Precision Rifle With Elevated Shooting - The Definition of Fun
My good friend, Ron Differ, had been encouraging me to accompany him to the Government Training Institute Legion's Precision Rifle With Elevated Shooting Course. His urging finally produced a result and I signed up for the latest iteration of this training, held at the GTI Legion training facility just outside of the Savannah River Site.
Ron Differ and I firing on Day 1 - Targets Located at ranges of 100-700 yards
The Precision Rifle With Elevated Shooting Course was, to say-the-least, incredibly thorough. In fact, I can do no better than to quote from the GTI Legion course description to illustrate the course complexity:
The Precision Rifle training class covers topics needed to effectively shoot mid to long ranges. The class will cover equipment, ballistics, range estimation, environmental conditions, and angular units of measure. If you are looking to make ethical shots on game at extended ranges, or just enjoy shooting targets at long range, this class will cover all the information necessary. The second day of the Precision Rifle With Elevated Shooting course is spent in our 135 foot / 10 floor elevated shooting tower that gives our students the opportunity to learn to shoot from high angles.
Joe Marler of Daniel Defense prepares for a 500-yard shot (using a Daniel Defense Delta 5 rifle, of course!) from a barrier. GTI Instructor, Chris Walker, sets up to call Joe's shots.
There would have been no success for me without each of these fantastic components - Federal Premium Sierra MatchKing ammunition, Vortex Fury HD 5000-combination binocular/laser rangefinder and the Kestrel 5700 Elite Meter With Applied Ballistics. The Vortex range-finding, Kestrel ballistic calculations and the Federal ammunition made 700+-yard accuracy achievable, if not easy!
Here is what I wrote in my notebook after one of my stages. Chris Walker acted as my spotter and witness(!): "450-yard target, two shots fired, two impacts; moved to 600-yard target, two shots, two impacts; moved to 700-yard target, two shots, two impacts, last dead-center!"
Stay tuned for two full-length articles to appear in TheTruthAboutGuns.com. The first should appear later this week!
(All photos courtesy of David Young)