The British Whitworth rifle, used greatly during the American Civil War. Some of these rifles were fitted with a scope on top of the barrel, thus creating the first actual sniper rifle.

The Whitworth rifle was arguably the first long-range sniper rifle in the world. Designed by Sir Joseph Whitworth, a prominent British engineer, it used twisted hexagonal barrels instead of traditional round rifled barrels, which meant that the projectile did not have to bite into grooves as was done with conventional rifling. His rifle was far more accurate than the Pattern 1853 Enfield, which had shown some weaknesses during the recent Crimean War. At trials in 1857 which tested the accuracy and range of both weapons, Whitworth’s design outperformed the Enfield at a rate of about three to one. The Whitworth rifle was able to hit the target at a range of 1.5 times the distance of the Enfield..

During the Crimean War in the 1850s, the first optical sights were designed for fitting onto the rifles.

Much of this pioneering work was the brainchild of Colonel D. Davidson, using optical sights produced by Chance Brothers of Birmingham. This allowed a marksman to more accurately observe and target objects at a greater distance than ever before. The telescopic sight, or scope, was originally fixed and could not be adjusted, which therefore limited its range. By the 1870s, the perfection of breech loading magazine rifles led to sniper rifles having “effective accurate” ranges of up to a mile away from its target.

During the Boer War, the latest breech-loading rifled guns with magazines and smokeless powder were used by both sides. The British were equipped with the Lee-Metford rifle chambered in .303, while the Boers had received the latest Mauser rifles from Germany. In the open terrain of South Africa the marksman was a crucial component in battle.

The ghillie suit was developed by Scottish gamekeepers as a portable hunting blind. The term ghillie references Ghillie Dhu, derived from gille, the Scottish Gaelic for “servant”. Lovat Scouts, a Scottish Highland regiment formed by the British Army during the Second Boer War, is the first known military unit to use ghillie suits. In 1916, Lovat Scouts went on to become the British Army’s first sniper unit and who were renowned for their expert marksmanship and their stalking skills. Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard, a WW1 British Army officer who started the first formal military sniper school, said of them that “keener men never lived”.

It was not until World War I, that sniper rifles began to be used more regularly in battle and certain soldiers given specialized training to use such a rifle. In Germany these trained snipers were given rifles with telescopic sights, which illuminated at night in order to improve their accuracy. German gunsmiths fitted the scope above the barrel for optimal accuracy.

During World War II, the (7.62×54mmR) Mosin-Nagant rifle mounted with a telescopic sight was commonly used as a sniper rifle by Russian snipers.

During the War, the accuracy of the sniper rifle was greatly improved. By the end of World War II snipers were reported to provide “reasonable accuracy” over 600 m (656 yd) with anything over this range being unpredictable. It was during World War I and II that the word ‘sniper’ began to be used commonly, whereas previously those who were armed with sniper rifles were referred to as sharpshooters, or marksmen.

These marksmen, wielding sniper rifles, had a drastic and demoralizing effect on the battlefield. Soldiers would often remain hidden in foxholes, or trenches so as not to expose themselves to the deadly accuracy of a sniper. Some soldiers even began to disregard orders from commanding officers to protect against potential harm, which thus broke down the chain of command on the battlefield. The sniper rifle soon acquired the reputation of being one of the most effective and ruthless weapons of war.

Though sniper rifles had proved to be extremely effective in combat, there was still a great reluctance for many militaries to adopt a trained sniper regiment. To effectively use a sniper rifle a soldier had to go through particularly rigorous training, and most people did not make it past the first week. Sniper training was so expensive to conduct that even until as recently as 1970, the reasoning for having trained snipers as a part of an army was deemed questionable. In Britain, sniper rifles were not seen as being an integral part of an army until after the Germans boasted so much success with sniper teams during the early months of World War I. The British army advisors supposed that the telescopic sights attached to sniper rifles were too easily damaged and thus not well suited for military use. However, they soon realized that these telescopic sights could be improved and made sturdy enough to withstand a sniper rifle shot.

“German Wehrmacht Sniper takes aim with the Mauser K98”

Vietnam War era sniper rifles, US Army XM21 (top) and USMC M40 (bottom).

Sniper rifles have continued to be used consistently throughout the later part of the 20th century in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East as an integral part of the modern style of guerilla warfare. The durability, accuracy and power of modern sniper rifles are beyond anything in use even 10 years ago and would seem amazing in comparison to any World War II sniper rifles. Now sniper rifles are extremely reliable and are able to fire repeatedly without losing accuracy, whereas earlier sniper rifles would lose accuracy the more consistently they were used due to wear and tear. Sniper rifles continue to be adapted and improved upon with the effective range of modern sniper rifles well exceeding 1,000 m (1,094 yd), which make it one of the most accurate, deadly and efficient weapons in use now.