The firing line for the Wolf Precision Long Range Shooting School. The tent was a welcome addition when it rained on day three of the class.
perpendicularity of each rifle/scope combo was checked to make sure that no one’s scope would be inadvertently tracking right or left as they dialed for longer ranges. This was done on a large sheet of paper with a level, horizontal line and a vertical line drawn for each shooter to check the tracking of their scope. Any bullet striking significantly to either side of the vertical line when elevation is dialed indicated a need for fine-tuning the scope’s alignment. Day one on the range ended with
some limited shooting out to about 500 yards on steel targets so the students could get a taste of what was to come on days two and three. The final shots of the day were fired at 100 yards to reaffirm that everyone’s rifle had been returned to zero. The enthusiasm and confidence of the entire class was high at the end of day one.
DAY TWO - MATH DAY Back at the Gander Mountain
store, day two started with the distribu- tion of each shooter’s data charts which were based on the chronograph results from day one. These charts provided each shooter with the D. O. P. E. (data of previous engagements) required for dialing their scopes to engage targets at different ranges. Depending on the scopes, the data were presented in ei- ther minutes of angle (MOAs) or mils. The importance of the cold bore shot also was discussed in some detail. Ja- mie’s telling comment on this was that, “The trophy of a lifetime doesn’t give you a chance for a sighter shot.” Much of this second day’s class
work involved dealing with the math of shooting; MOAs and Mils, determining the range to a target, how it all relates to one’s rifle/scope combination, and the delivering of an accurate long-range shot. I will not bore anyone with the math details here but much of it, for me at least, required the use of a calculator. It was all valuable information which is necessary for successful long-range shooting. Of all the topics covered during
Checking the wind speed and direction away from the firing line.
Page 120 Spring 2013
this course, I found Jamie’s discussion of shooting groups to be possibly the most interesting and in line with my own thoughts as well as those of the late Col. Jeff Cooper. At the risk of get- ting howls from the bench rest crowd, I quote directly from Jamie’s course manual. (Jamie writes like he talks, so pardon the punctuation.) “Many of us think that it is a must when at the range doing work to fire groups. I am going to let you in on a secret. Firing groups
outside of testing loads wastes ammo, kills sharpened skill and teaches you nothing but to try to get five lucky rounds into a small hole to brag about. Like playing cards, you will eventually wind up with a winning hand. So if the last group didn’t do it, you fire, fire and fire again. This leads to sloppy, non-attentive shooting with eventually settling for a three-shot group because you’re afraid to fire two more and blow a ragged hole wide open.... One thing I have learned and something that will sharpen your skills to a razor’s edge is shooting single shot bullseyes. (If you really want to see your group size you can overlap the targets. ) Being account- able for one shot, and only one, hit or miss – you own it. Everything rides on that one squeeze. Knowing you are only as good as your ability to place this one shot.” This is why Jamie had the class shot single shots on multiple targets. To quote the late Col. Cooper: “A rifleman does not fire groups, he shoots shots.” I personally think this outlook applies to all field shooting situations, regardless of what the target may be. You shoot varmints (except for those fortuitous doubles and triples on PDs), or game animals, one shot at a time. Again to quote Jamie, it requires doing “...every- thing right every time. In long range, everything matters, even the smallest details.” This is why mastering the fundamentals is so important and was a main emphasis of this class. Day two on the range began
with a cold bore shot followed by four other shots, all fired at 100 yards on individual ½-inch dots. Following this opening exercise, the class was off and
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196