case, Ms Dati says. The man...also had links to organised crime.

Ms Dati says the suspected gunman is being held in custody.

Phew! You can't even be safe from violence when you're in prison.

But, seriously - must have been some serious time pressures to result in such an impetuous assassination. Like the imminent questioning.

The Accuracy International Arctic Warfare rifles are well known as highly accurate sniper rifles used by British military snipers, but also popular with civilians and police forces. Famed for accuracy and reliability, this version of the AWSM (Arctic Warfare Super Magnum) is chambered in the high-potency and high accuracy L96A1 Magnum.

Feature:

- 450+fps with 0.2g BB
- Spring, Air cocking
- Chinese copy maruzen APS type 96 rifle, with adjustable hop-up
- Full metal upper receiver and barrel.
- include Telescope 3-9x40
- include bipod

--

Hello, I'm back with yet another guide, this time tackling the aussie outbacker, the Sniper.

*Cue theme music that sounds vaguely like TF2 Music.*

Well, a lot of the people that play TF2 probably despise Snipers. With just a bit of aim, they can completely obliterate a push, without coming even near range to be hit by anything.

Sometimes you'll wonder to yourself, How the fuck did he hit me? You strafe, bunny-hop, and jump around, yet you still get headshotted by that FUCKING SNIPER.

Well, I'm here now to show everyone the secrets to being a good Sniper.

I. Basics.

The sniper is one of the most powerful classes in the game. As I said before, with one good Sniper, you can completely obliterate the offense.

The two weapons you should have on your quickswitch QQ should be the Sniper Rifle and the Machete. If you're good enough, you can noscope a Pyro running after you, then Machete his face.

There is one command that is ever so useful to a Sniper.
zoom_sensitivity_ratio X
Replace X with the ratio. Basically, if your sensitivity is 1.0, then when you are scoped, the sensitivity will be 1.0 times X, so if your sensitivity is 3.0 and you set it to 0.2, then your scoped sensitivity will be 0.6. I've set mine to 0.77, it's perfect for me.

Another thing to remember is that sometimes TF2 lags, because it transfers data in 66 Tick, so even if you aim at the head, sometimes the hitboxes lag behind.

Another tip is that if you are peeking a door or an entrance, leave your laser so that the enemy cannot see it.

Also, KEEP FUCKING MOVING. I cannot explain how important this is. A non-scoped, moving Sniper his harder to hit than a scoped, standing one. Never stay scoped, and if an enemy is in your sight, then quick-flick to him. This way, two headshots will kill most classes.

There are three tricks to being the best Sniper ever. A good graphics card, the Head-Level Shot™, and the "Flick Shot™."

II. A good graphics card.

A good graphics card is actually one of the most important thing to have. With a good one, you won't lag, and you won't miss a single frame of movement that could have been that headshot. This actually REALLY helped me. My KDR jumped from 1.25 to around 4.00 upgrading from a 7600 GO to a GTX 280.

If you have the money, then get the GTX 280. I use that, and I get 60 FPS constant with "Meet the Team" quality graphics.

Some other good cards include the 8800 GTX or the 9600 GT.

III. The Head-Level Shot™.

This shot is the best shot for beginners to master, after which you can graduate to the Flick Shot™. This trains your reaction time, and helps you learn to see when there is a head in your sights.

The basics of this shot is simple - keep your sight at head level, and strafe into an enemy's head. All classes in TF2 have the same head level, and if you keep your laser at that level, if someone crosses, then you can get their head.

The disadvantages to this shot are that it's hard to hit twitching Medics and Scouts, and faster Snipers will pwn your face.

IV. The "Flick Shot™."

Now, you're probably asking me, how the fuck is that gonna help me? It makes me slow!

Well, I'm about to disclose to you the one key skill a good Sniper should have. It's called the Flick Shot™. The Flick Shot™ is a regular shot, and everyone develops habits with it. Basically, you "patrol" your screen with your scope, and when an enemy pops up on your view, you flick your shot to his head.

At first, this is very hard to do. But if you practice and practice, you'll eventually be able to flick that precise distance. This is why the good graphics card and the Head-Level Shot™ are key. They will prepare you for this shot.

V. Who to shoot?

1. Snipers -vs- Snipers. Shoot the other Snipers before they shoot your team. They have as much power as you, remember. If they just stand still, then just strafe in and out of cover, jumping and crouching, and aim at them through the wall, and pop out and fire.

2. Shoot the motherfucking doctor. Seriously. Your number two priority is the ~♥MEDIC♥~. Don't go for anyone else, except Snipers. Especially at the beginning of the round, try and track the Medics so you can eliminate the threat of an invulnerability charge.

3. Then everyone else. Remember, a charged headshot does 450 Damage. You can kill a buffed HWG like that. For most classes, a decently charged shot will do. Remember a Fully charged body shot will kill all of the weaker classes, and every building except a level two or three Sentry Gun. It's good to shoot the level two and threes when an ally is in the middle of taking one out. If there is an Engineer that is creating a problem, then keep them on their toes by pumping bullets into his gun, and when he peeks even for a second, make him regret it.

VI. Individual Class strategies.

The Scout: The Scout is a dick, ADDing around your screen until either he kills you or you run away. The best way to hit them is to charge up a shot and hit their body in midair, killing them. If not, retreat while SMGing them, and when you round a corner, double back and Machete them. Remember, you can kill all the weaker classes with a fully charged body shot.

The Soldier: That helmet's not gonna do shit. Shoot the head. Now. When they rocket-jump, with a fully charged shot, you can most likely kill them with a body shot, or make them die when they land. Other than that, for the noob spamzores Soldiers, just aim for the head with a decently charged shot.

The Pyro: Aim for the head, even through the flames. Hot bullets hurt more. Their heads are smaller than most other classes, so it may seem harder to hit them, but trust me, it's not as hard as it seems if you use the Flick Shot™ and the Head-Level Shot™ to kill them.

The Demoman: Holy shit, shoot the FACE. It clears stickies. If there is a Sticky rug in front of you, scope and clear them. The Demoman is a large threat, and most will stand still to get a good angle at a Sentry Gun. They are almost impervious to everything else, so even a good body shot and a noscope combo will kill them easily.

The Heavy Weapons Guy: Charge up a shot and hit the head. This class is the easiest to kill, because they walk slower than a retarded train. Even if they have a Medic on them, if you can't hit the Medic easily, just take out the Heavy and kill the Medic while he's retreating. Remember to take out KK'd Heavies.

The Engineer: Here's a great tip: every building, except for a level two and three sentry will die from a single fully charged shot. As for the Hard Hat, shoot the hard hat. If he peeks for a second to see what the threat is, then shoot his face and kill the gun with two charged shots.

The Medic: Aim for the body with a charged shot, or try and hit the head. They're trained to jump around, so it's all down to skill here. The Flick Shot™ is the key. Try to hit them when you see the Ubercharge sparks around their Medigun.

The Sniper: After every shot missed, wither crouch or jump. Then scope and Flick Shot™ onto their face. As I said before, aim at them through the wall if you know that they stand still and peek out and BOOM HEADSHOT. Remember, if you can see their head, they can see yours. A fully charged body shot will kill the Sniper, so try and get an angle where they cannot see you.

The Spy: Not much you can do but hit the disguised spies in the face. Sometimes you'll get a lucky headshot on a cloaked Spy! The Spy is a constant threat to your survival, so try and find an area that a Spy cannot get to, like the little ledge in Goldrush Stg1 Cap1 on the outside of the house. This prevents backstabs easily getting on you. When you see an enemy spy cloak, spray your SMG everywhere around your team to see where they are. Then either keep pumping lead into them, or go up to them with your kukri and slice their face off.

VII. Closing Notes

Well, I hope you learned a lot and that this will help you make the other team complain.

Happy fragging!
Original post here.

-Pnz XiII

Penembak jitu adalah istilah yang dipakai pada bidang militer. Seorang penembak jitu terlatih untuk menembak secara tepat dan akurat dengan menggunakan senapan tipe tertentu. Beberapa doktrin militer memakai penembak jitu yang tergabung dalam infanteri tingkat regu.

Penembak jitu modern sering disamakan dengan penembak runduk (sniper), padahal, keduanya sebenarnya berbeda.

Sejarah

Salah satu awal munculnya penembak jitu adalah dalam Revolusi Amerika. Kompi senapan Amerika, yang dipersenjatai Pennsylvania/Kentucky Long Rifle, menjadi prajurit dalam Tentara Kontinental. Karena keakuratan prajurit-prajurit ini, banyak perwira Inggris yang harus mencopot lambang perwira mereka, agar tidak dijadikan target.

Pemakaian awal penembak jitu lainnya adalah pada Angkatan Darat Inggris di era Napoleon. Ketika itu, tentara lain lebih banyak menggunakan musket yang tidak akurat, tapi Green Jackets Inggris menggunakan senapan Baker yang terkenal. Dengan alur khusus didalam larasnya, senapan ini jauh lebih akurat, walau pengisiannya lebih lama. Para pemakai senapan ini termasuk tentara elit Inggris, dan menjadi garis depan yang diandalkan pada banyak pertempuran.

Penembak jitu juga dipakai pada Perang Saudara Amerika. Penembak jitu ini digunakan oleh kedua pihak yuang berperang. Prajurit elit ini terlatih dan dipersenjatai dengan baik, dan juga ditempatkan di garis depan sebagai yang pertama melawan musuh.

Perbedaan penembak runduk dengan penembak jitu

Beberapa doktrin membedakan antara penembak runduk (sniper) dengan penembak jitu (marksman, sharpshooter, atau designated marksman). Sniper terlatih sebagai ahli stealth dan kamuflase, sedangkan penembak jitu tidak. Sniper merupakan bagian terpisah dari regu infanteri, yang juga berfungsi sebagai pengintai dan memberikan informasi lapangan yang sangat berharga, sniper juga memiliki efek psikologis terhadap musuh. Sedangkan penembak jitu tidak memakai kamuflase, dan perannya adalah untuk memperpanjang jarak jangkauan pada tingkat regu.

Penembak jitu umumnya memiliki jangkauan sampai 800 meter, sedangkan sniper bisa sampai 1500 meter atau lebih. Ini dikarenakan sniper pada umumnya menggunakan senapan runduk bolt-action khusus, sedangkan penembak jitu menggunakan senapan semi-otomatis, yang biasanya berupa senapan tempur atau senapan serbu yang dimodifikasi dan ditambah teleskop.

Sniper telah mendapatkan pelatihan khusus untuk menguasai teknik bersembunyi, pemakaian kamuflase, keahlian pengintaian dan pengamatan, serta kemampuan infiltrasi garis depan. Ini membuat sniper memiliki peran strategis yang tidak dimiliki penembak jitu. Penembak jitu dipasang pada tingkat regu, sedangkan sniper pada tingkat batalyon dan tingkat kompi.

Persenjataan

Karena penembak jitu modern tingkat regu (designated marksman) mengisi jeda antara infanteri biasa dengan penembak runduk, senapan penembak jitu juga dirancang sebagai penengah. Senapan penembak jitu harus memiliki jangkauan yang lebih jauh dari senapan serbu (sekitar 500 meter), tapi tidak perlu sampai jangkauan tingkat senapan runduk (lebih dari 1000 meter).

Karakteristik

Sifat-sifat yang sama dengan senapan runduk:

* Bidikan teleskopik
* Peluru yang lebih besar

Sifat-sifat yang sama dengan senapan serbu:

* Kemampuan menembak semi-otomatis
* Kapasitas magasine besar, 10 sampai 30 butir peluru

Adaptasi senapan tempur

Senapan tempur disini adalah senapan semi-otomatis dengan kaliber 7.62 x 51 mm seperti M14, FN FAL, dan HK G3, yang dulu dipensiunkan dan digantikan senapan dengan kaliber lebih kecil 5.56 x 45 mm NATO seperti senapan serbu M16. Senapan tempur ini lebih cocok dirubah menjadi senapan penembak jitu mutlak karena pelurunya yang lebih kuat.

Contoh:

* M21: diadaptasikan dari M14.
* U.S. Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle: diadaptasikan dari M14.
* G3SG/1: varian dari HK G3.

Memodifikasi senapan serbu adalah pilihan yang paling mudah dan murah, karena senapan serbu hanya perlu ditambahkan alat bidik teleskop dan tetap menggunakan kaliber yang sama.

Solusi yang lebih efektif adalah mengganti kaliber peluru dengan kaliber lebih besar, dan mengganti laras khusus yang lebih berat.

Contoh senapan penembak jitu yang menggunakan kaliber original:

* US Army Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDM-R): adaptasi dari M16.
* U.S.M.C. Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle (SAM-R): adaptasi dari M16.
* M16A2E3: varian dari M16.
* US Navy Mark 12 Mod X Special Purpose Rifle: M16 yang dimodifikasi.

Contoh senapan penembak jitu yang menggunakan kaliber baru:

* Galil Galatz: varian 7.62 x 51 mm dari IMI Galil.
* SR-25: berdasarkan Stoner AR-10.

Sniper
Sniper, atau penembak runduk, adalah seorang prajurit infanteri yang secara khusus terlatih untuk mempunyai kemampuan membunuh musuh secara tersembunyi dari jarak jauh dengan menggunakan senapan.

Istilah ini muncul pada tahun 1770-an, pada prajurit-prajurit Kolonial Inggris di India, dari kata snipe, yaitu sejenis burung yang sangat sulit untuk didekati dan ditembak. Mereka-mereka yang mahir memburu burung ini diberi julukan "sniper".

Dalam beberapa dekade terakhir istilah sniper telah digunakan secara meluas dan tidak tepat, terutama oleh media. Istilah sniper, secara tidak tepat, digunakan untuk mendeskripsikan penembak jitu polisi, pelaku asasinasi, penembak yang menembak bukan dari jarak dekat, serta kriminal yang membunuh dengan menggunakan senapan laras panjang.

Sniper dalam peperangan

Doktrin militer tentang sniper dalam posisinya pada unit militer, lokasi menembak, dan taktik berbeda pada setiap negara. Secara umum, tujuan sniper dalam peperangan adalah mengurangi kemampuan tempur musuh dengan cara membunuh sasaran yang bernilai tinggi, seperti perwira.

Dalam doktrin Amerika Serikat, Inggris, dan banyak negara lainnya , sniper dipakai dalam tim sniper, yang berisi hanya dua orang. Dua orang ini mempunyai fungsi yang berbeda, satu sebagai penembak, dan satu orang lagi sebagai spotter yaitu penunjuk sasaran. Dalam prakteknya, spotter dan penembak biasa bergiliran menembak, agar mengurangi kelelahan pada mata.

Misi sniper adalah pengintaian dan pengamatan, anti-sniper, membunuh komandan musuh, memilih target sendiri secara oportunis, dan bahkan tugas anti material (penghancuran peralatan militer), yang memerlukan senapan berkaliber besar seperti .50 BMG. Pada perang di Iraq, sniper semakin banyak digunakan sebagai peran pendukung, yaitu untuk melindungi pergerakan infanteri, khususnya di daerah perkotaan.

Saat ini, rekor jarak terjauh untuk tembakan sniper adalah 2.430 meter, dilakukan oleh sniper Kanada pada tahun 2002 ketika Invasi Afghanistan, menggunakan senapan bolt-action kaliber .50 McMillan. Hal ini berarti anak peluru terbang selama empat detik dan mengalami penurunan sebanyak 44.5 meter. Rekor sebelumnya dipegang oleh Carlos Hathcock, diperoleh dalam Perang Vietnam dengan jarak tembak 2.250 meter.

Sniper kepolisian

Polisi biasanya menurunkan sniper dalam penanganan skenario penyanderaan. Mereka dilatih untuk menembak sebagai pilihan terakhir, hanya jika nyawa sandera terancam langsung. Sniper polisi biasanya beroperasi dalam jarak yang lebih dekat dari pada sniper militer. Biasanya di bawah 100 meter dan bahkan kadang kadang kurang dari 50 meter. Karena inilah sniper polisi lebih tepat disebut sebagai penembak jitu. Sniper polisi lebih terlatih menembak untuk membunuh daripada melumpuhkan, walaupun terdapat beberapa pengecualian dengan hasil yang bervariasi.

Perbedaan penembak runduk dengan penembak jitu

Beberapa doktrin membedakan antara penembak runduk (sniper) dengan penembak jitu (marksman, sharpshooter, atau designated marksman). Sniper terlatih sebagai ahli stealth dan kamuflase, sedangkan penembak jitu tidak. Sniper merupakan bagian terpisah dari regu infanteri, yang juga berfungsi sebagai pengintai dan memberikan informasi lapangan yang sangat berharga, sniper juga memiliki efek psikologis terhadap musuh. Sedangkan peran penembak jitu intinya adalah untuk memperpanjang jarak jangkauan pada tingkat regu.

Penembak jitu umumnya memiliki jangkauan sampai 800 meter, sedangkan sniper bisa sampai 1500 meter atau lebih. Ini dikarenakan sniper pada umumnya menggunakan senapan runduk bolt-action khusus, sedangkan penembak jitu menggunakan senapan semi-otomatis, yang biasanya berupa senapan tempur atau senapan serbu yang dimodifikasi dan ditambah teleskop.

Sniper telah mendapatkan pelatihan khusus untuk menguasai teknik bersembunyi, pemakaian kamuflase, keahlian pengintaian dan pengamatan, serta kemampuan infiltrasi garis depan. Ini membuat sniper memiliki peran strategis yang tidak dimiliki penembak jitu. Penembak jitu dipasang pada tingkat regu, sedangkan sniper pada tingkat batalion dan tingkat kompi.

Peralatan

Senapan runduk

Kebanyakan senapan runduk sampai era Perang Dunia II dibuat berdasarkan senapan standar di negara bersangkutan. Termasuk diantaranya senapan K98k Mauser dari Jerman, Springfield 1903 dan M1 Garand dari Amerika Serikat, Mosin-Nagant dari Soviet, Arisaka dari Jepang, dan Lee Enfield No. 4 dari Inggris. Senapan-senapan ini dimodifikasi dengan ditambahkan laras khusus, alat bidik teleskop, bipod, bantalan pipi, penyembunyi kilatan, dan lain-lain.

Senapan-senapan yang dibuat khusus sebagai senapan runduk baru dimulai pada tahun 1960an. Tujuannya adalah untuk meningkatkan akurasi sebaik mungkin. Senapan-senapan ini dibuat khusus untuk bisa menahan panas, menahan getaran, dan hal-hal lain yang bisa mengurangi akurasi.

Kamuflase

Sniper menggunakan kamuflase dan membatasi gerakan mereka, agar tidak bisa dideteksi.

Bidikan teleskopik harus mendapatkan perhatian khusus, karena lensa dari alat bidik harus terbuka, tapi dalam keadaan terbuka akan dapat memantulkan cahaya matahari, dan ini bisa membeberkan posisi sniper. Solusi yang biasa digunakan adalah mencari tempat bersembunyi yang tidak terkena cahaya matahari langsung, atau dengan menutupi lensa dengan sesuatu yang tidak memantulkan cahaya, seperti sebuah kain tipis.

Sniper modern juga harus memperhatikan kamuflase mereka jika dilihat dengan cahaya infra-merah, karena militer modern sudah menggunakan penglihatan suhu (thermal vision), menggantikan night vision, yang hanya meningkatkan intensitas cahaya. Bahan pakaian dan peralatan bisa muncul bila dilihat dengan alat thermal vision. Maka sniper juga bisa memakai bahan lain seperti plastik, atau bahan khusus seperti selimut thermal, atau bahan lain yang tidak terdeteksi oleh thermal vision.

For this third version, now called "Boundless" Bungie took out the two main entrance shield doors along with the ice tunnels' and added the Battle Rifle opposite to the Convenant Carbine for the spawning points. I have found that this gives more power to the Ghost vehicle and makes it easier to ambush those who would hide in the two buildings. This also decreases the power of the mauler since one can't camp at the shield door entrances as much, which is unfortunate because that is one of my favorite weapons. However, the changes increases the range of the grenades, another added frustrating element. Nothing pisses me off more than dying from a random grenade chucked from the far end of another room.

Boundless definitely forces team games to work together or fail apart. The several Team Slayer games I have played of the updated map seem to have a huge gap between the winner's score and the loser's, and I ended up on both sides. Also, Boundless has become more of a long range map dueling between convenant carbines, battle rifles, needlers, convenant sniper, and those goddamn random grenades.

In my opinion, Snowbound was never really a balanced map and Boundless hasn't changed much of that. Ephitaph, Narrows, Construct, and Guardian are more balanced maps, which enable players to combat short, middle, or long ranges in a variety of combination with a better success rate.

This man was actually saluting the fact that a round could get fired at 2300 yards by a 'superiour' sniper system. No, I'm against any war, you should know that, before reading further on. But this guy was actually doing cheap commercial for a company called CheyTac who devoloped the weapon. I believe in the complete scene about the gun, that company name was used abouth 3000 times, and only to be positive about it. there were, apperiantly, no downsides.. how about it kills people!

Just take in a moment to the fact that this show is called 'Future Weapons'.

And take another one..

Future Weapons. After the subject about the sniper rifle, the new boat of the US navy is introduced. a super boat, so we see the bald ex commando on a 16 million dollar hovercraft whom are 16 aboard this thing, called a LCAT (once again, see the commercialism here).

No, since I study Communication, don't see me as the guy that is against mass communication, commersialism, or any other type of good, cheap I-will-get-my-product-to-the-people type of propaganda. But this is straight war-mongering! And excuse me for using that quite extreme word, but it is, it's plain commercial for weapons with only one end... killing other human beings.. and being a fan of communication, I'm a far bigger fan of diplomacy then of just simply putting a bullet in somebody's head just for being on the wrong side of the line..

As you know, I've had a Captain America deck in the works. As the MUN Super Legend, Captain America got some awesome support, and it certainly doesn't hurt that you can curve all the way from 2 to 8 with Captain America's, so your entire board can take advantage of all of those nifty Legend cards, but after two weeks of goofing with ninja and a dude with a gun that shoots swords, it was inevitable that I'd wonder about a Punisher Clone Saga deck.

The obvious thought is to head towards a Sniper Shot build - one Suicide Run on turn 2, another on turn 3, and if you have the initiative you can nuke their recruit (assuming they're curving); one more Punisher and you can nuke an opposing character every turn, destroying their board while yours just creeps larger and larger.

I may lean towards that build before I'm done, but to start with I had to bow to my love of beats, equipment, and random desire to find a build that Ghost Rider works in. Thinking along those lines, I pulled out my Punishers and started jamming them together to see what eventuated.

4x Punisher: Suicide Run
2x Daredevil: Fearless Survivor
4x Punisher: Secret Avenger
2x Ghost Rider: The Devil's Rider
4x Punisher: Guns Blazing
2x Elektra: Masterless Assassin
3x Punisher: Captain America
1x Daredevil: Kitchen Cleanser
2x Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
1x Daredevil: New Kingpin
2x Punisher: Angel of Death
1x Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch

4x M60s
4x Desert Eagles
2x Wheels of Vengeance
2x Scattergun
1x New Baxter Building
4x Defensive Formation
2x Sniper Shot
2x Chain of Vengeance
2x Uncertain Legacy
4x Carrying The Torch
4x Wild Ride

For the sake of fitting the format, and since I'm not sure exactly where I want to take this yet, Punisher started out as the primary at every drop. This'll be changed in the revision, especially for the sake of the Ghost Rider Legend stuff… it may not be the most efficient fit for the deck, but dammit, I want to include 'em!

Only tested it once so far, but it did reasonably well. Elektra cum Punisher (via Carrying the Torch) with an M60 makes for a 10pt to-the-face swing every turn from 4 onward; Punisher @ Captain America turns the 2-drop into a suicide bomber off initiative, and getting a little extra revenge via Chain Of Vengeance is fun too.

Punisher: Guns Blazing with an M60 and a nice set of Wheels of Vengance (thanks to Ghost Rider sharing his name via Carrying the Torch) makes for an 11ATK KO'ing Punisher than can move in and out of the hidden area and kill reinforcement. Seems like a good thing to me.

Uncertain Legacy and Wild Ride are both beautiful in that neither requires a discard - kinda critical since the deck depletes its hand through using 0-cost equipment all over the place. New Baxter Building somewhat mitigates that (it turned up last night, so worth a mention - heh). I'd definitely run more Uncertain Legacy's if I had 'em, but I only own two. Defensive Formation is beautiful, since everyone has range (and even if they didn't, there's plenty of equipment in the deck that grants it).

I slotted Daredevil in as an alternate at a few drops because, basically, he was available… and I love New Kingpin, and with 6 in the deck there's a decent chance of having a powerup for him at least once or twice in a game.

An obvious inclusion in the revision would be Assorted Aliases for +3/+3 powerups, and certainly some means of getting around effects that would blank Punisher's text box…

Something to think about.

I decided to rewatch this movie hoping that I would like it more than the first time but I didn't. In fact, I found it even more tiresome this time around. Sure, the gore and the interesting ways of torturing people are still present but story-wise, it's full of plot holes. Not to mention that this film is teeming with detestable characters so I thought they deserved to be in the movie to be tortured for the audiences' amusement. The soundtrack is annoying, the script is contrived, even the lighting and camerawork aren't that great either. The only reason why I'm not giving this a one star out of four is that I thought the needles scene was absolutely brilliant. It definitely made me want to look away from the screen because it was so horrific to watch... but even worse when it lingered in my mind. Other than that, all the actors either overact or not act at all; most of the time we see all the characters either walking around the house or just sitting in misery. For a movie that's less than an hour and thirty minutes, I couldn't wait for it to end because it's redundant and trite.

Enemy at the Gates
[ 3 stars out of 4 ]

I really liked the fact that this movie was set in World War II but the point of view was from the Russians. I haven't seen many films that tried to tell the story of what happened in Stalingrad so this was refreshing and fascinating. I also liked that the core of the picture is the duel between two snipers: one is Russian (Jude Law), the other is German (Ed Harris). It's not that hard to root for Law because of his usual puppy dog charm and Harris was an effective villain because of his cold, steely eyes. Rachel Weisz is also great in this because she is both quite bookish and able to wield a rifle. Lastly, I liked Gabriel Thomson and his spying ways. It provided something different among the exploding bombs and bullets piercing people's bodies. Even though I thought Law and Weisz looked good together, sometimes the movie dragged a bit due to their romance. At the same time, I couldn't help but laugh at their really awkward sex scene. Even though the ending is somewhat anticlimactic, I didn't mind it overall because there were thrilling scenes that could be found throughout the picture. It may not say anything particularly new about the war but it doesn't fail to entertain.

Independence Day
[ 2 stars out of 4 ]

Even though this made millions of dollars in the box office, it's a very disappointing film overall because it's pretty on the outside but has nothing to offer inside. I think the filmmakers focused too much on the visual effects to the point where they totally ignored the emotional core. When it tried to be sentimental, it just didn't work because most of the characters are one-dimensional so the audience can't relate to their struggle. I expected this film to have more teeth and bite--the closest it came to reaching my expectations were scenes where we see the aliens up close. There's real suspense during those scenes because we're as curious as the characters that are interacting with them. As for its pacing, I couldn't believe nothing happened during the first fifty minutes of the picture. In those minutes, characters are merely walking around or panicking. After those suffocating minutes, the film got a bit better but not by much. The action scenes were uninspired and the characters had out of place one-liners that weren't funny. I was glad for the film to end, which unfortunately took two hours and thirty minutes. It wasn't worth it at all because we had to wait for long periods of time for three-minute somewhat above average payoffs.

Commissar Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) heaves a little combat stress mess whilst lying low in a dry fountain piled high with corpses during the Battle of Stalingrad in Enemy At The Gates.