Trust me, you don’t want to have a hunter in your unit. Alright, they might know two or three things about shooting at something (that doesn’t shoot back) but there are other things to consider as well:

It always amused me when I saw a soldier from another unit walking through the forest and instead of taking cover, the guy just bent his knees a little bit as if he was too tired and needed a break. My first thought always was: “F***ing hunters!”

• Hunters don’t know how infantry soldiers move. They move the hunter’s way. The same goes for the way they shoot, communicate, etc.. When you train them, you first have to make them unlearn their hunting attitudes before you can teach them the proper (the army) way to do things, Needless to say, this takes time.
• Even worse, many of them think they know everything better than you do (“Why don’t we shoot in this stance, it’s so much better?”). This means a lot of extra stress for you.
• Hunters who join the military have a lot in common with people who have a martial arts background. None of these two hobbies have anything to do with infantry combat, but it will take some time (and unnecessary frictions) before they realize it.

Short: if you’re a hunter and join the infantry, better shut up about it!

Some of the best soldiers in US his were all hunters before they joined or were drafted into the US military.

Alvin York, one of the most awarded US soldiers of WW1, was a hunter Since he was big enough to hold up a rifle to fire it.

Audie Leon Murphy was one of the awarded soldiers of WW2 and a movie actor after WW2, and was a hunter as a child before he joined the Army.

Hunters tend to have a few advantages as soldiers. They tend to be better shooters, a bit better in the woods, and most honor at least a bit about wilderness survival. They can also be better at detection of things moving around them, and tracking as well.

If you know Marine Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Norman Hathcock II, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Charles Benjamin Mawhinney (Vietnam), SEAL Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle (Iraq war), Delta Force Master Sgt. Gary Gordon and Sgt. 1st Class Randy Shughart (Somali Civil War), they were all hunters. They were also some some of the most elite snipers in US history!

One of most early camp snipers of US history was Army Scout William Dixon during the Battle of Adobe Walls, and Battle of Buffalo Wall in the 1800’s. He was army scout and a buffalo hunter. Dixon demoralized the Native warriors by making his 1,538-yard kill shot, which he admitted was a lucky shot, with a black powder rifle!

8 Legendary US Military Snipers

The most notable snipers in U.S. military history aren’t just legends – they include real soldiers, sailors and Marines who stood their ground with extraordinary courage.

Delta Force Master Sgt. Gary Gordon and Sgt. 1st Class Randy Shughart were both hunters before joining the military and becoming snipers. Gordon and Shughart were both Delta snipers who held off overwhelming Somali forces during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, sacrificing their lives to protect downed pilots.