Who Should Take This Course?
This course will be invaluable to anyone who wants to experience the satisfaction of long range precision marksmanship. It has application to many different aspects of marksmanship including military/law enforcement, competition, and hunting. Anyone interested in placing precision fire on point targets at or near the maximum effective range of their rifle will learn the art and science involved in doing so in this course. We have high demand for this course but limit the class size to no more than 10 students to ensure that each student gets personal attention from Chris. We recommend you reserve your spot early.
Overview and Course Goals:
This is a two day course comprising classroom and live fire modules. The course is taught by Chris Avery, a Marine Recon Sniper in Desert Storm and later, with Army Task Force Phantom after Operation Iraqi Freedom. The objective of this course is to give the student the knowledge and skill set to successfully hit targets out to the maximum effective range of their rifle. This will be accomplished through classroom instruction and practical application on the range. At the end of the course, the student should be able to hit 3 x 4 ft. steel targets out to 700 yds given the capability of their rifle.
Course Prerequisites:
There are no training prerequisites for this course. A basic understanding of the fundamentals of rifle marksmanship will be most helpful. A rifle capable of one MOA accuracy equipped with a quality optic capable of repeatable windage and elevation adjustments is required. Atlanta Firearms Training and Chris Avery have a limited number of precision .308 caliber rifles with excellent optics for rent at $150 a day. | Chief O'Neil and Gunsite Hills
We would like to thank Chief O'Neil, (US Navy retired) owner of Gunsite Hills, the 700 yd range we use for our class, for allowing us private access to his range. He has been very kind in enabling us to conduct this course. In addition to being the owner of this excellent steel target range, Chief O'Neil was the US Navy Rifle Team Coach and is an expert in long range shooting in his own right.
Gunsite Hills in one of the few public rifle ranges in GA and one of the very few at distances beyond 300 yds. Gunsite Hills is located about 12 miles east of Athens GA. It is a rare treat to be able to shoot beyond 300 yds and we urge you to make the effort to shoot at Gunsite Hills. Weekday shooting is by appointment only. You can visit the Gunsite Hills website by clicking here. | Rules of Safe Firearms Handling:
Nearly all accidental injuries and deaths from negligent firearm discharges violate one or more of the rules of safe gun handling. Safe gun handling involves knowing the safe gun rules, developing a safety attitude, and integrating habitual safety awareness every time you pick up a firearm. Safety is paramount and this is why it is the first segment taught. It doesn't end here - AFT instructors reinforce safety concepts throughout the course in order to help you "habitualize" firearm safety practices. Throughout the course students will be expected to practice safe firearm handling skills.
Instructional Module - Classroom
Day one will consist of a five hour block of instruction covering the fundamentals of marksmanship, range estimation, use of MOAs and milliradians for range estimation and for point of impact correction, exterior ballistics, environmental effects on accuracy, wind estimation and correction, inclination angle shooting, gear selection and setup, and effective record keeping.
Instructional Module - Live Fire
After lunch on day one, we will proceed to the rifle range at South River Gun Club where we will chronograph each student’s rifle and ammunition and establish their 100 yard zero. The data will be taken by Chris Avery to generate a ballistic table customized for each student. On day two, we will link up at Gunsite Hills, a 700-yard precision rifle range located east of Athens GA, confirm zeros and begin engaging targets in 100-yard increments out to 700 yards.
Please Note the following requirements!
- Rifle: The rifle must be precison bolt action or semi-automatic rifle capable of firing groups of no more than 1.5 MOA in diameter with MOA and sub-MOA accuracy preferred. The rifle must have an optical scope sight. NO IRON SIGHTS or CQB optics can be used. We must have this restriction in place to avoid damage to the target mounts at the host range. Iron sights and the typical magnification range of CQB optics do not allow the precision of aiming required at the longer ranges to ensure target hits.
- Round Count: 100 rounds. Consistency is the hallmark of precision shooting. In order to obtain consistent and satisfying results in this course you MUST bring match grade ammunition of the same type and bullet weight - preferably from the same manufacturing lot number.
- Rifle Rest: All live fire will be from the prone / supported position. We recommend you bring a quality front rifle rest suitable for the prone position or a quality bipod attached to your rifle such as the Harris BRMS bipod.
- Rifle Rentals: If you do not have a suitable rifle or if you are traveling by air and don’t want the hassle of checking your rifle, Chris has Remington 700 PSS’s with quality optics in .223, .308, and 300WinMag for rent for $150 for the course. If you are interested in acquiring a quality long range precision rifle set-up by an experienced sniper, Chris also has rifles for sale.
- Course Fee: $395.00 plus Range Fee: $40.00
| i | AFT Tactical Instructor Chris Avery sighting in on a 700 yd target at the Gunsite Hills range during a recent practice session with AFT Co-owner Brian Wilson.
Chris is shooting a Remington 700 in .308 with a Horus telescopic scope.
Regular practice keeps our instructional skills sharp
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| Roger B - AFT Student:
700 yd target.
Many of our students have basic proficiency with their rifles - some are first time high power rifle shooters. ALL of them come to our course with serious doubts about hitting an 18 inch target at nearly 1/2 mile from the shooting position.
We prepare them academically on day one with the basic ballistic and markmanship concepts necessary to shoot proficiently on day two.
Afternoon on day one, we have the student check their zeros, clock their rounds on a chronograh, and then we build them the ballistic tables for use on day two.
Day two we progressively take them out to 700 yds. ALL are amazed at their ability to put rounds on target with the first shot. Here, Roger B put two rounds within 2 inches of each other at 700 yds - a performance that amazed even us.
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| Looking back at the shooting area from the 700 yd targets.
You don't get a good sense of exactly how long 700 yds is until you walk the course to paint your targets and then look back from 700 yds.
Way back in the back of this picture, are parked cars behind the shooting positions. They are so far away you can barely make them out with your eyes when you are actually at the range.
We would like to thank Chief O'Neill, owner of Gunsite Hills for letting us use his range for our classes. |
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Next Class:
Long Range Precision Rifle
Coming Soon!
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Your Instructor - Chris Avery
Former Marine Recon Sniper |
Joining the Marines at age 17, Chris Avery during basic marksmanship training set a record for new recruits which stood for 12 years. In advanced infantry training, Chris scored a perfect score in the marksmanship module during qualification. Due to his superb marksmanship skills, Chris Avery was recruited directly out of Basic Training into the Marine Force Recon Contingent. After a tour of sea duty, Chris found himself in Iraq during Desert Storm, where he was engaged in long range sniper missions using the M24, M40 and Barrett M107 sniper rifles. Feeling the call to duty, Chris, at age 42, joined an Army Special Ops Unit, Task Force Phantom, where again he was engaged in both close quarters combat missiions and long range sniper missions, this time with extensive work on the Barret M107. For a full bio please go to to the instructor page by clicking here.
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Ammunition
If you are shooting .308 Winchester, Atlanta Firearms
Training has two different grades of match-grade ammo available for purchase. We have taken an additional step of taking each cartridge and checking the concentricity of the bullet to the case and corrected where necessary to less than 0.002 runout, giving you the most precise ammunition available for this course.
If you need to purchase ammunition from us for this course, please so indicate in the comments section of your registration so we can check to see if we have enough on hand.
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Federal 168 gr .308
Match Grade Ammo.
$30.00 / 20 rounds
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M118LR. 175gr Match Quality
US Military Issue Sniper Ammunition
$32.00 / 20 rounds
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