| For centuries, sharpshooters and marksmen have | | | | before making its attack. The slightest discrepancy |
| been employed as strategic arsenals or assets by | | | | or the minutest movement can cause a miss that |
| various armed forces and fighting units. The ability to | | | | alerts the target who can either flee the kill zone, or |
| accurately hit someone from a long distance has long | | | | shot back at the general direction of sniper. |
| been considered one of the quickest ways to wear | | | | But behind the history, mystique and battle accounts |
| down an enemy. This was supposedly proven true | | | | that would mesmerize the uninitiated, lies another |
| during the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 when the | | | | story. |
| English longbow prevailed over the French armor. In | | | | Battle conditions are simply unforgiving, where even |
| what was to be the most decisive battle of the | | | | the most highly trained soldier can "lose a |
| Hundred Years' War, Henry V of England together | | | | grip." In Vietnam, regular infantry and |
| with 900 soldiers and 5,000 archers were intercepted | | | | snipers had to struggle with the hilly terrain where |
| by French troops that allegedly outnumbered them | | | | even the sturdiest tripod proved useless. To |
| three-to-one. Making excellent use of the terrain | | | | compensate, the U.S. military issued their snipers with |
| and strategic positioning of the longbowmen allowed | | | | supplies of muscle relaxant medication. |
| the English to wallop the French army. Another | | | | Muscle relaxant drugs were meant to help keep the |
| more ancient armed conflict that was settled by the | | | | sniper's arms and body as still as possible while taking |
| power of the long-range weapon was the legendary | | | | aim, compensating for the lack of stabilization |
| Battle of Thermopylae. According to the accounts | | | | provided by a tripod. In theory, some of the stronger |
| of historian Herodotus, King Leonidas and 300 | | | | muscle relaxant drugs given out could also help the |
| Spartan warriors together with other non-Spartan | | | | body absorb some of the recoil from the shot. The |
| volunteers, succumbed to a hail of Persian arrows but | | | | basic idea was to give the snipers a better chance of |
| only after inflicting a heavy toll on Xerxes' minions | | | | getting the job done in one shot, eliminating the |
| over three days of bloody fighting. | | | | danger of missing the target and alerting the enemy |
| However, the sharpshooter really came into his own | | | | to their presence. The use of a muscle relaxant is, |
| during advent of modern warfare. The Second | | | | according to some reports, still common practice in |
| World War gave Russian sharpshooter Ivan | | | | different battlefields today. This is particularly true in |
| Sidorenko the chance to make shooting history by | | | | desert and jungle combat situations, which are |
| registering 500 confirmed kills. As a separate entity | | | | theater of operations that often lack even, solid |
| among the infantry during the World War II, the | | | | ground on which a sniper can stabilize and shoot |
| sniper was able to establish his worth as a strategic | | | | from. The use of such drugs is, however, not a |
| asset and psychological weapon. Instead of volume | | | | modern practice. Some archaelogists and historians |
| of fire and overwhelming force, the sniper utilized | | | | believe that medieval archers used specific types of |
| stealth, high ground and terrain, and superior aim to | | | | herbs that acted as natural muscle relaxants. |
| cause dread and panic that is enough to halt an entire | | | | Indeed, many ancient civilizations used a variet of |
| platoon or battalion on its tracks. | | | | plants as muscle relaxant medication but conclusive |
| The steady, highly calculated aim is the hallmark of a | | | | evidence of the use by archers of those bygone |
| true sniper. With nerves of steel, a sniper can place | | | | eras of such natural, plant-based relaxants has yet to |
| a pinpoint shot on a still or moving target by | | | | be unearthed. There is some justification to the belief |
| considering the wind direction, bullet deflection, target | | | | that archers would require some sort of muscle |
| distance, and a host of other factors that impact on | | | | relaxant, particularly because of the stresses of using |
| whether a kill is made or not. Never a job for the | | | | some of the larger types of bow, but most experts |
| weak and unstable, the sniper often has to work | | | | believe that if there was such a practice, it would |
| alone or with a spotter --- far from larger units of | | | | have been recorded by a credible source. |
| infantry or fire support. Usually, they employ | | | | At present, muscle relaxant drugs are in wide use in |
| camouflage and infiltration techniques to get within | | | | many different military organizations but it has yet to |
| lethal range of the target. After hours or even days | | | | achieve acceptability among law enforcement units. |
| of waiting in ambush, they make a short, controlled | | | | The use of a muscle relaxant is currently not seen as |
| squeeze on a trigger that effectively neutralizes a | | | | necessary among police snipers since the urban |
| threat or target. One shot, one kill --- the motto of | | | | environment relatively provides plenty of stable |
| every sharpshooter worth his rifle. | | | | ground. In contrast, a combat unit that is sent to |
| Keeping the rifle steady and one's eyes fixed on a | | | | infiltrate a compound in a wooded area would likely |
| scope under the extreme conditions of war are, at | | | | be assigned a muscle relaxant supply instead of a |
| the very least, highly difficult skills to master. While | | | | tripod --- which can only add more load to an already |
| there is little that can be done about rifle recoil, the | | | | back-breaking combat pack or bergen. In today's |
| sniper must remain totally focused on the target and | | | | battlefronts --- the use of chemicals to improve the |
| his weapon. Using a tripod, the sniper can sweep on | | | | execution of military action such as sniping may has |
| a range or lock-on a target the same way a leopard's | | | | been considered a breakthrough, but it still does |
| unblinking eyes follow the movements of its prey | | | | cause slight controversy in some circles. |