Why Are Military Sharpshooters Called Snipers?

Not sure if the “Snipe Hunting” prank is common outside the US, but military snipers didn’t get their names from looking for imaginary creatures in the woods 😂.

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[Knockee]

Because of you telling me where I could find one I’m getting a Garand

[Gasmask_RX]

Neat fact, also, the actual bird looks EXTREMELY similar to the American Woodcock, AKA the Timberdoodle, AKA the majestic North American Meep Meep.

[bongkikika]

that Doofenshmirtz laugh as he drove away 💀

[lucasyaboi]

You're the most handsome military nerd I've ever seen

[Rosered]

I love that you acknowledged the modern interpretation of a snipe hunt so all your followers didn’t have to “well, actually” all over the comments. 😊

[joeyweinstock]

So a Snipe is a real thing russle actually found a snipe

[BaptistJoshua]

My Grandpa was the "victim" of a snipe hunt, and later became a sniper in Korea.

[atinofspam]

it depends on what country and branch you’re in. In the british army, a marksman is called a sharpshooter. A sniper is a separate role that you have to be selected for after already qualifying for sharpshooter.
We also had a badge called “first class rifleman” which is a standard infantryman who shoots accurately enough to be commended for it, but they’re not necessarily a sharpshooter.

Historically in the british army a sniper was usually separate from the infantry and was sent on independent missions or attached to a section as an additional asset much like how you’d attach a tank section to an infantry platoon. Someone who had a sniper rifle but was an infantryman was again, a sharpshooter

[TKisaSquid]

I learned this from the new Call of Duty of all places 😂

[articusramos]

The snipe bird is notoriously hard to hunt due to how fast they can escape. A hunter needed witnesses to be named one.

[gokulnair]

Thank you MWII campaign mode for telling me this lol

[panthercreek]

Here in central Alabama we hunted quail with pointers ( bird dog breed) and whenever we ventured close to the swamp we could tell that they were working a snipe by the way they acted. When the snipe flushed they were very very fast & extremely difficulty to hit.
To be clear these birds were mostly woodcock but down here we refer to them all as "snipe".
I used to try telling city folks that snipe hunting is a real thing, but they didn't believe me.

[heyitsdave]

A lot of people in Hungary call snipers "csipás" which means "the one with the sand in his eye" alluding to how staring down a scope for hours on end makes the sand on your eyes appear, I thought it'd be interesting to share

[Coda]

Carl Fredrickson had some truth behind his game. 😂

[azmike]

I learned something new today. Thanks my man!

[Thomas-xpoz]

The funny thing is that snipe are shot with a shotgun as they fly away from the hunter. The reason you have to be a good shot to hit them is that they zigzag as they fly off.
So the word for someone who shoots still or slow moving targets with a rifle at long range originally refers to people who shoot fast moving targets with a shotgun at close range.

[Collin-yf]

The reason the term is used in the Military is because often times the hunters were soliders in the british east india company.

[captain-generalothinus]

So that one dialogue in Call of Duty is real...

Damn sometimes Call of Duty do be spittin' fun facts

[elijahupdike]

You mean to tell me I wasn’t lied to in Boy Scouts 😤

[yep]

I don’t know how many people we have left out in the countryside taking them snipe hunting with a plastic bag and net lmao