Thoughts about long-range shooting

MOSES LAKE - The thought of hitting a target at 500 yards intrigues me. Hitting the target consistently amazes me. Yet the situation to try both was offered last week and I took advantage of it.

Three Civic Leaders representing Fairchild Air Force Base attended the 2011 Air Force Rodeo at Joint Base Lewis-McChord last week. Our job was to support our troops during various competitions, from refueling an aircraft by a three-person team in a KC-135 to security forces running an endurance course.

One day we were offered a chance to visit the 600-meter range and visit with George Reinas, an Air Force sniper, although the Air Force calls such people sharpshooters.

The weapon we used was the M24, which is the military version of the Remington 700 rifle chambered in .308 Winchester, also measured as the 7.62X51 mm NATO. Seated on top of the rifle was a Leopold 10 X 42 scope. The range of the rifle is listed as 800 meters or 875 yards, but shots have been recorded at over 1,000 meters or 1,094 yards.

The Air Force uses hollow point boat tail bullets weighing 170-grains. The rifle has an extra thick barrel and a weight in the stock making the weight between 12 and 15 pounds, depending upon being loaded or empty. The front end of the rifle is supported by a bipod.

Two of us were selected to shoot first and I grabbed Reinas to be my instructor. After taking the prone position on a tarp, with my legs at an angle to the left, I was instructed to move my legs to make my body straight.

"This position will help absorb the recoil," Reinas said.

I needed to have the bipod extended another notch and a rear bag was used to rest the rifle butt.

"Use this for the final adjustment of the rifle," Reinas said, handing me a bag, which appeared to be a sock filled with popcorn kernels. "Just squeeze the bag to adjust the butt end of the rifle."

It worked great. When all was ready three rounds were sent downrange. The people at the target end of the range dropped the target, putting colored plugs in the holes and raised the target. It was a tight group, slightly to the right of the right side of the human-looking target.

"The wind has moved the bullets to the right, so we are going to move the scope three clicks to the left," my instructor said, as we made the adjustments.

Two more rounds were fired and this time the bullets hit the heart area of the chest and it was a tight group.

"Good shootin'" Reinas said.

While I would enjoy spending hours and days on the range with this man, my time was up. Following me to the canvas was the Fairchild Vice Commander Col. Marc Van Wert. Reinas went through the same pre-shooting discussion as he did with me and the shooting began.

I didn't notice the placement of the colonel's shots, but as I snapped a few photos of the two, the airman and the vice commander, the value of this encounter became apparent.

Col. Van Wert was receiving instruction on a topic he may never have encountered. This unscheduled, impromptu and unplanned interaction between an instructor for the sniper school and heavy-combat weapons, but also a battle hardened sniper and himself, could be important in the future.

Someday the colonel may need to make a decision about the necessity for a sniper team on a facility under his command.

A couple of hours on the range with Reinas may assist with his assessment of the need. Yes, hands-on experience is valuable and not to be slighted.

Another aspect of our time on the range was being able to watch the bullet head downrange. Actually, the bullet is going too fast to see it, but watching the path of the bullet is possible, as it leaves a swirl of sorts, as if it was traveling through water.

Snipers use this skill to find out where a bullet hits if the hit isn't obvious.

Wind is a tremendous factor to the flight of a bullet.

Reinas was able to assess and correct my bullet strikes by simply adjusting the scope with three clicks to the left.

While we had flags to detect wind speed and direction at various distances on the range, in combat the sniper will use anything available.

It may be blowing dust, a tree branch or smoke from a chimney.

"When the wind is blowing at different speeds, such as when it is gusting from time to time, it is the spotter's job to call for the shot when the wind is between gusts," Reinas said.

Next week: Applying sniper training to long-distance hunting situations.