I wasn’t sure how my second day here could top my first, which was full of accomplishments, but then I remembered I’m at FTW and that’s how things work around here.
We spent the morning with another hour-long class session where our instructor went into more detail about how to estimate and determine wind direction and speed in order to achieve ultimate precision for your shot. To me and to several of my classmates, it looked like a lot of numbers and charts, geometry and science. But that’s what it is. FTW has done years of research to turn shooting into a science and developed a way to get the same result each time. Then they organize it, break it down and teach it to you and me.
For example, each student is given a Range Card designed specifically for the gun they will be shooting throughout the course. After learning about mils, minutes, clicks, your scope reticle and wind speeds, students can rely on the card on the range while putting those new skills to work. The idea is that with enough practice, these numbers and estimates will become second-nature. After a few hours of shooting today, I could adjust my shot for wind speed without relying on my card.
Another way we learned today was by setting off smoke grenades down in a canyon, which created a visual that allowed us to see how the wind changes direction and speed at different altitudes and locations. While we were on top of the mountain, we could feel the wind coming from left to right, but watched the smoke grenades below blow from right to left and switch directions. These are all things we took into account later when we shot (and hit) targets up to 1200 yards away.
Our afternoon shooting was even more exciting today when our small group split into teams of two and we had competitions to see which team could locate the targets, adjust their scope, make the hit and move on to the next target the fastest. I was extremely proud to have won a competition against two great shooters, but it’s all a tribute to the instructors here at FTW. They take the time to explain concepts in multiple ways to help each student, even a rookie like me, achieve their goals each day.
I’d be lying if I said my fellow shooters and I aren’t sore and tired at the end of each day, but it’s a rewarding feeling because it’s from the hard work and hours of practice we put in. The experience is exhilarating and relaxing at the same time. All I can say is you’ve got to experience it for yourself.
Tomorrow we will be getting out of the prone position and learning how to use our surroundings to achieve a more perfect shot. One principal the folks at FTW can’t stress enough is that “It’s the hunter’s job to kill an animal instantly with the first shot.” And that’s what we’re striving for with each and every shot we take during practice—a shot that is precise, clean, and effective.
No doubt, this will all come in handy when my classmates and I trade our metal targets out for wild hogs later this week.
From brown bear and Dall’s sheep in Alaska, to elephant and Cape buffalo in Africa, Dwight Van Brunt has hunted much of the world’s great game. In Born a Hunter, his first book, he takes the reader along on more than thirty exciting trips afield. Honest, humorous and edgy, Van Brunt writes in a fashion that goes beyond the too-common where-to-go and how-to-do-it that is so common in outdoor writing. Buy Now
