Navy SEAL Sniper Gear List

When you step into the world of a Navy SEAL sniper, you’re stepping into a different universe — one built on patience, discipline, focus, and ruthless precision. This is not Hollywood. This is not video-game fantasy. This is the real craft of a quiet professional whose job is to see what others miss, move where others freeze, and hit targets most people can’t even find.

A SEAL sniper doesn’t rely on luck.
He relies on his training, his mind, and his gear.

Every tool in a sniper’s loadout — from the rifle system to the small items stuffed deep in a ruck pocket — has a purpose. Nothing extra. Nothing flashy. Everything is tied directly to survival, execution, and mission success. When you’re cold, tired, hungry, and running on fumes, your gear becomes your lifeline. You don’t get second chances out there.

This list isn’t about showing off equipment.
It’s about understanding why snipers choose the tools they choose — and how they make decisions under pressure. It’s a blueprint of what works in real-world environments: desert heat, swamp humidity, mountain wind, and urban chaos.

Whether you’re an athlete, hunter, tactical student, or just someone who wants to study the craft of elite performance, this gear list gives you a window into the quiet details that separate amateurs from professionals. You’ll see the rifles, optics, packs, and survival tools — but you’ll also see the mindset behind each choice.

Let’s get into the gear.

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Items commonly carried by military, SWAT and police snipers include:

#20 STROBE LIGHT

You will need a Emergency Strobe Light to call in for an emergency evacuation in case you are compromised. God forbid but this is a last chance piece of gear you will always want to have with you.

Make sure that your batteries work and you have not accidentally clicked the on button.

Strobe lights don’t work too well if the batteries are drained down to nothing.

Bring an extra pair – that might be a good idea.

Check price at Amazon.com

#19 NOTEPAD

The spotter will take lots of notes and drawings on the target. For aspiring snipers, the Rite in the Rain Green Book offers invaluable support. With its weatherproof paper, this notebook ensures that vital notes and observations remain intact even in the harshest conditions. Each notebook contains 100 pages or 50 sheets, providing ample space for recording essential details.

A pencil and Rite in the Rain – Green Tactical Note Book (All Weather) will get the job done.

The wire-o binding ensures durability, maintaining its shape even when carried in a back pocket or pack during rigorous training or missions. Whether jotting down data with a pencil or all-weather pen, or using standard ballpoint pens when the paper is dry, this notebook guarantees reliability. Additionally, the waterproof Polydura cover defends field notes from scratches and stains, ensuring longevity and preserving critical information for army snipers in the field.

This can slip down inside your cargo pocket and you not have to think about it until it is time for notes.

Check price at Amazon.com

#18 CAMOFLAUGE PAINT

You will want to put camo paint on your face, neck and hands.

Anything that can be exposed. Rub some dirt on it for good measure.

You don’t want to expose your peachy clean face out in the bright sun light now do you?

If you don’t have camo paint then I would just use mud and dirt.

Check price at Amazon.com

#17 WHISTLE

Used only for emergency situations.

You are not going to see a sniper standing up in the middle of a field blowing a whistle unless all hell is breaking loose quickly.

So this is a total backup device.

Check price at Amazon.com

#16 BUG JUICE

As a sniper you are going to get bitten by bugs.

Spraying on repellant is just going to help delay the inevitable.

It also makes you feel like your actually doing something as you can’t sit there and slap bugs all day.

A little bit of deet repellant can at least help out some. A sniper’s kit isn’t built for comfort. It’s built for accuracy, adaptability, and dominance in the worst possible conditions.

Check price at Amazon.com

#15 THERMOMETER WIND GAUGE

A small hand held thermometer will help to give you an accurate gauge of how hot or cold it is.

Temperature can play a big part of how a weapon and bullet responds and shoots.

So having a gauge that you can view quickly is important.

You will also need to know the wind speed and direction in order to calculate the bullet direction (trajectory).

Check price at Amazon.com

# 14 HYDRATION BLADDER

Some guys are old school and want a canteen. The younger guys were brought up on hydration bladders.

If you break a bladder or accessory piece, Camelbak will warranty that and will send you another one. Pretty good deal.

Check price at Amazon.com

#14 AMMUNITION

All snipers are particular about the type of ammo they use.

Many a beer has been poured out while debating which rounds shoot the best in whatever situation.

If you ask a sniper about ammunition make sure you have plenty of time on your hands to listen to some long explanations on what works and why.

Check price at Brownells.com

#13 RATIONS

Your not going to be able to call in TacticalPizza.com to deliver hot food while your out in the field.

Your going to have to carry in your meal and its not going to be exotic stuff you cook on a campfire.

Think like a food bar that will put calories in your body.

Check price at Amazon.com

#12 FIRST AID

You will be crawling through dirt, gravel, rocks, cactus and who knows whatever else.

You will be scraped up and pulling thorns out of your crotch. You will get bitten by ants and mosquitoes and possibly scorpions and snakes.

At worst you may get shot. So you will need to have a proper med kit to help you and your teammate survive.

Check price at Amazon.com

#11 EAR PRO

When you shoot at the range you will need to protect your ears. I made a mistake for years and did not use adequate ear pro. Now I am slowly going deaf. Just passing that along.

Get a $20 pair of Howard Leight Compact Earmuffs for the range.

If your on the move then a pair of Combat Arms Earplugs will do fine.

If your shooting all day on the range then put the ear plugs in and put the ear muffs on over them.

Check price at Amazon.com

#10 PEN LIGHT

You will need to read maps, take notes and make sure your gear is in order.

A Streamlight Stylus Pro Penlight with a red lens works fine and gets the job done.

You will want to have a small light that is easy to work at night. You don’t need a huge nightwatchman patrol light with 1500 lumens.

You will want to have a red lens for tactical use reading maps and text at night.

# 9 MULTI TOOL

No man should be without a knife regardless of your occupation.

An operator is definitely is going to have a knife for any and all situations.

A SOG Multi-Tool is a good combination of all of the goodies that your going to need to work on your weapon.

Later on you may be using it to fix a broken down vehicle or whatever.

Check price at Amazon.com

#8 BINOCULARS

The spotter will need to be seeing everything that moves on the ground and in the air for the shooter.

Yes; the shooter can see downrange but the spotter is an extra set of eyes and is looking behind to make sure no one has compromised their position.

The military uses high powered binoculars but you can get a good civilian pair like the Nikon ACULON A211 8 x 42 Binoculars for under $80.

#7 COMPASS

Every sniper will know land navigation and how to use a compass so that his team can arrive in the proper destination.

Yes; GPS can be used but not if your batteries die.

A GPS unit with dead batteries doesn’t work too well.

Knowing how to navigate the land with a compass is a needed skill.

#6 GPS UNIT

All of the elite Special Forces units use handheld GPS and several use the Garmin Foretrex 401 Waterproof Hiking GPS.

Both SEAL Team Six and the Army Rangers regularly use this type of GPS on their missions.

Great for getting military grid quickly.

#5 GHILLIE SUIT

Your going to have to sneak in undetected and blend in with the environment to do your shooting.

You can’t go in with a bright colored clown suit on – now can you?

Most snipers make their own ghillie suits but you can also buy a starter Ghillie Suit to get going.

With a starter kit you can add leaves and pinestraw, bits of vine and local dirt.

In urban environments guys often just wear their cammie uniform and use walls and buildings for cover.

Check price at Amazon.com

#4 HAND HELD TWO WAY RADIOS

The sniper and the spotter will need to communicate quietly and not shout to each other a few yards away. A small hand held radio is all you need to keep good communications. Most two way hand held radios are good for a few miles but that depends on the line of sight.

Most times the spotter and shooter will be roughly in the same zone to prevent line of sight blockage (like a mountain).

High speed military units will also use encryption (garbling) to prevent an open intercept of communications.

Check price at Amazon.com

#3 LASER RANGEFINDER

This device obviously will help your spotter figure out how far the target is away from the shooter.

The military uses some really high tech laser rangefinders.

You can pick one up in the civilian world for a little over $100 to $300 or so.

I like the Bushnell rangefinder if you are looking to use it for hunting or land navigation and forestry work.

Check out our list of Top 10 Laser Rangefinders and learn more about how a rangefinder can help you with your hunting and even your golf game.

Check price at Amazon.com

#2 HIGH QUALITY SCOPE

Top end scopes with a good reticle for a sniper rifle can cost thousands.

But for the average shooter a good scope will be all you need to get the job done down range.

 

Need to take out a few varmints on the back forty? Looking ding some long range steel targets?

No problem with a Burris 300210 AR-536 5×36 Sight. It is a basic sight that will get the job done.

#1 RIFLE

Last but not least –
there are many rifles so we will list a few of the top sniper rifles that have been used over the decades.

Barrett .50 Cal (American)

M21 (American)

Cheytac .408 cal (American)

SR25 (American)

M24 (American)

.338 Lapua

The best weapon is the one that each individual sniper can use to the best of their skills and knowledge.

Question: What would you recommend for ear plugs?

My ears are already pretty messed up from an accident, but what would be best to block out the loud noise but still be able to hear voices?

I want to be able to hear something but not destroy my ears and wondered if you had any recommendations such as what you use. John B

Answer: I just use a $20 pair of head phones (ear muffs) at the range. If it really loud, when shooting larger rifles (50 cal) I may add in small foam ear pro. Also check out the info above.

Question: What are best mini binos for a day out on the range with a long rifle?

Answer: A spotting scope on a tripod is better for that. I use Maven binos and spotting scopes, Kyle Defoor Defoor Proformance Shooting (check out Kyle’s interview with SGPT here:)

Question: What kind of rifle did Bradley Cooper (portraying Chris Kyle) use in the movie “American Sniper”“? What about range finder binoculars?

Answer: Bradley Cooper used a McMillan TAC-338A rifle with a Leupold Mark 4. In combat Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle used the TAC-338 sniper rifle which have a similar look.

Question: Who is the most famous Russian sniper Снайпер? Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev (Russian: Васи́лий Григо́рьевич За́йцев).

Question: How can I find out more about becoming a Navy SEAL? Check out the Navy website.

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