Sniper Ops: Operation Sasquatch

In the end, everything came down to an inch. It’s by such fine margins that Sniper Ops events are often decided. On another day, had the breeze blown a little more to the left the Tanaka M40’s .45g Geoff’s BB would have landed and I would have been going home the victor.

At the time I did not know it but I, playing as the solo Counter Sniper, was level on points with Sniper Operatives Paul + Terry going into the final half an hour of play. I had tracked Terry from one side of the field to the other and had anticipated the path he would take to reach the extraction zone. A path that is 200m wide. When Terry appeared from the tree line 80m away from me I was filled with a mix of frustration that he had appeared so far away and excitement at having anticipated his movement and worked myself an opportunity to grab a valuable kill this late in the game. Terry had no idea I was there as I rolled from my seated position to a stable laying position bringing my Tanaka M40 to bear. Even with my favoured sniper rifle this was a difficult moving target at long range. I let two shots off in rapid succession. The first sailed past Terry’s head by a foot, I adjusted my aim and the second was a near perfect headshot; it missed by an inch. Terry later described the sound of the heavy weight BBs screaming through the air as being like a missiles out of nowhere, he had no idea where the shots had come from but he instinctively dived across the woodland path and scampered up the hill towards the extraction.

I only caught up with him again at end ex. He had claimed his point for escaping. I (as solo counter sniper) had failed to claim my two points for taking him out. That was the deciding moment of this enthralling contest.

Well played all Sniper Operatives. A competition of the highest standards with Paul + Terry going home the deserved victors.

Final scores: