Designated Marksmen Training in Utah/Idaho/Nevada/Colorado/Wyoming Region

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[SIZE="6"]March 23-24th Designated Marksman Course Review[/SIZE]

Just finished the course this weekend. In short, it was a great time with a lot of knowledge shared.

[SIZE="4"]Training[/SIZE]

Biggest comment by all attendees was if they could go back to themselves 2 years ago and tell themselves something important, they would start attending professional training courses. You don't know what you don't know.

In order to maximize our range time, I sent out some study materials for the attendees so that the guest instructor and I wouldn't have to stand in a classroom and break the ice with the basics for Mils vs. MOA, trajectories, wind drift and wind-reading methods, and terminology.

Day 1 involved going over some of this data to touch on it again, and our guest instructor went over a basic block that he uses for courses with the AR15/Stoner family of weapons to dispel some myths and pass on pertinent knowledge about the system. We were able to mitigate the extreme conditions with classroom time, so that we didn't freeze.

After double-tapping the basics of intermediate & long-range shooting, we did our safety briefing and hit the range to confirm zeros at 100yds. We then pushed onto the steel at 200-450yds, and provided wind calls for the attendees in the 20mph+ wind.

[SIZE="3"]Seated Position Shooting[/SIZE]

We did a lot of position shooting, since the terrain in the real world rarely permits use of the prone position. The prone is basically for demonstrating to yourself what your system will do before you move onto shooting positions. The closest steel targets on the flat range were 200yds, with the furthest at 600yds. The 200yd is just to build confidence after confirming zeros on paper, and start out at with different positions before going to 250, 300, 350, 400, etc.

After about noon, the winds calmed down to 10-12mph, and we were able to get most attendees on steel at 500-550yds with the 5.56 guns if they had 69-75gr match. 55gr is really limited to 350, maybe 400yds for connecting on steel in those conditions.

[SIZE="3"]Standing Supported[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]Environment[/SIZE]

We started out with some pretty extreme weather. Temps were at 17 degrees F, with 20mph winds and blustery. This was a great opportunity to see what the capabilities and limitations of the shooter/weapon/optic/mount/ammunition/accessory systems were. To many's surprise, attendees were able to make hits on 18" steel plates at distances they never have shot at before in these conditions, let alone calm spring day weather.

[SIZE="4"]Day 2: Shooting in Real Terrain, Scenario-Based Training[/SIZE]

We were at 6600ft ASL, where the barometric pressure is much lower, climate is dry unless a snow flurry or blizzard comes through, and the sun takes its toll. Hydration is something you have to think about more than lower elevations.

There's a lot of wildlife out there, to include Mule deer, jack rabbits, predatory birds, lizards, mountain squirrels, etc.

[SIZE="4"]Equipment[/SIZE]

My little 16" Grendel is great for hitting an 18" steel plate at 600yds in full value 15-20mph winds with the 123gr A-MAX on top of CFE. Shooting the 300, 350, 400, 450yd targets was boring, even in terrible weather. When I confirmed my zero the day before, it was no higher than 17 degrees F, with winds so bad, range flags were straight out and blaring. It still shot sub-half MOA vertical, and 1 MOA horizontal spread, which I think was from the wind.

My philosophy towards the most appropriate weapon profile for a Designated Marksman was only reinforced, and that is this:

The term "Designated Marksman Rifle" is an oxymoron, and should be "Designated Marksman Carbine". Trying to hold anything over 16" steady from certain positions is an exercise in futility, and you will not make hits reliably. Conversely, a lightweight carbine with a medium contour barrel and the right load is a very capable system. We had one attendee with a 16" Centurion-barreled .224 Wylde VLTOR upper with Troy/VTAC rifle-length handguard & Surefire Suppressor shooting 75gr A-MAX's deep-seated in the cases so they will mag-feed.

He was making 1st-round hits in 20mph full value winds out to 450yds with my wind calls. His velocities were just under 2700fps with that load, which was 22.8gr of 8208 XBR at 2.250" COL.



The 7.62 NATO and Grendel impact steel with authority compared to 5.56, however, the recoil & weight of the 7.62 NATO brings considerable penalties with it. The Grendel has the lightweight profile of a 5.56 AR15, with energy on-target much closer to 7.62, without the recoil.

Our guest instructor shot the Grendel for the 1st time, and made a 2nd-round connection on steel at 600yds within 1 second by watching the reticle and adjusting on-the-fly. As I was spotting for him, I opened my mouth to give him the correction, but he already was on the trigger and before I could say anything, I saw/heard impact on the 18" plate. The Grendel is a very forgiving cartridge in these wind conditions, and is just plain easy to shoot at intermediate range.

I won't say a lot about Day 2, because I want there to remain a certain level of problem-solving for future attendees, but it is a lot of fun.

We really enjoyed running this course, and are making it a regular event. Next course will be May 17th-18th. Class size will be limited to 6 attendees at the $250 price. We are able to offer the course at this price since we are fairly close to the range. We want to emphasize quality instruction, so this is why it is limited to 6 attendees. Send notification of intent to attend to: orders@AR15buildbox.com