Varmit gun was a gift...wasn't purchased as a "murder weapon", he probably outfitted it wih a scope that cost more than the gun's value...
He is crafty enough to KNOW to use gloves to load the ammo so NOT to leave prints...the brass found at a real or FAKE scene is throw down with useless prints (or prints from a person at a gun range...)...he is "TOYING" with the cops...he is playing the ultimate MIND GAME...he is going to be enjoying the GAME with the cops MORE than the actual shooting...
If the media really HAS been regularly confusing FEET with YARDS, I agree it's probably a college kid or two. The distance is a really REALLY crucial detail.
As for the schizophrenia part...maybe. I'm leaning toward anarchist. And thinking of the anarchist protestors who converged on DC recently, bent on violence but thwarted by police.