Why I don't get excited about long distance shots by allied snipers...

Everyone is hitting me with the same news.  Some Canadian Snipers from JTF-2 scored a long distance hit on a bad guy in the desert.

I can understand everyone getting excited by the news but I can't.  I look at this differently.  Long distance shooting is simply a matter of teaching, good gear, a little math and the ability to read the elements.

But bushcraft is different.

That's the part of Scout Snipers that cause me to give them a nod, a grudging respect.

It's also something we're not seeing much in Afghanistan (or at least its not reported).  Everyone that has ever held a rifle in the military knows about Carlos Hathcock.  Most have read his book.  Some have seen the Scout Sniper course and some have even been thru it.

The stalk.  The crawling thru brush.  The ability to gut out the pain, the heat, the thirst, the bad weather...that's the Scout in Scout Sniper.

Don't get me wrong.  The guys that did this are bad ass.  The guys that are doing this mission are too.

But from my seat Sniping is relatively easy.  Scout Sniping is the hard thing and that's why I don't get excited about long distance shots.

Now if these guys laid up in a hide for two weeks waiting for the high value target to appear, leaning on their sides to take a piss, getting ate up by insects and waiting for dark to take a shit (if not shitting their pants)...all while avoiding detection?  Then this is something super special.  If not then its just a super long shot.