Review of Modern Day Sniper / Rifleman ***Updated 8/17/22***

Travis Bertrand

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Modern Day Sniper is an online shooting school started by Phillip Velayo and Caylen Wojcik. Who are these guys? Well they both served as snipers in our military and have a deep passion and understanding on all things rifles. These two are passionate about shooting, and all things rifles. They have turned it into a career by creating this online program. They offer several different classes and learning modules. You can subscribe to a monthly service which gives you access to several lectures on shooting drills, fundamentals, and technical talk on rifles. You also get access to live Q&A sessions, as well as access to chats with like minded people.

***Update 8/17/22*** Modern Day Rifleman Review

If a monthly subscription is not for you, they offer in person classes they set up around the country (and Europe looking at the calendar) as well as a one time purchase for specific learning modules. These include topics like positional shooting, Intro to long range shooting, fundamentals of Marksmanship, and a few others such as land nav, and component selection.

For guys that dont know me. Guns have always been a huge part of my life. Ive been reloading for close to 30 years and I started when I was very young with the help of my dad. I honestly can say I have never purchased factory ammo with the exception of .223/556 for a rifle. I've always been obsessed with getting the most out of my rifle, wether it is a factory Rem 700, or my all custom comp rifle. I Shot my first rifle match last year with Phillip at an NRL Hunter match in California. I had a blast shooting my top fed Christensen Arms Traverse in 6.5PRC but it was a huge eye opener what I needed to be competitive at matches. I ended up placing third in factory division at that match but it fueled me to be better.

This year I'm hoping to shoot several matches as they have helped me to be such a better marksman in the field. While shooting is literally .5% of a hunt, it is also the most important part. Without being able to perform with your weapon system of choice, whether it is a bow, muzzy, or rifle, the countless hours(and money) mean nothing if you cant seal the deal. It surprises me how little time sportsman spend to better their marksmanship. That is where MDS/MDR comes in for me. I want to take it to the next level, for the wildlife's sake, and for mine.

I signed up 2 days ago and just started navigating through the website. I will post on here as I learn my way around and go through some modules. I started going through the Intro to Long Range and one of the first things it said was to print the student manual before starting, Well it is 79 pages! I scrolled through it before printing, and it is very detailed, These guys have definitely put in the work to produce a quality product. Im very excited to to feel really dumb and to learn from these guys.



 

DRUSS

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Interested in this. I took a class last year with Defensive Edge and it was great. Huge help on so many things. Hope to hear some opinions on this as a online learning lesson.
 

PRC_GUY

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I love gun, I reload and just practice shooting for stress relief, I never try any competition shooting and I would love to hear you share your story about it!
 
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Been subscribed for a few months. Nothing but great things to say about them. Top notch tips. Legit fixed things I didn’t know I was doing wrong. Video after video of knowledge. They even got to participate in the goat cull of grand Teton. Caylen smoked a goat across a valley.
 

Sadler

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I’m going to try to go to their class in Yakima this summer. Seem like great guys and Caylen is always quick to respond to questions I PM on the gram
 

Colby

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I did a 2 day class with them a couple years ago and have done 1 of their online classes. They are both really good dudes.
Their stuff is the only formal rifle training that I’ve ever done but it has helped me a lot. I think any of their material is time and money well spent.
 
Joined
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I found their podcast last weekend after to listening to PNWild podcast.
Got on the wait list for their technical rifle hunting class in august. I wish I had this type of information 10 years ago when I started hunting.
 

khuber84

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These guys are awesome! Ive been following Phil before he was at Gunwerks as an instructor. Listened to all the MDS podcasts and have purchased several the modules in the MDS schoolhouse. Ive shot a handful of matches with Phil in the WPR league and he's a very helpful and funny dude. I'd love to get set up with some their in person stuff to break my nad habits, but work has been tough to nail down dates.
 

XLR

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I just wanted to add a note in here that Phil and Caylen are super good people too. Last year at the Hunter match in Price Utah they were both there. Phil shot and was super respectful and appreciative of the ROs! Then once he was done shooting he made sure to ask me if he could film Caylen. I wanted to tell him you are Phil Velayo, do what you want haha!

Fast forward to the finale in Grand Junction and Caylen was one of the ROs. He sat there once we got done with his stage and talked with our squad for 15-20 minutes. Answering some questions guys had and helping a shooter out that was struggling. It showed the passion that he has for helping people become better riflemen! I don't know Phil or Caylen personally but from those two experiences, I would highly recommend people take their online or in-person courses. Very down-to-earth guys with a wealth of knowledge!
 
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Travis Bertrand

Travis Bertrand

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@Travis Bertrand

How are you liking it? I think I’m going to do it
Im loving it! its great material!
But im sick over it right now, I wrote the article on the plane and it was awesome. but I didn't save it and accidentally deleted it :( seriously though, those guys are phenomenal for sure and have put a ton of work in their product.
 

roperking

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I have shot with Phil a few times and he is a great guy! I really like what these two are doing. There are not a lot of guys out there, with their knowledge, that are sharing information openly. I have been impressed with their podcast and their lack of holding back information in hopes that you will come to their class for the rest. They seem to want to help whoever will listen and those that want more will come to a class.
 

hereinaz

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I have shot with Phil a few times and he is a great guy! I really like what these two are doing. There are not a lot of guys out there, with their knowledge, that are sharing information openly. I have been impressed with their podcast and their lack of holding back information in hopes that you will come to their class for the rest. They seem to want to help whoever will listen and those that want more will come to a class.
I agree that they share the best and most free information of any of the guys out there. And, their paid content is the best presented and most thorough so you don't feel like it is what they already talk about as they cover it in detail with good explanations and demonstrations. As former sniper instructors, they have an excellent basis to teach from. They are all in for sure.

But Frank Galli does a pretty good job and his videos you can watch with a couple months of his subscription and get the goods. His videos aren't as progressive, but they are valuable. His new videos that have popped up on YouTube with Chris Way are pretty good. If you don't know of or haven't followed Chris Way's stuff, its excellent. He focuses on actual testing and improvement. Dude is pretty studdly in the outdoors to boot.
 
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