77grOption
Newbie
Got to attend the one-day Vapor Trail Tactical 1 Day Precision Rifle Course in Culpeper, Virginia. The course was taught by owner and lead instructor Sean Little. Sean is a USMC Veteran, a former Scout Sniper with plenty of experience. He is very knowledgeable, friendly and patient.
The course began with about two hours of instruction on long range marksmanship techniques. He covered building a solid shooting position to achieve reticle stabilization, effective trigger manipulation and follow through. Sean discussed the desired qualities of precision optics. Magnification was a major part of that discussion and preferred magnification for shooting was thoroughly explained. Sean also recommended practice regimes for dry fire, live fire and video analysis of the shooter for skill development. Ballistic applications and their relevancy concluded the period of instruction.
After the lecture, we began shooting. 100 Yard Zero confirmation started the live fire portion of the course. Zeroing was stressed, as was the importance of consistency and focus. After all shooters had a dialed in Zero we began to engage targets at farther distances.
The farm where we shot is a great long-range shooting venue. Targets were set out along varying terrain features at greater distances. We shot on steel targets of various shapes and sizes from 250 yards out to 1100 yards.
Most shooters were able to achieve first round impacts on targets to the 600 yard range. From 700 yards and back things became more interesting. Caliber has a lot to do with effectiveness beyond 800 yards. One shooter employed a .300 Winchester Magnum. He had no trouble making first round hits all the way to 1100 yards. Another shooter running a custom .260 Remington also had very good results. Accounting for the wind and its changes was one of the bigger course challenges.
It was very sunny and bright. The temperature was hot with most of the day in the high 80 degrees. Humidity was also very high. Between the Sun, the heat and the humidity it was a scorcher of a day. Thankfully, there were portable sun shades for overhead cover.
I ran a custom 5.56 build rifle with an 18” White Oak Precision Barrel. Glass used was a Vortex PST 6-24 in Mils. I had great results out to about the 700 yard distances. I was firing Nosler SSA 77gr OTM. It is a reliable and accurate round of ammunition. It performed sub MOA accuracy for me all day. At 600 yards I was striking steel but barely moving the reactive targets and with nowhere near the clang that the .308 shooters were getting. I learned the capabilities and the limitations of that rifle, which was one of my goals for attending the class. I previously had no firing data on that rifle. Now I have good D.O.P.E.
The range was awesome. Sean delivered a well thought out and relevant class. The class consisted of approximately 10 student shooters of varying skill and ability. Sean’s coaching during the live fire was helpful and encouraging. He was able to quickly correct and account for contingencies of guns needing maintenance and reactive targets needing repair. His guidance on observing, reading and correcting for wind change was spot on.
This course was full of solid information. It was fun and challenging. Sean’s experience and professionalism made it a great way to learn or improve long range shooting skills. If you are looking for long range instruction, you should see if Sean will be presenting near you or go see him in Texas. Either way it will be worth your time and money. Highly recommended.
The course began with about two hours of instruction on long range marksmanship techniques. He covered building a solid shooting position to achieve reticle stabilization, effective trigger manipulation and follow through. Sean discussed the desired qualities of precision optics. Magnification was a major part of that discussion and preferred magnification for shooting was thoroughly explained. Sean also recommended practice regimes for dry fire, live fire and video analysis of the shooter for skill development. Ballistic applications and their relevancy concluded the period of instruction.
After the lecture, we began shooting. 100 Yard Zero confirmation started the live fire portion of the course. Zeroing was stressed, as was the importance of consistency and focus. After all shooters had a dialed in Zero we began to engage targets at farther distances.
The farm where we shot is a great long-range shooting venue. Targets were set out along varying terrain features at greater distances. We shot on steel targets of various shapes and sizes from 250 yards out to 1100 yards.
Most shooters were able to achieve first round impacts on targets to the 600 yard range. From 700 yards and back things became more interesting. Caliber has a lot to do with effectiveness beyond 800 yards. One shooter employed a .300 Winchester Magnum. He had no trouble making first round hits all the way to 1100 yards. Another shooter running a custom .260 Remington also had very good results. Accounting for the wind and its changes was one of the bigger course challenges.
It was very sunny and bright. The temperature was hot with most of the day in the high 80 degrees. Humidity was also very high. Between the Sun, the heat and the humidity it was a scorcher of a day. Thankfully, there were portable sun shades for overhead cover.
I ran a custom 5.56 build rifle with an 18” White Oak Precision Barrel. Glass used was a Vortex PST 6-24 in Mils. I had great results out to about the 700 yard distances. I was firing Nosler SSA 77gr OTM. It is a reliable and accurate round of ammunition. It performed sub MOA accuracy for me all day. At 600 yards I was striking steel but barely moving the reactive targets and with nowhere near the clang that the .308 shooters were getting. I learned the capabilities and the limitations of that rifle, which was one of my goals for attending the class. I previously had no firing data on that rifle. Now I have good D.O.P.E.
The range was awesome. Sean delivered a well thought out and relevant class. The class consisted of approximately 10 student shooters of varying skill and ability. Sean’s coaching during the live fire was helpful and encouraging. He was able to quickly correct and account for contingencies of guns needing maintenance and reactive targets needing repair. His guidance on observing, reading and correcting for wind change was spot on.
This course was full of solid information. It was fun and challenging. Sean’s experience and professionalism made it a great way to learn or improve long range shooting skills. If you are looking for long range instruction, you should see if Sean will be presenting near you or go see him in Texas. Either way it will be worth your time and money. Highly recommended.