THE SQUAD
DESIGNATED
TEAMWORK
MARKSMAN
Sniping in airsoft will always remain an area of
some debate – but the role of squad-designated
marksmen combines the best elements of both
sniper and infantry. Ron Mahoney explains
E
ver wondered why there are always a large number of secondhand airsoft sniper rifles for sale? It’s because many new
players to the sport rush out and buy one as their first
major airsoft buy. The price of a bolt-action spring rifle
proves too attractive, but the downside is that so many
don’t understand the role. Too many have based their buys on the belief
they can transfer what happens in an electronic game to what happens in
the field. You can bunnyhop about and ‘no-scope’ as much as you want –
but you’ll be shouting ‘hit’ before I can say ‘Soap McTavish’.
However, if you want to establish yourself as one of the more
accurate members of your team rather than a run-of-the-mill spray
and pray merchant, then there is a compromise. This role provides a
way to learn more precise shooting skills, and has the benefit of
allowing you to observe the dynamics of gameplay to quickly
become quite airsoft savvy. The squad designated marksman
(SDM) is a role that differs significantly from that of a sniper yet
enjoys many of the advantages of longer range shooting.
A sniper is a highly trained soldier whose skill in
camouflage and concealment, fieldcraft, intelligence
gathering and, finally, shooting is second to none. They
are trained to carry out a range of specific missions, more
specialised than standard infantry tasks, and do them
independent of others. In most cases the rifle they use will be
a bolt-action, limited magazine system with calibres ranging from
6.65mm up to the anti-material .50cal round.
But the SDM is a soldier who has received marksmanship training and
whose role is to engage targets at greater ranges than the other members
of the squad or section are &