Good sniper book?
- Thread starter MDG1976
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exoduster18
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Uuummmm......Marine Sniper by Charles Anderson. Silent Warrior by Charles Anderson. One Shot-One Kill by Charles W. Sasser and Craig Roberts. And just a general all around good gun book: Unintended Consequences by John Ross.
Dear Mom: A marine sniper's vietnam
By JT Ward.
His mom kept his letters he sent back when he was in the service. Years later he got them back from her and then told his story. He begins each chapter with a letter to his mom and then fills in what was actually happening to him in the field. A great read. Can't recommend it enough.
By JT Ward.
His mom kept his letters he sent back when he was in the service. Years later he got them back from her and then told his story. He begins each chapter with a letter to his mom and then fills in what was actually happening to him in the field. A great read. Can't recommend it enough.
Mumbles_45
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Fiction: A Time to Hunt, Stephen Hunter
Non-Fiction: Dead Center, Ed Kugler
Non-Fiction: Dead Center, Ed Kugler
Shooter by Jack Coughlin
Ultimate Sniper : An Advanced Training Manual For Military And Police Snipers -- by John Plaster
Out Of Nowhere: A History Of The Military Sniper (I liked this one a lot)
Grandfather's Tale: The Tale of a German Sniper ( I think technically fiction, but very good read)
Ultimate Sniper : An Advanced Training Manual For Military And Police Snipers -- by John Plaster
Out Of Nowhere: A History Of The Military Sniper (I liked this one a lot)
Grandfather's Tale: The Tale of a German Sniper ( I think technically fiction, but very good read)
"A Rifleman Went to War" by Herbert W McBride, and "With British Snipers to the Reich" by Capt C Shore. Both nonfiction.
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280PLUS
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Marine Sniper-93 Confirmed Kills
Charles Henderson : The story of Carlos Hathcock
Reading the book helped me shoot better scores so Gunny Hathcock is STILL helping people become better shooters.
"Sniping" and "Shoot to Kill" from "The Australian Guerilla Series" by Ion L. Idriess. Almost impossible to find in their original form and quite valuable as such. There was a facsimile printed IIRC in 1993 of the whole series which may or may not still be available. Try www.abebook.com or www.ozbook.com. Search under Ion L. Idriess.
Idriess was a Aussie Light Cavalryman during WWI and served as a sniper in such places as Gallipoli and "Turcoland" among other things. In about 1939 he was commisioned by the Aussie Gov't to write the guerilla series as a "How To" for the civilian population in expectation of a Japanese invasion. The whole series is a worthwhile read but those two sections are devoted to shooting and camoflage.
Here are the results for a search done at abebook - #10 is a copy of the facsimile actually printed in 1999
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=Ion+L+idriess&sortby=1
at ozbook go to "Idriess Reprints" on the left of the screen. They are showing the series as available but you would probaly want to confirm that. I thought I had heard that they were out.
I understand a lot of his techniques are still taught today.
Watch out though, his writing is quite good and you may find yourself buying and reading many of the other 50 or so books he authored.
Charles Henderson : The story of Carlos Hathcock
Reading the book helped me shoot better scores so Gunny Hathcock is STILL helping people become better shooters.
"Sniping" and "Shoot to Kill" from "The Australian Guerilla Series" by Ion L. Idriess. Almost impossible to find in their original form and quite valuable as such. There was a facsimile printed IIRC in 1993 of the whole series which may or may not still be available. Try www.abebook.com or www.ozbook.com. Search under Ion L. Idriess.
Idriess was a Aussie Light Cavalryman during WWI and served as a sniper in such places as Gallipoli and "Turcoland" among other things. In about 1939 he was commisioned by the Aussie Gov't to write the guerilla series as a "How To" for the civilian population in expectation of a Japanese invasion. The whole series is a worthwhile read but those two sections are devoted to shooting and camoflage.
Here are the results for a search done at abebook - #10 is a copy of the facsimile actually printed in 1999
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=Ion+L+idriess&sortby=1
at ozbook go to "Idriess Reprints" on the left of the screen. They are showing the series as available but you would probaly want to confirm that. I thought I had heard that they were out.
I understand a lot of his techniques are still taught today.
Watch out though, his writing is quite good and you may find yourself buying and reading many of the other 50 or so books he authored.
Hkmp5sd
Member
I have the Plaster book and it's ok.
Some others....
Non-Fiction:
The German Sniper 1914-1945 by Peter R. Senich
The Complete Book of U.S. Sniping by Peter R. Senich
U.S. Marine Corps Scout/Sniper Training Manual (government)
Sniper: The World of Combat Sniping by Adrian Gilbert
Sniper/Counter Sniper: A Guide for Special Response Teams by Mark Lonsdale
Stalk and Kill: The Sniper Experience by Adrian Gilbert
Fiction:
War of the Rats by David L. Roberts
Some others....
Non-Fiction:
The German Sniper 1914-1945 by Peter R. Senich
The Complete Book of U.S. Sniping by Peter R. Senich
U.S. Marine Corps Scout/Sniper Training Manual (government)
Sniper: The World of Combat Sniping by Adrian Gilbert
Sniper/Counter Sniper: A Guide for Special Response Teams by Mark Lonsdale
Stalk and Kill: The Sniper Experience by Adrian Gilbert
Fiction:
War of the Rats by David L. Roberts
Pheonix
Member
I have read many of the above books, you might as well add to your list 13 Cent Killers by John Culbertson.
ctdonath
Member
"One Shot, One Kill". Individual real-life sniper event per chapter. Great bedtime stories.
Stevie-Ray
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+1 I have read them all, and they're all exceptional.
Detritus
Member
tried to read it didn't get halfway through,
Culbertson's first two books where he stuck to what HE did and stayed away from the issue of "who is or isn't, this that or the other" were good.
but part way through 13 cent killers he lit off on a (i hope temporary) barely veiled tirade against those who had NOT come to the USMC sniper ranks through either the pendelton or In-country schools, dismissing many men who learned the trade in places like the Hawaii scout/sniper school set up by Jim Land in 1960, the course in which Hathcock received his training for the craft, before such courses were "offical".
i found some of culbertson's comments in this portion of the book so offisive and self serving that i have not yet been able to pick it up and finish it to see if it gets better.
as for what i would suggest i'll second a many of the earlier entries and add a few.
the Adrian Gilbert books, "Sniper" etc
Dear Mom
the two Henderson books on Carlos Hathcock
One Shot One Kill
Sniper in the Arizona (culbertson's second book)
Inside the Crosshairs, Snipers in Vietnam by Micheal Lee Lanning
the entirety of the Death from Afar series (i'm still working on getting these myself)
and as others suggest, A rifleman went to war, but don't look for extensive accounts of sniping, Mcbride covers much more than simply sniping, he gives an account of most of the pertinent info on everything he experienced from being a machine gunner to his time as a sniper and later rifle instructor.
I really enjoyed Out of nowhere: A History Of The Military Sniper. The author is a shooting enthusiast and is pretty knowledgable. Another good one is One Shot One Kill, I think I ordered that one off midway with an order. And my favorite fiction book is War of the Rats, talk about a great book!
Sniper1Moore
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I second the Stephen Hunter books as well as JT Ward's "Dear Mom, A Sniper's Vietnam. Truly great reads.Ken
280PLUS
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+1 on Dear Mom...
I see a few titles I'd like to get to here. I'll put 'em in the pile.
I see a few titles I'd like to get to here. I'll put 'em in the pile.
Darth Ruger
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Vassili Zaitsev's autobiography:
http://notesofasniper.com/
The story as told by the man himself is quite different than that found in other books and the movie starring Jude Law. According to Zaitsev's own account, things like hokey love affairs, the constant slaughtering of Russian soldiers by their own NCO's and officers, and the role played by Nikita Krushev never happened. Lyudmila, the female sniper who was shot in the head by the German sniper in the movie, didn't even meet Zaitsev until the whole thing was over. Danilov, the political officer, wasn't killed by the German sniper, but only wounded, and it wasn't intentional on his part as portrayed in the movie. Kulikov, the sniper who, in the movie, met Zaitsev during the battle and was soon shot in the head by the German sniper as he jumped across a building, was actually an old friend of Zaitsev's who fought with him much earlier before he became a sniper, and he wasn't shot by the German sniper at all. In fact, it was Kulikov who helped Zaitsev locate the German sniper and take him out, quite the opposite of how the story was portrayed in the fictional versions. Zaitsev's medal was presented to him by the chairman of the central executive committee of the USSR Mikhail Ivanovich, not Nikita Kruschev. Zaitsev gave the names and ranks/positions of every NCO, officer, or State official that he met or even knew about, and he never mentioned Nikita Kruschev once in the entire book. The editor also contends that David Robbins plagiarized certain parts of the 1971 edition of Zaitsev's autobiograpy for his book War of the Rats. Some evidence of this is presented at the end of the book.
The story is much more interesting, and a lot different than the fictional versions, coming from the horse's mouth. He also gives a lot of hard-earned advice about sniping.
http://www.paladin-press.com/SearchResult.aspx?KeyWords=idriess
The Scout is also great reading, as it contains much sniper-related information: land navigation, observation/intelligence gathering, tactical movement in the field, operating in front of and behind enemy lines, night operations, seeing the enemy with your "mind's eye" (interpreting what you can't see), using shadows and sound to your advantage, etc.
http://notesofasniper.com/
The story as told by the man himself is quite different than that found in other books and the movie starring Jude Law. According to Zaitsev's own account, things like hokey love affairs, the constant slaughtering of Russian soldiers by their own NCO's and officers, and the role played by Nikita Krushev never happened. Lyudmila, the female sniper who was shot in the head by the German sniper in the movie, didn't even meet Zaitsev until the whole thing was over. Danilov, the political officer, wasn't killed by the German sniper, but only wounded, and it wasn't intentional on his part as portrayed in the movie. Kulikov, the sniper who, in the movie, met Zaitsev during the battle and was soon shot in the head by the German sniper as he jumped across a building, was actually an old friend of Zaitsev's who fought with him much earlier before he became a sniper, and he wasn't shot by the German sniper at all. In fact, it was Kulikov who helped Zaitsev locate the German sniper and take him out, quite the opposite of how the story was portrayed in the fictional versions. Zaitsev's medal was presented to him by the chairman of the central executive committee of the USSR Mikhail Ivanovich, not Nikita Kruschev. Zaitsev gave the names and ranks/positions of every NCO, officer, or State official that he met or even knew about, and he never mentioned Nikita Kruschev once in the entire book. The editor also contends that David Robbins plagiarized certain parts of the 1971 edition of Zaitsev's autobiograpy for his book War of the Rats. Some evidence of this is presented at the end of the book.
The story is much more interesting, and a lot different than the fictional versions, coming from the horse's mouth. He also gives a lot of hard-earned advice about sniping.
Two of Idriess' books, Sniping and The Scout, are available from Paladin Press for about $12-$15 each:280PLUS said:"Sniping" and "Shoot to Kill" from "The Australian Guerilla Series" by Ion L. Idriess. Almost impossible to find in their original form and quite valuable as such. There was a facsimile printed IIRC in 1993 of the whole series which may or may not still be available. Try www.abebook.com or www.ozbook.com. Search under Ion L. Idriess.
Idriess was a Aussie Light Cavalryman during WWI and served as a sniper in such places as Gallipoli and "Turcoland" among other things. In about 1939 he was commisioned by the Aussie Gov't to write the guerilla series as a "How To" for the civilian population in expectation of a Japanese invasion. The whole series is a worthwhile read but those two sections are devoted to shooting and camoflage.
Here are the results for a search done at abebook - #10 is a copy of the facsimile actually printed in 1999
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=Ion+L+idriess&sortby=1
at ozbook go to "Idriess Reprints" on the left of the screen. They are showing the series as available but you would probaly want to confirm that. I thought I had heard that they were out.
I understand a lot of his techniques are still taught today.
Watch out though, his writing is quite good and you may find yourself buying and reading many of the other 50 or so books he authored.
http://www.paladin-press.com/SearchResult.aspx?KeyWords=idriess
The Scout is also great reading, as it contains much sniper-related information: land navigation, observation/intelligence gathering, tactical movement in the field, operating in front of and behind enemy lines, night operations, seeing the enemy with your "mind's eye" (interpreting what you can't see), using shadows and sound to your advantage, etc.
280PLUS
Member
+1 on "The Scout"
I actually found that one (a reprint) in a used book store right in my town. Paid like $1.99 for it.
Thanks for the link to Paladin too!
Now find a copy of his "Coral Sea Calling" and read "Jemmy the Hook". A real "gut wrenching" story,,,literally
I actually found that one (a reprint) in a used book store right in my town. Paid like $1.99 for it.
Thanks for the link to Paladin too!
Now find a copy of his "Coral Sea Calling" and read "Jemmy the Hook". A real "gut wrenching" story,,,literally
Hkmp5sd
Member
David Robbins admits to using parts of Zaitsev's stuff in his book. He also admits who is real, who is fictional and parts of the story are completely made up. His claim is that he used Zaitsev's stuff faithfully and other personal accounts as best as possible to create as close to an accurate story as possible.
That DID happen throughout the Russian military. Not only that, they went and arrested the family of those they executed and either had them shot or shipped off to Siberia.
You have to read Zaitsev's account and the official Russian accounts with caution because they were heavily censored. The true story will never be known. There are some historians that claim the dual never took place to start with.
Darth Ruger
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Accurate, but altered and embellished. That's the key. A lot of people don't realize that it's historical fiction, not history. It's a good story, I enjoyed the movie they made out of it. But I find Zaitsev's own story more interesting than someone's romanticized version of it. (Actually, I even find Robbins' claim of being "accurate" pretty weak, because he changed, left out, added, and embellished so much. About the only thing left resembling historical accuracy is some of the character's names. But then, that's the nature of historical fiction.)
But how was it portrayed? According to Zaitsev, this was done as a penalizing measure when Stalin decided it had become too much of a problem, so he supposedly copied the same approach as the Nazi's. He ordered that penal battalions be created by the commanders and all deserters be assigned to them. They were then sent to the most dangerous parts of the front to "redeem" themselves, and they were shot if they retreated again. But that's different than simple wholesale slaughter of all Russian soldiers by their own leaders whenever things got difficult.
That's true. The Nazi's censored everything, too. The whole debate about the big duel has been going on for decades. I've heard convincing arguments that both support and question it. One argument is that the whole thing was made up so the Russians could bolster their pride in the face of the Nazi's. The other argument is that it happened but the Nazi's denied it and the existence of their man because they didn't want it to get out that their top sniper/instructor had been taken out by a Russian peasant-soldier. You're right, we'll probably never know the truth. I'm no authority on the subject, and I suppose it doesn't really matter one way or the other. But I tend to put more faith in the guy that was there than any official government version of events.
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