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Well, obviously firing more than is necessary is a quick and easy way to blow the element of 'surprise and concealment,' among other things.

Hopefully nobody thinks I was serious about the 'through the throat' comment... I was only joking.

I think the majority of the civilian population (if not a portion of the unknowing military population as well) believes a lot of what they see in movies, where the "snipers" are putting rounds <i>exactly</i> between the eyes of their targets, or are hitting them in the back of the head, etc. I would assume that in truth more snipers aim for center mass, since even if it's not "instant movie-type death," there's a lot more area to hit, with more vitals to f*** up.

Oh, and Snipe... did you like the brilliant corporal's summation of the sniper's "role"?
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>"As a sniper your goal is to completely demoralize the enemy," said the corporal, who <b><u>played football and ran track in high school</u></b>, and dreams of becoming a high-school coach.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

Funny... I thought your goal was to eliminate your target, not play the "my dick's bigger than your dick" game...

“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.” Benjamin Franklin, 1759

Demoralizing the enemy is one of the main things a good sniper team will do to the enemy, but this is best accomplished by executing the mission to the best of your ability, not trying to consciously do so. Snipers have a lot more of a free hand than anyone else in a line Company, but they're still part of a Company or Bn team, and have to play their role without getting sidetracked trying to play mind games.

However, some missions tasked to a sniper team serve to create a definite psychological trauma to the enemy. It depends on the objectives you're given, and how the CO's employed you.

As a rule you shoot center mass outside 300 meters(i am sure some guys ignore this rule). Inside that range if you feel comfortable, take the head shot. Inside 100 meters(yes, sometimes we got that close- almost never by choice) you could aim for an eye if you wanted to.

Make no mistake though, 24 kills in one operation is quite impressive. This Marine Corporal and his spotter are doing one hell of a job upholding the Sniper namesake, and both have my utmost respect.

"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier."

Kipling-