Sniper Recommendations

[TheMilkyBarKid]

So I’m tempted to dip my foot into sniping, but I have no clue which sniper to go for an wether I should upgrade it straight away. I don’t want to break the bank an get a £500 SRS and not be able to afford anything else. I’m probably looking at spending no more than £400 for a gun, upgrades and mags. So if anyone could offer some suggestions I’d greatly appreciate it? Also would it be worth looking for pre-owned snipers?

 

[BigStew]

firstly have you played before do you have an aeg, because if you jump into sniping with no previous game experience you will have a miserable time . secondly please use the forum search function you are not the 1st person to ask this and there are countless posts on this question.

 

[Tackle]

Definitely consider pre-owned kit, in the case of snipers it can often mean the usual much needed tweaks have already been done for you ?.

BUT as BigStew has rightly pointed out, if you've not played before, or very little ?, your not likely to enjoy sniping as much as you'd expect, I'd be inclined to suggest you try a dmr role first, while working on your fieldcraft etc.

 

[EDcase]

Sniping is the hardest and one of the most expensive things you can do in airsoft.   As has been said,  you'll likely be disappointed with the results.

£400 may get you there with the gun and upgrades but it will need a lot of trial and error to dial it in and plenty of practice...

Do you have a long distance in the garden to test?

 

[TheMilkyBarKid]

firstly have you played before do you have an aeg, because if you jump into sniping with no previous game experience you will have a miserable time . secondly please use the forum search function you are not the 1st person to ask this and there are countless posts on this question.

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Yes I’ve played for nearly 2 years now. I tried searching it to avail unfortunately, could not find this question asked elsewhere which is why I made this post

Definitely consider pre-owned kit, in the case of snipers it can often mean the usual much needed tweaks have already been done for you ?.

BUT as BigStew has rightly pointed out, if you've not played before, or very little ?, your not likely to enjoy sniping as much as you'd expect, I'd be inclined to suggest you try a dmr role first, while working on your fieldcraft etc.

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Cheers for the response! That was the main attraction of buying pre owned for me was that I could focus more on using the gun and enjoying it rather than spending loads of time an money sweating it?I have been playing for just under 2 years, so I think I’d like to switch things up a bit and try something new!

Sniping is the hardest and one of the most expensive things you can do in airsoft.   As has been said,  you'll likely be disappointed with the results.

£400 may get you there with the gun and upgrades but it will need a lot of trial and error to dial it in and plenty of practice...

Do you have a long distance in the garden to test?

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Yeah I was sort of expecting it to cost a fair bit, I was hoping to offset some of the costs and time with buying preowned. Unfortunately I don’t however my mates got a long garden an the airsoft sight I go to has a long range I could use to test things

 

[EDcase]

Second hand can be a way to get a good rifle but most likely it'll be from someone who tried it and failed.

 

[alxndrhll]

As others have stated taking the jump into sniping is a big ol’ risk. It’s generally expensive to get into, and in my experience unlike many other platforms/styles of play you want that RIF to be well tuned to get a decent sense of whether you’re ‘into it’. That tends to come at a financial cost, which you don’t tend to get much back on if you find the style isn’t for you. Borrowing a decent rifle for a few sessions would be my default advice, but I’m aware that isn’t always an option... and we have no idea when we’re going to be able to play again.

I’m all for any sort of budget build, there are absolutely instances where you can get a RIF shooting amazingly on a small budget. When it comes to bolt action rifles and the power you’re dealing with parts tend to give way quicker than they would in an AEG. Though aftermarket parts and modifications like 90 degree triggers/pistons, hop chambers, TDC (top dead centre) mods and tighter barrels certainly can improve performance but a lot of what you end up paying for is durability coming from better quality materials. There is little more frustrating than getting everything set just as you like it, for a part to break and never quite getting it back where it was.

If you’re only planning on ‘sniping’ from time to time it’s worth considering picking up a VSR clone and doing some cost effective mods to improve the consistency. For me personally the correct powered spring for your limits, a decent hop bucking and a TDC would be the minimum I’d pop in a ‘sniper rifle’. You need that hop to be performing as consistently as possible. Perhaps stretching to an aftermarket barrel if the stock one is a bit ropey.

Pre-owned is a decent option, but as with any second hand purchase there is an element of risk. Whichever route you take it’s worth learning your rifle inside and out. Knowing how it all comes apart, goes together, and ‘what does what’ will serve you well as you change/replace parts and generally fettle to get things how you want them.

Apologies for the essay.

 

[EDcase]

Just get a base sniper rifle and have fun at your friends place (when covid allows)

 

[Skara]

Sniping is the hardest and one of the most expensive things you can do in airsoft.

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Bollocks.

Sniping is just as expensive as any other "role".

It's not harder, it's not easier, it's just different.

 

[Tackle]

Hence why my recommendation for considering a dmr or electric sniper, psg1/sl9 etc, easier to make the transition without the commitment that a Springer requires to get anything near perfect (or even mildly ok lol)

 

[EDcase]

Bollocks.

Sniping is just as expensive as any other "role".

It's not harder, it's not easier, it's just different.

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I strongly disagree ?

With any other role a cheap JG or CYMA will do fine and you don't have to upgrade them.

At the sites I play a sniper has to have a secondary.

You also need a ghillie to be a successful sniper.

You have to use more expensive heavier weight BB's

etc...

 

[Skara]

I strongly disagree ?

With any other role a cheap JG or CYMA will do fine and you don't have to upgrade them.

At the sites I play a sniper has to have a secondary.

You also need a ghillie to be a successful sniper.

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Even more bollocks.

Whoever told you that sniper rifles have to be expensive should be thrown down a cliff.

They actually require very little to perform and most of the mods are DIY jobbies.

"you need an expensive barrel" no you don't, as long as the stock one is straight, clean and seals well with the hop rubber, it's good.

"you need a r-hop" no you don't, a maple leaf rubber does the same shit but costs €10

"you need a big ass spring" no you don't, if you know how to work with Joule Creep, also FPS means fuck all if the rifle isn't consistent.

"you need a SRS" absolutely not, you don't need to drop €500 on that shit. It's good, but a cheap cyma VSR with some upgrades and tweaks will do the same, for less than half the price.

Do you need a fancy expensive KMCS? no, you just need a BDU in a pattern that blends in well with the environment, and a couple cans of spray paint to adjust the colours. Fuck leaf suits btw, they're shit.

In case nobody told you, home made ghillies are dirt cheap.

As for sidearms, a STTI MK23 with a couple of DIY mods and €20 worth of Hadron parts is the way to go.

Also, you upgrade as you play. No need to dish out serious amounts of money right at the start.

 

[EDcase]

Then why do so many give up on it ?

 

[Tackle]

Cos their like CoD players who don't think camping should be allowed, don't have the patience (or fieldcraft skills) to wait for the enemy to come to them, would rather charge in with a flurry of 360 no scoping lol?

View attachment 64583

 

[Skara]

Then why do so many give up on it ?

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Cos their like CoD players who don't think camping should be allowed, don't have the patience (or fieldcraft skills) to wait for the enemy to come to them, would rather charge in with a flurry of 360 no scoping lol?

View attachment 64583

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^this is why they give up.

And because they want to be Novritsch (who, by the way, is the complete opposite of a sniper, if you haven't noticed already)

 

[Shaydee]

Then why do so many give up on it ?

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Not because of cost, but because of patience.

Tinkering takes time and people are lazy fuckers. I know as usually I am one of these people, but I don't mind working on my guns, my springer especially.

 

[EvilMonkee]

I would add that if you are 'inspired' by any of the YT airsoft 'celebrity' snipers such as Nov or Wicking C*ntstain (trademark pending) that all their footage is stitched together from across a game day.  Aforementioned twat Licking Bogbrush I know for a fact, used shots from two different spots on our local site at two different times of the day to show 1 'kill'.  Anyway, the point is don't be fooled by all that balls if that is what you are aiming for.

 

[TheMilkyBarKid]

As others have stated taking the jump into sniping is a big ol’ risk. It’s generally expensive to get into, and in my experience unlike many other platforms/styles of play you want that RIF to be well tuned to get a decent sense of whether you’re ‘into it’. That tends to come at a financial cost, which you don’t tend to get much back on if you find the style isn’t for you. Borrowing a decent rifle for a few sessions would be my default advice, but I’m aware that isn’t always an option... and we have no idea when we’re going to be able to play again.

I’m all for any sort of budget build, there are absolutely instances where you can get a RIF shooting amazingly on a small budget. When it comes to bolt action rifles and the power you’re dealing with parts tend to give way quicker than they would in an AEG. Though aftermarket parts and modifications like 90 degree triggers/pistons, hop chambers, TDC (top dead centre) mods and tighter barrels certainly can improve performance but a lot of what you end up paying for is durability coming from better quality materials. There is little more frustrating than getting everything set just as you like it, for a part to break and never quite getting it back where it was.

If you’re only planning on ‘sniping’ from time to time it’s worth considering picking up a VSR clone and doing some cost effective mods to improve the consistency. For me personally the correct powered spring for your limits, a decent hop bucking and a TDC would be the minimum I’d pop in a ‘sniper rifle’. You need that hop to be performing as consistently as possible. Perhaps stretching to an aftermarket barrel if the stock one is a bit ropey.

Pre-owned is a decent option, but as with any second hand purchase there is an element of risk. Whichever route you take it’s worth learning your rifle inside and out. Knowing how it all comes apart, goes together, and ‘what does what’ will serve you well as you change/replace parts and generally fettle to get things how you want them.

Apologies for the essay.

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Thank you for taking the time to write all of that, you have been incredibly helpful!

 

[Adolf Hamster]

You also need a ghillie to be a successful sniper.

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i do feel the need to weigh in here, it is entirely possible to have a successful day's running a bolt-gun without a ghillie.

hell i've even done it myself with a stock mosin nagant and i'll self admit to having pretty poor concealment skills and i've never worn a ghillie or any kind of leafy stuff for airsoft.

what you do need to do is to know how to position yourself, how to pick your battles (if the other guy has an aeg and is in-range then you're screwed the moment he knows where you are), and how to use concealment to your advantage, a ghillie isn't going to make you any harder to see if all the enemy has to work with is a 2" hole in a bush with the tip of your barrel just inside.

 

[EDcase]

I didn't say it was only about cost.