Which leads me to ask:
Has anyone on this board actually fired a weapon?
Yes, I did. While not a trained Sniper, I did quite good during fring drill in the military.
Heckler & Koch G3, 7.62 mm, on 100 meters, no scope, 5 shots, 45 "points" (on a standard 10 ring target). So, quite good I'd say, although I never fired on longer ranges (wich is, as long as you aren't a sniper, barely necessary).
To the topic: where to aim?
As long as your intent is not to directly "neztralize" a target (as in an hostage situation, or the "assassination" as pictured in this movie), military practice (at least where and when I was trained) was to shot for non-vital areas. The credo is "three opponents with one shot":
Number one: the guy hit by the bullet. Rambo, Die Hard and all the other movies ar nonsense. Someone who got a direct hit from an assault rifle is out of action for sure. There is nothing like biting down the pain and keep on fighting (at least not for, say 95% of the regular soldier). So, a shot to the leg, arm, shoulder or whatever is an opponent who stops fighting.
Number two: there will always be someone who tries to save his comrade, who will start to bind the wounds etc. In many cases a field paramedic (if one is at hand), but still, its another guy who doesn't shoot back.
Number three: unless you have a highly trained, high morale and highly disciplined unit, once the fire begins and one of your comrades gets shot, chances are good that another soldier will "break". Especially if the shot was delivered to his comrade was not fatal enough to turn him unconscious. A wounded soldier, yelling and screaming among his comrades, is quite an effective psychological weapon.
In addition: a wounded comrade is rarely left behind, while a dead one can be recovered later. So, wounding a soldier ist, in most cases, more effective than just shooting one.
So, a single sniper can, with a single shot, slow down and confuse an enemy unit, or even force it to retreat.
The other tacic is wounding the lead man, and then, when one of his comradees try to get to him and pull him into cover, get that one, too. As is shown in the end of "Full Metal Jacket". There, again, the psychological effect of a wounded comrade comes into play. A dead opponent is "just" dead, while a wounded soldier is a distraction, a burden and a complication for his comrades, in addition to a missing gun.
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