FROM A PIG TO A HOG

Part of the program for becoming a United States Marine Scout Sniper was "The Stalk."  It's just one of a number of phases of the Scout Sniper program that a candidate needed to pass in order to become a Marine Scout Sniper.

If you failed the Stalk you failed the entire 13 week course.

Below is the official breakdown for what needed to happen in the Stalk, how it was scored, and how many times a Scout Sniper candidate (known as a PIG -- for Professionally Instructed Gunman) had to complete the Stalk before he could become a Marine Scout Sniper, or HOG (Hunter of Gunmen).

After graduating from USMC Scout Sniper School a newly minted HOG gets awarded a HOG's Tooth to wear. It's a 7.62mm bullet on a necklace.  The idea behind it is that there's a bullet for everyone. The most elite snipers will wear a HOG's Tooth taken from the rifle of the enemy sniper he killed who was trying to kill him.  

A Marine HOG and his HOG's Tooth

                 An instructor searches for a shooter 1,200 yards down the stalk lane.

Signaling movement instructions to a walker from the OP.

• Stalking involves moving from a distance between 1200 and 800 yards to within 200 yards of an observation post (OP) undetected. After doing this, the student must set up a Final Firing Position (FFP) and fire two shots without being found by the OP within a time period of 3–4 hours.
  • After the first shot is fired, a walker (a neutral instructor who does not help students or the instructors in the OP) will get close to the sniper's position to make sure he can positively ID the OP. Positive ID is established by the observers holding up cards with 2-3 letters on them above their binoculars. The sniper must then correctly tell the walker what is written on them. After positive ID has been confirmed, the walker will move within 10 yards of the shooter and inform the OP that he is within 10. The OP will then attempt to walk the walker onto the sniper's position by way of movement commands. The OP must get the walker within 1 foot of the shooter. If the shooter cannot be found, the walker will tell the shooter to fire a second shot on his command. After the second shot has been fired, the OP will look for blast from the rifle or movement from the shooter. If the OP cannot find the shooter, then the walker will indicate the shooters position to the OP and check to make sure the shooter had the correct windage and elevation settings, along with correct position and stable shooting platform.
• Grading is as follows for stalking:
  • 0: Being out of bounds on the stalk lane, not freezing on the command freeze (when the OP believes they know the position of a student, they call freeze and all students on the stalk lane have to immediately freeze in whatever position they are in), poor FFP.
  • 40: Caught out of range or fired out of range (not within 200 yards).
  • 50: Caught within range.
  • 60: 1 shot fired but, no positive ID, incorrect windage or elevation, unstable shooting platform.
  • 70: 1 shot fired and positive ID, correct windage, elevation, shooting platform but OP walked onto shooter after first shot.
  • 80: 2 shots fired and positive ID, correct windage, elevation, shooting platform but OP saw blast from shooter's position after second shot.
  • 100: 2 shots fired and positive ID, correct windage, elevation, shooting platform and shooter was never found.
• Students must obtain an overall average of 70% out of 10 stalks, with a minimum of two 100s and no more than a single zero in order to pass stalking.