This field manual provides information needed to train and equip snipers
and to aid them in their missions and operations. It is intended for use
by commanders, staffs, trainers, snipers, and soldiers at training posts,
Army schools, and units.

This manual is organized as a reference for snipers and leads the trainer
through the material needed to conduct sniper training. Subjects include
equipment, weapon capabilities, fundamentals of marksmanship and
ballistics, field skills, mission planning, and skill sustainment.
The left-handed firer can become a sniper, but all material in this book
is referenced to the right-handed firer.
The sniper has special abilities, training and equipment. His job is
to deliver discriminatory highly accurate rifle fire against enemy
targets, which cannot be engaged successfully by the rifleman
because of range, size, location, fleeting nature, or visibility.
Sniping requires the development of basic infantry skills to a high
degree of perfection. A sniper's training incorporates a wide variety
of subjects designed to increase his value as a force multiplier and
to ensure his survival on the battlefield. The art of sniping requires
learning and repetitiously practicing these skills until mastered.
A sniper must be highly trained in long-range rifle marksmanship
and field craft skills to ensure maximum effective engagements with
minimum risk.