Received Tactical Combat Pistol training this weekend from a Celebrity...

Kerry & Kathy

Kerry & Kathy

Member #007
Location
Fredericktown, Farmington and Viburnum MO
First Name
Kerry
Last Name
Owen
I was not aware beforehand who our instructor would be....but I was surprised to learn Saturday morning that a Tactical Combat Pistol course I was taking at Asymmetric Solutions USA was being instructed by a celebrity...

http://www.asymmetricsolutionsusa.com/civilian/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGc3z-qQpFI


Grady Powell...ex Green Beret and winner of the "Stars Earn Stripes" TV challenge was our instructor.

For those who have seen the made for TV special.... Grady was one of several SF trainers, including the late Chris Kyle, Navy SEAL who were paired with and trained celebrities in a series of firearm related "challenges".

I was very impressed with the training received. Grady is an excellent, natural, teaching talent who went out of his way to provide detailed one on one instruction. One of the best instructors I have had at this training facility.

I would highly recommend any courses he teaches...and recommend Asymmetric Solutions for anyone wanting to get quality training or brush up on some old military skills.

Although sore and dehydrated afterwards...I will be back for more later next month.

If my Cardiologist knew what I was doing... he would likely be pissed....but this is better rehab than using a silly treadmill in a hospital rehab unit....:D

One more check-mark on my bucket list....

Previously I had completed a Precision Rifle course where we honed our shooting skills to hit a 11" x 20" steel silhouette target at 700 yds and smaller reactive steel targets at 200, 300, 400, & 500yds. After getting my scope "come ups" established and with a 4-10 mph variable wind...I made multiple hits on every assigned target all afternoon...without a miss. This was done with an AR10 that I assembled from parts in 6 hours....and function fired only one day prior to the course. My limited success was directly attributable to the quality of instruction received. I learned a great deal in a very short time frame.

There was only one other student besides myself and our instructor was a former US Consulate team leader with the US Dept of State Diplomatic Security Team.

BTW...for those not aware...the trajectory of a 168g .308 Match bullet will drop 11.3 ft in 700 yds....yet the wind is far less predictable..and more challenging.

If any of our members has interest...I would strongly encourage you to check out the Asymmetric Solutions Training site.

Kerry
 
Sounds like a great time Kerry. I really liked Grady on that show and I was very impressed with him. I found out a couple of weeks ago that I'll need to be getting a new scope for my heavy barrel 308. We were shooting between 450 -500 yards and I found out it wasn't very repeatable at that distance. I was doing great up to about 300, but it started having wild variations after every click on the adjustments for elevation. I know part of it is me. I'm rusty at those ranges. Any recommendations on a good repeatable scope out to 800 yards? I'm going back in the spring for redemption. :)
 
Dan,

The scopes I have been using and really like were a limited model of Vortex HS series that have since been discontinued:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/18...us-1-10-mil-adjustments-mil-dot-reticle-matte

I would look at any of the Vortex HS series scopes with .1mil turrets and mil dot reticle.

Be sure that whatever scope you use has Mil reticle with Mil turrets...or MOA reticle with MOA turrets. Mil is short for Mil-radian and is a metric unit of measurement. MOA stands for Minute of Angle and is an inch based system. Don't mix Mil with MOA or vice versa. Some shooters prefer a scope with MOA reticle and adjustments. Others prefer a MIL reticle and adjustments. Either can be effective if you understand the units you are using. I personally prefer Mil/Mil.

Also... try to pick a scope with a positive zero stop feature. Then zero at 100 yds and develop your come-ups for longer ranges so that your adjustments in the field will always be positive adjustments in only one direction. For example...on my rifle I have a cheat sheet taped to the stock with all my scope settings for each range based on a 2300 density altitude:

200 yds: up .5 mil
300 yds: up 1.2 mil
400 yds: up 2.2 mil
500 yds: up 3.2 mil
600 yds: up 4.3 mil
700 yds: up 5.7 mil
800 yds: up 7.2 mil
900 yds: up 9.0 mil
1000yds: up 11.1 mil

If for example you were sighted in at 300 yds...then you would have to adjust up for longer distances and down for shorter distances. This can get confusing for many...so adjusting only one direction helps reduce that confusion. When you are done shooting just return the turret to zero for your next shooting session.

I would also go with a scope having a minimum of 15x with something closer to 24x being even better. Be sure the scope has at least 70 MOA of adjustment. A 30mm tube will give you greater adjustment range than a 1" tube so go that route. The military now uses 34mm tubes but they are VERY expensive and mount selection is both pricey and limited. A 30mm tube will serve you well.

Also, a 20 MOA base will be helpful depending on caliber and bullet weight to insure your scope has sufficient range of adjustment to reach 800-1000 yds.

I use these 20 MOA mounts and REALLY like them:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/95...elevated-with-30mm-rings-ar-15-flat-top-matte

This would be another good scope alternative:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/28...-1-10-mil-adjustment-vmr-1-mrad-reticle-matte

If your buget is tight and you can live with a fixed power just for longer range shooting...SWFA makes an excellent Super Sniper Series in both a fixed 16x and 20x that are less than $300. They lack a few features but are Mil/Mil and have excellent Japanese glass.

http://swfa.com/SWFA-SS-16x42-Tactical-Riflescope-P53715.aspx

http://swfa.com/SWFA-SS-20x42-Tactical-Riflescope-P53716.aspx


HTH

Kerry
 
Kerry, as always thanks for the info. I'm shooting a Winchester Model 70 and I really like it, but as I went up in yardage the scope became less and less repeatable. I'm shooting 168grn hpbt in a 308. I figure anything over 800 is off the plate and would have to go with a different gun like a 7mm, 300 WinMag or a 338. I'll look into those scopes and let you know what I decide on.

My buddy has a farm in Clarence Missouri and he said in the spring, once the fields are cleared, we'll set up a long shoot for the weekend. Possibly up to 1200 yds. Just to see if we can ring the gong. :cool: My longest shot was 630 yards in the desert at a weapons familiarization course. It was an awesome rifle and scope, which did most of the work for me. :rolleyes:
 
Dan,

Your perfectly capable of making good hits with a .308 at 1000 yds.

The Army list the effective range of the 147g 7.62x51 NATO round as 800 meters ( 874 yds) however that is because the lighter less efficient 147g NATO bullet goes subsonic...or less stable at that distance resulting in less predictable accuracy at distances over 800 meters.

However a 168g Sierra SMK with 2690 fps muzzle velocity can be effective to over 900 yds and a 175g SMK to over 1000 yds.

The .308 is fully capable of 1000 yd effective range with proper bullet selection and remains a deadly round at those distances with retained energy and velocity higher than a .45 ACP round at the muzzle.

For comparison...The longest confirmed kill using the less efficient 147 g 7.62 NATO round has been 1250 yds.

However, a well respected sniper instructor named Todd Hodnett has made accurate hits on targets at a mile...using the .308.

Kerry
 
Thanks for all the info Kerry. I always enjoyed the fun and precision of reachout to longer distances, but with everything else going on, I've gotten away from it. Time to be proactive and get back in practice. Looks like I have some reading to catch up on. :)
 
Cary,

I am so glad that you are feeling well enough to get out and further your "education". Excellent reading, I enjoyed all of it and hopefully will get some time soon to check out all of the links. I figure when it all goes to hell about 100 yds. will be my ideal stand off range with .556/.223. A couple months ago I put a relatively inexpensive UTG 3-9 X 40 "Bug Buster" on my AR and I am very happy with it. I put it in a one piece Millet mount and it's rock solid. I have a Vortex red dot for "close up" work, I just couldn't get used to the 3X magnifier and that's why I bought the 3-9 scope. They swap easily and I actually bought a separate red dot for when I use the CMMG 22lr conversion in it, too much point of aim difference to change back and forth.

Tom
 
I currently have a 600 yd range at the farm with plans to extend that to 1000 yds once we build the new house.

The plan is to be able to shoot a full 1000 yds from off the back deck. The new home site should allow (just barely) a full 1000 yd range with steel reactive targets at 200-1000yds spaced every 100 yds.

Hopefully at some point in the future...if I don't assume room temperature first...we would like to invite those with interest to come down for BBQ and experience some precision long range shooting....once we are able to host visitors.

Kerry
 
Sounds like a great plan Kerry. Count me in as "interested!" It would be one of the better ways to spend a day!
 
Too funny. I took Grady's precision rifle course on Sept. 7th with some friends for fun. I used to shoot professionally for Beretta, and his class was the most informative firearms course I have ever taken. And they are finishing up an amazing long-range course that will have angled hillside shots ranging over 1,000 yards.

I also agree with Kerry's optics recs--definitely match reticle and turret adjustments as mil/mil or moa/moa, and zero stop should be required by law on all tactical turrets--can't tell you how many times I lost track of zero in long-range speed shoots. I would add two things: first, for more range out of a .308, use 175 grain over 168 but only if your barrel is long enough and/or has enough twist to stabilize the larger bullet (I use a 5R rifled 24" with a 1 in 11.15 twist--if you have a shorter barrel, you probably should have a 1 in 10 twist); and second, if budget allows, get a scope with an FFP (first focal plane) reticle to make life easier if you adjust powers. Vortex makes one (their Razor and PST models are popular) and Bushnell's HDMR are great bargains for that technology, but Nightforce is always my go-to optic.

Now that I see there are some fellow shooters in the club, I also will throw out that I am chair of shooting sports at Strathalbyn in Weldon Spring, which probably has the nicest sporting clays course within a hundred miles. If anyone ever wants to shoot a round, just let me know--I head out about once a week in the fall and am happy to bring guests.

All the Best,
David
 
David, sign me up on the sporting clays thing. I need some practice and more than open to feedback on what I'm doing wrong. I'm a 50 percenter. I'm 94 and Jungs Station so wouldn't take me long to get there. Sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread Kerry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top