The Range:  Gunsite Hills.

Gunsite Hills is a 700 yard long range. At one hundred and two hundred yards there are paper targets. Beyond 200 yds it gets hard to see holes in paper targets even with a spotting scope, subsequently there are steel targets at 100 yd intervals out to 700 yds.

Look closely and you can see students walking downrange to inspect their targets. The students to the left are at 300 yds. The tall 700 yd target in the hollow to your right is almost nine feet tall. This shot gives you a good perspective on how far 700 yds really is.

The picture to the right is taken from the 700 yd target looking back to the shooting positions. If you look at the top of the photo, you can just barely make out the ramparts that constitute the shooting positions.

Success of our students is critically important to us and one great feature of Gunsite Hills is that its carved out across a gentle valley with tall trees on each side. Usually there is  no wind, eliminating guesswork with wind calls - one less variable for our students to contend with.

The Instructors:

AFT Co-Owner Brian Wilson and Chris Avery are your Long Range Precision Rifle Instructors. Chris is a former Marine Recon Sniper with two combat tours in Iraq. Brian shot competition rifle through college. We are not sure who has more fun in this course, the students or the instructors, but you can see that its hard work for us from the sweat on our shirts (700 yds is a long way to walk - whew!).  On the other hand our smiles come as much from the students reaction to their shooting (see below) as much from the fun we have in conducting this course.

We bring a full tool kit and spare guns to take care of any student problems we encounter. Equipment checks on day one are essential for success and smooth operation on the course on day two:  On Sunday in the middle of the Georgia woods, there are no gunsmiths around besides us.

During the course Brian spots, calls wind and scope corrections while Chris considers those inputs in relation to the quality of the shooter technique he observes from the student. This team approach brings the student on target usually on the first shot at each distance.

Personal Attention:

Each student gets personal attention during the course from Chris and Brian.

In long range shooting, technique is paramount, thus copius amounts of one on one work is required for student successs.

Students and Their 700 yd Targets:

These pictures are from the May 2011 class. Neither student had shot beyond 300 yds before coming to class.

We give the students a ballistics lite course on day one - just enough to understand basic ballistic concepts before we go out to zero their rifles, chronograph their rounds and conduct equipment checks on the 100 yd local rifle range.

We coach them on basic marksmanship skills at this time in preparation for day two. The targets depicted here were all first round hits at 700 yds by the students shown.  The smiles tell it all.

Can the Instructors Do It?

All this doesn't mean much if the instructors can't hit steel at long ranges.

On our first outing to Gunsite Hills to check out its suitability, we shot from 100 yds out to 700 yds, refining our zeros along the way. At the far right, see Chris's first shot at 700 yds. Very impressive.

At the May 2011 course Brian brought his newest acqusition, a used Remington 700 LTR (Light Tactical Rifle) in .223 caliber. After zeroing the rifle at 100 yds, he went straight to 500 yds. His first two shots are to the right. One-half minute of angle correction on the scope later and you see the third shot in the center of the bull.