I have been shooting for many years and have received formal training with pistol, shotgun and semi-auto rifles through my job. A few years back, I bought a .308 bolt gun with the intentions of learning the craft and loading my own rounds. Of late, I seemed to have hit a plateau and just wasn't satisfied anymore with learning by my own mistakes. Last October, I made the commitment to myself to seek out some formal instruction and finally see if I could gain some ground.
I looked around and read multiple reviews online and in magazines about a formal precision rifle training course. I was looking for something that was reputable, semi-local (within reasonable driving distance) and in my price range. My research lead me to one of our fellow Hide members training at North Texas Rifle Precision. Of course, since becoming a member of this forum, I had seen his humorous posts and frequent ban sessions. One thing I noticed after speaking to him on the phone about the possibility of attending his training was that Jay (NTRP-CKA) knew his craft and had no instructor complex.
I signed up for the Precision Rifle 1 and Precision Rifle 2 courses and locked in the last weekend in January. I spoke to CKA several times by PM and on the phone ensuring that I had all of the gear that I needed for the courses. He talked to me about my equipment and verified that my hand-loads were sufficient to reach max distance. I arrived in the afternoon on Friday and CKA took me on a tour of his facility and we reviewed his steel target locations. Everything was loose and he fell in with the kind of guys that I run with at work. The first training morning, his demeanor remained loose, but his dedication to safe training in a professional manner was evident. He still kept you at ease, without compromising safety.
Our first rounds down range verified my zero. He adjusted my scope location and we started on the fundamentals. I had a bad run and was about to take up golf, when he got my mind right and within a couple of hours, I was on target at 750 and 1000 yards. It was nothing magic. He showed me how to overcome 30+ years of mistakes and bad habits. I was truly amazed at how much I progressed in a short time by having someone move me in the right direction. There are numerous targets to engage, that keep you challenged.
Day two was more positional shooting and shooting on & around obstacles.
My biggest surprise was when he was leaving to go down range to paint the targets, he told me that when he got back, I had lost the use of my right eye while shooting. Low and behold, because I had to focus so much on the fundamentals and didn't have weak side bad habits built up, I shot better left handed than with my dominant side.
The day ended with running about 100 rounds through my gun at 750 and 1000. I was astounded at how far I had come in less than two days. My natural point of aim, body position, breathing, and trigger control had become muscle memory and I was truly driving my rifle like I never had before.
I would highly recommend attending the training at NTRP to anyone who is wanting to show improvement in your shooting or to anyone who is starting new. The number one reason that training is a success or failure is dependant upon the student. If you cannot become comfortable enough to allow yourself to learn, you won't succeed in your endeavor. CKA, despite his Internet celebrity status, is one hell of an instructor that caters to your learning style and makes you reach your potential.
I looked around and read multiple reviews online and in magazines about a formal precision rifle training course. I was looking for something that was reputable, semi-local (within reasonable driving distance) and in my price range. My research lead me to one of our fellow Hide members training at North Texas Rifle Precision. Of course, since becoming a member of this forum, I had seen his humorous posts and frequent ban sessions. One thing I noticed after speaking to him on the phone about the possibility of attending his training was that Jay (NTRP-CKA) knew his craft and had no instructor complex.
I signed up for the Precision Rifle 1 and Precision Rifle 2 courses and locked in the last weekend in January. I spoke to CKA several times by PM and on the phone ensuring that I had all of the gear that I needed for the courses. He talked to me about my equipment and verified that my hand-loads were sufficient to reach max distance. I arrived in the afternoon on Friday and CKA took me on a tour of his facility and we reviewed his steel target locations. Everything was loose and he fell in with the kind of guys that I run with at work. The first training morning, his demeanor remained loose, but his dedication to safe training in a professional manner was evident. He still kept you at ease, without compromising safety.
Our first rounds down range verified my zero. He adjusted my scope location and we started on the fundamentals. I had a bad run and was about to take up golf, when he got my mind right and within a couple of hours, I was on target at 750 and 1000 yards. It was nothing magic. He showed me how to overcome 30+ years of mistakes and bad habits. I was truly amazed at how much I progressed in a short time by having someone move me in the right direction. There are numerous targets to engage, that keep you challenged.
Day two was more positional shooting and shooting on & around obstacles.
My biggest surprise was when he was leaving to go down range to paint the targets, he told me that when he got back, I had lost the use of my right eye while shooting. Low and behold, because I had to focus so much on the fundamentals and didn't have weak side bad habits built up, I shot better left handed than with my dominant side.
The day ended with running about 100 rounds through my gun at 750 and 1000. I was astounded at how far I had come in less than two days. My natural point of aim, body position, breathing, and trigger control had become muscle memory and I was truly driving my rifle like I never had before.
I would highly recommend attending the training at NTRP to anyone who is wanting to show improvement in your shooting or to anyone who is starting new. The number one reason that training is a success or failure is dependant upon the student. If you cannot become comfortable enough to allow yourself to learn, you won't succeed in your endeavor. CKA, despite his Internet celebrity status, is one hell of an instructor that caters to your learning style and makes you reach your potential.
