Live (sort of) from CFB Gagetown in Oromocto, N.B., it’s the first night of the 15th Annual Canadian International Sniper Concentration and some of the most highly skilled military and police shooters from across the world spent the evening…..well, mostly shopping and drinking beer.

The event, which will run until next Thursday, has brought nearly 30 teams of world-class snipers to rainy New Brunswick to share information, learn from each other and — most importantly, if you talk to the snipers themselves — pit them all against one other in a competition to see which team and which shooter is the best in the world.

Tonight was the first day of the gathering, and it was a combination industry night and meet-and-greet. At a large hangar inside CFB Gagetown (as seen in the picture above) weapons and equipment manufacturers and dealers set out their wares and snipers from across the globe traded stories over a few beers.

Stay tuned for more reports as the shooting starts tomorrow, and be sure to read the eventual feature story in the next issue of Legion Magazine, but for now, here’s the military’s background blurb on the event:

 

The Canadian International Sniper Concentration (CISC) was designed to develop skills and maintain the proficiency of snipers in the Canadian Army. The event was also opened to Canadian Law Enforcement Agencies and invited teams from international armies, which gives participants the opportunity to examine recent doctrinal changes, discuss new technological developments in equipment, and exchange ideas with snipers from around the world.

The concentration is hosted by the Combat Training Centre’s Infantry School, which is required to conduct sniper training for the Army, and does so with four instructors who form a sniper cell in the school. They oversee all Basic Sniper courses in the Army and instruct the Sniper Detachment Commander’s Course and Advanced Sniper Course at the school.

This year, nearly 30 teams from Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, France, Ireland, Italy and other countries will participate in the concentration.