<div class="text-justify">

Last night someone dropped me a message on Discord asking me a question - I don't mind people doing that as long as they're not begging for upvotes of course. I welcome questions and whilst I encourage engagement on the blockchain sometimes it's not always appropriate or a person is a little embarrassed. I get it; So Discord is often where those questions land and I always respond.

The question came from a user I haven't engaged with before but it was politely asked, and relevant so I answered...I'll tell you how in a bit, but first you may be wondering what the question actually was? That's it below...

#### Are you a sniper?

The user had been perusing some of my firearms posts and was curious. As it turns out the user's grandfather was a sniper which is pretty cool and the user was interested in my guns and the applications I use them for. It's not a question I'll answer directly of course, or probably satisfactorily, and most certainly not on the blockchain. 

<center>![20210405_171922.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/galenkp/242DLjAcv8HpYQUXkXadm6E6r44mhm8sY2VJBarKtECdNCdPgVreSfGKNymNpwvbh2828.jpg)</center>

<center>*My culling rifle system - Tikka CTR .243 in a custom carbon fibre stock topped with a Kahles 624i(6-24x56) scope - Also shown is my Bushnell ConX Elite 1 Mile rangefinder and Vortex binoculars. With these I perform culling operations and keep my skills sharp.*</center>
***

**Sniper**: A person who shoots from a hiding place, especially accurately and at long range.

It's a pretty straightforward description really and describes someone trained in shooting a rifle at great distance, very accurately and from a position of concealment upon a target that requires neutralising. The target can be various things such as a person, vehicle, animal and so on. I say vehicles as snipers often use the .50cal rifle to shoot through engine blocks to halt vehicles. Typically though, sniper's have a military or law enforcement application and the targets reflect that depending on the area of operation. 

Snipers perform various other tasks too, not just bang away all day behind their long guns like in the movies; They are used to gather intel, light up targets with lasers for smart bombs and missiles and an array of other tasks that require stealth, good memory-recall and other elements required in the performance of their role. 

Sure, that rifle strapped to their back is a huge component of what he, or she, does however as battlefield needs, counter-insurgency measures and law enforcement operations have changed so has the role of the sniper. In fact, to some degree, stalking within striking distance, making a shot and a successful exfil is probably fast becoming redundant considering the way battlefield and law enforcement technology is advancing. 

#### My answer

*"That's not a question I feel comfortable answering. I shoot rifles at long range, a mile and more, and am trained to do so. Let's just say I'm a long range shooter."*

That's what I responded to the question with. Yes, I shoot accurately at great distance and have the equipment to do it efficiently and with a lot of confidence; I'm not just talking about the rifle either as a lot goes into making an accurate and repeatable long range shot. It takes training, a lot of practice and the ability to do more than just shoot. It's science really. 

Remove one element, say, calling the wind speed and direction to within +/- 1mph, will severely affect shot-accuracy just as much as not breathing correctly, poor trigger-pull, a badly set up rifle, bad data (DOPE), ammunition that is not precision-made, a scope that tracks poorly, not factoring Coriolis, not ranging the distance correctly, the slope-angle or speed of target; There's more too, these are just a few things that have to combine in a single moment to impact the target. There's usually only one chance at it too. A lot comes into play.

I'm trained to do these things and I shoot at long range, *a lot*; I compete around the country in long range practical shooting events, hone myself, skills and equipment and make my own precision hand-loaded ammunition all with the end-game being *rounds on target*. It's my hobby.

So why do I not use the term sniper? I just think it's not appropriate to use the term in the civilian world; I think it sends the wrong message and I endeavour to represent firearms and shooting responsibly. This is just another aspect of that. It's an easy term to use as the job of a sniper is often glorified in the movies, but that's where it should stay as far as the civilian world is concerned. Just my humble opinion.
***

I'm happy that user reached out and asked the question as it gave me the opportunity say the above, albeit in a shorter format, and I assume that user may indeed read this post considering the interest showed in my firearms posts. I'd also like to hear a few stories about the sniper-grandfather to be honest; Call it professional curiosity. 

</div>

***
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - *Tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind*

<sub>Discord: galenkp#9209</sub>