SWAT Digest

TOOLS OF THE VISUAL INTRUDER
The Virtues of the High Power Scope for Law Enforcement

Derrick D. Bartlett
Snipercraft, Inc.

There are schools of thought, which teach law enforcement snipers to limit their scope choices to the lower power range. They lean toward 13/4 x 6 power, or 2 x 7, some even advocate the use of a fixed four or six power. Their rationale is, since most law enforcement sniping takes place at distances of 100 yards or less, high power scopes are liabilities, because they have limited fields of view, aggravate an inherent crosshair wobble, and cause short range distortion. Although these points have some merit, they are not completely valid, nor do they take into consideration the advantages of higher magnification.

Locking yourself into a lower power scope limits your adaptability in a field where adaptability is a key to successful operations. The police sniper(s) job is the most unique in law enforcement. It is also different enough from its military counterpart that it needs to be taught as a similar but separate art. What works for the military may not be appropriate for law enforcement and vice versa. We work in different theaters, under different sets of rules, with a need for greater precision, and an eye for finer detail. (These in no way means that police snipers are better than military snipers, just different.)

I have been a police sniper for more than twenty years. As the Director of Snipercraft, Inc., I have been a sniper instructor for the last twelve years. While I don=t claim to be an expert in any phase of police sniping, I do have the benefit of years of practical field experience, both my own, and the anecdotal experiences of my students, teammates and comrades, from which to draw. For those who would argue that there are no advantages to using more than a six-power scope for law enforcement, I offer the following lessons, learned firsthand, in favor of the variable high power scope.

I have used a number of different weapons outfitted with various scope configurations. In real world situations, I have used variable low power scopes, variable high powers, and fixed power scopes of different magnifications. As a result, I have seen the advantages and disadvantages of each. I firmly believe having the availability and versatility of a 3.5 x 10, 4.5 x 14, or even a 6 x 20 power scope is an asset without which I would not want to work. I am not alone in this belief. All of the veteran, active police snipers I have worked and trained with over the years feel the same way. These are men whose judgment I have come to trust because of their dedication to the study and practice of our art. We all believe, because of the attention to detail, and the high degree of precision required of the police sniper, he should use any optical advantage he can get. This is made that much more important by the unpredictability of a SWAT deployment.

Keeping in mind the primary mission of the police sniper is to gather intelligence; you will find a high power scope enables you to visually intrude on a scene without having to get right on top of it. Distance should work to the sniper=s advantage. You are harder to detect and more difficult to engage.) Using the higher magnifications allows you to zoom in and provide minute details in describing suspects, hostages, vehicles, sites, etc. As your eyes begin to tire, having a little added magnification allows you to step that much closer to confirm details when your eyes start to play tricks on you. Is your bad guy holding a handgun, or a hairbrush? Once, my ability to zoom in and see my target was holding his gun by the barrel, and not by the grip, as he stepped out of the door, probably saved his life. Although most police sniper operations take place at less than 100 yards, a substantial number exceed that distance. I have been on callouts where open parking lots, or in one case, a marina, forced me to set up my hide more than 150 yards from my subject. Many rural area snipers I have trained have told of callouts where their closest hide was as much as 200 yards away. Have you ever tried describing a face with a six-power scope at that distance? Can you reliably distinguish a bad guy from a hostage?

One major difference in the employment of military and police snipers is how they engage their respective targets. A military sniper is an area shooter, due mainly to the fact that he is shooting at a man-sized target from distances exceeding 300 yards. He is aiming for center mass, hoping for a torso hit. If he kills his target immediately, fine. If his target takes a few minutes to die, fine. If his target is only wounded, still fine. He is an enemy on a battlefield. Rarely, if ever, is he pointing a gun at a teammate, or holding a hostage. Therefore, immediate incapacitation is not a critical concern.

A police sniper is a precision shooter. His rules of engagement are guided by criminal statutes that generally limit his use of deadly force to situations where he, another police officer, or an innocent civilian is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm. When he pulls the trigger, the police sniper is seeking the immediate termination of his target=s dangerous actions. The only reliable way to achieve this immediate stop is to destroy the central nervous system. Once, snipers were taught that meant the brain stem, or medulla oblongata. Modern research and teaching have corrected that target area to mean the cranial vault.
The target kill zone for the police sniper is basically a 3- 4 inch circle. This is usually moving, sometimes a lot. It may be partially obscured. It may hold an innocent hostage in close proximity. Whatever your distance from your target, a variable high power scope allows you the latitude to close the distance and put your crosshairs on a precise aiming point. Why settle for covering your target=s head with the reticle, when you can zoom in to quarter his eyeball and put your round exactly where it needs to go? Will your scope seem to wobble more at higher magnification? Yes, it will, but you can train to deal with that. You learn through practice how to control what movement you can, and shoot accurately though each beat of your racing heart is making your crosshairs dance.

If the situation or distance dictates, you still can dial down to a lower power setting. There is no practical reason for a sniper in a hide 25 yards from his target to have his scope set on 10-power. A trained sniper will know that. Zoom in to get detail and confirm information. Zoom out to a setting that allows you a wider field of view to observe the big picture. Zoom in again to check on possible movement, or maybe to lock in on your target as he emerges. Vary the power setting to meet the needs of the moment. There is no one setting which will be perfect for every situation.

Knowing how to use a variable power scope properly is as much a skill as learning to accurately shoot the weapon to which it is mounted. This is not something you will learn by accident, but only through education and experience. Proper training and practice will allow a police sniper to master a tool, which will enhance his overall skill and effectiveness. Only then will the visual intruder be able to take full advantage of his capability to observe and report in fine detail, as well as shoot with pinpoint accuracy.

About the Author: Derrick Bartlett is a sniper and trainer on the Fort Lauderdale Police SWAT Team. He has been a police officer for over twenty-five years. Twenty-two of those years he has been assigned to special operations teams. He is also the Managing Director of Snipercraft, Inc., which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the education and enhancement to police sniper skills. He has held sniper seminars and schools for more than 500 police agencies nationwide.

For information about Snipercraft and the programs they have to offer, contact him at 954-389-0829, or derrick@snipercraft.org.