Long Range Shooting is our Business
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2011 is going to be a great year!
AAR – Practical Carbine Course
SCSSA
August 19-21, 2010
Practical Shooting as a sport is a great way to keep skill levels high and a targeted mindset for real world engagements. The only drawback is that it becomes a game. If this same approach is taken in the real world, the changing stakes will cause a change in reaction with it. It is good to train this way but it is even more important to take stock as to why we are competing in this manner. Times of duress, such as a defensive reaction to violence, cannot be measured. Each action and reaction is different and unpredictable. The August 19-21, 2010 Practical Carbine Course, located at the Steel City Sports Shooting Association in Hoover, AL, took the competitive aspect of IPSC shooting and added the reality of real world engagements. All instructors at Professional Marksmen Inc. have been in real world shootings in the past and our scenarios were set up based upon the physiological reaction to stress.
The weather was hot and muggy but overall each day went well. SCSSA has some of the finest range facilities in the region and we were very honored to get the chance to teach and shoot there.
Day 1: Classroom Instruction/Static Firing Positions
We began the day off in the classroom where we covered the operation of the tools utilized on the range by focusing on Internal Ballistics, External Ballistics, Terminal Ballistics, and Marksmanship Techniques. We also had a very special guest in Scott Gosnell, of Lighthorse Tactical, who is an attorney well versed in the Alabama law as it relates to self defense. Scott fielded questions from the class which helped clear up much of the questions and
helped pave the way for the scenario engagements later on in the course. We are very appreciative to Scott for his time and his extensive knowledge of the Alabama State Law as it pertains to engagements like this. His presentation really added to the Practical Application of the AR Carbine.
The afternoon took us to the range where we began our static fire engagements from the front, left, right and rear, focusing on consistent movement and target identification. Our targets utilize separate shapes, colors, and words that force the student to differentiate between the targets in a timely manner. We also began to utilize a covered position to change magazines and fix malfunctions. We had a wide array of experience and skill levels in the course but by the end of the day, everyone was moving and working as a unit, forming the consistent muscle memory movements necessary during times of duress. The mind will instinctively shut off in times of stress and we want to train the body to react until the mind can essentially catch up with it. Keeping the mind active in the means of correct target identification, while building the proper fundamentally sound movements, is our method of creating consistent muscle memory.
Day 2: Dynamic Movement/Use of Cover
Day 2 took us to a more dynamic movement on the range, working with moving forward to engage threats, engaging threats from the rear while moving, moving from covered positions while utilizing alternate firing positions, and Scenario #1. All of our movement drills are taken from the real world which does not have a specific amount of space to work in or a proper time to change a magazine/fix a malfunction. We stress this fact because it always seems that even with all of the prior planning and fantastic equipment; the little things always go wrong which cause problems for the big things. This is why a good foundation in the fundamentals of use of cover, and proper movement/marksmanship techniques is critical to success. The mind will always revert back to these fundamentals when the plan goes by the wayside.
Our scenarios change from course to course, depending on current events. All of our scenarios come out of the current news, based on actual threats that others had recently faced. This way we focus on what is plausibly capable of happening, instead of something out of our heads. It also hits home to our students and brings them outside of their comfort zones, which is a fragile false sense of security anyways. Scenario #1 focused on a home invasion where the closest firearm available was the rifle. This specific scenario focused on the use of cover, along with the possible legal ramifications of a threat engagement like this. Even though there were specific threat targets with specific items, our instructors focus other possibilities not specifically in this scenario, such as actions with no weapon present. Again, the purpose is to get the student to consider a wide array of possible threats.
Day 3: Capabilities/Final Scenario Engagements
Day 3 took us to the Capabilities Engagements portion of the training, along with the final two scenarios. We spent the morning engaging targets out to 300 yards and utilized the prone position for this exercise. We work in a progressive manner and every position/threat engagement leads to a scenario application for the real world. The Capabilities Engagements were no different. We then moved into Scenario #2, which took the engagements outside of the home to vehicles that focused on escalation of force, use of cover, proper movement techniques, and target identification. The goal for this Scenario was to never take for granted what is perceived by the eye and to not give up a covered position so quickly. After each Scenario, we meet together as a class and go over each individual threat engagement and outcome to help give everyone a different perspective and thought process.
We finished the course with our Scenario #3, which highlights a diminished rule of law after a natural disaster. The purpose of the Scenario was to incorporate all aspects of the training, while putting the student under duress. The instructors moved with each individual student over 200 yards of various threat targets, movement techniques, use of cover and proper marksmanship techniques. Threat targets ranged from 15 – 300 yards from all alternate firing positions. Upon completion of the course of fire, the students were hot and tired but walked away with a different perspective for a defensive utilization of the AR Carbine Platform. This is the most important thing. These courses are fun and informative, but our purpose is to instill a different training perspective that we hope our students will continue upon completion of our courses.
We had a wide variety of rifles and equipment in the course and did not have a major malfunction, minus one broken extractor. Thankfully, the student had a second rifle with him and it did not interrupt his training. This gave a different perspective on equipment, to include how the rifle interacts with ammunition. This student had PMC and Wolf Manufactured Ammunition but had similar malfunctions with both which led one to focus on the rifle as the root cause. Some rifle manufacturers will focus more on tighter tolerances to increase overall accuracy. The reality of this standpoint will cause more issues due to an increase in malfunctions and will take away from the overall platform. There are several different factors that influence this, but when there are tighter chamber tolerances that come into contact with different grades of ammunition/smokeless powder used, along with excessive oil on the Bolt Carrier Group, the possibility for increase malfunctions drastically increase. In this instance, a steel case eventually led to a broken extractor due to a failure to extract. This was more than likely because of excess oil in the chamber area, which increases overall chamber pressure and also creates a “tacky” film in the chamber, but the tolerances for this particular platform should be such that it takes this into account. But overall, the rifles functioned well despite of the heat, humidity, and dynamic movement on the range.
In conclusion, competition is a great, great way to keep fundamentals and a positive defensive mindset – we are not disputing or taking away from this – but it can easily become a game. Train for all aspects of threat engagements and take the mind outside of the gaming box. Everything comes down to that one moment where we may have to utilize these skills – we all hope this never happens but there is a distinct possibility. What happens in this very brief moment of time will affect the responder in many different ways, for the rest of their lives. We hope that each of our students continue with this style of training and continue to work their fundamentals of marksmanship, movement techniques, target identification, and use of cover. Training never stops and we work with such a perishable skill. We are now a much more responsible gun owner because we know how the rifle/ammunition operate, the capabilities of each, the proper defensive mindset, and the legal consequences to our actions.
Everyone who attended the course did a fantastic job. It was great to get to know each one of you and we hope to see you again sometime in the future. As always, we are available anytime for any questions. We wish you well on all of your future endeavors.
A big thanks to Janie Shelswell-White for the great pictures and video! We hope to see more from her in the future.
AAR PM30 Off the Reservation
NRA Whittington Center
Raton, NM
July 10-12, 2010
Mr. Häyhä is credited with over 500 confirmed kills as sniper with 200 unconfirmed, but Mr. Häyhä was not alone in this venture. His time fighting during the Winter War lasted approximately 100 days and there were others working along with him. The work the Finnish Snipers did during that time echoes today. There is immense pride among the Finnish people and especially among the family members of the Finnish Snipers. We were honored to have one of those family members in our last OTR PM30 Course at the NRA Whittington Center. His journey consisted of previously tracing the footsteps of his grandfather in Finland, harboring a desire to learn long range precision shooting. This brought him to New Mexico and to the PM30 Course.
The course itself had shooters from all over the country, with a wide variety of backgrounds. Some were previous students from courses years ago, some were military instructors looking for a new perspective and location to shoot, and some were avid hunters working on the characteristics of their rifle platform to see what it would do at the distances. Regardless of reason, we were honored to have them all with us at the NRAWC and the course was a great success with 3 inductees into the 1100 Club. This is a good thing.
Day 1 – Classroom Instruction
This course started off just as every other has at the beautiful NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM. Some rain clouds on the horizon, with some small drops of rain coming down as we met at our rendezvous spot on the evening of July 09, 2010. Everyone was on time and anxious to get to the campsite to get set up. I was anxious to get a fire going because that’s the best part. We stay up in one of the Backcountry Canyons, which is approximately 10 miles from the front gates. This gives us the opportunity to conduct the type of training that is met in the real world. This is very important because it shakes off the chains of constraint and allows us to optimize our courses of fire. It is also a wild area and we get to see a variety of wildlife in their natural setting.
The first day is classroom instruction and we sight in our rifles. We utilize the Cooper Range Walk for both classroom and sighting in. This gives us the ability to garner a solid 100 yard zero and gather some data between 200-400 yards, as long as the weather and light conditions hold. We ran into a heavy, but very fast, rain deluge that put our additional shooting on hold for the evening, but did not affect the overall course. No one was washed out at the campsite and again, another campfire fixes everything. The classroom instruction went well and everyone picked up the material very quickly. This was apparent during the next two days on the range.
Day 2 – Known Distance Gathering
The rifle platforms utilized were:
Barrett M98B – .338 Lapua Magnum
Sako TRG – .308 WIN
M1A – .308 WIN
Custom PM30 Rifle – .308 WIN
Knights SR-25 (vintage) – .308 WIN
Optics:
Nightforce NXS – unknown magnification
Leupold Mark IV with M3 BDC Elevation – Fixed 10X
Vortex RAZOR – 5x20x50mm with MOA Reticle
The first day always begins at 400 yards. After breakfast, with everyone’s gear packed to move, we began the 1000 feet altitude ascent in our shooter/spotter teams. Base camp is at roughly 6000 feet and our firing points are between 7000-7500 feet ASL, so we took our time moving. The movements are not long but the altitude is what makes it challenging. But without the altitude, we wouldn’t get the majestic views and challenging engagements across the canyon. This is what makes the course.
Working in Shooter/Spotter teams for the first time is challenging in itself, especially with someone you had never met before. Communication is very important and you want to do well for the shooter, so they are not shooting blind. Spotting is the most difficult part of long range precision shooting and it is a skill that takes a lifetime to master. Calling winds challenges shooters from every background when engaging targets across the canyon. Winds do weird things and travel in strange directions at unforeseeable times. But each time this happens is a learning point. We take that with us wherever we go. Both shooters and spotters became proficient in reading the trace of the round, some it took longer in the day and some picked it up right away. Regardless of when it happened, it happened. Everyone knows what to look for in this atmospheric disturbance and how to properly utilize it to adjust the impact of the round.
Data books were also introduced on Day 2, in a practical manner. We cover it during the classroom portion but actually use it during data gathering. This can be somewhat technical but a rhythm is developed throughout Day 2 and Day 3. The Data Books are very important because they are the reference material from those individual shooting iterations. The Spotter writes for the Shooter and vice/versa when they change over. So, it behooves everyone to be as detailed as possible and communicate in a manner that can be reference at a later date. Overall, everyone did fantastic with this.
We engaged targets at 400, 600, and 800 yards throughout the day and into the evening. We finished when the light conditions were too dark to positively identify the target at those ranges. It was a good lesson in sight picture and how light conditions affect how we perceive the target. The rain kept up with us throughout the course, with the exception of the final day. We did beat the rain down on the firing line but it caught up to us at the base camp and we shut the fire down early. This was a good thing though because everyone was tired from the day and was in need of a good night’s rest.
Day 3 – Unknown Distance Gathering
Breakfast at the NRAWC is one of the best times of the day. Tom Cecil is the man in charge and his cooks do a wonderful job of maintaining morale with their cooking. After a few cups of coffee and some eggs, potatoes, sausage and pancakes, we head back to the training area to finish out the day. The targets change from Known Distance to Unknown Distance and the Shooter/Spotter teams must now identify the targets in a specified area by creating a terrain sketch and estimating the range to each. This day we set our optics to our 600 yard setting and utilize the reticle units of measurement to hold over/under the target. Most had Mil Dot reticles. The Vortex Razor had MOA increments in the reticle and it worked fantastic. I was very impressed with the company matching the reticle to the optic’s units of adjustment. The Razor performed great overall and we recommend this optic.
The teams did well with their sketches, identifying the targets, and ranges. There are several reference points from the previous day that helps but it is difficult to judge distance in terrain like that. Spotters were key on this day. Their adjustments have a base, knowing what 1 mil equals in MOA, but nothing is definite and the external factors especially weigh in heavy. But overall, everyone did absolutely fantastic. Spotters were communicating very well with the shooter and each shooter themselves actively employed the course information and it reflected consistently at the target area. We had three inductees into the 1100 Club and we are very proud of that. The targets are roughly 1 – 1.5 MOA at 1100 yards, which is not an easy shot whatsoever and we had over 50% of the course impact at that distance. Our hats are off to that feat.
PM30 – July 10-12, 2010
Overall this course was one for the history book. We are very proud everyone who attended and thankful for the opportunity to get to spend time with each individual who decided to make the journey to shoot with us. It is a journey too. We hope that everyone came out of the course with what they came to get. Times like these are few and far between in life and we hold on to them because our days are not certain. Spending time outdoors, with good friends and family, make memories that will not be easily forgotten. Thank you again to everyone who participated for making this class a great experience for everyone.
AAR: VHA Course – Ft. Pierre, SD
June 14-16, 2010
This was the first of our VHA Courses, located at the Varmint Hunter Association Range in Ft. Pierre, SD and it was a great time. We had three students who traveled all the way from Virginia to attend and one local man from SD. But both had some long drives to come and shoot with us and we appreciate that. We had a mix of rifles and cartridges in the course, which gave a nice variety and every one of them performed fantastically. And this is no understatement. It was not an easy course.
Day 1: Classroom Instruction
Our training methodology consists of one full day of classroom instruction on the Rifle Platform/Cartridge/Internal Ballistics, External Ballistics, Marksmanship Techniques and Optical Adjustments. The purpose of this is to give all the information in a controlled learning environment, prior to the range, to better grasp the concepts behind long range shooting. By receiving the technical information at the beginning, this helps the student to understand the dynamics imparted on the projectile, both internally and externally, to be able to properly adjust depending on the Point of Impact. This also is aided with a Shooter/Spotter Team method. Having two individuals, working together to chart and document each individual shooting iteration, creates a learning environment where everyone is constantly engaged 100% of the time. The instructor will spot during our courses, but they do not just give the student the adjustments. We make the student think for themselves. The whole point of our methodology is for our students to be able to take what they learned and apply it to every platform/cartridge. And this course worked very well for that because three of our students went directly to a Prairie Dog Shoot in relatively the same conditions as what the course was run in. They were successful and that is our goal as a long range rifle instructional entity.
So the first day consisted of the classroom instruction and we sighted in at 100 yards. The beauty of the VHA Range is that they are a benchrest competition range and have concrete benches already in place. They have a lane set up specifically for 100 yard zeros and there was one gentleman there who was in the state to Prairie Dog Hunt and was sighting in his rifles. This is something to consider if you are in the area. The Varmint Hunter Association is very proactive in the sport and has great facilities.
Day 2: Known Distance Engagement
The purpose of the KD Engagements is to instill a strong fundamental base and also get the students used to working and communicating in a Shooter/Spotter Team Environment. Spotting is the most difficult part of long range precision shooting and we were all thankful for the environmental conditions. It was a beautiful day to shoot with very little winds. The Known Distance Engagements were out from 200 to 600 yards at targets of 4” to 6” in diameter. I mentioned that we had a nice variety of cartridges in the course: two 6.5 Grendels built by Les Baer and Alexander Arms, a stock Armalite AR10, and a Remington 700 in .308 WIN on a AICS Stock. What was interesting about this course is that we had two cartridges with different projectiles that perform well in the same ranges. The retained energy of the 6.5 Grendel next to the .308 WIN was impressive. We lost a couple of targets at 200 and 300 yards by either flipping them over or shooting them off and it performed spectacularly at over 1000 yards. This was my first encounter with the 6.5 Grendel and it is an impressive round.
By the end of the day, each spotter was calling and adjusting correctly which was a very important factor for the last day of the course: Unknown Distance Engagements. We also identified many of the shooters weak points, or focal points, and this translated very heavily to the UKD Day.
Day 3: Unknown Distance Engagements
The final day of the course was a little more of a challenge to the shooter but more so, the spotter. We started the day off in 8-12 mph sustained winds that grew over the course of the day to anywhere from 16-20 mph. This is typical of June in the upper Midwest. We have nothing to stop the wind here and as the day heats up, the winds will increase right along with it. Fortunately the winds were somewhat of a no to half value for the majority of the targets engaged, but it really was a great learning lesson on how the angle of the wind affects how much effect it puts on the projectile. Some targets were more of a 10 o’clock and some were a straight 12 o’clock wind. And this really made a difference down at the target area between a 123 grain projectile and 168 grain projectile.
Reading the trace is also difficult during days like this. The winds not only affect the perception of the atmospheric disturbance but it also affects the shooters themselves. It is hard to spot this elusive trace when the spotting scope is moving because of the high winds. But overall, all of the spotters did great with these constraints. The winds were high throughout the entire day, but they were consistent. As long as they stay consistent, you can work within those perimeters.
The farthest target, 11”x17”, was out to 1050 yards and by the time we worked out way out to that distance, the winds were pretty high, but again consistently. I was very impressed with how the shooter/spotter teams quickly adjusted, especially when this is the farthest any of them had ever shot before. The AR10, which we had diagnosed at about a 1.5-2 MOA accuracy expectation, was the first to hit and hit consistently. This was due impart to the shooter doing a great job utilizing proper techniques and the spotter doing a great job with holdoff adjustment. The 6.5 Grendels also performed amazingly at this distance with both rifles hitting consistently. Again, this is attributed to the shooter/spotter team combination and shooters doing a great job consistently. The Remington 700 AICS also did very well. The shooter brought his own loads and once was on target, did a rapid succession of 3 out of 5 shots at 1050 yards, which was impressive in 18-20mph winds.
I had planned on doing a side by side characteristic comparison of the 6.5 Grendel and the 6.8 SPC but there was really no need for it. The 6.8 SPC is not a long range cartridge and does not hold a candle to the 6.5 Grendel at the distances we were engaging.
Overall, this was another great course with great individuals attending. Dan, Danny, Eugene, and Dale made the very first VHA Courses a great success with their individual abilities and enthusiasm for the sport. The three Virginians then went to the Standing Rock Reservation to shoot Prairie Dogs and their report is as follows:
“…We did our weather checks and winds were 20-25 sustained, gusts to 50 on the first day (Thu), and 25-30 sustained, 47 gusts on Friday. It was challenging, but fun. Great practical application after attending your course. The key thing was the hold-overs required because of the wind and almost 360 deg engagement sectors…not enough time to change the scope, although Eug did that for elevation. So…after practicing a day of holdovers with you, we were very ready.
I fired all the rifles I brought. Grendel/6.5, R700/223, Smitty M&P15/223, and CZ-452/17HMR. I “blooded” all of them, multiple times. Engagement ranges averaged 100-200 yds, but my max range was 310 yds with the Grendel, which needed rezero’ing after our workout.
I hit targets to 300 with the R700, which I bought off Eug…former FBI agent’s personal sniper rifle that was tricked out by the FBI gunsmith. That thing’s a laser, and fun to shoot. This I used the first day in the morning, along with the Grendel for a few rounds around closing time.
The second day, I used my M&P15, which has nice optics, and when firing 77gr SSA OTM, it’s very accurate. Winds were really bad, and even so, the gun was fun to shoot because you had immediate reloads and could keep engaging, given proper recoil mgmt. I found holding my barrel down on the gun rest to be the only way to keep engaging rapid fire with a good sight picture. It worked well to adjust holdovers with the wind situation. I did go prone and get downrange a bit doing a low crawl. Got a few kills by laying low.
The 17HMR was a real joy (and cheap!) to shoot. While not as powerful, we really challenged ourselves with the holdovers because it needed such high/wide aimpoints. Some of the shots out to 200 yards had the PD off the scope’s FOV edge. Max kill range for me was 170yds, in a cross wind. I didn’t have enough scope to engage further…holdovers wouldn’t be within the FOV. I did engage 6 targets within 3 feet of each other, 3 on either side of a mound, with the HMR. Hit all of them, 5 kills, and one liimped to the hole. The issue with the HMR at range was having to shoot multiple times for a kill…not enough stopping power.
All in all, I fired about 1100 rounds last week. Outstanding course and immediate practical shooting experience. Going back to the 100 yrd range with nothing moving will seem boring!!”
We want to thank our students for shooting with and the Varmint Hunter Association for their outstanding facilities and range support during the three day excursion. For more information on the Varmint Hunter Association, you can visit their website or call 1-800-528-4868.
AAR: Off the Reservation
April 30 – May 2, 2010
NRA Whittington Center, Raton, NM
I’m a little bit behind on this After Action Review of the first Off the Reservation Course at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM. The course itself was a great time and everyone, including the instructor, learned something new about their rifle, ammunition, and optics. So, it was a good course. We had students from both Texas and Chicago who all drove to the course so we are appreciative for that. The NRA Whittington Center is a great place for this type of training and everyone was appreciative of the beautiful scenery. Our camp area is in the canyon where we shoot and it is a beautiful, remote area that makes for a great 3 day wilderness style training vacation. We also had cabins available for students who would rather not stay in the training area. Also Tom Cecil, of Mr. C’s Barbeque, did the catering for the course. And as always, Tom’s cooking expertise is greatly appreciated.
Day 1 – Classroom Instruction
We occupied the Cooper Range Walk Building for the classroom instruction and its 500 yard range for sighting in the rifles and gathering data at 200 yards. We had a variety of rifles but were all on the bolt action platform.
Optics ranged from Leupold Mark IV’s to Tasco’s Super Sniper to the Horus Falcon with reticle. So, overall we had a nice mix of rifle manufactures, optics and cartridges in the course.
Our classroom instruction took care of most of this day and we covered everything from Internal/External/Terminal Ballistics, Marksmanship Techniques, and Optical Adjustments. The only thing lacking from this day was a Maintenance Lecture, which is very important. But we have an online video that outlines the procedures, so it did not detract from the course overall.
One of the students brought a chronograph with him, so we chronographed the ammunition at the temperature and elevation differences to update ballistic tables. Several students had ballistic programs built into their phones and got a chance to test the theoretical vs. real world data with some good results throughout the course. Most were way off, but I didn’t get a chance to really go through the programs with them so I don’ t have specifics on it.
The weather this day was windy, cold, and had weather systems moving in and out of the area very fast. The temperature stayed around high 40’s to low 50’s throughout. Even though we were indoors for the day, it set the tone for the remainder of the course.
Day 2 – Known Distance Data Gathering
We began the day at the Café for breakfast and then moved out to the canyon range for a day of Known Distance Data Gathering. The range itself has firing points on one side of the canyon, engaging targets set at 400, 600, 800, 1000, and 1100 yards. The firing points are set on the switchback roads leading up the canyon and they are a hike, but nothing too difficult. This class did a great job and I think we all learned a little bit about our current physical conditions. All of our Off the Reservation courses are open to shooters of all age categories and physical abilities. We have vehicles on standby for those who cannot make the hike, although again, it isn’t difficult.
Our courses are set up in Shooter/Spotter Teams and everyone started right off of the bat communicating to each other. Data books were used extensively during the course and I was impressed with how each spotter kept track of the shooter’s data. Most of the time I have to keep reminding everyone to do this. By the end of the first day, everyone had the opportunity to spot the atmospheric disturbance of the projectile, or trace, of the round and was able to consistently adjust the shooter and track the impact of the projectile. Again, very impressed.
We finished the day off at 800 yards and broke for dinner at the Café. The range was prepped for the final day’s Unknown Distance Engagements and several additional steel targets were placed on the range at varying distances.
Day 3 – Unknown Distance Gathering
The final day was Unknown Distance Gathering. We took time to properly gather data at 1000 yards, from what we ran out of time with the day prior. Then we set our optics to 600 yards and started working hold-offs in both elevation and windage. We still had target reference points to orientate off of, so the students weren’t shooting blind. But it was still difficult to judge both the distances and the wind based on this bracketing method. Range estimation is a difficult thing to master. By the end of the day, we had personal records shattered for long distance hits out to 1100 yards, several consistently.
Final Thoughts
Both shooting days had a wide mix of weather. Each morning we would start off at 60’s and 70’s with very little clouds in the sky, where t-shirts were worn and sunscreen was put on. Once the afternoon rolled around, the temperature would drop down into the mid-40’s and storm clouds would roll in, bringing both wind and snow. At one point on the final day’s shooting, we had to take a break from firing because lightning was striking over the firing line – in a snowstorm! I have never seen anything like that in my life. But, that is the beauty of shooting at the NRA Whittington Center. You truly do not know what you’re going to get.
The rifles performed well, for the most part. I was particularly interested in the Desert Tactical Stealth Recon Scout Rifle. I wanted to see how well it performed for the design. I’m not a bullpup fan, but it does have its merit. This particular rifle performed real well during the first day of shooting on the Known Distance Range. The second day, the student who owned the rifle got set into his position and pulled the trigger and nothing happened. I could hear the firing pin fall but there were no marks on the primers. Without taking the rifle apart, I had the student try another lot of ammunition. Same thing. So, we took the rifle apart and the firing pin had broken. Never in my over 10 years of working with these rifle platforms have I seen this happen, especially in a rifle with less than 200 rounds through it.
Does it mean that it is a garbage rifle? No. More than likely it is a heat treat issue to harden the firing pin that has made it brittle or it’s the wrong material altogether. And it may not be either, but there’s definitely an issue. This is an easy fix with a replacement firing pin with the correct hardness. But it is something that should be taken into consideration for those of you who already own one. I will post an update to this problem and what has been done to fix it later.
This course was a success on many different levels. The Off the Reservation instructional format helped reinforce the material taught by taking the shooters into an unrestricted environment. It forces each one of them to really focus from shot to shot and working in a shooter/spotter team keeps everyone engaged at all times. This also reinforces the understanding of internal/external ballistics and to help diagnose accuracy issues. Now, everyone can go home now and progress forward with their long range shooting hobby and relate everything they did at the course to additional platforms and cartridges. Everything is relative.
I like being in the Northern New Mexico landscape, especially with those who have never been there before. It’s like stumbling upon an oasis in a desert of 45 minute work commutes and city skylines. It’s a refreshing break that helps put life back into perspective.
Maintenance is one of the most important parts of your shooting process. Preventative Maintenance is a better word to use. The more effort you put into keeping your rifle in the highest operating condition, the more successful you will be on the range or in the field. This doesn’t take a lot of effort or time – just the proper techniques and products.
There is a lot of talk about which is better: a rod or bore snake. I will tell you that you cannot properly maintain the bore of your rifle with a snake. If at all possible, use a 1 piece rod; preferably coated. If you do acquire a sectional rod, make sure that the threads holding each individual piece together are strong enough to force a difficult patch through the bore without flexing excessively. Sectional rods are normally frowned upon due to the sharpness of the shoulder of the individual rod pieces, but I have seen rods that have a stronger thread pitch and mate with very tight tolerances. So there are sectionals that will work well out there.
The main consideration is the condition of your bore. If you have a custom rifle, made by a custom gunsmith, then odds are your bore will not foul as heavy as a factory barrel. This cuts your maintenance time dramatically and makes the hardest part of cleaning a bolt action rifle – the bore – a snap. But if you have a factory barrel, there’s no worries with this method either. BoreTech’s Eliminator targets the copper specifically and is very efficient. This is the product that we like but there are many others out there that may work just as well.
One thing we didn’t touch on in the video much is lubricants. We also have been using Militec for years with no problems – despite whatever deficiencies military reports have found. So you make the call on that. I’m not so sure on a one stop Cleaning Lubricating Protecting oil. It will work, and the military has used it for years. But if you had a choice, would you use synthetic or regular oil in your car?
I have been using the procedure outlined in the video on all of my rifle platforms and calibers for years. It works great and does not take a lot of time. Send us your success/not so successful maintenance stories in the comments below. We’d like to hear from you.
This is a note from one of our instructors, Sean Dickson. He makes some very good points as to how Hydration/Dehydration effects our overall physical performance. We require a minimum of 100 oz. of water per day in our courses because of the importance of hydration. Shooting is physical, all disciplines. Our overall physical preparedness will dictate our performance on the range and in the real world.
Even Mild Dehydration Can Affect Performance
Yesterday we had everyone write in and tell us how much water they took in during that 24 hour period. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many of you going for goals of high fluid ounce intake and also saying that you tried to do so on a daily basis. I mentioned that I was ambushed by meetings all day and got separated from my Nalgene bottle and that I could already feel the effects when I got home from work.
I wanted to use that and an experience from today to touch a little more on the importance of hydration and the consequences of neglecting it as I unfortunately did yesterday. Proper hydration is key to the functioning of our entire body system. It affects our blood pressure, thermo-regulation, joint spaces and even small things like our moods and focus. It is said that sitting 1 liter low of normal fluid levels can be looked at as dehydration. There are more complex ways of looking at it in the form of total body weight and loss but I like to save that for endurance events that need nerdy science to work out. Here we are going to talk about it in a simple everyday spectrum.
Even the mildest amounts of dehydration can affect your performance in the gym or during a workout. now I understand that not every day and every workout can be perfect and of peak quality, but lets face it, I go to the gym 90% of the time with the intention of a personal record, why else would I drive all the way there? Last night I didn’t stay diligent on re-hydrating. Throughout the day today I drank properly but was still living in a deficit from the day previous. As I began my warm-up and the opening sets of an Olympic lift routine, I realized I was a little hotter than normal and was sweating sooner and breathing a little deeper to quickly. Also as I would drive down low and explode up with the bar, complete the lift or reps and drop the weights I would have that dizzy head rush feeling. What was this? It was dehydration affecting my performance.
In a little more depth it was a decreased blood volume/pressure. My blood wasn’t “full” and so the symptoms reflected. My hypothalamus was registering that the blood wasn’t efficiently circulating to my skin and therefore wasn’t cooling me so it released more sweat (of which I didn’t have enough) and in consequence my core temperature rose. My lower blood volume also resulted in less O2 circulating to all of my organ systems and muscle tissues causing me to not breath off and flush the lactic acid/ free radicals that are produced through metabolism and stress placed on tissue (weight lifting), therefore I became winded early and needed deeper breaths. The dizzy feeling was simply an inability to compensate for the explosive increase in pressure that was created by the lift followed by a massive decrease when the lift was over, lungs breathed out and load dropped.
In summary (after getting a little nerdy, but I am an SF Medic) a minor slip up in hydration the day previous cause my workout to be sub par and ultimately end early for safety reasons.
As my Drill Sergeant used to say incessantly “Drink Water!!”
We just finished our first course of the year in St. George, UT and we could not have asked for better shooting conditions. It was a four day private course that covered Long Range Precision Marksmanship for the .308WIN and .50 BMG. The course itself was very fast and furious fitting 6 days of instruction into 4, but the students adjusted well and everyone performed above expectations.
The main thing in courses like this is that the students leave with a strong understanding of the rifle platform, whether it is a bolt action rifle or a semi-automatic – as it was in this case – and of the cartridges that we are instructing on. The .308 WIN rifle platforms were Patriot Ordnance Factory P308-20-MRR-308 SPR, LWRC REPR, and DPMS Panther LR-308. The .50 BMG platform was Barrett Firearm’s M82A1. The students utilized Federal Gold Match 168gr. .308 WIN and Summit Ammunition 661gr. M33 Ball.
The first day of the course was spent in the classroom. We have been conducting these types of courses for many years now and have identified a definitive need to conduct one day of multimedia classroom instruction prior to moving to the range. During this time, we cover all aspects of Internal Ballistics, External Ballistics, Terminal Ballistics for hunters, Marksmanship Techniques, Optical Adjustments, and Maintenance – as time allows. It is important to instill a strong base prior to execution because it allows the mind to associate and force the body to respond.
The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th days were spent on the range, gathering data and putting into practice how to identify the trace of the round and how to effectively call the winds. We were very fortunate with our range days because they were all beautiful with less than 10mph winds. This is not typical for our courses, as Murphy normally travels with us, but we were very fortunate here. The conditions were also conducive to be able to identify the atmospheric disturbance that the projectile creates as it travels to the target, or “trace” of the round. All of the students had the opportunity to see this and utilize it to make their adjustments to the shooter. This is normally the more difficult portion of the courses because everybody picks things up at different rates, but even in this highly condensed period of instruction, everyone had the opportunity to see what they needed to see and adjust correctly based off of this.
The semi-automatic .308’s worked very consistently, minus the DPMS Panther LR-308. There were continual failure to feed malfunctions and several pierced primers due to excessive pressures. I have seen this before on the 5.56 version from this manufacturer, so I was looking for it to happen on the .308 model. And it did. We quickly shut that rifle down and had to double up on the POF’s and LWRC. But that ended up not being too big of a deal because that particular shooter had the opportunity to try both rifles out.
Pierced Primer on Right
Both of these particular platforms performed well, minus one of the POF rifles that developed mating issues with the upper and lower receiver, more likely because of heat. This should be an easy fix for the factory and when you have a precision semi-automatic platform, you walk a fine line between accuracy and consistent functionality. The AR platform has been built since the 1950’s, but this particular model is a Piston Op-Rod system and I’m sure that the tolerances are tighter than the standard AR.308 platform. This will have to be a factory fix though. The LWRC performed spectacularly. This was the first I had seen that in action and overall it did real well.
The ammunition also performed for the students. They had within 1MOA during their zeroing and roughly 1.5 – 2 MOA out to 800 yards. The main thing about shooting out to those distances is really emphasizing the importance of the Spotter. If you have a Spotter who is having issues correctly calling winds or even seeing the shot, then it makes for a long day on the range. But, this is all part of the learning process. Our instructors will not give the Spotter or Shooter adjustments, unless there are issues on the firing line. The Spotter will tell us what they believe the impact and adjustments to be, and we will help them verify. In this course, some Spotters had some difficulties at first identifying the trace of the round, but quickly came around and starting calling things very well.
One important thing to remember during courses like this is that everyone learns at different paces and it is easy to get frustrated as a shooter when it seems like you are shooting blind. But, as an instructor, we are helping the spotter identify weaknesses so the remainder of the course goes smoothly. It is an exciting thing for both instructor and Spotter to first see the trace of the round. Once you do identify this, you know what to look for and that is important.
Winds are always another issue. We did not have wind flags on this range. The one thing that I would have changed, and will be adding to my travelling range kit, is engineer tape to use to help call the winds. This was also one of the critiques that our students gave at the end of the course and we are grateful for their insight. We will talk a little bit about reading/calling winds in another later post.
The range was also a challenge in itself. Technically it wasn’t a range but public land and it worked great. The targets that we used were very modular and I will get in touch with the manufacturer, whom I cannot place at the moment. I will get back to you with that info, as I want to use some of their stuff for our Off the Reservation Courses at the NRAWC this year. The target sizes were sufficient for the course, although I would have utilized a little bigger for the 800 and 1000 yard targets. Roughly 16 inches at 1000 yards with a Barrett M82A1 is very good. The students themselves were impacting and dancing all around that target, which is a great feat considering that we had one day of instruction on this rifle platform and cartridge. I am very impressed with them, even though some were disappointed that they didn’t hit every time.
.50 Prone
For that, it is also important to identify the tools that you are utilizing. Utilizing a rifle that is designed to hold 2.5 MOA at 100 yards and you are engaging a 16 inch (1.5MOA) target at 1000 yards, one rifle on a bench and one in the prone, is a great job. You have to modify your shooting position when using this cartridge and especially this rifle platform. The team who was utilizing the prone position was much more consistent than the team utilizing a bench position. But not everyone can shoot in the prone, so it is good to identify the strengths and weaknesses of both positions and work around them. Again, I would have liked to have at least another day with our students on this rifle platform and cartridge but the time did not permit.
Overall, it was a great course. I learned new things, especially on the semi-auto .308 platforms. You can make your own assessments on the malfunctions that we noted with the DPMS rifle and the good things about the POF and LWRC rifles. But as long as you can hold 1MOA with that platform with factory ammunition, it is good enough for what that initial design was intended for. That is what I would consider in purchasing that operating platform. Accuracy and reliability are looked upon equally with favor as the follow up shot is just as important as the initial.
I really enjoyed the students and spending time with them in the AZ desert. I hope to see them again in other courses or our Alumni Shoot next year– which we’ll talk about at a later date. Thank you again for having us and we hope that everyone got the most out of our time together. Our goal is to give you the tools necessary to either begin or enhance your long range shooting journey. We are always available to discuss issues that you are having on the range and the various milestones that you have met. Just because our course is over, our support never is. We love to talk about shooting, so please do not hesitate to give us a call.
St. George, UT
March 18, 2010
I just returned home from a very long week. I just finished up a private course in UT. But the course was a fun one and wasn’t the reason for the long week. It was long because I had to say goodbye to someone I didn’t think that I would have to say goodbye to. SFC Glen Jacob Whetten was one of my best friends, one of the very few that I consider family, and he died on March 12, 2010 when his vehicle was hit by an IED in the Zabul Province, Afghanistan. I had known Jake since 2002 when we were together in the 3/325 Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. Along with the rest of the Scouts, we invaded Iraq and spent a miserable year growing close in a way that only combat veterans can understand. Periodically we get together, our family. We talk on the phone a lot and email each other to say hello and keep up with what everyone’s doing. But this last reunion was bittersweet in many ways.
We laid our fellow warrior – and he was just that – to rest. We also said goodbye to our brother, realizing that we will never get to see his face again, hear him laugh, or trade our stories about the things that we had gone through together. But the funeral was one that would have made Jake proud to be the soldier that he was. And he was one of the best, very cool under the pressure of a firefight. It is the greatest test to be a leader in an active combat zone. There was one time in particular where his quick thinking saved his squad when they were pinned down. Jake was someone that you could always count on.
Jake was also very thoughtful. I never heard him talk badly about anyone – and that’s the honest truth. Even those of us who were going through rough times and made poor decisions, he would see things through their eyes. That’s a rare thing for someone so young. I miss my friend now and I look back with regret that I didn’t do more to stay in touch with him. But I guess that we can always say things like that. Those of us who knew him are better people for that and we all have an empty spot in our lives where he used to be.
SFC Glen Jacob Whetten
March 19, 1978 – March 12, 2010
Also I heard a voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Isaiah 6:8
I just got off the phone with one of my fellow 3/325 AIR Blue Falcons and he had some very good questions about a new rifle purchase. The main points of the conversation were stock and action, which should be the main points in any new rifle purchase.
We are living in a shaky economy at best right now and it seems that our house of cards can come crashing down at any moment. So, the decision to invest in a precision rifle is an important and lengthy one. We give our suggestions based off the information that our customer’s provide us and much of it comes down to how the rifle will be utilized and budget. We are economic shooters and that’s how our rifle line was started. We have something for every budget so keep your eyes on our PM Rifles in the near future. We’ll be updating our store page to reflect some newer products available.
I am a Savage Rifle fan. I have been since a good friend of mine pulled the bolt out of his rifle and showed me their floating bolt head design. The floating bolt head adjusts for the inconsistencies in the chamber area and for the in the cartridge itself. It will adjust itself to fully engage the locking lugs and is a smart design. Now, is it along the lines of a precision machined action? No, it’s not. The floating bolt head will not 100% compare to the work that goes into the machining of a custom action. But it will give you a consistently accurate rifle at a moderate price.
My rifle, the one I use during the PM30 courses, is built off of a Bell and Carlson Stock with a stock Savage Action. I had that rifle specifically built to use during those courses. It outshoots me and it’s not expensive. The point here is that you can get a quality, consistent rifle without breaking the bank. We will be offering some PM Rifles set on the Savage Target Action in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for that.
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