Civilian "sniper" Schools

[jacksnack]

I recently became interested in long range shooting. I bough a 700 .308, and converted it to a 700Police rifle.

Ballistic calculations interest me greatly.

While searching the web I have come across defensive firearm schools that also cater to "sniper" programs. These are NOT marksmanship courses. They involve BDUs, a ghille, mud and the whole nine yards. Some require a background check.

I have an interest in snipers (from a historical view). My son and I like to watch the military channel and discuss the tactics and types of men that are able to handle such roles. He even wore a ghillie for Halloween.

However, I was really surprised to see these schools (links below).



http://www.stormmountain.com/media/training/SniperICourse.pdf
http://www.tacticalresponse.com/course.php?courseID=26


What are your thoughts?

CLARIFICATION::Personally, I am not interested in attending these schools. But I am curious of others opinions.

[Mustang380gal]

A far more economical way to learn long distance shooting is Rifleman Boot Camps offered by Appleseed.

] Hereis one from Ramseur, NC.

I haven't been to one, but I have heard great things about them, and would love to do it, if I could.

(Babysitting for a week would be a bit of a problem....Someday, they'll all be old enough, and I'll get to take them with me!)

[jacksnack]

A far more economical way to learn long distance shooting is Rifleman Boot Camps offered by Appleseed.

] Hereis one from Ramseur, NC.

I haven't been to one, but I have heard great things about them, and would love to do it, if I could.

(Babysitting for a week would be a bit of a problem....Someday, they'll all be old enough, and I'll get to take them with me!)

Thanks...I will hold off on my opinion until later.

[Morne]

There is a LOT more to being a sniper than long-range marksmanship.

[charben]

A far more economical way to learn long distance shooting is Rifleman Boot Camps offered by Appleseed.

] Hereis one from Ramseur, NC.

I haven't been to one, but I have heard great things about them, and would love to do it, if I could.

(Babysitting for a week would be a bit of a problem....Someday, they'll all be old enough, and I'll get to take them with me!)

Not nearly the same thing...

I don't think Appleseed gets into multiple ways to compensate for wind, temperature, humidity, terrain, and other factors that would interest someone in this form of shooting. Nor does Appleseed get into how to effectively/properly use a high quality scope to its greatest advantage. Finally, there isn't any talk in Appleseed (that I am aware of) of ballistic performance of various rounds for long range shooting.

I look forward to participating in an Appleseed in April...but I don't expect it to be Sniper School...not even the boot camp version of it.

[Mustang380gal]

Boot camps are week long. I understood that they add a lot more information than what is at a normal weekend long Appleseed.

Meanstreaker or Slim will have to chime in. I'm fairly certain they have been to Boot Camps.

[jacksnack]

Doesn't bother me, I have no opinion.
Probably offers a good skill set, but I am more interested in Precision Shooting.



OK...

Long range shooting is more my thing (although I did model my rifle after a 'tactikool' police model).

Do I watch sniper movies? Read books about them? YES!

But I can't see myself attending something like this. LEOs, maybe...military sure, but not me.

But hey, if you want to spend the money...GO FOR IT!

Remember, 1 week can't teach you what it takes our heroes years to master. A true sniper is more about a mindset than a skill-set.

[Fyresq]

I can't see a lot of application for a civilian or non-LEO, but it might be interesting to attend. I'd have to place it at the bottom of my training wish list though, given limited time and money there are a lot more useful training courses I'd do first.

If sniper training is your thing though it's ok with me. I look at firearms training as another form of martial art and some of the training out there is useful, some is not. There's not a lot of practical application for butterfly sword or kamas training either, people do it because it's interesting.

[HKJ]

Well gosh, I can't imagine why anyone would own a gun at all. They just aren't really needed. I mean I like to shoot slingshots and stuff but those scary guns, not much application. But if you feel you need them, go ahead.

[jacksnack]

Both good points!

[DaveT]

Here's another class option - will be in Ohio this summer:

http://www.suarezinternationalstore.com ... tonoh.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TunnelRat]

Well gosh, I can't imagine why anyone would own a gun at all. They just aren't really needed. I mean I like to shoot slingshots and stuff but those scary guns, not much application. But if you feel you need them, go ahead.

To be fair, this is an unusually gracious post. Most of the time when someone writes:

"Well gosh, I can't imagine why anyone would own a gun at all. They just aren't really needed. I mean I like to shoot slingshots and stuff but those scary guns, not much application."

They don't follow up with:" But if you feel you need them, go ahead."

My experiences with real life snipers leads me to believe that such a one-week boot camp might be interesting and fun, but you would no way be a "sniper" when the week is over. That is a particularly difficult skill set that takes years to learn and many more to master.

[oneeyedmac]

I build custom rifles, mostly bolt action rifles based on the Remington 700, Savage action or one of the 700 clone customs such as Surgeon, Stiller, Defiance Machines et al. Many of the rifles I build are "tactical style" rifles or varmint rifles. I don't call them tactical rifles if they are going to a civilian; they are then "tactical style" rifles. I have built rifles who are operators in the field. One fellow who is in the field that I've gotten to know some and who has become a friend is a sniper for a security contracting firm and he spends his time in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan that I know of. He's a former military sniper and after the military he was a police sniper/designated marksman then he took the long money as a contractor which he's been doing for at least the three years that I've known him. OK, finally here's the point: He's taken sniper courses all over the place; I think his company sends him to at least one a year and they pick up the tab so cost isn't a concern. He recommends BadLands Tactical Training in Oklahoma, (http://www.badlandstactical.net/). My buddy says the trainers are top notch guys who've been there and done that but aren't "full of themselves". The best part is the cost, whether it's a 3 day or 5 day course it breaks down to $125 a day and they have a bunkhouse they'll let you stay in for free if you want to.

I also build rifles for guys who compete at sniper competitions, some 3 guns and other long range shooting events. So there is more than one reason to attend a "sniper" school. It's really about practical application of long range shooting skills, unlike benchrest where you may have a fixed power 36x scope that wouldn't be helpful in the field.

I hope this helps answer your question.

[evan price]

There's lots of people that think being a sniper is like the video games. Go find someplace to hide, hide, hide, then shoot.

Real snipers (Like a certain Finn named Simo Hayha) know there's a lot more to it than that. It might take days to get in position for a shot. I'm no sniper. But there's lots of people who see the cool factor, the ghillies, the movies, and wannabe one too.

Hey, it's their money. Have fun!

[mscott]

If you have a genuine interest in long range shooting maybe you should come out to Thunder Valley or Rayner's for a rifle match. They aren't benchrest matches and nearly any rifle equiped with a scope with target turrets will work.
Rayner's schedule is on their web site http://www.raynersrange.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Their rifle matches are the 4th Sunday of every month except April due to Easter. Shooting is at various steel plates out to 1,000 yards.
Thunder Valley mostly advertises on the Sniper's Hide forum in the competition section http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthr ... =28&page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. There are several events and a varied schedule with short courses all the way out to a mile target and soon to be beyond.