Fall 2014 – Long Range Field Training Exercise

Satellite view of FTX location

Every other month the 6.5 Guys hit the road to do a full day of field training exercises (FTX) seeking out conditions that we cannot find in western Washington. This supplements our regular weekly practice sessions at our local club’s 200 yard rifle range, and it gives us an opportunity to train in field conditions that we would normally encounter in a long range match, such as spotting and making wind call corrections. We’ll typically find a location where we can shoot at steel targets going out past 1,000 yards.

Shooting along the Snake River

For those who have not visited western Washington, the rain creates a landscape full of dense tall trees and they block out most of the wind. The lack of wind in western Washington does have certain advantages as it allows us to focus on fundamentals – if you miss it’s not because of a bad wind call. But the lack of wind has obvious disadvantages too.

1270 yard target (24″ x 24″) at edge of cliff

For this FTX, we chose a location along the Snake River outside or Prescott, WA that produces updrafts and downdrafts in addition to the lateral wind one would normally expect. We wanted to shoot in a challenging wind environment. Using survey tape, we placed wind flags at various distances from the shooting area to the targets. We also placed wind flags on ledges hoping to see the vertical winds. Unfortunately, the updrafts and downdrafts were not as visible as we had hoped. Most of the wind action that was pushing the bullet up or down was happening somewhere between us and the target. The only visible indicator of an updraft were pieces of spider web floating in the air on our first day – it must have been moving day for the spiders. In lieu of becoming better wind readers or employing additional devices (we actually contemplated balloons and smoke grenades), this illustrated how advantageous it is to be familiar with a particular area.

Steve’s view of 1270 yard target (circled in red) from firing line

We were reminded how important it is to be able to spot your shot if you miss. While this may seem like common sense, our limbic brains would entice us to keep firing at a target when we were receiving zero feedback. In a match you might try to bracket the target, but in a practice session it’s better to move on. Some of our targets were in shadows and the position of the sun made it very difficult to see bullet trace. Fall in the northern latitudes can create some challenging lighting conditions as the sun casts long shadows across the mountainous landscape. Our second day of shooting was particularly challenging as the sun was right in our face.

Ed connecting with 1270 yard target

We also made a point of getting off of our belly and shooting from a barricade. While there was some reticle wobble, our training allowed us to connect with targets out to 1,270 yards while kneeling.

There is also a lot to be learned while spotting for another shooter. You can learn just as much calling in a correction for the other guy as you can making a correction for yourself. The lack of recoil really allows you to see things that would be difficult to see behind the rifle. It’s also critical for the shooter to trust the spotter. Not doing so results in confusion on the part of the spotter and a downward spiral of bad calls.

Jake spotting our shots. The angled eyepiece made it difficult to transition between targets.

We’re in the market for a good spotting scope so we’ve been looking at various features. A straight eyepiece makes it much easier to get a spotting scope on a distant target as you can raise your eye slightly to look over the scope. While an angled eyepiece may have benefits when you are spotting for yourself, it’s more of a hindrance when trying to get on a distant target.

It’s no surprise that we learned a lot while having fun. As we’ve mentioned many times, we actively seek the advice of our audience. For this video in particular, we welcome the comments, suggestions and feedback of more experienced shooters.

A special thank you to Jake Vibbert of JC Steel Targets for hosting us.