Saturday, February 20, 2021

How to Prepare for a Scout Rifle Class

 

How to prepare for a scout rifle class

 

So you signed up for a general/practical/scout rifle class or you're considering it and want to know how to prepare for it.  That's smart.  Going in well prepared will make your training more effective and you'll spend more time learning the fundamentals than dealing with extraneous issues.  I've taken 4 of these classes so far and I've learned a number of things that might help you in preparing for this.

 So far, I've taken Randy Cain's Practical Rifle class twice (once in FL and once in WV), Steyr Academy Scout Rifle class taught by Mario Marchman and Richard Mann and Tom Russell's 5.5 day Scout Rifle class.  I have not taken Rifle 270 at Gunsite, but all of this should be applicable there as well.  I believe Frontsight in Nevada offers a Practical Rifle class as well.

 

 

Knowledge:

 

Buy a copy of Jeff Cooper's Art of the Rifle.  Read it cover to cover and then read it again.  Everything you're going to be taught will be coming directly from Cooper's book.  This is not to say that the book is a substitute for the training.  If you're familiar with the fundamentals ahead of time, you'll get more out of the class.  It is really cool to have Cooper's words come alive in front of you.  This is something I found to be true when taking classes from Randy Cain and Tom Russell.  These guys were there with Col Cooper and having them demonstrating positional rifle shooting and helping me to do the same really added a lot of value to the experience for me.  

 

Watch instructional shooting videos but be careful which ones.  There are a lot of idiots on YouTube.  If you want an illustration of how bad it can be, look up "hasty sling" and see how many well intentioned guys have videos claiming this will help you stabilize the rifle  by just wrapping your hand around a standard carry strap (it doesn't and can't).   Watch Il Ling New from Gunsite.  Richard Mann has some great content, as does Lucky Gunner.  

 

Tom Russell has been doing something unique lately as well.  About 3 months before his 5.5 Day Scout Rifle class, he conducts Zoom meetings every Thursday night to help potential students prepare for the class.  He goes over a lot of the things I'm covering in this blog and video but also will help people understand how to get into the 5 basic shooting positions.  

 

Conditioning:

 

You don't need to be a 26 year old cross fit champion to do well in a rifle class.  I'm 52 and I have a bit of a gut.  I don't have a gym membership.  Before my last Tom Russell class, I decided I needed to be a bit better shape since the class is at Whittington Center which is at 6500 feet elevation.  Try waking up 20 minutes early.  What you do for those 20 minutes is up to you but it doesn't need to be overly strenuous.  I spend a few minutes doing deep knee bends, lunges, push-ups and some time on a rowing machine.  It is basic calisthenics plus one other feature I'll describe in a moment.  The point is to stretch your muscles and get your heart rate up.  

 

Now for the last part.  As part of my morning exercise routine, I take my rifle and shooting mat and spend time getting into shooting positions.  I start with 5 repetitions into squatting.  Then 5 times into kneeling.  Then 5 times into sitting and finally, 5 times into prone.  This will get your heart rate up.  It will also help you find out what does and doesn't work getting into and out of these positions.  It will also make you MUCH smoother by the time you get to the class.  In the class, you won't need this skill in the first day or two.  By the end however, you will be glad you prepared.  You'll melt into the positions because your body is so used to it.  Even if you're unsure how these positions should feel, if you've read the Cooper book, you'll have a good idea.  Just don't get too used to it.  The instructors will correct any errors in positional shooting, but at least you'll be able to get into and out of them easier.

 

Equipment :

 

Zero your rifle before going to class.  Don't show up with a gun and scope that you've never shot on paper before.  If you don't know how to do this, look it up.  You should be hitting 2" high at 100 yards.  If you can't get to a 100 yard range before the class, find a 25 yard range and set it so you're dead-on at that range.  If you don't, you'll spend the first hour or more of your valuable training time doing basic bench work that could have been done at home.  Use the training time for training, not sighting in.


As for guns and scopes, run what you are most likely to use in the field.  If you're a hunter, bring your hunting gun.  If you're a prepper, bring your prepper gun.  You'll get more from the class with a bolt gun, but I don't think you'd be unwelcome with a semi-auto (talk to the instructor of course).  Optics are the same thing.  If you normally run a LPVO (low power variable optic like a 1.5-5 or 2-7 maximum), bring it.  If you normally use a scout scope, that's the one to bring.  Randy Cain prefers an LPVO to a scout scope and Tom Russell likes the scouts.  The only thing is, make sure the low end magnification is no more than 3X and preferably lower.  In all of these classes, you'll be doing some work from close up (like 10 yards) and your longest shot will be 2-300 yards.  General/Practical/Scout classes are not long range classes and bulky optics are not helpful.

 

Bring a real sling.  Every time I go to a class, I bring an extra sling because there is always a guy who didn't understand what that meant until it was too late.  A carry strap isn't a sling.  You need something that allows you to loop up around your bicep that will hold the rifle in place from supported positions.  If you have 3 swivels, the Ching sling is the obvious choice.  If you have only two, then the Rhodesian style or the Galco Riflemann sling are the best choices.  The Galco Safari sling will work, but are not as well liked by the instructors I've had.  

 

How many magazines should you bring?  All of them.  If all you can bring are the two that came with your Steyr, you will survive, but you'll be at a disadvantage and might slow down the class.  You're going to be stuffing rounds in mags while standing at the line with a rifle in your hand.  You really need 4 five round mags.  If you can bring more, bring more.  I prefer to have 50 rounds loaded in magazines with me at the line, but that isn't realistic for some people.  Steyr mags are almost impossible to find right now and cost $50 each at this point.  AICS mags are easier and I'd still try to bring 50 loaded rounds but would use 3 ten round mags and 4 five rounders.  

 

How do you manage all that ammo?  First of all, you don't need to carry everything on your body at all times.  You need 20 to 25 rounds on your person but you can have an ammo can or bag sitting at your feet with the rest of it.  As you start shooting through the loaded mags on your body, there will be pauses where you can switch out the empties for fresh mags from the can without running back to the staging area.  Because the Steyr has a stock that carries one extra mag, I only need to carry two more.  I use the pouches from Wilderness Tactical that are sold by Steyr and I have one on either side of my belt buckle at the 2 and 10 position.  I might put one more loaded mag in a cargo pocket and the rest in a bag or ammo can behind me on the line.  I did a class with a Sig Cross which uses AICS mags and those were a little more difficult.  I had to move those to the 3 and 9 position so they wouldn't interfere with the sitting or squatting position.  

 

Next, you need a dump pouch.  I've tried a few different ideas here but a simple belt mounted one at about the 8 position works best.  If you put it at the 6, you'll find it in your way for some positions.  Work with it and you'll figure it out.  You need it though.  These mags are too expensive to drop on the ground.  Speaking of which, mark your mags.  If somebody has a similar rifle next to you, you really don't want to have that awkward conversation about who's magazine that is.  Just a dot of paint or use a Sharpie to put your initials.  While you're at it, put your initials on your hearing protection.  It turns out everybody has Walker's Razor headphones.

 

What about the guys running hinged floorplate guns?  You actually have it easy.  Grab a handful of ammo and stuff it in the cargo pocket of your pants.  You can get 20-25 in there and then have another 20-30 in your ammo can at your feet and you're good to go.  I've seen guys with various pouches to hold loose ammo, but most of them dumped ammo on the ground when shooting prone.  If you find a pouch that is secure enough for shooting prone but easy enough to grab 5 quick rounds, go for it, but most will not.  

 

Let's talk pants.  I have a strong preference for 5.11 pants, but not for the reason you might think.  The 5.11 pants have a pocket in the knee that accepts their neoprene knee pads.  These things are slick.  They are unobtrusive and people can't tell you have them on, but they will protect your knees when going down into prone and kneeling.  They also give your elbows a better resting place when shooting from the sitting position.  They also don't look like SWAT gear.  

 

The rest of it is just common sense.  Yes, bring a shooting mat.  Yes, have rain gear handy.  Yes, well worn boots are preferred.  Read the equipment page of your instructor's website and if in doubt, call the instructor before the class.  Don't be afraid to ask questions.  They've heard them before.  

 

 

Resources:

Lucky Gunner on becoming a practical rifleman:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtfmHKQmIoM

Il Ling New with a scout rifle: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=il+ling+new+ruger+gunsite+scout

Richard Mann's blog and videos  https://empty-cases.com/blog/

Tom Russell's web site and contact info:  https://americanfirearmsacademy.com/author/tom/

Randy Cain's web site:  https://www.guntactics.com/

Steyr Academy https://www.steyr-arms.com/us/ssrc

Gunsite: https://www.gunsite.com/classes/270-rifle-class/

Art of the rifle book:  https://www.gunsitestore.com/product/library/books/the-art-of-the-rifle-by-jeff-cooper/

Rhodesian and Ching Slings:  https://www.andysleather.com/

My video on scout slings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf93qY1z7dE&t=167s