POSTPONED Winter DM Course 2019 Feb 22nd-23rd

[LRRPF52]

It's that time of year again to start getting ready for our Winter Designated Marksman Course up in the mountains of Utah in the dead of winter.

We've had a great time with this course in the past, with lots of lessons learned on your true capabilities, as well as the limitations of equipment and skill when the weather gets really bad.

Sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate and we get nice, pleasant days, or sometimes it snows sideways on Day 1, and the sun comes out Day 2.

I'll leave it a bit open to gauge where people's schedules are, then finalize a date.

Classes are small since it isn't fair to stack you deep to the point where I can't provide quality instruction and individual feedback for each attendee.


A few pictures from past courses:

[LRRPF52]

[rabiddawg]

Road trip A5?

[A5BLASTER]

Road trip A5?

Not on workers comp pay lol.

If I was still working and it was on my days off I more then likely be going.

[Sticks]

Cost?

Prerequisites?

Required and recommended equipment?

[LRRPF52]

Course Details

Cost: $400 for 2 Days and 1 night (We do some basic winter survival for those that want to camp on the location. To-date, I've almost always camped there without a tent, and I stay so warm I have to zip open my sleep system even in sleet/snow coming down sometimes.) There are regular national chain hotels in town for those who want the comfort of a bed and room for a few hours. I generally sleep better there than in my own bed because of the fresh air.

Prerequisites: I send personal study material out in advance that covers material that traditionally would be thrown at you in an ineffective lecture model setting. In the 21st Century, learning on your own online at your pace makes a lot more sense for me and allows us to take full advantage of the ranges as our classrooms, rather than sit inside a classroom with white board with a perfectly good multipurpose range complex behind us going unused.

Along with bringing the equipment list, you really need to show up with a good 100yd zero on your rifles as part of the rifle checklist I put out. This involves correctly-mounted optics, lubricated actions, working magazines, securely mounted accessories, and correct eye relief for your scope position.

Rifle: Serviceable, working rifle (Consider that we will be in the cold, where gas block alignment and gas port diameter are pretty critical to have a working gun. We've had some AR15s show up that had too large of a gas port and aluminum gas blocks, for example.) I bring 3-4 back-up rifles, but if you follow some solid guidelines as to rifle set-up or purchase from reputable manufacturers, you'll be fine. I recommend back-up uppers or complete rifles as well. Most attendees usually bring 2-4 different AR15s set up for intermediate-long range shooting.

Common rifles that people have brought to the course that ran 100% even in extreme cold, as well as my personal guns that run fine course after course, year after year:

* 20" Complete Alexander Arms GDMR and GSR
* My Lilja 17.6" Grendel/PF Nitrided BCG from 2013 timeframe
* My 16" AA Grendel barrel/bolt combo with BCM carrier, JP clamp-on steel gas block, H buffer 2009-2010 timeframe
* Lilja 16" Wasp MLGS Grendel with PF BCG Nitrided 2014 build
* 22" RLGS 6.5 Grendel BHW

* BCM rifles
* 18" SPR .223 Wylde HCS Mk.12 Mod 0, 1
* KAC SR-15
* JP Enterprises anything
* Noveske complete rifles
* LaRue complete rifles
* Centurion .223 Wylde 16" MLGS builds

* SCAR-17S with Geissele SCAR trigger
* LMT MWS (ok for bipod-supported, but heavy for field positions)
* KAC SR-25 (ok for bipod-supported, can be unwieldy for kneeling, etc.)

Biggest problem guns I've seen (mainly in carbine courses) have been home-builds with incorrect gas block installation, aluminum gas blocks, incorrect gas ports, 1 x 18" Grendel-ish chambered (Liberty) barrel with a MLGS .094" gas port, but generally, people who show up to the DM Courses have squared away, higher-end factory rifles, or knew what they were doing on their DIY builds. Another common way to shut down a rifle is shoot a bunch of steel case through it, then switch to brass case.

Optics: I can't stress this enough. The biggest bottlenecks I've seen in other long range or precision rifle courses happen when people bring the wrong optics to the course. Optic manufacture quality and reputation, followed by reticle and/or turret type are the biggest factors. You really need to have the right scope for the job, and a simple duplex reticle isn't going to work well for you shooting distance and holding for wind. It could be the most expensive Carl Zeiss scope ever made, but it will not be adequate for wind holds past 200yds. It can also be the latest optic with all the bells and whistles, great reticle, awesome features, but with cheap Chicom internals that will fail on you Day 1, morning 1, 1st mag.

Scopes that are ideal for shooting at distances from 100-600+ yards on AR15s or intermediate range hunting rifles:

* NF ATACR 1-8x
* NF NX8 1-8x24
* NightForce NXS 2.5-10x24
* NF NXS 2.5-10x32

* Leupold Mark 6 1-6x20 w/CMR reticle
* Leupold Mk 6 3-18x44

* Vortex Viper PST Gen I and Gen II, generally the smaller scopes (1-4x, 2.5-10x or 3-15, 4-16x, FFP, MRAD)
* Vortex Viper HS 2.5-10x32 FFP XLR
* Vortex Razor 1-6x24 (ok out to 600yds)
* Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8x24

* Norden Performance 1-6x24 with CRS reticle
* March Optics Tactical Line with FFP MRAD zero stop options

* Primary Arms Platinum 1-8x24
* PA ACOG with ACSS reticle

* Trijicon VCOG 1-6x24 Red Segmented Circle/Crosshair MIL Reticle
* Elcan Spectre DR 1.5-6x
* Schmidt & Bender 1.1-4x20 PM II Short Dot

With some of these scopes, the stadia lines in the reticle will limit you to 600yd trajectories. Others have TGT turrets with Mil hash reticles. Leupold Mark 6 has locking turrets and a stadia reticle.

Scopes that people have brought that barely hang in there on the 5.56 guns out to 400yds:

* Burris 1-4 MTAC
* Burris 1.5-6x42
* ACOG 3x and 4x
* Bushnell AR223
* Pretty much anything 1-4x that has a limited reticle or turret set-up to where the crosshairs or stadia or circle are so fat, they obscure the target, and there is no way to hold well for wind

Mounts:

Scope mount - Your scope mount really needs to be made from a quality, reputable manufacturer who has been doing this for a while. Common problems I've seen with the imitation Chicom garbage is steel locking shaft ends shearing off the bore in aluminum mounts, rings not aligned well with each other (requires lapping), weak steel shafts that snap even with limited torque specs in the cross bolts, and especially fasteners that oxidize like crazy in the cold and humidity.

Mounts that I've been using and have seen come through courses that don't have the above problems:


* AAD Mount
* ADM Recon
* JP
* Geissele
* LaRue mounts (amazing return-to-zero year after year as well). With the LaRue QD mounts, you really do need to tighten down the bolts so that when you go to close the levers, you have a lot of resistance at 45˚, not a little. There's a new LaRue LT-204 Mount with tool-less installation for a great price as well.
* NightForce Unimount
* Seekins
* Spuhr
* Vortex

Mounts I've seen problems with:

* Anything made in China. At a glance, they've done a poor job of imitating US-designed and made mounts, but when you start handling and trying to install the components, they are garbage with failure nodes in critical attachment points and fasteners.

* Some of the Nikon mounts with 3 piece bases. They add complexity where there is no need for it.

I personally have mostly LaRue mounts, 1x NightForce, 1 x ADM, 1 x Vortex (RDS).

Bipods & Mounts: Bipods need to have a secure mounting set-up so that you're not dealing with that in the middle of range time. We start out shooting bipod-supported morning 1, Day 1 in order to go through some basic zero confirmation and grouping exercises, dot drills, then work the steel from 200-600yds to prove to you that a properly set-up AR15 can easily reach out and hit 12-18" targets, and how to deal with trajectory and wind compensation.

For the rest of the course, we shoot various practical positions that you actually have to use in the real world, where the prone simply isn't available most of the time. I personally use several different Harris bipods and direct or QD mounts with them along with pod levers, and often pull them off for Day 2 especially when we shoot the canyon ranges. If you are mounting to a Keymod or MLOK handguard, get a quality mount from Impact Weapons Components, Magpul, or PWS and install it correctly. A big failure point people overlook is the correct orientation of the shoes for KM mounts, so they move around.

I do use a tripod a lot on 2nd Half of Day 1 and all of Day 2. I recommend the Hog Saddle on top of Manfrotto, Vanguard, or other sturdy tripods with solid lock-up for the leg extensions, not the cheap camera tripods from China that will break in the cold.

I'll bring 2 of my heavy Vanguard tripods that I use in courses since they don't blow over in the wind like lightweight ones do, but lightweight tripods are preferred by most PRS and hunters. If you don't have a tripod, don't let it scare you because there will be plenty, as these courses are kept to very minimum attendance so I can provide as much 1-on-1 instruction and feedback as possible.

Ammunition recommendations, 300rds:
If you're shooting 6.5 Grendel -
* Hornady 123gr ELD-M (Academy currently has it for $16.49/box)
* Hornady 123gr American Gunner (best deal for the money and perfect for DM course)
* Alexander Arms 123gr Scenar (best long range reach 800-1200yds)
* Precision Firearms 123gr SMK or Scenar (same as above for long range reach)
* Precision Firearms 107gr SMK
* PF 120gr Scenar-L

5.56 -
* Black Hills 77gr
* Hornady 75gr BTHP Match
* Hornady 73gr ELD-M
* Black Hills 69gr
* Hornady 68gr BTHP
* PPU 75gr BTHP (best deal for the money)
* PPU 69gr BTHP

6.5 Creedmoor:
* Any target ammo from Hornady (120-147gr)
* Anything from Prime
* Anything from Berger
* Federal Gold Medal Match
* Federal 140gr Match
* Sellier & Bellot 140gr FMJ (best deal)

7.62 NATO/.308 Win.
* 175gr SMK from Black Hills or Federal
* Hornady 168gr AMAX
* 155gr Lapua Scenar
* German MEN 147gr NATO

[LRRPF52]

Cold Weather Gear:

* Parka with hood (Gore-Tex or other modern unidirectional membrane fabric for your outer barrier)
* Thick layer fleece to insulate from the parka layer
* Sub layer medium if needed (high loft jackets work well for this, like the old field jacket liner and modern versions with more Gucci names)
* Thermal underwear

* Quality socks with cushion soles and Merino wool from either Darn tough, Smartwool, or some Gucci brand
* Decent boots that will insulate your feet from the ground, as well as the conditions (Merrell Terramorph, Asolos, Danners, etc.)
* Gore-Tex pants or outer layer barrier
* Thermal long johns
* Oversized regular pants

* Watch cap/wool cap/fleece cap and/or mask
* Neck gaiter if you roll that way

* Winter Gloves/Hunter's Mittens (Outdoor Research makes excellent gloves)
* Sub layer gloves (Aviators Nomex, Mechanix, Shooting Gloves)

Normal clothing for travel or if/when the father decides to get much warmer.

For those that are doing the overnight winter survival portion:

* Sleep system (US military Gore-Tex ECWS sleep system w/bivvy sack is great and can be found at many surplus online retailers for a steal from its original cost)
* Car auto shades with aluminum or roll of aluminum-covered foam for RVs cut to the shape of your mummy bag
* Inflatable sleeping pad/mattress, mummy shaped to fit inside your bivvy sack

* Headlamp with fresh batteries
* Baby wipes
* Bug-out meals/MREs/camping food/dinner packs
* Stainless steel canteen cup
* Stainless steel canteen cup stove base
* Fire-starting materials (lighter, strike anywhere matches)
* Trash bag
* Laundry bag
* Personal hygiene kit with toothpaste/toothbrush
* Change of socks

These courses fill up quickly, and I wasn't able to do one last year due to recovering from a serious achilles tendon injury (snapped in half), so I've been getting requests throughout the year about when the next one is. If we could keep the responses to those interested, rather than "sounds fun, can't come because x, y, z", that will help me communicate better with those who are actually attending. Funny thing is that almost every DM Course I've done there, I have repeat attendees who want to do it again. You will walk away a different shooter if you haven't done anything like this before, and for those that are already familiar with LR shooting, the cold weather aspect is an eye opener as to what you can actually do in realistic hunting conditions, as well as what strengths and weaknesses your equipment might have.

I'm very looking forward to this again and meeting some more Grendel Horde Members.

[LRRPF52]

Range Gear:

Eye pro
Ear pro (electronic ear pro is preferred)
Cleaning kit for your rifle with appropriate cold weather lubricant, cleaning rod/sections, chamber brush, bore brush, patches, patch eyelet, toothbrush

Rifle mags that work with your rifle (3 minimum, 6 or more preferred)
Rifle sling, 2-point quick adjust preferred (VTAC, VCAS, etc.)

First Aid Kit

Plenty of Water in canteens or Nalgene bottles in insulated pouches preferably

Snacks, winter meals

It helps to have some basic load-bearing gear for all your equipment.

[Sticks]

Range Gear:
...
First Aid Kit

...

Boo Boo kit, or "You're F@#cked" kit?

[LRRPF52]

D. All of the above.

I personally carry a well-stocked IFAK of my own design, as well as a medic bag in the car.

Most common types of boo boos I see are scrapes, small lacerations from bipod springs, broken fingernails trying to use them as tools in the cold to pry things open, and scope bite.

[LRRPF52]

Course will be February 22nd-23rd

[Sticks]

Arrrrggggg.

Let me see if I can pull a rabbit outta my hat.

[PNW_Grendel]

Ar type rifle, bolt gun, either? Where exactly in Utah, checking logistics, I would be coming in from N. Idaho.

[LRRPF52]

Ar type rifle, bolt gun, either? Where exactly in Utah, checking logistics, I would be coming in from N. Idaho.

You can bring either/both, as many people do.

Most attendees bring AR15s to the DM Course, followed by AR10s, SCAR-Hs, and bolt guns.

We'll be doing a lot of positional shooting with slings and tripods, so a heavy bolt gun is harder to manage.

For hunters, this is a great course to get a lot of trigger time in practical mountainous field conditions to learn your maximum effective range.

The range is outside of Price, Utah. It's a long drive from Northern ID.

12hr 19 minutes from Coeur d'Alene

[PNW_Grendel]

I've made worse drives to ride a dirt bike. Only apprehension I have, is my lack of experience with scoped rifles. Pretty sure I am just going to bite the bullet and make the trip. It's something I've always wanted to get into and I love the winter aspect of the course. Where would I need to go to sign up and send you some cash if I do decide to attend?