Shoot2Hunt University

AirborneEScouter

WKR
Shoot2HuntU
Joined
Apr 23, 2018
Messages
304
Location
KS
I attended the second class (6/17-6/21).

Coming into the course, I was of course hyped, but tempered my expectations as this was my first formal rifle training in almost 20 years. By day 4 I feel confident our entire group was blown away by what we had learned, the dedication of our instructors, the grandeur of the facilities, and ultimately the personal growth we had achieved (we all have plenty of work left to do). I have perused other long range rifle training opportunities previously – what sold me on this course was Shoot2Hunt’s podcast talking about the course curriculum and outcomes, the fact that I actually like Ryan/Jake/Form/etc (based solely on their podcast and online personas, but still), and of course the mystique of Form training us. What I didn’t expect was just how dedicated these guys were to giving us a full courseload, pushing us where we needed pushing and propping us up when it was warranted, and ultimately the value – no way you’re getting more for your time or money than probably any other course out there as a civilian. The instructors care, are passionate about hunting and long range rifle skills, and dedicated +/- 14 hours a day toward our classroom and field training. I am appreciative of them, and you will be lucky to attend this class, seriously.

Previous course overviews pretty much sum up the majority of content so I’ll give a few personal lessons learned and what I’d suggest if I was planning to attend in the future:

  • Firearm safety – we all know it, no excuses for lapses. Refresh yourself, you’re in the field shooting in lots of directions at multiple targets with people, cattle, buildings, etc in proximity to you. This should be everyone’s number one focus
  • Zero your rifle before the class so you look better in a future review
  • Don’t use non-factory trigger springs (Tikkas). IIRC we had two failures where the trigger housing screw became loose and this condition can cause rifles to fire unexpectedly. I like a light trigger but value human life and firearm safety more
  • Form caught me flinching a couple times and I didn’t like it. Bring a .223 and spare yourself some embarrassment. More seriously, bring a .223 so you can eliminate shooter errors caused by recoil and focus on other fundamentals that need work
  • Unless you’re Form or Dan, you’re probably not going to shoot a heavy-ish 33” barrel/suppressor unsupported very well. I brought a 6.5 cm 24” CTR w/ my ultra 9 in a Bravo – this was not the best idea, I’d suggest something more moderate (20-22” barrel / 6-7” suppressor / factory stock, rokstok, etc). The rifle shot great in the field, but I was disappointed with my standing and unsupported skillset, just something I need to work on (a lot) with this system.
  • Ditch CTR mags. To me, they suck in inclement weather. This was the second time they have failed on me and I brought new mags with me to the course hoping it was just a fluke the first time I had issues with them. I “fixed” them, but we didn’t have rain after I got them running again and would not be surprised if they failed again. To this point, bring a reliable rifle system period – test it before you attend. Problems cost valuable training time.
  • Bring trekking poles with the straps still attached. They won’t work as a rest without them.
  • Hornady American Gunner in 140 grain HPBT was accurate for me during the course but I had a lot of heavier bolt lifts – a cleaner round might relieve some of this for you. It’s hard to cycle your bolt quickly and keep your eye in the scope when you struggle to rerack.
  • Bring a bipod if you must, but you’re going to learn you don’t need one (and won’t use it here)
  • Buy or borrow rangefinding binoculars. Handheld monocular variants suck valuable time in the field.

I’m mostly self-taught as it relates to long range rifle, and by most accounts I considered myself above average coming into the course. I was quickly humbled in multiple ways, but once the timer comes out, it just gets worse. You are going to learn a lot in the course. Try to brush up on some of the skills previously mentioned in advance, they will sink in better with repetition (you must do them correctly to wire your brain correctly).

Overall, awesome course, awesome people, and one of the best “vacations” I’ve been on. Don’t think about it, just sign yourself up. Come with an open mind and prepare to be reset - you will probably suck but the best part of all of this is you will actually get better.
 

Formidilosus

Super Moderator
Shoot2HuntU
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
9,904
Don’t use non-factory trigger springs (Tikkas). IIRC we had two failures where the trigger housing screw became loose and this condition can cause rifles to fire unexpectedly. I like a light trigger but value human life and firearm safety more


Y’all were fun to be around- we enjoyed it.

Thank you for reminding me/us about the trigger springs, I will edit the AAR post above.
 
Last edited:

mt terry d

WKR
Shoot2HuntU
Joined
Jul 18, 2023
Messages
712
I attended the first class.

Everyone was top shelf; instructors and students alike.
If you get the opportunity and are big enough to stuff your ego, do it.
Really nothing of value to add what others have already said other than






Never let Form put a tourniquet on you
Ryan is actually sexier in person and
Dioni is grand master of the Burt Reynolds shooting position.

;)

Thanks guys.
 

PineBrook413

WKR
Shoot2HuntU
Joined
Nov 26, 2020
Messages
625
Location
Northeast
I attended the second class as well!

Had a great time with a great group of guys as well as a great group of instructors! No drama, lots of learning and plenty of laughs!

Strongly recommend a .223/6arc for the rifle, I ran a 6.5 creedmoor and it was totally fine but there was no need to have more recoil and use up more powder.

All the instructors willingness to be with us coaching, bsing, eating and answering our dumb questions for 14 hrs a day was unlike any other training class I’ve experienced.

The entire group’s performance on 4-700 yard target was dramatically improved. I can’t stress enough how slow I was to range, dial, build position and make a shot day one and two. By the time day 4 rolled around we all were able to cut our times down to 1/4 of the time and increase hit percentage from 5-10% to probably 80-90%. Amazing improvements for every shooter.

Thanks again to Form, Trandy ;), Mike, Chris & Dan. I guess Ryan and Jake were ok too ;).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2014
Messages
9,508
Were the trigger springs the problem or was it just the not getting the trigger torqued back to the action that was the problem?
 

Formidilosus

Super Moderator
Shoot2HuntU
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
9,904
Were the trigger springs the problem or was it just the not getting the trigger torqued back to the action that was the problem?


The trigger housings came loose in these instances. However, the lighter springs cause issues in snow and ice- light strikes usually, but even some firing on bolt close and drops. As well, ND’s when wearing gloves or cold fingers, stress, etc. go WAY up with 2lb and lighter triggers. I am not a fudd that thinks you should never have a lighter trigger than a factory Glock- I was using 1oz Jewels in field rifles 20 years ago.

The springs especially, and sub 2.5’ish pound triggers for field rifles are a poor idea from every angle.
 
Joined
Sep 6, 2018
Messages
498
Good to know. I’ll give it a thorough testing on its intended hosts.
I have a DD L-TI and every gun I have put it on shoots the same as it did before. 7 SAUM with a proof barrel, t3x creedmoor, 6.5x284 with a truck axle for a barrel, 300 rum rem varmint contour. No issues here.
 

Helislacker

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 14, 2022
Messages
108
The trigger housings came loose in these instances. However, the lighter springs cause issues in snow and ice- light strikes usually, but even some firing on bolt close and drops. As well, ND’s when wearing gloves or cold fingers, stress, etc. go WAY up with 2lb and lighter triggers. I am not a fudd that thinks you should never have a lighter trigger than a factory Glock- I was using 1oz Jewels in field rifles 20 years ago.

The springs especially, and sub 2.5’ish pound triggers for field rifles are a poor idea from every angle.
Any idea how tight these should be retorqued if removed? I had to install a magazine latch spring and removed mine to do so. No idea what the initial torque value was, but I did use loctite and was over 65inch/lbs
 

Formidilosus

Super Moderator
Shoot2HuntU
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
9,904
Any idea how tight these should be retorqued if removed? I had to install a magazine latch spring and removed mine to do so. No idea what the initial torque value was, but I did use loctite and was over 65inch/lbs

I would use a paint pen or nail polish as blue loctite doesn’t always set, and torque it down heavily. I personally torque by feel until I reach the “that’s about all it can take” point. I’m also tempted to start using Loctite 380 on the screw.
 

Helislacker

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 14, 2022
Messages
108
I would use a paint pen or nail polish as blue loctite doesn’t always set, and torque it down heavily. I personally torque by feel until I reach the “that’s about all it can take” point. I’m also tempted to start using Loctite 380 on the screw.
Gotcha, unfortunately I’m an idiot and usually find that point immediately after realizing I’ve stripped a screw. But I’ll do the nail polish and snug it up well, hopefully it stays put.
 

ID_Matt

WKR
Joined
May 16, 2017
Messages
1,527
Location
Southern ID
The talk of the 223 factory mags in the classes having issues has me feeling better about mine. My 223 has been a pain for feeding with the factory mags. Annoying enough that I have considered switching to AI's
 

SloppyJ

WKR
Joined
Feb 24, 2023
Messages
1,612
I love reading the after action reports on these classes. I'm excited that I went ahead and signed up for one next year a couple months back. Every time I read the participants reviews I get more and more stoked.
 

Bluumoon

WKR
Shoot2HuntU
Joined
May 4, 2020
Messages
1,137
The talk of the 223 factory mags in the classes having issues has me feeling better about mine. My 223 has been a pain for feeding with the factory mags. Annoying enough that I have considered switching to AI's
My .223 6 round mags frequently fail to pick up rounds. The factory mag doesn't share the issue
 
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