To summarize this thread
1) buy an AEG first, always
2) never buy a clone sniper rifle
3) good sniper rifles can end up costing more than upgraded AEG's
4) sniping is a patience game
5) FPS means dick, the real measure of a gun is in the quality of its internal parts (a well upgraded AEG at 300fps can outrange and outperform a chinese 470fps sniper rifle)

And just to further CDN_Stalker's post, my VSR outperforms upgraded AEGs other sniper rifles and I only put 300$ into it :)
But of course you need to know what your doing ;)
I was playing for 2yrs before I got my VSR and I still didn't think I'd be any good....who knew? lol

So take the time to learn the dynamics of outdoor play, see how things work from the riflemen end of things before you try a sniper. Learn all the downsides of being a sniper firsthand. And definitely don't start sniping at 470fps, start out at 380 or 400 and get used to it; nobody is your friend when you accidentally shoot someone in neck from 15 feet away with a 470fps rifle!
And just because the limit is there, doesn't mean you have to be at that mark, after 6 months of play I still like having my VSR at 400fps

Hey man, mine shoots straight!!

...but it doesn't have much WELL left in it :P

Red Deer when it was in its infant stages of airsoft (2001ish) had a few guys who wore ghillie. I don't think they even had sniper rifles but ghillie cause they likeed the look of it and how well it worked. Well they decieded that if you can't feel it then it doesn't count. Also if they weren't paying attention it would just disappear into the burlap and this caused issues between players naturally. Thus to eleminate any further problems ghillie were banned from Red Deer. But you can still have head scrims and personal netting to hide in so long as it isn't placed in a manner in which you cannot feel the bb. Now this is the story to the best of my knowledge since i wasn't playing at the time, Cortexburn even has it in his sig. Calgary I believe does allow ghillie but not 100% on that.

Ghillies are permitted at Calgary games... however, as its been stated before, it would not be the greatest idea to get a BA, and I don`t know how comfortable JOC folks would be with a newbie rocking a 450 fps gun...

XD, I'd be feeling pretty comfortable lol, also I looked up JOC, is that like the "thing" for Calgary?

Heres my generation of airsoft:
I bought a very shitty crosman spring guns. Package with these shitty 2 plastic rifle and pistol that shoot at 275 fps.

I than got a Crosman again but it was a AEG but not very good.

I than got a Kraken by aftermath and i have a red dot on it and Green Tiger on it. I love it.

I'm getting the same sniper as you as i hope. But if you don't have a AEG, your gonna get butt raped if people come rushing. My Plan is my kraken on my back and when i get bored of sniping, i take my AEG and rush in and take some people out(hopefully not getting picked off) and than maybe find a new position for my sniper.

Its ok, but not amazing.

EDIT:Just started this too.

lolz

I played with an AEG for 2 years, then bought a CA M24, and upgraded it. Even then, I didn't enjoy it that much; thought I would but I didn't. Too much time and effort and money to get it to perform as well as an aeg. And the style of play, which seems glamorous, is very quite boring (for me). People with AEG's basically had the same range as me, except they could shoot full auto and had more than 20 rounds in their magazine.

PS, good luck carrying around a kraken on the back with your sniper rifle, and enough mags for both. You will be cluttered, uncomfortable, tired, slow, and an easy target.

Yea, I agree with that. I had an L96, and carrying that around with my MP5A4 was big, cluttered, and uncomfortable. I couldn't move or maneuver worth a crap.

Don't worry, i have the Strong Back from fallout 3 :D

+1

Shit man, I move just fine with an MP5, full chest rig of mags, water, side arm and 6 mags for it, and my CA M24, easy 35-40lbs, and I move just fine. Not as fast as an Olympic runner, but I can slide through brush easy enough and run bursts fast when needed. Oh wait, maybe it's because some claim me to be Chuck Norris' brother?

hehehehe +2!

Either that or because I'm a scrawny little twig.

Sounds like running around with an Inokatsu M60 all day lol. Held one of them at TAC09, and man, I can't ever see myself carrying that around all day for an airsoft game, let alone for a year. 40lbs of gear in an airsoft game is a lot. You're a god amongst us.

Nah, I smoke and drink too much, at times show up at games hungover, but will still run my ass off and push myself hard even with no food for 24hrs. I will still burn out later in the day. Still is funny I'll run with my team 200 meters and look back to see most of them halfway to where I am. Have had to pull he smoke out of my mouth to yell at them to hurry the fuck up a couple times.