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Training Courses Thunder Ranch Urban Precision Rfile

david walter

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Jul 22, 2007
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Out west, but not too far west
Headed to Thunder Ranch in two months for their “Urban Precision Rifle” course, and looking for recommendations on AR mag holders.

Thinking kydex weak (left) side?

Any recommendations?

add Viking Tactics skirmish belt?


or battle belt?

 
Lakeview will be chilly in 6 - 8 weeks, make sure you bring rain gear and maybe some snivel gear that is tuned to you - hand warmers / thermos of hot soup or coffee for the in-betweens / etc.

FWIW - he's big on the basics and part of that thinking is 'if you don't normally'...... learning how to do in street clothes has some real world advantages (like reminding you that pocket lint can really cause quite failure in the dark - so if you're using your pocket as a mag pouch, clean the lint out first). If you're not currently committed to a set up you might consider attending, watching what others are using and talk to them about their set up and why they have it, what he discusses; and then make a more informed decision based on what you think you need. Like a lot of things - it depends.
 
I used this one for that exact class, worked well. 3 mags were plenty between revolutions. Great facility, Clint is “an acquired taste”, lol. Rest of staff are great. You’ll be out there rain or shine so dress and prepare accordingly. A lot of this course is shoot and move, probably only 25% is prone, which is good. Fighting usually doesn’t involve just laying in one spot.

 
UPR is fusion of Urban Rifle and Precision Rifle while keeping the rifle platform of Urban Rifle it holds to a higher standard and responsibility of impacts. It takes the shooter from applying marksmanship from pristine range positions to field expedient and practical applications through realistic building facades and cover on the move. All shooting is precision shooting, but sometimes that shooting needs to be surgical. This course covers that. Low powered scopes or dot optics with magnifiers are acceptable. Bolt guns are also welcome. Drills will include safety, movement, cover, moving targets, hostage type targets, firing from elevated platforms and reactive targets.
 
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I claim responsibility for taking the last seat in HART. Anyone else going?
 
Headed to Thunder Ranch in two months for their “Urban Precision Rifle” course, and looking for recommendations on AR mag holders.

Thinking kydex weak (left) side?

Any recommendations?

add Viking Tactics skirmish belt?


or battle belt?


What is your rifle setup going to be?
 
I used this one for that exact class, worked well. 3 mags were plenty between revolutions. Great facility, Clint is “an acquired taste”, lol. Rest of staff are great. You’ll be out there rain or shine so dress and prepare accordingly. A lot of this course is shoot and move, probably only 25% is prone, which is good. Fighting usually doesn’t involve just laying in one spot.


Would a 20" setup be too cumbersome for the class? I was going to take the rifle I have set up for DMR shoots, but has a 20" barrel, plus a warcomp. I am thinking something more compact might be more useful.
 
It would be totally useable, just know that you will be negotiating barricades and the 2nd level of the shoot house. I’m a big fan of running your actual gear, this class is a good mix of barricades, short range precision, the shoot house (shooting from, not clearing the building) and 700 yard range. I ran a 16” duty gun with LPVO (Razor 1-6) and it was perfect.
 
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The Spiritus MK4 is pretty awesome. Kind of a pain in the ass to assemble all the pieces but worth it in the end.
F5E06F28-BA9C-45B1-94D1-CEC6142BC1E3.jpeg
 
Just back. Went last week with Mrs. Walter.

142588.jpg


Shot ~~ 800 rounds in three days. Plan on 200 the first day and 300 the other two days. We used loads from Fenix Ammunition in PA, 45 grain frangible, and it worked fine and was accurate. Thunder Ranch is 100% frangible ammo.

We took lots of mags, but could have got by with 4 each if we reloaded a lot. I’d say an ammo can with 11 loaded with 28 rounds will get it done every day. Have a belt or pouch that can hold two backup mags, have one in the rifle, one in a pocket and you should be fine through each course of fire. Lots of breaks to reload or drink water or coffee.

69* the first day and 31* and wet day two and 33* and wet day three. Bring Gore-Tex. I wore old military issue pants and the new issue parka in the morning. Just a puffy jacket in the afternoons. A good beanie and good baseball cap. Gloves, the light “tactical” kind are a must. I wore light winter gloves from COSTCO days 2 and 3 and was fine. Get the ones with little grippers in the palm and fingers.

Don’t skimp on ear pro. I wore plugs with electronic muffs over and turned the sound up to hear at normal levels. Mrs. wore Walker Game Ear in the ear buds and they worked OK, although all the gunfire seemed to wear out the battery by end of day.

Bring hard plastic elbow and knee pads. Lots of prone, and lots of dropping to prone in the gravel pad. Lots of shooting from the Terminator through openings at 100+ yards. I had a hand brace on my rifle and it helped a lot as a stop when shooting out of windows. Lots of head shots. “Urban PRECISION Rifle”

Rifles covered the gambit from builds to BCM, DD, LMT, etc. All of the rifles did fine. All rifles were AR-15 or M4 types.

I had a cannon-style AAC brake and so did the guy next to me and everyone was bitching about the blast, including Mrs., who was next to me on the other side. I ran a can days two and three and it was easy to see shots, but the extra 6” on the barrel made barriers and windows a challenge. Bring a good sling and know how to get into and out of it fast.

Eye pro that protects the side of your eyes is a must. I didn’t, and by day three my left eye was full of grime from the blast. It hurt for another day, but seems fine now.

Scopes ranged from a top shelf Leupold that shit the bed on day one, to Razors, other Leupold, red dots, EOTECH with triplers, SWFA and Primary Arms. I ran my SWFA 1-6 HD hard without any hiccups. Mrs. ran an Aimpoint with a tripler. Bring iron sights and know how to employ them quickly.

There were 15 students, and four instructors, including Clint. The oldest guy there was 73, youngest probably late 30s. All men except Mrs. Walter.

Great fun was had by all.
 
Last edited:
Just back. Went last week with Mrs. Walter.

142588.jpg


Shot ~~ 800 rounds in three days. Plan on 200 the first day and 300 the other two days. We used loads from Fenix Ammunition in PA, 45 grain frangible, and it worked fine and was accurate. Thunder Ranch is 100% frangible ammo.

We took lots of mags, but could have got by with 4 each if we reloaded a lot. I’d say an ammo can with 11 loaded with 28 rounds will get it done every day. Have a belt or pouch that can hold two backup mags, have one in the rifle, one in a pocket and you should be fine through each course of fire. Lots of breaks to reload or drink water or coffee.

69* the first day and 31* and wet day two and 33* and wet day three. Bring Gore-Tex. I wore old military issue pants and the new issue parka in the morning. Just a puffy jacket in the afternoons. A good beanie and good baseball cap. Gloves, the light “tactical” kind are a must. I wore light winter gloves from COSTCO days 2 and 3 and was fine. Get the ones with little grippers in the palm and fingers.

Don’t skimp on ear pro. I wore plugs with electronic muffs over and turned the sound up to hear at normal levels. Mrs. wore Walker Game Ear in the ear buds and they worked OK, although all the gunfire seemed to wear out the battery by end of day.

Bring hard plastic elbow and knee pads. Lots of prone, and lots of dropping to prone in the gravel pad. Lots of shooting from the Terminator through openings at 100+ yards. I had a hand brace on my rifle and it helped a lot as a stop when shooting out of windows. Lots of head shots. “Urban PRECISION Rifle”

Rifles covered the gambit from builds to BCM, DD, LMT, etc. All of the rifles did fine. All rifles were AR-15 or M4 types.

I had a cannon-style AAC brake and so did the guy next to me and everyone was bitching about the blast, including Mrs., who was next to me on the other side. I ran a can days two and three and it was easy to see shots, but the extra 6” on the barrel made barriers and windows a challenge. Bring a good sling and know how to get into and out of it fast.

Eye pro that protects the side of your eyes is a must. I didn’t, and by day three my left eye was full of grime from the blast. It hurt for another day, but seems fine now.

Scopes ranged from a top shelf Leupold that shit the bed on day one, to Razors, other Leupold, red dots, EOTECH with triplers, SWFA and Primary Arms. I ran my SWFA 1-6 HD hard without any hiccups. Mrs. ran an Aimpoint with a tripler. Bring iron sights and know how to employ them quickly.

There were 15 students, and four instructors, including Clint. The oldest guy there was 73, youngest probably late 30s. All men except Mrs. Walter.

Great fun was had by all.

Thanks for the review! Do you think a 2-10x scope would be ok for this course?
 
Thanks for the review! Do you think a 2-10x scope would be ok for this course?
Been to TR several times and have taken Urban Rifle twice. Precision once. Used a Leupold 1.1x8 CQB2SS in UR. Used a 3.5x10 in Precision UR. 2x10 should be fine.
 
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