Now remember all those sniper guides you've watched cause you can't comprehend the basic idea of pressing M2 before clicking on players.
Maybe you've watched people whose names rhyme with something along the lines schmazy schpurple and listened to those schmucks tell you stuff like "Be well-slept" or "Be at the top of your game".. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥! With what I'm about to tell you, you can do anything.

♥♥♥♥ practice.
If you can't play for ♥♥♥♥, that just means you're getting burnout, stop playing, you'll come back later.
Oh, you suck naturally? Well that's not a TF2 thing, you can aim and click on a head in any FPS, take a break.

Lay the ♥♥♥♥ back.
You're so close to the damn screen your spine is doing a full 90 degrees, shrimp lookin' ass. You don't need to see the heads you're shooting, you gotta feel em, guess them, ykno, turn off your screen and solely echolocate just like the fallen pros like TTS. Just point approximately and do a lil' flickeroo if they're moving (don't if they're mid air and not strafing), It'll most probably land, trust me.

Learn the shape of those hitboxes.
You're playing a 2007 game, these dudes don't have the tech where the place you're shooting actually corresponds to the place it detects, learn to aim as if you were looking at those transparent boxes. This is especially important for spy as IIRC, his hitbox doesn't represent his disguises (this is why you see all those smartypants spy mains disguise as scout despite it looking like the dumbest ♥♥♥♥ you've seen in your life).

Use the sniper you're used to.
If you're going for the head, it's gonna ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ kill, no need to give a ♥♥♥♥ about stats or features. Sound design matters even subconsciously, so go use the sniper you like the sound of. (or like machina's trails ♥♥♥♥♥♥, whatever..)
(I mean except the bazaar bargain, you might as well lack several million braincells if you skip out on that)

Don't give a ♥♥♥♥ if it's a bodyshot.
Did it kill? It did didn't it? Would it have also killed if it were a headshot? Stop whining then! Next one will be a headshot!

Taunt after your kills.
This will not only bully your enemies into focusing you more AKA peeking your sightline more, it will also give you a lil' morale boost for the next shot.

Use motivating killsounds.
I myself use a clip of Jerma985 imitating thunder in the intro for his old video "Bring On The Thundah". Not only is this funny, it also compliments my immense gamer skill and motivates me for my next headshot.
Ditch those precise, concise, competitive killsounds and get something you laugh at, a happy sniper is a sniper that will hit his shots.

Don't wear an unusual, jackass.
Oh yeah, let me spend 30 bucks, on a free game mind you, to turn myself into a beacon visible halfway through the map, exactly on my head, which, when shot by another sniper, would get me killed instantly, just cause it looks cool. Get the ♥♥♥♥ outta here.

Pressure the med to overheal your ass.
Make that mf e-girl pocket med take 0.5 seconds out of her jam-packed schedule of making sure her e-boy soldier main boyfriend doesn't dip below 350 HP to give you headshot immunity, It's like the old danger shield but it's at least 100x less scummy cause it's actual strategy.

Download the Trash Hat Remover Mod
Ever since I got this, my enjoyment of the game has improved tenfold, it also lets you keep track of the original playermodels and therefore, better remember how the hitboxes should look like.
(don't give me the sv_pure excuse, who the ♥♥♥♥ even cares about quickplay anymore, I'm honestly glad it's unplayable right now.)

Get in there, Yo.

If you're gonna improve your sniping skills you're gonna want to improve your short range capabilities, the most effective sniper is the one who can act fast and hit shots even in the shortest of ranges. Take that "deadly in long range, weak in short" description and dunk it on the trash can cause holy moly is it WRONG.
A good sniper, hits those ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ quickscopes, they hit those flicks, they pick that med last second before the kritzkrieg'ed rocket McNutt's their face.

So stop hanging out in your sniper spots and stop being practically idle. You're called a support class because what you essentially do is protect your team from high value targets. Now think how absolutely useful you would be if you were standing on the cart.

Push in, take out your jarate or SMG or Carbine and chip or debuff those enemies for your team, switch to your sniper and deal the same sweet 150 hp you'd hit from a minute of hardscoping from a mile away, or otherwise hit em with a cheap yet very effective 50hp noscope, they're good as dead if your team's already targeting them.

Push the cart with your heavy, countersnipe those that are trying to get a cheap kill, have him killed anyway cause there are like 4 snipers but at least you get some kills too.
Be the distraction, delay an enemy from peeking and therefore, pushing by holding your laser at a choke point, taunt after your kills to agro them so they rocket jump to you just to kill you and die immediately after losing them a SOLDIER when your team loses a measly sniper.

Hitting your shots from long range is something that can be done in any game, what matters most, specific to TF2 is the ability to do so effectively, accurately and consistently in short range as long as the skill is there.

If you don't become the next TF2 prodigy after reading and following every step on here, then that's either cause you're beyond saving or cause no one not cracked-beyond-comprehension is still playing this horrendous game.




(Shameless self-promo, follow the YT channel for an extremely inconsistent stream of mainly TF2 sniping clips ranging from 5 to 30 seconds at a highly consistent, ♥♥♥♥ quality.)