Sight In Hunter Prep AAR
Gunsite
02-03 August 2024

Class description from Gunsite:

“Hunting season will soon be upon us. Join us at Gunsite to get your hunting rifle sighted in and spend two days with our instructors knocking the dust off. We will get you zeroed and cover subjects such as sling usage, shooting positions, field expedient positions, ammo management and more. You will shoot out to 300 yards and shoot at unknown distance targets using our outdoor simulator courses.

Don’t miss that trophy of a lifetime or leave your freezer empty because you missed out on this time to prepare for your hunt.”

This was, hands down, the best rifle class I’ve attended since my 270 General Rifle class (including carbine classes for that manner, though I acknowledge these are different things). The class is also a bargain. I plan to attend next year.

Equipment:

Steyr Scout in 6.5 Creedmoor, four total magazines, and Ching Sling. Drop pouch, which was critical for ammo management. Extra mags will also make your learning experience better. Your life will be much easier if you have a rifle with a DBM. Two attendees used fixed magazines, and these are not optimal for this class. I did not wear a side arm during the class.

Sunscreen – critical. The high desert is hot and dry in August. Hydration. Water is not enough; you need a supplement. I used NUUN.

I used a long sleeve sun shirt for the first time. I abhor synthetic fabrics next to my skin, but I’m sold on this application. The shirt was substantially cooler than a 100% cotton t-shirt, even though it was long sleeved. I got mine on Amazon.

Footwear. There is a lot of hiking over broken, rough, hilly terrain. I wore 8” boots. Recommend same.

IFAK. If you don’t take one to class, you’re wrong. We didn’t need one, but if we had it would have been critical given the remoteness of the ranch.

CONS:

Zeroing from the prone using an ammo can and a sandbag is not optimal.

Full disclosure, I am a “seasoned citizen” and can no longer get into any kind of useful prone position. I ended up shooting the last drill of this series from sitting and shot better than I did in prone because of my physical challenges.

The mantra “there are no benches in the field” is not relevant for properly sighting in a rifle. My limitations notwithstanding, I firmly believe that the students would have a much better experience if zeroing from a proper bench.

Shade. There is none on the range. Shade is available for rest, topping off magazines, hydration, etc. Because the ranges are multiple use at varying distances over undulating terrain, it appears that covered firing points aren’t practical.

This is not a criticism, rather something to be aware of. A possible solution would be to build a purpose built zero range out to 300 yards with proper benches and a cover. I believe this could have many applications for other classes as well.

Lodging. I stayed in the campground. The campground, including the showers, heads, and lunchroom/laundry were spotless, as always. The campground has electric hookups, but not no dump station.

The crew that maintains the common facilities are outstanding. If you have an RV or like to tent camp, this is a great option as it’s only a few hundred yards to the classroom. Otherwise, the Gunsite website lists several options that are Gunsite friendly, many are owned by fellow Ravens.

PROS:

The ranch. Gunsite is an outstanding facility. There isn’t much that can’t be done on their 3200 acres. Their instructors are heavily vetted. They are all world-class. The pro-shop, mess deck, and classrooms are excellent and climate controlled. Gunsite has an agreement with a local food vendor that will provide lunch daily if you want. The price is reasonable and the quality good. Because of the remote location of the ranch and the 1-hour duration of lunch, it is not possible to go off site for lunch. Either use their vendor or bring your own.

Instructors. We were blessed to have Gary Smith and Bill Havorsen. Both have been at Gunsite for decades. Gary is also a licensed hunting guide. They both have substantial real world hunting experience worldwide. The lecture and discussions were worth the price of admission even if we didn’t fire a round.

Class:

Class stared at 0730 the first morning to get the administrative work out of the way. 0800 the second day. There is no down time. The class is fast paced without being obnoxious. It’s clear that they understand class tempo.

BZ!, - as we all know that this is not always the case. They recognize that we are here to learn and that this is not selection.

I’ll not go into details about drills. etc as I believe that would take away from your experience should you attend. Suffice it to say that “Learning Occurred” – IYKYK.

A couple of notes. They showed us some unique use of natural terrain (tufts of grass for example) that no one in the class had considered and some very handy sling techniques that I’ve never seen addressed.

We also were able to shoot off Safari type shooting sticks and one of the modern tripods. Both are incredible aids to first round hits.

For my use case, the tripod doesn’t make sense. But the shooting sticks were amazing. Easy to carry and act as a hiking staff as you traverse the terrain. Suffice to say I’m ordering shooting sticks from African Sporting Creations.

Highly recommended. I plan to attend again next year.