HC sniping guide

PERKS
First perk
Really in my mind there are only two choices here: Claymores or RPGs. I use both, depending on the map. Claymores are a great way to cover your back or protect a bombsite. It offers a peace of mind and a way to pick up some kills. RPGs are great for clearing out rooms, knocking out an enemy behind a corner or cover, or even just as a destraction.
I use RPGs on maps like vacant, where most of the action takes place in closer quarters, has lots of room and you’re not really forced to watch your back as much as you would in more open maps.
Claymores are probably more useful in most SND maps as a sniper, because often there are more than one way to reach you. Tactically positioned claymores in maps like District allow you to cover your back so that you can keep your sights down one alley without worrying about enemies coming behind you. Even if your claymore doesn’t get the kill, usually the click or explosion will act as an alarm so you can expect somebody to come up on you. Claymores also don’t disappear after you die in SND, so you can pick up kills and still cover areas after dying, where RPGs would be useless.
A good tutorial on placing Claymores:
YouTube - COD4 Claymore Strategy


Second Perk
Either Overkill or UAV Jammer. Overkill is great because it really opens up close-quarters combat or lets you use an automatic weapon for those occasions when you need to spray and pray. UAV Jammer gives you the peace of mind that when an enemy UAV comes up, your position isn’t given away. Don’t forget that firing will still make you appear as a red dot on their radar. I prefer UAV Jammer, mostly because as a sniper I avoid CQC (close quarters combat) in the first place. Pistols are also much more useful in hardcore for a quick solution to tight spots.
Third Perk
Iron Lungs or Dead Silence. I use the second, but Iron Lungs can be extremely useful, especially in search and destroy. It allows you to keep your sniper steady over a specific spot long enough to be able to pull off the perfect spot. This is good either if an enemy spotted you and dropped behind cover; you can simply wait for him to pop his head out and shoot it off right as he does so. You can also use this as a sort of pre-firing method … run to an area you know the enemy will be visible sprinting across (like both ends of the street on crossfire), steady your aim, and take a shot.
Dead Silence is pretty obvious, remaining as quiet as possible is a definite bonus in search and destroy, and when your CQC abilities are very gimped as a sniper, moving unheard is a must. This also allows you to hear others nearby while moving.

WEAPONS
Primary (Sniper)
In Hardcore almost every sniper rifle is a 1shot kill, so all it comes down to is preference. Most prefer the M21 due to the minimal recoil, fairly large clip and semi-automatic capabilities. It means if you miss you can quickly follow up with a second chance, or third, or fourth, or if you’re like Blize just empty the whole clip around them =)
I’m not a fan of the M21. I don’t like semi-automatic snipers, because I’m much more careless with my shots when using one. I often rely on being able to have an instant follow-up shot, and my accuracy drops. First off, as a sniper you need to be as accurate as possible (I’ll cover sniping accuracy tips later). A sniper can’t be silenced, nor is it a quieter gun like the G3. Every sniper rifle has a distinguishable sound, and anybody who’s paying attention will immediately know first off, that there’s a sniper with his sights on somebody (immediate precaution), and if they have surround sound or a nice headset they’ll know from which direction you fired, which will be extremely dangerous to you. Your shots should connect at least 70% of the time, though this is more important once both teams are slightly spread out from their spawns. I prefer a bolt action as it causes me to take my shots more carefully. It also feels like it packs more of a punch, which somehow helps me also. Again, in the end it all comes down to preference.
Some quick notes on the different snipers:
Note- IW’s measurement of accuracy is completely wrong. Each sniper will fire exactly to the pixel you point it. There’s no excuse for missing a shot.
M40A3 (my favorite) – Bolt action with normal sway, controllable recoil and some sexy looks. Also the first sniper unlocked.
M21 – Semi-Automatic with almost no recoil and a decent sized clip, allows for quick and accurate follow up shots or even spray-and-praying.
Dragunov – Semi-Auto with medium recoil and a medium sized clip. Weird looking gun in my opinion, but definitely deadly. The golden camo for this is also intimidating when unlocked. (Side-Note on this gun: on core, there’s no need to have stopping power with this gun as the damage multipliers and the additional damage with SP will not make a difference in one shot kills to a normal opponent or a juggy … if you don’t believe me look it up!)
R700 – Bolt-Action with the tiniest clip of all rifles (4 rounds), a slow reload time but very hot looks … In my opinion the sexiest looking gun in the game. HOWEVER, this is the only sniper with a different sway than the other rifles, it will sway twice as much as any other rifle. The hit-detection is also a bit wonky on this rifle, so unless you have a real feel and connection with this gun I would not recommend it!
Barrett – Semi-Automatic with massive recoil and a giant boom that can be heard even in the middle of an intense firefight. I do not recommend this for hardcore, but I love this boomin’ baby in core matches.
Once again, it’s all preference. Find a sniper you can “connect” with to take good shots and feel badass =)
Secondary (Pistol or Overkill weapon)
For pistols most prefer a silenced version of any of the first 3 pistols. USP has the highest clip, so if you like to spray and pray with your sidearm use this guy. The appeal of a silenced pistol is of course for stealth. I myself prefer the deagle, as it’s pretty much a one-shot kill guaranteed. The other pistols require two shots to the center mass to drop an opponent at full health.
If you’re hauling around two guns with overkill, I recommend either an SMG or a shotgun. Shotgunning in hardcore takes practice (though it’s very fun!), but SMGs provide more range, the ability to spray bullets and the choice to silence your weapon.

STRATEG1ES
Camping
The most important thing here is to NOT go into obvious areas. Search and Destroy is full of campers, especially in hardcore mode. People always look to the known spots. Surprise the enemy. Usually there’s a spot almost as advantageous right nearby. If not, you can play off the enemy’s thinking by positioning yourself in a spot where they’ll be focused on the popular spot and not notice you immediately when they enter your vision. An example would be downstairs from the two story sniper house near the OpFor spawn in Strike. You don’t want to stay zoomed in, unless you’re watching a very narrow area. When watching an entire alley or street, make sure you stay zoomed out and wait for movement before you aim and fire.
Movement
Unless you’re in a well fortified position with Claymores covering your back or if you know you’re behind good cover with no enemies nearby and no chance of being countersniped, make sure you MOVE after firing. As I mentioned before, sniper rifles are loud and your position is compromised as soon as you fire. Sitting and spamming bullets is one of the stupidest things you can do as a sniper. Also realize that unless you’re carrying a CQC weapon, you should try and avoid CQC areas and focus at picking off enemies at a distance, this is pretty obvious.
Pop-Firing
It’s often a good strategy when either countersniping (sniping other snipers) or watching for enemies, to stay crouched or prone behind cover and pop up for a split second, fire, and drop back down. Try not to miss! This takes practice. In maps like Pipeline where both teams are at pretty much equally-advantageous sniping positions, I like to wait until I see a sniper, then drop down before he spots me. I’ll guess where he is (or know), then pop up and fire so that he doesn’t have much time to react or aim.
Remember: You can shoot through walls!!! Even seeing a gun sticking out from a position or the illumination from gun fire should be enough for you to take a good shot.

A1M1NG
Believe it or not, I do think there are methods to raise your accuracy is a sniper. While most of sniping accuracy is luck or skill, I find certain methods of firing to be more effective. Basically, either have the scope moving while you fire, or don’t be moving at all. There’s the drag shot, and there’s the timed shot. Both take timing, but that’s all sniping is … timing and good reflexes. For a drag shot, follow the moving target and fire when your crosshairs are on him. If the enemy is stationary, pull a slow line across his body and fire when you’re on him. It’s very important not to hesitate. While you want to take a good shot, do not drag, stop, and then fire. Every millisecond counts, your target could either move just slightly or drop beneath cover. Or even spot you and shoot you before you can squeeze off a shot. The other method is to just time shot … usually only used when camping or waiting for enemies to cross a street. Wait for the enemy to enter your crosshairs before firing, sort of the opposite of the drag shot. This is especially effective for quick scoping. Spot the enemy moving, scope in right in front of him, and pull off the shot just as he comes into your crosshairs. I don’t recommend to sit scoped waiting for too long, as your vision is narrowed and you can be hit from the side, or the target could change directions and you’d miss it.
The key to accuracy is being quick. Don’t let your sights dance around the enemy, don’t fire off tons of shots around them … either quickly drag your sights over them and pull off a round, or wait for them to step right into your shot. Accuracy is nothing more than timing. Feel the shot and BOOM! Take it. This is where choosing the right sniper comes in. You shouldn’t feel like you can rush a shot, and you shouldn’t feel like you can wait. Find a sniper that works for you and make the enemy fear it.
Also note: There is no such thing as leading your targets!! As I said before every sniper rifle is perfectly accurate (with the exception of the weird hit detection on the R700), and the hitboxes do not move ahead of the character. When an enemy is sprinting across a street, firing directly into the middle of his body will drop him. Don’t try and be fancy and lead him, you’ll miss.

Hope this guide helped, if there’s anything you think I should add or fix please let me know.
Thank you for reading, and happy hunting!