If you haven’t shot a sniper rifle before I’ll take the time in this post to explain to you how to properly operate a bolt action sniper rifle. I’ve served in the United States Marine Corp (USMC) for 15 years and in the Marines I was a well trained sniper.
After my service with the USMC I got into playing Airsoft as a recreation and also to keep my sniping skills in top shape! In airsoft most of the weapons you use are very realistic to the real guns being used out in the world today.
I have fired some of the best airsoft sniper rifles and I can tell you that it’s almost the same as firing one in the military, only difference is the kick back which isn’t as “real” as the real deal sniper rifles. There are three methods to fire a bolt action sniper rifle and in this case I’ll use my favorite of all Airsoft sniper rifle the JG BAR 10 bolt-action Airsoft sniper rifle as an example.
The first method of firing a bolt action rifle is called the “squeeze” or “pinch”. In my experience this is the most simplest and most effective way to operate the bolt-action on a rifle. What you do is you grab the bolt handle between your thumb and index finger, pull the bolt up then out, then pushes it back forward and back down into its position. This method works great because it reduces the motion on the rifle and makes each shot more consistent.
The second method is called the “judo chop”. This is mainly used when you have to shoot at a rapid rate. This is almost like the “squeeze/pinch” method but you are using your palms or the ball of your hands to quickly smack the bolt handle up & down.
If done effectively you can fire at a faster firing rate but you’ll sometime lose your accuracy from all the motion.But if you’re a good sniper you can adapt to this method and make perfect shots every time and fast too!
The last method is which is not recommend but I see a lot of newbies fire their sniper rifle in this manner. This method is very slow and is inefficient.
What you do is fist the bolt handle, jerk it back into position. However, if you fire a spring powered sniper rifle, which has a high tension spring, it will be harder to pull back the bolt, so this method may be used by some players.
I hope you got some good tips out of this post regarding how to properly operate a bolt action sniper rifle, be it a real one or one for Airsoft. As I have mentioned earlier, the best method is the squeeze and pinch method but you can choose which ever method of pulling back on the bolt as you wish. It all comes down to how well you can fire the rifle by using the method of your choice!