Owning the First 300, part 1 of many

We all have seen that guy, you know the one, the guy who you see in the gun store, holding a large heavy barreled rifle, talking about how he is going to go shoot 1000 yards.  This also applies on Internet forums, although there is a lot more BS, and considerably less money involved. This also applies to the classic, "What should I buy to shoot 1000 yards" or "What sub $100 scope for shooting long range" and my personal favorite "I have shot rifles since I was six, always from the bench, and always at 100 yards, so I can shoot 1000".

I have a better plan, one that can be used to better yourself, and help bring those Internet Commandos into the world of reality.  A simple reality that, shooting is hard, and takes practice to develop those skills.  Several months ago, Clint Smith wrote an article for GUNS magazine (I cant find it now, and I apologize), in the article he talks about people who show up, buy a precision rifle and expect to be able to shoot 1000 yards.  His advice, go learn how to hit everything out to 300 yards first.  His article resonated with me, and I spent some time pondering a new training regimen. One that I could refine for myself first, then pass on to my friends.

For simplicity's sake, we are going to do this with your standard 16" AR-15, with iron sights.  You can do this with any rifle, and any sight configuration.  I chose the AR because it's the most common rifle in the US, ammo availability, and most importantly, it's my three gun rifle (and I need the practice).

I am going to break down the shooting portion into three parts:
0-50 yards
50-200 yards
200-300 yards

Other topics will include:
Zero range
In flight ballistics
Rifle shooting basics
Shooting positions

First thing we need to do is establish a standard, saying that you want to hit a target out to 300 is great, but leaves much open for interpretation.  I can shoot at a barn from 300 yards away and say I met met my goal. In the spirit of that, all our targets will be something we are all intimately familiar with. We will be shooting at 8" paper plates.  This will be our standard, hit an 8" paper plate, with iron sights from 0-300 yards.

Now, everybody calm down, because I know what y'all are thinking.....Sigboy, anybody can hit a paper plate at 5 yards.  Well, your correct, so I will add smaller targets inside the paper plates to establish a higher standard, 1" dots for >25, 2" dots for 50, etc

Several resources have been to used to help design this.  Special credit has to be given to the late Jeff Cooper and his book, 'The Art of the Rifle', and is a must read for any aspiring rifleman.

Speaking of rifleman, next month there is an Appleseed match close to home.  I plan to attend, and hopefully get my rifleman tab. But that's another post or two.......

Hopefully, by the end of this series, we will all have a better understanding on how to "own the first 300".  It will make you (but mostly me) a better shooter, whether it be in USPSA multigun, 3-gun, hunting or even plinking with your buddies. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, feel free to use the comment section below.  Even if there is something you want to see me do, let me know and I will try and incorporate it.

Lack of Practice

Last weekend, a few friends and I hosted the Second Annual Zombie Fry, a weekend event full of shooting drills and practical classes. I will post a larger AAR later, but for right now I want to talk about me.
I have not been shooting as much as I like, and as a result, my dryfire has fallen off as well. It was very evident this weekend that my skills had slipped. Sure, I had a great time, and even learned a few lessons. However, I was not happy with myself in any way.



Here is one of the stages we shot. Start at 7 yards, draw and engage 4 steel targets with two rounds each. Run 75 yards back to your rifle, and engage the same 4 targets again.

This stage is awesome, you are able to get your heart rate going with the run, and we intentionally did not paint the steel, this made them harder to pickup in the background.

But you notice that my pistol handling looks slow. When it came to the rifle, I didn't get it loaded and into service quick enough (granted you missed my sudden slide into my rifle after the run). All things that are easily remedied by practice and dry fire.

It's time to get back on the training. I have let myself go. Will you help me hold myself accountable?

Beyond Target Shooting: AAR

Last weekend I traveled to Bastrop, Texas (down past Austin), and took their one day class 'Beyond Target Shooting'. A friend of mine got some much needed training out of this class and I got to get together with some friends that I don't see very often, and meet some new ones. The class was a beginner level concealed carry class. It primarily focused on the basics of concealed carry and basic draw techniques and malfunction drills.

Topics covered included:
o Mindset and tactics to increase you’re situational awareness.
o Gear Selection
o Carry options
o Drawing from concealment
o Firearm care and maintenance
o Marksmanship fundamentals
o Malfunction clearing
o Various shooting drills to become more proficient and prepared with a handgun for personal protection.

It was a eight hour class and they covered ALOT of material. There was about 18 people in the class and 6 to 8 instructors. From what I gather, the Central Texas Training Group (CTTG) is trying to break into the world of firearms training. They consist of a nice range outside of Bastrop. Affectionately called 'The Farm', and yes, if you caught the reference to cheesy 80's novels, they did it on purpose. The cadre is composed of like minded and well trained people that are willing to pass their knowledge onto others.

The Good; The Bad; The Ugly:

The Good- The range is located in a beautiful area, they share the area with a SASS group, It is levelled off, grassy, and has plenty of mature trees for shade. Currently it is only one berm, with no real bays to speak of. I have been told that there is plans to change that.

The classroom portion of the class dumped alot of information. I consider this to be a good thing because even if you only retain 5% of it, you can do more research later on your own. I also enjoyed how they spoke on mindset and avoiding a fight if at all possible.

Range Drills were your basic draw and fire at the target. Alot of attention was given to proper draw stroke and presentation. Again, this was a basic class, but this is where you lay your foundation. Alot of shooters do not have a firm foundation. As such, they are never consistent and have problems with alot of more advanced techniques.

The Bad- You could tell that this was the first public class that this group had put on. Their syllabus could use some streamlining, brought more into focus with what they want to get out in the time that they have to work with.
They did cover what I consider to be some more advanced material. Namely one handed malfunction drills. I dont think that it was appropriate to this class and that time could have been better spent on other material. That and I am not so sure that I want to be standing next to the local mall ninja who thinks that muzzle discipline goes out the window because he gets to rack his slide on his belt.

The Ugly- There was a few safety range issues. Two students were not up to par with the rest of the class and they were pulled aside. While I agree that was the correct choice, one was on the right end of the line, the other on the left. They each had their own instructor, also a good call. The issue was the fact that the range master would call for a safe line, and they would still be hot. This posses a problem for trying to secure equipment that was forward of the line. It happened twice to me personally. When I hear the RO call the range safe, I am trusting in him to know that it is safe. It wasn't and I was a bit upset about that. What should have happened is that the two shooters should have been put together somewhere away from the rest of the class. But, with only a berm and no real bays, there was no good options.

All in all, I would gladly take another class with them, when CTTG finishes cutting their teeth on these classes and makes the planned range improvements, it will make for a good place to take a class in the Austin area.

Wasted Braincells?

I have alot of skill sets that don't get used anymore. I no longer am required to get a dragon missile into action in less than thirty seconds. I no longer have to perform a field sobriety test, much less at night with flashing lights all around me. I will probably never set off another claymore mine. I don't even have to remember what the pinky thumb thing is all about. Or even to double lock handcuffs(yes, there is two locks on them). I remember exactly what to do if I ever became a 'hung jumper'. All of this knowledge is all but useless to me, and yet I still know it.


I pulled out my Army Field manual the other day and started thumbing thru it. I still remembered exactly how these tasks were to be performed. I am positive that I am still proficient at them all. Not an expert, able to do it blindfolded, but definitely acceptable. I could put a claymore mine into action without blowing myself up, always a useful skill set.

My point is this: When you train to the point that your subconscious and muscle memory take over, you will be able to perform those actions for the rest of your life. I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to put a drunken neighbor into a rear wrist lock, I did it with out thinking, I haven't even practiced one in years. I personally have many well rounded and yet useless skill sets using perfectly good neural pathways in my brain. Would I get rid of them if I could? Probably not. Good quality training is priceless, even if you are not currently using it. After all, the zombies may come, or, I may have a need to protect myself from a nuclear blast or a chemical weapons attack.

Low Light Shoot

Last night I shot a low light match at the Lets Shoot gun club in Amarillo, TX. I didn't do as well as I hoped. Of course, I also haven't trained for this type of shooting for sometime. My grip wasn't right. Worse of all when the stage didn't go as planned, my fundamentals fell apart. I placed fourth. Tht is not the important part, the important part is that I learned some valuable lessons about my pistol training. I attempted to take pictures. They did not come out, there wasn't enough light. Here is video instead.
I really enjoyed the wide variety of stages. Ther was even one where you did not have a light, all that was illuminating the targets were some red strobes. ?The buzzer went off and you had to identify one target that was a no shoot, the rest were badguys and you hosed them. It was fairly quick, all my shots went low, but I didn't have any misses.

Blogger is not cooperating with me, second video is here.