Practice Like A Pro

I have been given the opportunity to share an article with you from one of the world's best precision rifle competitors, Jim See.  Enjoy the article below and be sure to look him up on Facebook at the links provided.

I had the privilege to compete in a small regional competition with Jim this past fall.  I was able to eek out a humble 7th place finish while Jim finished 2nd.  Who finished first you ask?  One of Jim's students! What does that say?  To me it says that when Jim gives instruction he lays it all out there and holds nothing back.  He truly tries to help you succeed.  So when Jim wrote this most recent article on Precision Rifle Practice, I knew I had to pass it along.  Enjoy!
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Elite Accuracy, 40 round perfect PRS practice. By Jim See  

Elite Accuracy LLC  Jim's PRS Profile

You must ask yourself, am I practicing for performance or am I just out here burning powder? Think about that for a minute... are you getting the best return on your practice investment? Well this article is going to give you some well-deserved advice on getting the most out of the fewest rounds.

I rarely shoot 100 yard groups, ever... About the only time I fire at 100 yards is after loading a new batch of ammo (300-400 rounds) and that is to confirm no zero shifts. I rarely care if they are 1/2" or all in the same hole, 3 shots and I will move on to important work.

I'll test the consistency of my loads at 500 yards. If 5-10 shot groups are under 2.5" under good shooting conditions, ie. Low winds and little to no mirage then I am satisfied. I once shot my 6.5 Creedmoor that had 3000 rounds on it with the intent that the barrel was probably ready for retirement, well after 7 rounds went into 1.5 inches and 5 of them were less than 3/4"@ 500, I ran the barrel in another 2 matches.

We all like hitting long range targets shooting prone, this is an area I excel at and it gives me a cushion on the competition, but don't put too much emphasis on your prone game if you are suffering in positional work and barricades. Practice for your next match, if you’re heading to K&M or the CORE shooting center you need to hit the barricades hard. Likewise if you’re headed to Oklahoma or Nebraska be ready for a long range field match. The internet is a great source of match intel, search out the past matches and see what videos or pictures reveal about the COF. 

So what do I do to sharpen my skills? Well you might be surprised; I conduct my practice on a 500 yard range. If you only have 200 yards don't use that as an excuse, 2" or 3" shoot and sees at 100 yards make great barricade targets. Adapt and overcome that's the name of the game, so think about that next time you procrastinate about your short practice range. Below is a list of drills I do at 90% of my practice sessions, I would much rather conduct this formatted practice than to just go out and burn up 100 rounds with-out a plan of attack.

Jim See imparting wisdom

Match Skills, Practice processes: (40 rounds)

Barricade drills;
Approach barricade, build a solid position, and fire 10 rounds at a 2-3 moa target from different positions on barricade. DO NOT time yourself. Once you can produce consistent hits start timing yourself at 2 minutes. Your goal is to build a solid position first, then engage your targets. Rushing through this program initially won't allow you to realize how stable you can be, when you take your time. As you master the barricade put a clock on it. 

Prone accuracy training;
If you feel like you are anticipating each shot with an involuntary reaction, dry fire from prone. Process; set- up and aim on target using a stiff/hard rear bag, close your eyes for 3 seconds, dry fire, than open your eyes. Your cross-hair should still be on a 1 moa target.

Live fire practice on 200-400 yard targets that are 1 moa and smaller, I like ¾ moa. The shorter range takes some of the wind reading out of the equation but forces you to aim small and follow through each shot. Concentrate on a smooth trigger pull, proper bag and cheek pressure will maintain your aim. This is where you work on your fundamentals of marksmanship. On my range this drill is incorporated on a KYL rack, that way I shoot the bigger targets first to get a good wind call, and finish up with my last 6 shots on the smallest target. 10rnds

Speed drills;
5 targets on a rack, start prone mag in bolt back, engage each target with one shot each in 20 seconds, 1.5 moa target size. 5rnds
Practice speed in conjunction with a troop line shot near too far and back. 3 targets 2 moa, 5 shots in 30 seconds, engage; near, middle, far, middle, near, you will use hold overs. [b]5rnds[/b]

Both these drills will help you learn to shoot with-out thinking about the fundamentals; trigger squeeze, cheek and shoulder pressure, bolt manipulation, breathing, should become second nature. If you have not mastered these fundamentals you will struggle with these drills.

First stage nervousness;
This is a common problem. To help eliminate it, use your practice trips as a real match start. What I mean is rather than do your normal routine of shooting dope or zero, have a buddy run you through a stage; cold bore/cold shooter under time constraints. That’s what happens in a match why would you not practice it?? 10 rnds

The art of building an internal clock in your physical system is totally an act of routine. If you use matches to train for this it will take you years, or you will never obtain the skill. If you practice and set a clock for every mock stage, you will speed up the process, it took me 2 years to develop my internal stop watch. 

Recognizing your weakness;
This might be a hard fact to accept but when you do, you can work with your limitations. What some of us call gaming is actually; adapting a system that works for you, and seems unorthodox to others. Think about the process and come up with innovative ways to approach new barricades.

I hope this 40 round practice session help you with your shooting, try it once a week for 8 weeks and I guarantee you will see positive results.

Bio; Jim See currently competes as a Pro in the Precision Rifle Series, having finished the last 4 seasons ranked in the top 15. Jim has worked in the precision bolt action rifle industry since 2007 as owner of Center Shot Rifles, Quality Manager at Surgeon Rifles action division, and currently operates “Elite Accuracy” a Training, Consulting and Manufacturing Business in Decorah Iowa.

Is The Shooter Ready

If you are a long range hunter or shooter you might be interested to know that there is a computer program available that can help you learn how to range unknown distance targets by using your mildot, mil reticle, or moa scope. The application is called Shooter Ready and there are versions available for Mac and PC systems.  The cost is $44 bucks.  Not too bad in my opinion as there really is quite a lot to do within the simulation.  You can find the program HERE.





As you can see in this picture above there are many calibers to choose from.  So for example, I own and am very comfortable shooting a .264 in real life, so the calculations within the simulation come naturally to me.  The targets vary in sizes and there are hostage targets, moving targets, multiple targets and wind practice.



The interface is very easy to understand even for beginners.  The author has included a "classroom" section to the program that walks you through everything you need to know to start making hits on target.  It's very helpful.
Data and wind cards are provided for you based on your chosen caliber including all the standard and metric equations you will need to calculate proper holds.
About the only thing it lacks is a calculator for figuring the equations, but most of us have one of those laying around.

My only serious complaint about this program is that the wind is only figured in inches of drift.  It would be far more helpful if the wind readout was in moa.  As it stands you have to take the reading in inches and then mentally convert it to moa.  It's just an extra step that could be made a bit more efficient.  Not a deal breaker for me though.

Enjoy

-ME

Precision Rifle Competition

I live in Missouri now, and one thing that is very different from Iowa is that precision rifle competitions are alive and well here. Check out the Missouri Steel Tactical Facebook Group and you'll find a very active club of like minded folks.  I couldn't be happier with the gun culture down here.

My post today isn't about the Missouri gun culture though, it's about my experience at the precision rifle match I attended this past weekend.  The Rolling Hills Gun Club near Mack's Creek Missouri hosted the event.  We shot at distances of 250 yards all the way out to 900 yards and everything in between. 

There were 60 shooters, which is the most of any Missouri competition in the history of the club! Due to the large number of people, the match directors decided to divide everyone into squads.  Squads in this context means that you evenly distribute the people and send each group to the various stages in a rotation.  As each squad completes a stage, they rotate as a unit to the next stage, and the next.  The system worked fairly well ensuring minimal down time. 

One of the most challenging stages for all squads was "the rope" stage.  This barricade was far more difficult than it appeared. Typically you can lean forward into the object you're shooting off of and get some level of support, but here the rope offers very little stabilization.  The distances don't really matter, but I think these targets were engaged at approximately 250-300 yards. 

A few of the other barricades were kneeling behind a bench, propped up on a tank trap, prone on a platform, sitting on stairs, and kneeling behind some stacked culverts.  Each one provides a new opportunity to discovery just how little you know about precision rifle dynamics.  I discovered a lot this weekend! 

The biggest challenge for everyone at this match was the wind.  This is typical of long range shooting of course, but wind is not as difficult to figure out when it's constant and from only one direction.  The winds at Rolling Hills were coming from at least 3 different directions with 3 different velocities.  This rendered tech devices, such as the Kestrel weather meter, basically worthless for wind calls. After a complete miss of my 400 yard cold bore shot, I figured out, in theory, what the wind was doing.  Hits came a little easier for the rest of the day.

It's always a bit intimidating shooting in a competition along side some of the best in the industry.  George Gardner of GA Precision, and a few of his employees, also competitors, were there.  George has been a part of this game for a long time and easily pulled off a 4th place finish.  In comparison, i've only been shooting competitively for about a year and I finished 29th. There were a few other guys competing that are nationally ranked in the Precision Rifle Series.  They finished ahead of me as well. #sigh

I did learn a few things about my gear.  I learned that I need a bag or barricade pad for the front of my rifle.  Resting my folded bipod directly on top of non-flat objects doesn't make for a very stable firing position.  Having a bag up front would help immensely.  I learned that slings are a vital piece of kit for anytime you need to be able to pull some downward pressure on the front of your rifle.  I also learned the hard way that Kelbly's actions are not the most durable when it comes to rough tactical matches.  I'm not here to smear them though, so i'll just keep those comments to myself. 

All in all it was an excellent match and I'm pleased with my performance for the most part.  As always, I need more practice shooting from various positions and barricades.  I also need to start working off of a timer.  First to get my internal sense of timing figured out, and second to add that additional stress that seems to render my brain a pile of mush during matches. 

Three weeks until the next match.  #practice

- ME

Glock Mag Winning

I recently discovered a product that I think is an absolute necessity if you carry a Glock 42 or 43 for personal defense. It's called the E.M.P. by Strike Industries.  EMP stands for Enhanced Magazine Plate, and it changes the capacity of your magazine on the 42 from 6 rounds to 8.  Most of us carry with a round chambered, so that means 9 rounds of get the heck away from me!

              

The new floor plate adds approximately 1.5 inches to the grip length of your pistol, but I haven't noticed the extra length while carrying it. I carry in the appendix position and have had no issues adjusting to this change. If you carry at the three through five o'clock position, you may have to be slightly more aware of printing. Especially as you bend over or reach overhead.

Here's a photo of the magazine next to the Pierce Grip extension. The Pierce doesn't add to the round count, it just adds to the length, making it easier to get a full grip on the pistol. 

As far as I can tell there is only one thing that I would call a "negative", and even then it's borderline. This being the fact that the mag extension doesn't perfectly line up with the grip on the gun. You can see what I mean in the photo below
I guess it's just the perfectionist in me, but seriously, couldn't the designers have made the extension fit a little nicer? I don't see this gap as a problem.  You don't notice it while gripping the pistol, it's simply an aesthetic complaint.
Attempt to locate.  Make your own case.  Enjoy!