Training Courses SPEARPOINT RANCH (KS) 2 Day Basic Precision Rifle

ajwcotton

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SPEARPOINT RANCH 2 DAY BASIC PRECISION RIFLE
May 17-18, 2014
Spear Point Ranch 1890 N. 215th Road
Barnard, KS 67418

Meet at the Spearpoint lodge at 0830 class will begin no later than 0900

Cost: $180 per person
Limit 12 students

Instructor: Adam Whitecotton
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Former US Army Sniper
Top Gun of Sniper School class 05-11
Deployed twice in support of the Global War on Terror as a Designated Marksman and again as a Sniper Team Leader and Sniper Section SGT
Has won several local precision rifle matches including Reade Range, and Juniper Swamp Tactical, as well as the Top Military shooter at the GAP Grind PRS match.

Course Description:

Understanding your scope, reticle, adjustments and holdover/holdoffs
Shooting fundamentals including body position, breathing, trigger control and recoil management
Data book management and shot records
Cold bore shot and zero
100 and 300 groups on paper to diagnose issues with fundamentals
Gather DOPE for longer ranges shooting Known Distance steel targets
Discuss and practice Doping the wind shooting Known and Unknown distance targets out to 1000y
Multiple target engagement
Positional Shooting including barricades and obstacles
If time permits shoot 1000y-1400y

Required Equipment:

Rifle capable of 1 MOA accuracy
Scope capable of dialing adjustments (Target Turrets) with a MIL or MOA reticle
250 rds of Match Grade Ammo (or quality handloads)
Bipod and rear rest
Appropriate clothing for weather conditions
Food/snacks for the day
Spotting scope with tripod, binos, Laser Rangefinder (if you have them please bring them if you don’t have them don’t worry about it)

Lodging is available on site through Spear Point Ranch for an additional $30 per night. Contact them at: 785-524-5330 for more info


For additional info or if you want to attend email me at [email protected]
 
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Just a heads up, there may or may not be a grab bag of goodies from badger Ord. If you have gear issues we might be able to square you away. They are committed to helping out new shooters and the shooting community.
 
Very glad we could make it up to attend this class.

First of all, Thanks to Steve and Dalton. Great people to shoot with and even better company.

Adam puts on a very flexible class that covered a wide range of shooters. I don't want to say it is laid back, but in some ways it is. No pressure to speak of. Comfortable shooting and learning environment.

Even though I have a lot of shooting and ranging experience it was nice to recap, and run through the Spearpoint range, see what other shooters were running, share ideas, and simply just get some good shooting in.

The only positive downside is finding out what I invested in that isn't needed and coming home to order up a few items to have on hand for the next match.

Bonus to the 2 day training session: Josh with Hogsaddle and Glen with Badger showed up to shoot a little and play along. The handouts and good deals were very much appreciated but getting first hand experience with products was a very nice touch.

I shot the Spearpoint match a couple weeks back with a new optic and simply wasn't ready. By mid day at this training session I was in tune. The outcome at the match would have certainly been much different if I would have taken this class prior to a match.

One thing I want to point out that I think is very important. Adam was very user friendly to all and took into consideration the range of shooters, optics, caliber, platform, and equipment brought to the range.

If you are thinking about it, do it. Don't hesitate if another class comes up. Heck I may attend simply to just get some more practice on a great range in.

I am not a tactical match shooter, I am a hunter, reloader, and shooter. The one thing that brought everything together was a little training. The next time I get behind a rifle, set up on sticks, and or get ready to take that shot in a match or hunting scenario I will definitely incorporate what I gathered at this event.

Although intimidating to some, I would like to see Adam/instructor run though some of the items we shot and shoot next to those shooting to set a standard and or simply see first hand how one performs.
With multiple shooters on the line I can see how it is tough, but I would personally like to be pushed a bit on position, etc.

I am a better shooter as well as many others that attended.
 
Gunner's write up is spot on. It was a great weekend, and Adam is a great instructor. I would HIGHLY recommend taking one of his classes AND shooting in the spearpoint matches if you are new and uncertain of your abilities.

Spearpoint does an excellent job of providing a challenging match that is very new-shooter friendly. I noticed in the May match that the more experienced shooters were very accommodating with the new ones.

Thanks to Adam and Steve (and Glen and Josh), and I look forward to shooting more matches out there this season.
 
AAR: Adam Whitecotton's Precision Rifle Class, Spearpoint Ranch, May 17-18, 2014

Quick AAR: Adam Whitecotton's Precision Rifle Class - Spearpoint Ranch, May 17th-18th, 2014
First, thanks to Steve and his family for being so hospitable to us all, and for hosting last weekend's precision rifle class. It was a privilege and honor to take the class from a former Army Sniper, our instructor - Adam Whitecotton, and guest instructor, former Marine Scout Sniper, Josh Stabler (also the original designer of the Hog Saddle). I was one the few that stayed overnight, and got to hear some amazing stories of what it was like down range. It was nice being around like minded individuals. Thanks also to Glenn from Badger Ordnance for sharing his insights on precision semi-auto platforms, and for sponsoring the class - providing some free swag - the enhanced AR15 bolt catch. While well out of scope of the class, I'm still ecstatic for the impromptu night vision and thermal demo that Saturday night. It was surreal, driving at night to the 1400 yard range, in the back of Adam's pick up, while carrying Glenn's MK12 w/ FLIR T70, along side Josh kitted up w/ Ops-core FAST Helmet w/ PVS 14. It was my first time looking through NODs and thermals. I was amazed at how far we've come with technology, and the tools that are available to our war fighters today. Wearing Josh's Ops-core helmet, I couldn't help but feel like kicking down some doors, room clearing, and doing some ninja-low-drag-high-speed stuff, especially with the AN/PEQ-15 IR illuminator. I should have brought out my MK18 clone along with me. Lastly, special thanks to Chris, one of the fellow students, for his help spotting and gathering dope on my rifle out to 1000 yards, dealing with my inexperience in long range shooting, and for letting me put a few down on his Skunkworks 6.5x47mm. Although I'm still digesting all the small tidbits of information I've learned along the way, I already look forward to the next class.

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Video of Last Lesson of Day 2 - Timed Barricade and Obstacle Shooting
[YOUTUBE]http://youtu.be/XlYDl6uSQvk[/YOUTUBE]
Spearpoint Ranch - Precision Rifle Class - May 17-18th, 2014 - Timed Barricade and Obstacle Shooting - YouTube


Here's are some quick notes and general outline of what the activities were like as we progressed through each day.



Day 1
Classroom
-Instructor Background/Introduction
-Student Background/Introduction
-Safety Brief
-Road Map of Activities
-Angular Measurements (Mil v. MOA)
-Dialing v. Hold Overs
-Importance of Data Book
-Box Testing New Scope
-Gun Setup (Eye Relief, Ocular w/ Parrallax Set to Infinity, Scope Leveling)
-Field Expedient Bore Sighting
-Differences Between 1st and 2nd FFP Scopes
-Milling Exercises (Stop Sign and Street Signs Examples)
-Milling Errors (Mirage, Angle Target, Obsolete w/ LRFs)
-Range Card (Football Arm Band)
-Proper Shooting Fundamentals

Proper Shooting Fundamentals
-Elbows Locked Out As Far As Possible
-Shoulders Perpendicular and Square
-Bipod Lowest Setting Possible (Comfortably)
-Left Arm Resting On Ground
-Breathing Break Shot at NRP (At Exhale - Bellowing)
-Trigger Control (Hold to Rear and Reset)
-Follow Through
-Body Weight Slightly Forward to Preload Bipod
-Dry Fire Practice

Pre-fire Checklist (*Should Be Subconscious)
-ID Target (Eyes Index First)
-Range Target
-Dial or Hold Off
-Power Setting on Scope (10-12 Power Max)
-Less Mirage
-Less Likelihood Fighting Gun, Small Errors,
-Set Parrallax
-Orient Gun, Then Body, Adjust As Required to Maintain NPA
-Go Over Body Position/Fundamentals
-Fire and Observe
-Re-Engage/Follow Through
-Consistency

Down Range
-100 Yard Group Paper
-300 Yard Group Paper
-400-1000 Yard Dope


Night Shoot/NOD/Thermal Demo
FLIR T70
PVS 14
AN/PEQ-15

Day 2
100 Yard Group Paper (Cold Bore Shift)
400-800 (Hold Over v. Dialing)
Positional Shooting (Barricades, Sitting, Standing, Slings, Tripod)
Mini-Coarse of Fire Stage (565, 350, 400, 400, 350)
Any Additional Miscellaneous Shooting



Lessons Learned
-Need to Track Cold Bore Shift
-Confirm POI Shift w/ Suppressor On and Off
-Confirm POI Shift w/ Bobro Mount (Scope On and Off)
-Need to Perform Scope Tracking Test
-Need More Dry Fire Practice (Dot Drill to Ensure and Test Proper Body Position)
-Zero Stop Auto-Engaged (Bushnell Zero Stop Requires Redesign)
-Lube Rifle at 200 rds Suppressed (Malfunctions)
-Accidentally Ran Rifle Unsuppressed Port Setting for 100 rds
-Butler Creek Scope Cover Front Pin Walk Out
-Suppressor Cover Got Slightly Burnt
-Forgot to Gather Data on Varying Target Sizes, and Terrain Features
-Set Barometer Pressure to 0 (Station Pressure)
-Prefer Holding Over For Competition
-Dial for Shooting Groups/Gathering Dope
-Error in PDA/Ballistic Calculator (Rely on Hard Data, Empirical Data)
-G1 BC From Brian Litz's Appled Ballistics Too Conservative (0.475 175 SMK)
-Used BC G1 0.495 Achieved Trued MV ~2537 ft/s (Concurs w/ Magneto Speed Reading of 2540ft/s)
-Re-DOPE Rifle at 400, 500, and 800 Yards (Possible Errant Data Hold Over - Exceeds Disperson of 1 MOA (.29 Mils) w/ Multiple Ballistic Calculator Solutions)
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-Need 3x5 Cards to Build Range Card (Use on Football Arm Band)
-Need Kestrel Stand, and More AAAs
-Need Hog Saddle
-Need Spotting Scope w/ Mil Reticle
-Need Better Range Finder
-Need Eberlestock and Rear Bag Retention Device (Carrying Everything By Hand or Always Having to Head to Truck Sucks)