Carl Broke the Internet: A Followup on the Role of the Sniper

What’s up guys, it’s Carl. I wanted to jot down some thoughts over on the blog because I think my last video needs a little bit of added clarification based on some of the negative reactions I’ve seen online to it, and I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding going on here, so let’s try and dispel it.

Now, I’ve only started doing videos for the channel recently, so I understand that probably the vast majority of you don’t know me, and that’s my fault to some degree, but I have been playing airsoft for nearly 15 years in one capacity or another, and I’ve been working in this industry for more than 10.

When I’m giving you hot takes in videos like this, it’s because these are all things I’ve actually seen with my own eyes, consistently, from my tenure playing this silly hobby – but these are just my opinions, and however controversial they are, guess what? We’re now having a conversation about it! Isn’t the internet wonderful?

It feels like we’re having a bit of miscommunication here, and honestly this is something yesterday’s video should have touched on. A ‘sniper’ is a person. A sniper rifle is a gun. They get used interchangeably quite often, but when I’m saying that, in my opinion, most snipers aren’t much of an asset to the team, I’m referring to a player that has specifically chosen to go out into the field with a bolt action rifle.

Now yes, very obviously there are some famous airsofters that are very good at sniper gameplay- novritsch, jet, swampsniper, the list goes on. What I thought I made clear in the video but perhaps didn’t given the reaction to it, is that these folks are anomalies – exceptions to the rule, and definitely not the standard. Their content is really enjoyable and entertaining, but part of the reason that they’re able to go out and do what they do is because they do have an understanding of stealth, fieldcraft, and when to take shots versus when to lie in wait. Absolutely no shade was meant to be thrown at them.

The disconnect, however, is that their impressionable young viewers then assume that a novritsch gameplay video might just be what an average round of playing as a sniper is like, and without that experience in fieldcraft that I mentioned, this will very likely not go well for them. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen a bright eyed, bushy tailed new player that just bought a new sniper rifle end up returning it after a few days because the role really isn’t as glamorous as they thought it was going to be – or worse yet, they might just decide that airsoft sucks in general, and decide to call it quits altogether.

Without new players, scenes get stale, whither, and eventually die – and one of many ways that we as a community can counter that process is by being realistic about what one of the most hyped roles in the game actually entails. Additionally, I was mostly referring to larger fields and more milsim oriented gameplay, as that’s kind of where you’re going to get the most value out of being able to sneak around and scout and such, but I thought that was obvious. Maybe it wasn’t, but I thought it was!

A tool is only as good as the hands the wield it – so obviously sniper rifles aren’t useless, otherwise I wouldn’t have taken the time to build and paint the M24, but a ton of folks who go out and attempt the role could be doing it much, much better, and that’s specifically what I wanted to address.

And you know what? That’s my opinion! I specifically invited dissent in the comments because I knew this topic would draw some criticism, and to those of you who’ve been chill and contributed to good counterpoints or even just realized how tongue in cheek this entire hobby is – thanks! Carl salutes you. I sincerely hope that clears up a bit of confusion and dispels the idea that I was trying to put anyone down or make anyone feel bad – I definitely wasn’t. That being said, if you still have thoughts or comments you’d like to share, by all means, keep going! I FEED ON YOUR HATRED naw jk. Have a great weekend guys – go prove me wrong with a bolt gun