I just wanted to drop you , and your staff, a little note for all of your help during the Urban Long Range shooting class.  Before taking your class my only experience shooting a rifle was with an old 22 Remington bot action that i shot to probably no more than 200 yards. I took the class with a little apprehension . 1000 yards?  Was it even possible? But after taking the class , paying attention to what was being taught and putting it into practice at the range.  I was able to reach that lofty 1000 yards. Hitting that target that day was one of the greatest feelings you could imagine. But was it pure luck?
Shortly after the class i decided that i just had to try it again. I searched all over the internet for a range that had a 1000 yard field. The closest range was in the middle of the state , I live in PA, 3 hours away.  so a 6 hour drive back and forth just to try and repeat what I had thought to be just pure luck shot. To me it seems like it was worth it. So a friend and i joined the Mifflin County Sportsmens Association in Lewistown Pa.
Finally we were able to set a weekend to drive out to the range over the Labor Day holiday. Once we got to the range we had to hurry and set up the targets. Little did we know that actual shooting started started at 1:00 on Sunday because of church and we got there at 12:30. We had  to to hurry up and drive out to the 1000 yard burm, and set up our target, our 500 and 200 targets also. A couple of the other shooters had targets at all the in between yardages. At 1:00 the shooting could begin. I rechecked my 100 yard zero and confirmed that it was still dialed in from the class from a couple of months ago. Next i took aim at the 300 yard. Still on target. Next tried the 500 yard all was well. I started to get that little grin on my face. Half way there.  Checking my charts from the class i knew that the elevations gave me a starting point to dial in the target. Ok lets check what the chart says for 600 yards and dial it in. First shot at 600 a little low and left. Wind is pushing right. Clikck up 2 mils hold left edge of target, send it……Clang. i’m on the 600. Hit it a couple more times just for shits and giggles . Clang, Clang still on. Damm. smile is getting bigger. Lets try the 700. Looking through the scope for the 700 yard target i glanced up and saw the 1000 yard target. Suddenly, I don’t know exactly why, I got the bright idea to skip the 7,8 and 900 yards and just go for the thousand. So i check my dope book reset the elevation for 1000 yards. Once i set it in it took about another 5 minutes to work up the courage to try the shot. I ran through everything i could remember from the class. Set up on the sandbags, find the target. BREATHE, take up slack on the trigger and squeeze. Miss. O shit did i get too arrogant?  Let’s try it again. Shit another miss. What the hell am i hitting. Ok slow down and focus. Send it again. This time my friend who was spotting me saw a little puff of dirt just off the right edge. Ok, what did Jimmy say in the class. I had been holding dead center. Hold on the left of edge target. Send it. Clang. Hit right side close to the edge. It’s on now. I know where the target is and i’m about to shoot the crap out of it. Next 5 shots, 5 hits. I just kept laughing my ass off. I got you now. I It was not luck or a once in a life time hit.I hit that target six times. My spotter just kept shaking his head because he could not get past the 600 yard. He had not listened to what Jimmy and the staff were telling him at the class. He kind of has his own way of doing things. Time to call a safe range and check the target. I remember driving up that hill to the 1000 and thinking “did I really put 6 rounds into a 18 inch target at 1000 yards with a Savage out of the box 308? When we finally got to the top and checked out the target, saw the 6 hit, dropped to my knees and said that you Jimmy for being a great teacher.
The next day, which is today, I went to the gun store and ordered a brand new Savage 338 Lapua. Time to find a longer range. Shit……..
Thank you so so much to you and your staff for teaching me to be able to do what a lot of people only dream to be able to do. Hit a target 1000 yards away. I’m going to have this smile on my face for a long ass time.