Go into a pub and literally try to hit every shot you can. There is no real secret to getting headshots faster as sniper.

lower your sensitivity

x

1) Turn on your crosshairs
2) Get your crosshair on the target before you scope

You can also play with zoom_sensitivity_ratio values (0.0 - 1.0)

cp_orange servers will be your new home

huge expanses of open flat level ground

headshots are overrated you can be just as impactful by hitting full charged bodyshots :)

Play around with different aiming styles such as tracking, flicking, leading your shots, etc. Make sure your hardware and settings are comfortable to you.

But it's really just practice practice practice

Is zoom_sensitivity_ratio still locked to 1 in MM?

sniper main here-just play pubs and flick to every shot even the easy ones so you can build up muscle memory or you can track if you mostly aim by that,try not to think about hitting shots and hf,you wont get better overnight keep that in mind

Just keep practising.

Pubs are perfect for learning how to aim. Even when some people's movement is terrible it will remind you to actually think about your aim when you miss that one scout that's standing still whilst shooting his soda popper across the map

I like sniping on cp_orange and ctf_turbine for practise but you can learn on any map. Though unrelated to aim you should always think about sightlines and positioning. If you use those right you'll be a lot more comfortable with the shots you take which will help your aim

Be comfortable with the sensitivity you use. You can learn to snipe with any sensitivity so use whatever feels good for you. If you feel like you're too inconsistent try messing with zoom_sensitivity_ratio a bit before you change your overall sensitivity (assuming you don't use a seperate sensitivity for sniper. No point in changing your sens on all classes just for sniping)

I still change my sensitivities daily but I use seperate sensitivities for hitscan/projectiles so I don't have to get used to it on every class every time. I feel like changing a sensitivity (both general sensitivity and zoom_sensitivity_ratio) by up to 20% is still comfortable to use and you get used to it quickly. So if you really want to start messing with sensitivities because you don't feel consistent enough don't change it by too much every time

There's no 'best' way of aiming. Learn both tracking and flicking. You'll naturally learn when to use what. I often use a combination of both with every shot I take

I prefer having my crosshair on when zoomed but I know some good snipers that don't use it. Though I do think having it on helps your aim it definitely isn't required for improving

Some minor things that helped me when I was still learning to aim:
- Go for every shot. Even when your target goes behind a wall. Shoot the wall. Doesn't matter. As long as you go for the shot and it's where you predict them to be it'll help you
- Avoid sniper v sniper servers. It's where I started when I decided to main sniper but looking back it really wasn't good. Most players there are bad and you'll learn bad habits like secondscoping. Secondscoping is bad because you're just shooting targets that are standing still. It doesn't help your aim that much and only works against other snipers
- Always keep your crosshair at head height when not zoomed in. You'll only have to move your crosshair horizontally in a lot of situations so this definitely helps

edit:
- Another minor tip: A great way to practise tracking is by tracking teammates. This works on any class. I often do it on scout too. No enemies around? Just track some teammates' heads. No need to shoot at them. Just stay on target

not anymore

1. Disable mouse accel
2. I wouldn't play on maps with flat ground seeing as though most maps don't have flat ground.
3. Try playing on hightower, you always have someone to shoot and there are a lot of soldiers flying around, and I find badwater best for learning how to counter-snipe.

144Hz, makes your flicks way more accurate

this helped me tremendously in the long run.

If you want decent pubs to play, skial badwater/harvest are usually pretty good for relaxing and training aim, and people there sometimes have decent movement. tr_newbots is also really good practice.

Put in the effort and concentrate on hitting all the shots you fire without all the flashy nonsense you sometimes see people do. You shoot people to kill them, not to make frag videos (I hope).

If you try flicking and shooting as fast as you can move your hand anytime you see a player your actual number of hits will probably not be that high.

Oh and use a crosshair you are able to distinguish easily but isn't so big/"intense" that it distracts you form the people you are trying to shoot.

go on trade servers and don't let anyone leave spawn

t u r b i n e

theres literally always a enemy around since its such a small map

Use machina

sniper mains smh
(just use a low sens and keep practising i guess , no shortcuts to getting good)

play the sniper game where you have to touch your player model to his before you can headshot him

If you feel like you're not a flashy player and you'd rather be a consistent player, I recommend using the Machina and going for full charge bodyshots.