freedive10
-Global Mod-, Caballoloco
I can now add Basic Precision Rifle to my tool box, thanks to PHOBOS SOLUTIONS! I had to jump on this opportunity since I know of very few precision classes offered here in Louisiana within 1hr from my location (North Shore). A class like this has been on my *TO DO* list of training for a while now.
Just FYI, other than my hunting experience with a scoped gun, I have VERY little technical knowledge of precision shooting. Here in S. Louisiana I hunt swamps and the longest shot I have taken for large game is 75yrds. So in short, I know NOTHING when it comes to the precision platform. I guess it’s a good thing for the instructors since I had not established any bad habits they would need to break. LOL.
The class took place in Covington at what I call, *THE PIT*. Great place to shoot! I got there at 8:30am and met with instructors, Lewis Frost and James Wine. They were ranging distances and setting up targets for the day. This was the first time I met either instructors and was very surprised to see how friendly they were. I almost immediately felt like I had known these guys for years. My perception on Precision shooting was one of academic study of math, physics, and geography. In my mind, very black and white, dry subjects. Thus I expected the instructors to be of the like. I was wrong!
The day started off with a class orientation and safety brief as all classes should. We then placed our guns on a cleaning table for Lewis to make a quick inspection to determine what we had to work with and how he would have to tailor the class. Since we all had different glass, it was important for him to determine if it was Mil-Mil or MOA-MOA so he could call corrections for each shooters set-up. No one showed up with a sub-par bang stick that needed to be replaced. We started out with two bolt guns and the rest were .308 AR platforms. At that point he left all guns in their original configuration so as to let each shooter see for them selves what it would do without recommended changes.
We were then given a 5* binder data book. First thought was, *Oh S*&%* do I need to memorize all this? Once I opened it and realized that much of it was templates I would need to fill in as I shot, I felt less over whelmed. We all went through terms and basics to get us started. So far, Lewis was keeping us interested and to my surprise, I was not lost. He was making it simple to understand yet technical enough that I did not feel spoon fed. Before we shot our zeroing groups we were taught the *Proper* way to clean our guns. This was a must to get an accurate cold bore shot. I would later learn that each consequential shot was reliant on the previous one. Thus, we needed to take our time and do it right as well as document everything. Throughout the first day Lewis would teach us what and how to enter data into our logs after our shots. We then lay behind our guns and Lewis would come by and check the eye relief and cheek weld making adjustments as needed. Never realized how important the cheek weld would be to a long day of shooting.
We were all ready to send our first *Cold Bore* shot down range at 100yrds. We documented it and then fired a five shot string. We all hit paper but not to the standard Lewis wanted to see. James collected the targets and we analyzed with an explanation of what we were doing wrong. Lewis would just look at the target and tell us shot by shot what we did wrong. At first I doubted he could actually call this. Later in the day, I realized this ability was legit! He would call out what I did wrong before I was able to voice it. I was impressed to say the least! We chronographed each gun so as to assist with scope adjustments later. This number plays a key role in the mathematic for proper scope adjustment. As we fired a few more five shot groups and documented same, Lewis would start making changed to a shooters gun, position, grip, cheek weld, etc…. On a side note, he encouraged us to ask questions and to interrupt him if he started using unfamiliar terms. Not one time throughout the two days did I ever feel lost or under stimulated. I felt so at ease, that I had no qualm about asking any question. Both Lewis and James were eager to share all the wealth of information they had to offer. Lewis pulled a plethora of personal equipment and allowed us to use so as to see the difference in what we brought and what it did to improve our accuracy. He encouraged us to shoot his guns (worth more than what my wife would ever allow me to spend! LOL). He reiterated the fact that they were just tools to be used. Either way, I could not help but treat them with white gloves. We continued to shoot at 100yrds to work our data entry skills and fundamentals.
We broke for lunch but no one left. We hydrated and snacked on what we brought while discussing a number of topics. It felt like a day of shooting with your older very knowledgeable buddies! The whole group clicked. As we finished eating, we would each clean our gun as requested so as to fire another cold bore shot. As the day progressed we noticed our groups get better and we were all falling into place with equipment. It was 200yrd time and we documented those shots. Before the day ended steel was introduced and we were able to enjoy the beautiful sound of a rounds hitting steel. None of us were ready for the day to end but as our shot groups showed, we were ready to give our shoulders a rest. So we cleaned our guns as Lewis and James continued to discuss our results.
The Next day I knew we would push out to beyond 200yrds. We started with a cold bore at 100yrds and then 200yrds all on paper. We then went to 300yrds on paper and steel poppers with Lewis calling adjustments to each shooters scope. We analyzed shots and made adjustments with discussions re scope clicks at distance, wind, temp, humidity, and light. By noon it was hot and bright and Lewis had us shoot paper at 300yrds. We were all amazed how uniformly low and right all of our shots were going. As Lewis explained it, it was due to shadow and light at noon and the placement of the sun. All this must be taken into account and here we had it shown to us first hand. We then moved to 400yrds paper and after adjustments and analyzing our shots, we were hitting a steel swinger. Love that sound!! James was able to get the furthest steel silhouette out to 450yrds. It looked further but I ranged it and it was spot on at 450yrds. Lewis worked his mental magic and called scope adjustments to each of us and BING! Oh, that lovely sound!
The last string for the day was to confirm our 100yrd zero. We dialed it back and shot our 5 shot group. (See Below)
I just want to thank Nick for helping me get in on the class! Thank you man! I hope to be seeing you guys again soon.
In summary, here are my opinions, good and bad, from the two day class.
GOOD: I learned a hell of a lot about me, the gun, and the ammo.
BAD: Now I have to buy a smaller Harris bi-pod and more 168gr FGMM ammo. I also enjoyed scratching the surface of precision rifle so that means I need to come up with more $ to continue this new skill set. Here are some pics Phobos allowed me to use. Enjoy!
What you will need:
Bolt or Semi Auto Rifle capable 1 inch groups at 100 yards. 250 rounds of Match Grade ammunition, A weapon sling, Bipod or bag for use as support, Rear support bag, eye and ear protection, fluids for hydration.
Student recommendations: Baseball cap, sunscreen, insect repellant, knee and elbow pads Laser Rangefinder, Spotting scope or Binoculars, Shooting Mat.
Just FYI, other than my hunting experience with a scoped gun, I have VERY little technical knowledge of precision shooting. Here in S. Louisiana I hunt swamps and the longest shot I have taken for large game is 75yrds. So in short, I know NOTHING when it comes to the precision platform. I guess it’s a good thing for the instructors since I had not established any bad habits they would need to break. LOL.
The class took place in Covington at what I call, *THE PIT*. Great place to shoot! I got there at 8:30am and met with instructors, Lewis Frost and James Wine. They were ranging distances and setting up targets for the day. This was the first time I met either instructors and was very surprised to see how friendly they were. I almost immediately felt like I had known these guys for years. My perception on Precision shooting was one of academic study of math, physics, and geography. In my mind, very black and white, dry subjects. Thus I expected the instructors to be of the like. I was wrong!
The day started off with a class orientation and safety brief as all classes should. We then placed our guns on a cleaning table for Lewis to make a quick inspection to determine what we had to work with and how he would have to tailor the class. Since we all had different glass, it was important for him to determine if it was Mil-Mil or MOA-MOA so he could call corrections for each shooters set-up. No one showed up with a sub-par bang stick that needed to be replaced. We started out with two bolt guns and the rest were .308 AR platforms. At that point he left all guns in their original configuration so as to let each shooter see for them selves what it would do without recommended changes.
We were then given a 5* binder data book. First thought was, *Oh S*&%* do I need to memorize all this? Once I opened it and realized that much of it was templates I would need to fill in as I shot, I felt less over whelmed. We all went through terms and basics to get us started. So far, Lewis was keeping us interested and to my surprise, I was not lost. He was making it simple to understand yet technical enough that I did not feel spoon fed. Before we shot our zeroing groups we were taught the *Proper* way to clean our guns. This was a must to get an accurate cold bore shot. I would later learn that each consequential shot was reliant on the previous one. Thus, we needed to take our time and do it right as well as document everything. Throughout the first day Lewis would teach us what and how to enter data into our logs after our shots. We then lay behind our guns and Lewis would come by and check the eye relief and cheek weld making adjustments as needed. Never realized how important the cheek weld would be to a long day of shooting.
We were all ready to send our first *Cold Bore* shot down range at 100yrds. We documented it and then fired a five shot string. We all hit paper but not to the standard Lewis wanted to see. James collected the targets and we analyzed with an explanation of what we were doing wrong. Lewis would just look at the target and tell us shot by shot what we did wrong. At first I doubted he could actually call this. Later in the day, I realized this ability was legit! He would call out what I did wrong before I was able to voice it. I was impressed to say the least! We chronographed each gun so as to assist with scope adjustments later. This number plays a key role in the mathematic for proper scope adjustment. As we fired a few more five shot groups and documented same, Lewis would start making changed to a shooters gun, position, grip, cheek weld, etc…. On a side note, he encouraged us to ask questions and to interrupt him if he started using unfamiliar terms. Not one time throughout the two days did I ever feel lost or under stimulated. I felt so at ease, that I had no qualm about asking any question. Both Lewis and James were eager to share all the wealth of information they had to offer. Lewis pulled a plethora of personal equipment and allowed us to use so as to see the difference in what we brought and what it did to improve our accuracy. He encouraged us to shoot his guns (worth more than what my wife would ever allow me to spend! LOL). He reiterated the fact that they were just tools to be used. Either way, I could not help but treat them with white gloves. We continued to shoot at 100yrds to work our data entry skills and fundamentals.
We broke for lunch but no one left. We hydrated and snacked on what we brought while discussing a number of topics. It felt like a day of shooting with your older very knowledgeable buddies! The whole group clicked. As we finished eating, we would each clean our gun as requested so as to fire another cold bore shot. As the day progressed we noticed our groups get better and we were all falling into place with equipment. It was 200yrd time and we documented those shots. Before the day ended steel was introduced and we were able to enjoy the beautiful sound of a rounds hitting steel. None of us were ready for the day to end but as our shot groups showed, we were ready to give our shoulders a rest. So we cleaned our guns as Lewis and James continued to discuss our results.
The Next day I knew we would push out to beyond 200yrds. We started with a cold bore at 100yrds and then 200yrds all on paper. We then went to 300yrds on paper and steel poppers with Lewis calling adjustments to each shooters scope. We analyzed shots and made adjustments with discussions re scope clicks at distance, wind, temp, humidity, and light. By noon it was hot and bright and Lewis had us shoot paper at 300yrds. We were all amazed how uniformly low and right all of our shots were going. As Lewis explained it, it was due to shadow and light at noon and the placement of the sun. All this must be taken into account and here we had it shown to us first hand. We then moved to 400yrds paper and after adjustments and analyzing our shots, we were hitting a steel swinger. Love that sound!! James was able to get the furthest steel silhouette out to 450yrds. It looked further but I ranged it and it was spot on at 450yrds. Lewis worked his mental magic and called scope adjustments to each of us and BING! Oh, that lovely sound!
The last string for the day was to confirm our 100yrd zero. We dialed it back and shot our 5 shot group. (See Below)
I just want to thank Nick for helping me get in on the class! Thank you man! I hope to be seeing you guys again soon.
In summary, here are my opinions, good and bad, from the two day class.
GOOD: I learned a hell of a lot about me, the gun, and the ammo.
BAD: Now I have to buy a smaller Harris bi-pod and more 168gr FGMM ammo. I also enjoyed scratching the surface of precision rifle so that means I need to come up with more $ to continue this new skill set. Here are some pics Phobos allowed me to use. Enjoy!
What you will need:
Bolt or Semi Auto Rifle capable 1 inch groups at 100 yards. 250 rounds of Match Grade ammunition, A weapon sling, Bipod or bag for use as support, Rear support bag, eye and ear protection, fluids for hydration.
Student recommendations: Baseball cap, sunscreen, insect repellant, knee and elbow pads Laser Rangefinder, Spotting scope or Binoculars, Shooting Mat.
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