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Beyond the Basics: Precision Rifle Skills That Hit Hard – Zack Stuebing
192 Plays3 days ago
This week on the Tricer Podcast, Drew talks with Zach Steubing, a former Marine sniper and long-range shooting instructor with Ghost Firearms Training. Based in Pennsylvania, Zach's team helps shooters of all levels hit targets out to 1,000 yards—often on day one. They talk about the importance of structured training, maximizing range time, and how caliber choice can impact performance in the field. Whether you're a competitive shooter or a western hunter, this episode highlights why professional instruction can elevate your long-range game.
ZACH STUEBING
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TRICER USA
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Transcript
Introduction to Tricer Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
You are listening to the Tricer podcast, where we talk all things hunting, gear, and the great outdoors. Before we begin, let's start things out right and put God first. Lord Jesus, I thank you for Tricer, and I ask that you can use this podcast as a way to bring joy to all of our listeners.
00:00:17
Speaker
We lay Tricer and this podcast at your feet. Amen. right, this will be a fun one.
Guest Introduction: Zach Stubing
00:00:24
Speaker
i got Zach Stubing on from Ghost Firearms Training.
00:00:29
Speaker
And Ghost Firearms Training does like mile long shoots, a lot of precision rifle shooting and just kind of trains people to shoot long range. They're out in Pennsylvania and they actually bring people in from like New York all over the over the country to learn to shoot long range. And they also do more advanced courses as well.
00:00:48
Speaker
I'm kind kicking around flying out there mid with way my COO and doing some training with you guys. um Absolutely.
Benefits of Long-Range Shooting Courses
00:00:54
Speaker
I shoot some NRL matches and PRS matches and I've been doing some you know weekend courses out here in San Diego, um, learning and, uh, man, I feel like it's one of those things where you can never learn enough when it comes to ballistics and long range. And it's just one of those things where you just got to get range time, but taking a course like with you guys really, not only does it cut the learning curve in half, but also saves you a bunch of money, man. Cause you're just, these bullets aren't cheap.
00:01:19
Speaker
Yeah, that is true. Hey, I'm excited to be here and talk to you. Yeah, I've been with Coast Firearms for six years, long-range instructor. We do, we teach pretty much anybody. I mean, beginners up to people who are already competing.
00:01:33
Speaker
we we We don't care who you are. We give you guidelines like, hey, we want you to at least hold an inch group when you're showing up. Like, we want people that are a little bit squared away, but you show up. I, we don't care if you've shot 50 yards or 500 yards.
00:01:51
Speaker
We'll have you hitting a thousand on the first day, a little bit after lunch. Uh, generally, generally before lunchtime, we have you at 800 yards. We break Jackson, the owner, he cooks everybody launch, know, burgers, dogs, chicken, whatever he's got lined up.
00:02:06
Speaker
And, uh, we break from lunch and right after lunch, nine, a thousand, we'll have your usually about one o'clock in the first day. And it, It blows some people's minds how quickly we can we can get you out there shooting, hitting targets out to 1,000. Yeah, and you're you're very
Zach's Military Journey
00:02:23
Speaker
qualified. like you Before you started hunting animals and stuff, you were hunting folks in the military, right? You were you went to sniper school, right, in what, 2014, you said?
00:02:33
Speaker
Yeah, so I joined joined the military in 2014. I was a Marine. was infantry for about a year, did my first deployment as an 11 rifleman.
00:02:43
Speaker
And then at the tail end of my deployment, I went through what's called an in-doc. It's basically just a tryout. Got selected into a sniper platoon in 2000, I believe it was 2016.
00:02:57
Speaker
Went to school 2017, early after the, actually January 1st, I started school. um It's three months. Graduated sniper school in March of 2017. Did my second deployment with 3rd Battalion 5th Marines.
00:03:13
Speaker
ah you know, i loved my job, loved the guys I was working with. And it just, it ignited that passion of shooting long range. And I, I just got addicted and every chance I could get, I was reading books, shooting as much as I can, you know, and obviously doing what we did, you know, we got to, got to do some cool shooting, got to shoot in some cool places, you know, i shot past a mile shooting the fifties.
Rifle Calibers in the Military
00:03:38
Speaker
We, uh, We were actually the first platoon in the entire Marine Corps to be given the 300 Win Mag, which was kind of a big stepping stone. From the.308.
00:03:49
Speaker
Stuck at.308 and a.50 with nothing in between, and it was yeah it was bad. So we were actually the first platoon. They sent four of them to us. We took them to 29 Palms, and we did some training with them. and follow were all writing letters all of a sudden, we need more of these. These are awesome because it gets us off of.308 and into something a little bit bigger.
00:04:10
Speaker
Yeah, it's a um because I'm actually a really big 308 fan and 300 Win Mag fan. I'm kind of stuck on the 30-out-6 right now, honestly. But they all shoot the same bullet. It just gives you a little more power, um you know. and And I'm not, like, I think a 300 Win Mag is pretty much all you really need. I don't think you need to go to, like, a 300 PRC or any of these, like, mega mega cartridges, you know.
00:04:31
Speaker
A 300 Win Mag, it really does, it does a lot. It does. It really does. There are differences coming into calibers like a three 308. You're going to shoot like 175 green rounds. It's coming out of like 2,500 feet per second. Like you're not talking about a fast round and yep stepping at 300 wind mag, you're going to pick up bullet size. You know, you're going to shoot a 200 to 20s. Like you can get a bigger bullet moving a lot faster. Obviously you're to have a lot more recoil.
00:05:02
Speaker
The nice part with the 300 PRCs and these newer calibers is if you've ever looked at a 300 wind mag, there's a little belt rated at the base of the round. That's what your spacing is built off of is that belted cartridge.
00:05:15
Speaker
Okay. Now the 300 PRC is a modern caliber. And what they're spacing off of is where the, the casing comes up and next down onto what's called the shoulder.
00:05:26
Speaker
Then it comes into the neck. The shoulder is what it's going to be spaced off of on these newer cartridges. All it does is it makes it more of an accurate seating depth. So potentially is more of an accurate cartridge in general, but I've shot plenty of 300 wind mags that are just one hole in paper at a hundred. I mean, it just, you get what you get. So.
00:05:49
Speaker
Yeah. I, uh, I like that 30 nozzle or two. done a lot of that. Uh, it's funny cause you start shooting, you start seeing the difference between like a 30 nozzle, three, you know, 300 PRC and like a 308. like 300 at 400 yards, you should 308 rings of steel.
00:06:03
Speaker
You should 300 PRC and it knocks my target over. oh right. Like it's like, ah there's just a lot more oomph with the 220 grain bolts coming out at 2,900 feet per second. ye
Understanding Shooting Distances
00:06:14
Speaker
Um, I actually load all my, my, my two boys, um,
00:06:18
Speaker
and my, um, my two older boys and my two partners, I have them all shooting 308 to 168 grain TTSX. And they're all coming in around like 2650, you know, somewhere between 26 and 26. It's been only gone, honestly, same load.
00:06:32
Speaker
Some of them are shooting 2600, some are shooting 2700. And it seems just to do everything I need to do out to, you know, 500 yards. It's just a great, great caliber. And it doesn't, you know, kick the crap out of them. And I'm a big fan of frontal diameter and heavy for caliber bullets.
00:06:46
Speaker
Um, It just seems like when you put one of those 308 bullets into an animal, whether it be an elk down to a coyote, it just works. Oh, it it works. It tried and true. 308 has always been God's caliber um shot thousands upon thousands of rounds of it.
00:07:04
Speaker
It works. It always works. the The only difference is you have to know how to shoot to make it work at distance that those velocities of, These Magnum calibers, 300 PRCs, wind mags,.30-06s, they're getting that more velocity.
00:07:21
Speaker
The higher in velocity you get, the less deviation you have on vertical spread at distance. So that.308 might be dropping 48 inches. The 300 PRC and 300 Win Mag are only dropping 20 inches, you know? 24, yeah. Yeah, it makes it a lot easier to hit those further targets.
00:07:40
Speaker
And honestly, for me, it's not even so much that vert, it's that horizontal, right? You start getting into some of those big... 215 grain 220 grain burgers and in a 30 nosler and it's just bucking the wind i mean even when i'm shooting like i've had some times the desert we're shooting 25 mile power winds and i'm holding like 15 foot right with this 260 rem which is essentially a six five creedmoor and those three those freaking you know those 30 noslers putting that big 220 grain bullet out there and they're holding you know half the distance because it's just bucking the wind
00:08:10
Speaker
So you realize our buck in the wind, the more that bulls are slowing down, the more you're getting, you know, things drifted on you and
Future of Sniper Rifle Calibers
00:08:17
Speaker
they really do a lot. But for hunting, I'm actually, I'm a really big 308 fan, honestly, because feel like it's all you really need for most guys to get out there and go hunting and get a lot of rounds down range.
00:08:27
Speaker
Um, at the same time, like, are you, are we seeing a shift in the military at all? Cause you were kind of out now, now they've, once Trump got in, they kind of made sure he can make all these new calibers, you know? Um, yeah you think you're going to see these guys, these snipers starting to shoot six, five and stuff like that. Are they doing that on there already or no?
00:08:44
Speaker
There's a, there's, I'm not in the loop as much as I used to be. Um, there are different branches stepping into different rifles and calibers, um, for primary carries.
00:08:55
Speaker
Uh, there's guys who are already carrying 300 wind mags. You know, I think the Navy was carrying them before we were, the Marine Corps started carrying them. And to the best of my knowledge, like they are generally going to move in the right direction.
00:09:07
Speaker
The only hard part is, you know, it's military, which is military grade, which is lowest bidder. So to them, they had a stockpile of 308. So at that point when I was in, they weren't really looking to get rid of 308.
00:09:21
Speaker
Will they eventually? i think they will. I think they'll start coming around. and They're just behind the curve. That's all it is. it's they're They're teaching how to shoot on a ah gray platform. I mean, the M40 is a phenomenal platform.
00:09:35
Speaker
You learn on the M110, which is our semi-automatic weapon, it's still a.308, 20-round box mag. It's capable out to 800. I mean, we push them to 1,000. The same freaking grand they were using World War two ah Yeah. yeah It's 175 grain Sierra match King. I mean, it's, it's a tried and true caliber, tried and true round.
00:09:56
Speaker
It works. It's just easier to do it with a 300 wind mag or even a six, five Creedmoor. I mean, six, five Creedmoor. Yeah. That's right. That's where i was going with it. I wanted to hear. Yeah. You're not getting as much of an impact with it. You're, you know, you're shooting one hundred and forty s one hundred and forty three s or night, the little sweet spot.
00:10:12
Speaker
You can get like a one 47, you get a little more velocity out of it, but the BC is higher. So that bullet's going to it's going to buck wind better. It's going fly a lot nicer. They're just nicer.
00:10:24
Speaker
Yeah. But, hey you know, you're now you're apples to oranges. I mean, which one's going to hit harder? three ah eight's got more mass. 6.5's going to have a little more velocity. At some point, the 6.5's going to overtake it at distance, I would assume.
00:10:36
Speaker
But, I mean, it's just... it's the same way across any caliber that i mean are you willing to shoot a 300 wind mag and have a little more kick or you can shoot a 308 or shoot a six mil creed i mean that's 3 000 feet per second when 108 grain round but the wind is just non-existent that bullet is so efficient in the wind it's like cheating yeah i'm shooting that same 108 in my uh that 108 burger in my um Six Dasher.
00:11:06
Speaker
Not going that fast, but it's going like 28. I got to talk my head, 2800 or something like that. 27, 2800, something like that. But yeah, it's it's it's like a cheat code, right? You can shoot that gun it's super far, slower, do things.
00:11:18
Speaker
I'm
Ethical Shooting Practices
00:11:19
Speaker
actually tempted to do like a little six Dasher for my kid, but we I'm actually doing... um my sequence is building my kid a rifle right now and it's going to be a six, five Creedmoor, but they have the new, and I, and I've actually been pretty, pretty stuck on the three or eight for my kids. Cause honestly, I just understand ballistics well enough. And I understand hunting well enough to know like 400 yards. It's pretty much all you really need with, especially with a kid.
00:11:42
Speaker
And it is the truth. I mean, three, it'll do it. ah three three way and Three, it'll three, it'll do it. Right. And it's when I started stretching past that. Right. And even with three, I'll do that to 500 yards all day long, but the cream or is this a nice, it's a really nice cartridge. It's hard to beat. We shot every animal you could imagine in Africa with six, five Creedmoor.
00:12:00
Speaker
Yeah. And had no issues, no issues whatsoever. There's guys hunting elk with a 243 and 270s. I mean, you can do it. To me, it's all shot placement, which as long as you can hold the group at a distance, you can shoot that distance in the woods.
00:12:16
Speaker
Some guys get a little overzealous and, you know, they, oh, i I hit a thousand yard steel. That means I'm going to shoot out to a thousand in the woods. It's like, God, na you're hitting a 24 gong.
00:12:28
Speaker
at a thousand one, every two or three shots, like you got to keep it ethical. You know, you got to keep something that's one going to do the amount of damage you need, but two, it's also shooter of what's your ability, you know?
00:12:41
Speaker
Yeah. I just know, like, I always say like, once you get past that four and 20 yard, that quarter mile mark, things just start going. You could dial anything for elevation, right? It's the wind that gets people. They don't, and they don't get it. And it's the crosswinds. It's the cross Canyon stuff.
00:12:56
Speaker
Um, what turned me off and I shoot a lot. I mean, I've, I've got, I must've shot 2000 rounds of six, five, 143 grand cream mores this year. I shoot a lot and I still, i was out hunting elk two years ago and had a guy just shoot like a box of ammo at a spike. I mean just missing like crying a thousand yards away over our heads. I mean, like we weren't shooting this animal.
00:13:18
Speaker
And, uh, I went out and I bought a $800 Woodstock 30-06 two years ago, and I've been shooting it for every hunt since. um And it's just like, I'm just like, man, like I can make it happen. I could close a thousand yards, right? Like if you can close a thousand yards, something is wrong with you.
00:13:35
Speaker
Like it's just something is wrong with you. I'm sorry. I understand five, 600 yards sometimes, like, especially in some of this, like this bear country in Idaho, right. Or some of the coos country in Mexico where it's just big canyons. Right. I understand it.
00:13:48
Speaker
But even then you could close it. We just got into a point now where like, Oh, I could dial that. Yeah. I can shoot it. Yeah. I agree. Cause even i shoot a lot. I wish I shoot distance a lot.
00:14:03
Speaker
Me, even on something bigger like an elk, I'm limiting myself to like 700 would be a big stretch. Generally on like an elk, I'd be 600 and then like that's, that's where I feel like I can get wind direction and speed. I mean, you're, you're shooting in a brand new environment, brand new range per se Like you're making a hundred percent fresh wind call on something and you have to hit a milk jug.
00:14:34
Speaker
Like you gotta to be in that, you gotta be in that sweet spot. And it that that's not as easy as people think it is. I mean, they shoot guys that come to the range, they'll shoot the range. They'll shoot it for two days. And the range is very, it's very basic.
00:14:49
Speaker
Like the wind is 90% of the time. We have one direction of wind. Sometimes we'll get a switch and on a bad day, we'll have a header tail wind. And then the days of a header, a header or tail wind,
00:15:01
Speaker
Guys are like, I don't even know what I'm looking at. and I'm like, well, this is why if you ever go hunting or do anything long range, this is where you learn that wind is It's the only thing that separates the good from the bad, the expert from the beginner.
Choosing Rifle Calibers for Elk Hunting
00:15:17
Speaker
I would argue that if you're going to shoot past 600 yards, you should kestrel on animals. i would argue I would make I would absolutely agree. Cause you start getting, that's why I always say like that 500 yard marks, pretty easy. You can make it happen and you can be a little marginally off and be fine.
00:15:33
Speaker
But when you start getting out there and when you start looking into barometric pressures, wind temperature, it really starts mattering when you get past that 600 yard mark. It really starts. So are you, here's my question. So are you one of these six Creedmoor elk guys too now?
00:15:48
Speaker
Uh, I would not shoot an elk with six Creed. Oh, thank God. i want add that I'm actually, so I'm actually in the process right now. I got six, me, myself included. We have six guys going out West.
00:16:01
Speaker
Um, we're actually, for the first time ever, we're doing a, we're talking about doing a guided rifle Elcon. I, I've always grown up with a bow. Um, we've always done the archery muzzleloader overlap in Colorado That way, whoever wants, if you if you draw the muzzleloader tag, you get a muzzleloader, you draw the bow, you get a bow, you know, whatever you want.
00:16:23
Speaker
And we're talking about doing rifles. So we're like, okay, let's push the hunt to 2026. We'll buy rifles this year. So I'm in the process of doing all my research and figuring out a company to go with for a lightweight rifle.
00:16:38
Speaker
i I'm looking at 300 PRC. yamo the ammo is nice and established. It's a big round. You can get 212 grain rounds, like 28, 2850, depending on barrel length.
00:16:53
Speaker
it's It's just a hammer. And if I'm shooting something that weighs a thousand pounds, I don't want to shoot it with a small caliber, like big target, big caliber. Dude, I'm so glad to hear you say that. Cause right now the big push is like, now, now what about your bullet? Are you a match bullet guy? or Are you a solid, solid, solid core guy?
00:17:14
Speaker
a Are you shooting an ELDX or a Barnes are you shooting a burger at that? I'm going to sound like a long range guy right now. I'm going to shoot whatever groups out of my gun the best. I have an AR that shoots trash ammo like it's its job.
00:17:32
Speaker
My six mil Creed shoots Hornady black, like the slowest six mil ammo there is, like five rounds inside a thumbnail at a hundred. Like it's just one hole.
00:17:44
Speaker
If it shoots it, it shoots it. i My 6-mil Creed, across the board, it's running slow. It's $29.95 on average. Like, Jackson, my the owner of Ghost, he shoots like 3,100 feet per second. I'm over 100 feet per second slower, but I can't give up.
00:18:03
Speaker
I'm going get a little bit more barrel life. um That gun just likes that ammo. And that's the biggest thing is like some guys go out and they... They get these hey new rifles, they break them in, you know, the 100 round break in, they start shooting and the gun's not grouping worth the hell. and they're like, I don't know why my gun's not grouping. It's like, well, you try new ammo?
00:18:23
Speaker
like well No, I'm shooting really good ammo. It's like your gun might not like that ammo. Your gun might like a different brand or a different weight. you Everything, everything changes with one little detail.
00:18:36
Speaker
Yeah, man. Um, Bullets are... I love this conversation. I having this conversation and talking about this stuff and talking about picking up. I love that you said you want to get a bigger bullet for a bigger animal because that's the camp I'm in, right? Like, I'm going to shoot... If I'm shooting an Alchemist, I'm going to shoot 30-06 or 308, maybe 300 PRC, whatever I want to grab the safe, but probably 30-06, honestly.
00:18:54
Speaker
I want you to shoot 30... All that matters to me is I'm shooting a 30 caliber bullet, not a 6-millimeter bullet at that point because I want to have... yeah that damage in there. And I, and I, where I get that from a lot of times, like I love the heavier stuff just cause I like when you see bigger animal, bigger bullet, like just going to the range for me, like I said, it shouldn't 500 yards with a six, six dash or the shooting over 300 PRC and seeing how much more authority it has when it gets there.
00:19:19
Speaker
You're like, I know that I want a big boy to hit with a big bullet. You know what I mean? And it just feels, they feel it better. it does it better. And now again, at the same time, the argument can be made that, well, hell I can shoot my six cream more.
00:19:33
Speaker
into a grapefruit at 500 yards all day long. And I can't do that 300 PRC. Well, then, then we got to looking at it. But for me with, with muzzle, I, I don't want to say I'm not a pussy, but like, I'm just like, when it comes to me with like recoil, like it doesn't with a muzzle break, it doesn't really affect you what caliber I'm shooting anymore.
00:19:50
Speaker
Right. You put a muzzle break on anything and it's very manageable. but i put i did put so I did buy that that Browning, and i did go spend $400 and put a custom break on My friend makes custom breaks here in San Diego.
00:20:05
Speaker
And that gun shoots like a.243 now. I can shoot it all day long. The problem was I was going the range, i'm like, dude, this is not enjoyable to shoot 20 times. right And I've probably only shot in that gun, i don't think I've shot it in four months. it just kind of I don't think I've cleaned it once since I've owned it. I've just killed animals with it. You know what i mean?
00:20:18
Speaker
You'd be amazed how little you have to clean a gun. I never did. I am the worst. I never clean my guns, dude. Like I, I might clean, i need to take that gun apart. I clean it this summer. I need to clean like all my guns. I haven't cleaned them.
00:20:30
Speaker
I run thousand rounds, 500 rounds through a gun. Like I'll run a cold mattress through a gun. Like I don't clean them, dude. Like it's like, yeah I don't know. Maybe that's wrong, but no, it's our, this will, this will get you. Um, our last course we just had, uh, last, I think it was last month.
00:20:48
Speaker
the win So we we score a whole bunch of stuff. you can win You score points and win all this stuff and all these team drills,
Rifle Maintenance Tips
00:20:55
Speaker
individual drills. You gain points. And then we we actually name a top shot. You get a big trophy, big plaque. It's pretty cool.
00:21:04
Speaker
The winner of the last class, we split it up. Three instructors, there's 21 shooters. So one instructor gets seven shooters. And then whoever takes top shot, the instructor with that shooter then becomes top instructor for that class until the next one.
00:21:20
Speaker
And we have our own personal trophy we give out. The winner of the last course was on a rental gun. Really? The number two shooter was his fiancée. Fiancée or wife, I'm not sure.
00:21:34
Speaker
She was on a rental gun. He beat her by two points, which is less than one one round. The lowest point target on the last drill is five points. So he beat her by less than one shot.
00:21:46
Speaker
Both rental guns, the one that she was on has over 7,000 rounds through it. I don't think we've ever put anything down the barrel once. And that rifle holds a half inch on a bad day.
00:22:01
Speaker
Yeah, you'd be surprised how much. I honestly feel like when I clean them, I screw myself. like I have some guns, like my.280 Ackermann Proot, it takes like 20 rounds to foul up again. yeah it takes a long time start shooting again. like If I clean that gun, it's all over it's so frustrating.
00:22:16
Speaker
yeah Now, are you using copper or non-copper solid? I use copper. So I shoot copper. So a lot of times if I'm going to go and clean it, I'll go and like do a good scrub. Like if I go and like get like the the high, like corrosion, like the copper fouling stuff through it and get it really clean, it will, um, it takes me a while to get it fouled up and start shooting good again.
00:22:35
Speaker
I will never strip copper. I, to to this day, since I got out of the military, I have not stripped copper out of a single rifle. I, uh, you just leave it. The only thing I'll do on like,
00:22:48
Speaker
an AR putting hundreds of rounds through it or thousands. Like if the only time I'm going to put anything down the barrel of a weapon to clean it, I'm very meticulous. I always do a pull through. i never use a hard rod unless it's coated.
00:23:01
Speaker
It's always from chamber through the muzzle in direction of travel of the round. And I will never strip copper. It is only carbon. the reason The reason being is that copper, as you were saying, fouling, copper takes a while to foul up.
00:23:16
Speaker
And your gun is going to speed up as well as tighten up. Now that the copper is filling in, you're closing the tolerances until that barrels back to where it wants to be. Carbon doesn't really do that.
00:23:28
Speaker
Copper is what fills it in more solid. I'll strip carbon. It'll take maybe five rounds, you know, couple. we used to We used to keep a ah booklet on all of our weapons. So, hey.
00:23:41
Speaker
This serial number rifle gets given to this guy, this one to this guy, and you have a book for every rifle. Every rifle you go through, we would clean the rifle the exact same way. You would take your first shot, you'd write it down, take your next shot, write it down, and you would keep track of every single round until you're back to your zero.
00:24:00
Speaker
But, like, during qualification in sniper school, you never cleaned your rifle. Because the moment you cleaned your rifle, well, now you're on zero. You know your rifle's zeroed. But you might be hitting half a mil to the left on your first round.
00:24:14
Speaker
Well, that might be one round drop that you need later on to pass, you know? And it's the same with the hunting world. Like, I'm not cleaning a rifle that I know is zeroed. I know it's holding a group.
00:24:25
Speaker
I'll clean it if it starts throwing flyers or starts tumbling. Like, I'm waiting until that thing shows me signs of being too dirty. Now, not to say I'm very very similar.
00:24:35
Speaker
Very similar and in how I do it. Yeah, like, I'll wipe the bolt down, clean it off, I'll put a little bit of oil, like, in the rails, like, Wipe the barrel off to start getting those rust spots
Selecting and Building Rifles
00:24:46
Speaker
on the barrel. views and blue yeah hit it with it Hit it with a toothbrush or a little oil. get the I get those Remington oil rags. You know what I mean? like It looks like the you know the kitchen cleaners. You know, it comes in like ah like ah you know you pull like a round tube and you pull it out.
00:24:58
Speaker
Those oil wipes, I'll wipe everything down. wipe the scope down wipe and throw it in the safe, right? Because some of my guns are blued still and they start getting it a little bit. Even some of those stainless holes start pitting a little bit. So I just wipe down that and throw them the safe.
00:25:10
Speaker
um but I very rarely clean my stuff and it's, it shows it's everything. Everything's a tool for me. So it's beat up. Like my 30 out six is beat up. I love it I love that. I'm just tearing that thing up. So looking at a rifle for you, dude, these new Seekins rifles for like 3,200 bucks are bitching.
00:25:27
Speaker
And they come with quick change barrels. Yeah. quick eight And Seekins will sell you a carbon barrel for, for, for 800 bucks. You can change that barrel out. Yeah. And that's,
00:25:38
Speaker
I'll tell you, they were on the list. Um, I had a couple of things on the list. It was Seekins was up there. Christensen was up there. um fierce, if you ever heard of them, uh, makes a good gun. Yeah. Yep.
00:25:51
Speaker
So they're actually kind of near the top just because of what they offer for the price point. Um, I had a checklist in mind and I was at the point where I was almost looking into having another custom gun built. My six mil was a custom gun.
00:26:06
Speaker
um And that's where I was at. I was sitting here thinking, like, do I have to get a custom gun to get all the details I want in these? And I just wasn't finding a company. I found Fierce has, I want a floor plate because I want an internal box mag. I do not want a removal mag. Reason being, you get out of the truck at four zero in the morning, you step out of your tent four in the morning to go hiking in.
00:26:29
Speaker
Well, now you got to remember a gun and a mag and your ammo. yeah I want to get out of my tent and be like, gone. All I need, walk. That's it. I, no memory. I want 4am. want it to be as simple as possible. You don't want a chassis.
00:26:44
Speaker
Probably not. This, uh, the other thing that I want to be able to do is me personally, I like the feel of a, a nice sports stock. I want adjustable cheek. Well, that is a must have, but I also want something that everybody could just like, I hand you a rifle.
00:27:01
Speaker
You're not intimidated. Like, Oh, okay. Hey, like this looks, it's nicer, but it looks familiar to me. And then with our group going out West, I want everybody on at least the same caliber.
00:27:13
Speaker
That way we're going out into the woods, you know? And like, Oh, I throw a box of ammo in my pack. My gun's loaded with four or five rounds and we get out there and the guy I'm hunting with goes, Oh, I only got three rounds, you know?
00:27:26
Speaker
Well, he starts shooting and, he's shooting ah seven mil and I'm shooting a 300 and he goes, i only got three rounds. What good am I to him? I want our whole group to out of like box ammo. Go ahead. You know, here's some, here's some rounds, you know, and that's what I would like to be at that point.
00:27:44
Speaker
So you want to be a, fat you want to be a factory ammo gun too, then I want factory ammo, floor plate, adjustable cheek. Well, oh like you're like a two 12 ELDX or something, or. Yeah, I'm going to do some testing, see what we can figure out. I want to keep it a little quicker. I want to get some velocity out of it. That's why I'm kind of leaning towards like a 22 to a 24-inch barrel instead of going real short for a hunting rifle. Dude, that 195 LRX is a sick elk round if you want to cover. That 195 Barnes LRX would be a really good round to run through that guy. I'm big Barnes fan. I mean, I make no secrets about it. I'm friends with them, and I shoot their stuff all the time.
00:28:22
Speaker
um we we have to copper in california but i shoot it all over the world i love the barn stuff i love the hammer bolts as well i mean they're just fast yeah barns have always run good <unk> barn barns always barns is a great ball those lrexes are great and they just mean especially coming out of a gun going that fast it's just going to fully penetrate and leave i mean it's going to do some damage yeah i want to pedal back it's going pedal back and do some damage i really recommend that one um You know, why why pay to make a custom don't you just do them yourself? It's so easy do yourself now with all these quick change barrel systems. Like, dude, like you go get like, I built my last two guns myself. My last two PRS and my NRL gun.
00:28:59
Speaker
Just bought a Zeus Terminus action. And then now Defiance is making these quick change actions where the barrels are pre-made for them. And you just get a premium. Like, I don't know. i my My opinion is you don't need a custom gun guy anymore. You can go build your whole thing yourself.
00:29:13
Speaker
Go buy yourself a Matrix chassis or buy, you know, buy, you you know, whatever you want, like Sporter stock. buy I bought a McMillan stock for my NRL gun. And I built the whole gun myself. Took it to the range. Factory ammo.
00:29:24
Speaker
Prefer barrel blank on it. And I'm shooting one-hole groups with factory Hornady ammo. I think built it all myself. yeah Yeah. So it it is possible. um That was also another part of what I was looking into was build my own stuff.
00:29:42
Speaker
Could I do it? Yes. Um, having the ability to go to someone who they have all the discounts, they have the machining to do some of these more detailed stuff. A lot a lot of the newer stuff is just all together you're good. Pre-fit. Yeah. do You don't even have to do it. Like you don't even have to get a reamer anymore. You can order it reamed out with the headspace. Like my NRL gun, had them, they, they, i don't know what camera what's called, but they basically ream out a little bit more,
00:30:09
Speaker
In there for the, for longer bullets, right. For the six fives, you know, yeah they make it a little bit, so they'll even do that stuff for you. I mean, straight prefer barrel blanks is bitching. Like I love those. I prefer barrel blanks and they get you a barrel back in like six weeks.
00:30:21
Speaker
Yeah. I'm just, i I'm not trying talk you out of buying. yeah I'm also all for, I'm also all for buying. Dude, have you looked at weathery? Weatherby makes badass mountain rifle. they They've been stepping up their game in the recent couple years.
00:30:36
Speaker
hundred percent They've been coming back from it. I feel like for a little while there, they kind of fell behind and other companies were really starting to like take the lead in these newer style, like hunting rifles, long range rifles.
00:30:50
Speaker
Weatherby made a comeback. They're, we've actually They're making some and really nice rifles. I know they were using ah proof research. I think they just switched barrel manufacturers, had some issues of proof. um But they're making some high-end rifles. i They probably even have a just a but a box plate type style...
00:31:10
Speaker
rifle, I almost imagine. I can't remember what their rifles are called, but I just i just say that because like I hunt with like Brad Hunt and Mark Livesey and those guys, and they're all Weatherby guys. and they make They make a nice rifle, dude. It's one to look at. It's up there with the Fierce and the Seekins and i'm just a big even with Even the freaking Brownings, dude, like the Browning Hells Canyons are great rifles. You buy the higher end ones. shot a couple of them.
00:31:32
Speaker
i and Not that I hated it, it just... It shot pretty good. It just it's that one didn't really blow my socks off for some reason Yeah, i had a couple couple buddies that were heading out last year heading out west all three the three brothers They all had the exact same rifle 300 wind mags and they're like hey, can you come over and like we uh, we went to my but our buddy's farm and I think we we got it out to 700 yards think it was like seven seven fifty they shot decent
00:32:05
Speaker
But then like I put my gun on the line and I put like, I'm putting a two, three inch group on like five, 600 yards. Like it just, the accuracy wasn't quite there.
00:32:17
Speaker
no yeah could it's not my gun. So I don't know what the, what the ammo they're using in comparison to a different ammo, different weight, you know, like yeah that's what that's on you guys as having them having that gun. They have to figure that out.
00:32:32
Speaker
What, uh, what ammo is going to fly the best for them. Ammo is the X factor. People don't realize it's the ammo choice is so important. And that's why I love ballistics. I love reloading. I love discalibers. And even though I am pretty simple in like what I shoot, like i just like I love figuring out what bullet works best.
00:32:52
Speaker
And I like what you saying in the beginning. You're going to shoot in 20, 100. Your partner's going to shoot in 31. I'm more of an accuracy and slower guy than a speed guy. Right? I like to chase that speed if I can get it, but if I can't get it and the gun doesn't like that ammo, I'm not giving up accuracy. I want accuracy.
00:33:11
Speaker
I can dial for that speed. That's no problem. Yeah. I mean, there's, there's nodes and honestly, animal doesn't care if you hit it at 2200 feet per second versus 2100 feet per second. It doesn't matter at that point. You just need damage.
00:33:24
Speaker
I need damage. yes That's why I'm big on frontal diameter and heavy for caliber bullets. Cool. we We kind of went through hunting.
Entry-Level Long-Range Shooting Tips
00:33:31
Speaker
Uh, what I wanted to talk about too, is like, just because you're a firearms trainer, right? You bring guys in, and you get a thousand yards first day.
00:33:39
Speaker
Um, Let's talk about that. Like entry level coming into What's the first issues people are making when it comes to shooting a gun? Is it body position? Is it not accurately getting their gun sighted in? Like what, what are like, where, what's kind of that basics long range? shot Tell you the truth. Um, body positions usually pretty big.
00:34:00
Speaker
Um, generally no one, no one understands recoil management to the point where, You need to be perfectly square behind the rifle.
00:34:11
Speaker
Like you need to be in line, straight in line. Your rifle should draw a straight line from your dominant shoulder through that side, like your butt cheek. Like it should draw straight line, legs flat, of heels and toes down, like nice and flat with your feet. Like everything needs to be nice and square because if you're offset a little bit,
00:34:33
Speaker
Well, your rifle's recoil that's coming straight back is going to go to path of least resistance. So if your body is off to the one side, your rifle is going to jump to that weak side.
00:34:44
Speaker
So like body position is huge, and we see that a lot. So I would think the best way that was described to me, because like when I get onto a gun, i get into a pushup position and get to a pushup right behind the gun.
00:34:56
Speaker
And the best way this has been described me if you are listening, is imagine you're stepping on a soda can or a beer can, whatever. You smash it, go straight down. Well, now imagine you step on it sideways and it kicks sideways.
00:35:06
Speaker
You want to be, out yeah comes out, right? You want to be a square but beer can. So when you step on it or you hit that gun, it goes straight back. So you want to get your, yeah what I do is I get like my, whatever, my nipple over the back of the gun in a pushup position and I'll come down straight behind it then you're going kick your rear legs out wide and flatten those suckers out where your toes are pointing out away.
00:35:27
Speaker
And so many times, I don't know it's because the movies or what, people lay down and their body is like one, like a pencil and it's sideways to the gun. It's sideways to the gun. And like, that might work for your first shot.
00:35:40
Speaker
And I get it. Like, I mean, I shot some animals this year in Africa and I was like, you there was no laying flat. It was like, i had a rock in my, up my freaking butt and I was crooked, you know, cause the only way can get into these rocks to shoot, but you want to be as square as possible to that gun, whether you're kneeling, uh, low kneeling, standing squatting or prone, you want to be square the rifle. So when you step on that beer can, it goes straight back.
00:36:04
Speaker
Yep. Recoil management is huge and it becomes even more prevalent shooting off of tripods. I love shooting off of tripods because i put it up all the time. Like I, you will almost never get to shoot in a perfect prone position, especially hunting long range, like cool, go to the range, do your prone work, dude,
00:36:27
Speaker
you got to train that tripod work. You got to be shooting in the sitting, the kneeling, the standing. That's where this bipod comes in, dude. I'm telling you, yeah i have not found a position.
00:36:37
Speaker
I cannot, I have not found a position in the field that I cannot do this bipod yet. Game changer. Game changer for hunting. Game changer for hunting, for getting those. And we've gone out and done a bunch of field testing and shooting together now with people where you're like, you, you just never,
00:36:54
Speaker
shoot off of a bench when you're hunting. You know what I mean? You're not carrying a bench on your shoulder. Yeah. So you got to get squirreed and you got to go practice, man. So like when you guys are doing your field testing, are you guys bringing these guys and just to shoot off benches are guys doing weird positions as well?
00:37:08
Speaker
So depending on the course that we're running, we run a 1.0, 1.5, a 2.0, which we've kind of intermingled with a hunter course. So it's a 2.0 hunter. And then we run a shooter spotter course.
00:37:21
Speaker
So like the 1.0 course and the 1.5,
00:37:24
Speaker
You're in the prone. We tell you bring 200 rounds. You're shooting for two days. You shoot strictly in the prone. Now, this is like our beginner level stuff. Like if you've only ever shot 50 yards with a 22, like we don't care.
00:37:39
Speaker
As long as you can hold a one-inch group, you can rent rifles from us. We have ammo that you can purchase. Like we we have everything that you need. You just got to show up and have fun. So like that course, more of not so much as safety reasons, like it makes it much safer. Every rifle never moves. They just stay on the line.
00:37:58
Speaker
You get behind your rifle when you're up, you know, and that's all prone. Now, when we go to the Hunter and the 2.0 course, which is my favorite course we teach hands down, it is so much fun for me because we get to teach people like, okay, Hey, you should already know how to shoot in the prone. Cause we, we've,
00:38:18
Speaker
taught most of these people before or they're experienced shooters. Now we get to start playing with like, okay, let's shoot off of a pack. Let's shoot off of a tripod. Let's shoot off of a barricade. Let's shoot off a rooftop.
00:38:31
Speaker
So we have all these things set up and we teach you like, okay, let's build a stable position using what you have. And I tell people, they ask all the time, like, what do I need to bring? I say, bring your entire hunting load out.
00:38:44
Speaker
Bring your entire shooting load out. If you're a PRS guy, Bring everything you got. Because you might get up to ah tripod shot where we're like, okay, hey, we're shooting this stage from the standing. We're going to shoot these targets from the kneeling.
00:38:58
Speaker
And you're like, well, I've never done that before. Well, okay, let's figure out what works for you. Me, I always use a sling. I utilize a sling to apply down pressure into the rear two legs of my tripod.
00:39:11
Speaker
So in anything but this, actually i can try and do it in the setting. It's harder in the setting, but kneeling and standing, I'm using it a, a sling. Like some people don't do that.
00:39:22
Speaker
You know, but you want a cheat code. You want cheat code for backpack hunting? Yeah. What's that? Rear trekking pole support. Yes. So trucking poles. A trucking pole in the back, dude, like it's a cheat code. Go out to the range on a tripod and then throw a trucking pole in the rear and you can do it. I don't even do mine under the gun. I put it up against the side of it.
00:39:43
Speaker
I had a lot of big pinch. I can pitch. And just like I was doing a real tripod, just real tripod, but I do it with the checking pool and dude, like that's a cheat code off a tripod. You can do it standing and it's going to make you so much more accurate. The rear checking pool support.
00:39:57
Speaker
We all have checking pools in our bag, even off of a, off the bipod. If I'm sitting through checking pool in the rear, it is, it's a game changer for shooting accuracy. Yeah. Cause checking pools are awesome. And it's the same with a tripod. If you're shooting off of anything other than your tripod,
00:40:12
Speaker
If you just extend your tripod a little bit and use one leg, yeah bring that in and you put the rifle and the tripod together and you hold that as your rear support and then whatever you're using as a front support, whether it's.
00:40:24
Speaker
a stomp, your bipods, those, those bipods are key because you can get them so high. You can shoot sitting or kneeling with those and then utilize anything as rear support, a pack, trekking pole, yeah a tripod, anything. used to do the pack, but then once I figure out the trekking pole, it's so much easier.
00:40:41
Speaker
it cause the pack yeah It's quick and you can adjust the height of it. With the pack, you're like kind of like trying to like get this big bulky thing. Trekking pole, you could be any position. You could be in a bush and put trekking pole in there and get it to fit in there. And they're long enough.
00:40:53
Speaker
They're long enough. yet to do No matter how tall you get, yeah you can always get that to the back of your gun. And you can angle it enough to give you like that proper support. I would almost argue that a rear support is as important, if not more important than a front support.
00:41:09
Speaker
Yes, it's close. I would still give the front. I would still have to say front. Because even without rear support, I can shoot standing off a tripod yeah with only myself.
00:41:24
Speaker
and like I shoot 1,000 yards at our range all the time from the standing. You just have to know how to do it. And that's what's cool about the 2.0 and our hunter course is we have like an entire half of a day where we just like we go to a certain part in the range, and we're just like, okay, get out what you
Community Learning in PRS and NRL
00:41:41
Speaker
got. this is what When we bring all our stuff, like – One of our instructors, Trevor, is a PRS nut. He is, he makes me feel silly. He's got every bag you can imagine. He's the guy I'm building my tripods for. These are the biggest gear dorks.
00:41:56
Speaker
One bag. One bag. Game changer. It's all he carries. Now, granted, he has other bags. He uses one bag. He uses a game changer for his rear support, even front support when he puts it up on like a barricade or rooftop. He uses one bag.
00:42:10
Speaker
He is a machine. He is, he, he takes PRS to a simpler spot, which I love of how he is able to make it so easy for just like an everyday person, but he makes it so look so natural. And then like, he's really good on like the barricades and all this. He's very quick and he's efficient.
00:42:32
Speaker
I'm better on like tripod work. That's, that's what I learned was tripod. It was, you're carrying a tiny little tripod around. As long as I can get it up to like nipple chest height, that's as high as I go for the standing position.
00:42:45
Speaker
As long as I can get to my chest, I'm good. That's it. I can shoot any distance I need to. Really? Yeah. I, um, I love the PR stuff. I think it's a good way to go out and learn. It's in the NRL. You go out and do those matches and they're going to be, Oh yeah.
00:42:59
Speaker
I have not been to one where anyone's like, Oh, you suck. They're going to teach you how to do it and You learn how to do it. Um, So rear support, let's talk about that too. Cause we, we're talking about hunting, right? we And I don't carry a bag when I hunt. Do you care? Are you, I, what I use for my rear support is either a puffy or I love using my vinyl harness and I'll do the vinyl harness sideways or the vinyl harness flat, or I'll even do a vinyl harness and like a range pouch, like whatever range finder to do it. Do you carry a bag?
00:43:27
Speaker
So it depends on the type of hunt I'm on elk hunt. I am 99.9% of the time i am carrying a pack. um I have a full frame pack, but it's... No, I'm not talking about a back. I'm talking about a rear bag, not a rear pack. I'm not pack. I'm talking about actual shooting bags, like rear rear support bags.
00:43:47
Speaker
So, yes and no. Depends. Depends on what I'm doing. If I'm like out at night doing predator hunting or something, I don't. But I'm usually in a position where I can't even utilize it anyway.
00:44:03
Speaker
Now, if I'm heading out on a hunt where like, longevity, I know I might have the possibility of taking a longer shot. I always carry tab gear bags. I swear by a tab gear bag. I have loved them from day one.
00:44:16
Speaker
They sell a light fill bag. Like you'll forget you have it. It's so light. Yeah. There's a lot. All it takes is one little bag. Cause the only time I'm using a rear bag of any type is generally in the prunes.
00:44:31
Speaker
So for me, like I have a little, I think it's like a six to nine inch light fill bag. It fits in a, like it fits anywhere. put it right in a, like a water bottle pocket. yeah You could put a carabiner on it, put it right to your belt. And that way it's quick and easy to get to.
00:44:46
Speaker
I would take it. Generally, I'm not even going to use it. Cause like, that's why i don't care that's why I don't carry one. That's why, cause I, I might, I shouldn't have freaking stick.
00:44:57
Speaker
Yeah. For me, it's so light. That it's worth it for me to have it, not need it, then need it, not have it to take that longer shot. But then vice versa, like 99% of the time I've ever shot in the woods or anything like you're not.
00:45:15
Speaker
You're not using a rear bag because you're not in the prone. You're always in a position shoot. On a tree, on a tree, out of tree on a fence line, yeah on on your butt, on a rock. I mean, like. You're shooting through a hole in the wall. You're shooting out a window. You're shooting off ah out of a stand. Like you're shooting off a stump. You're shooting all these different spots. It's never in a prone.
00:45:36
Speaker
and Like that's the hardest position to ever be able to find and take a real shot from. It's hard. that's why like That's why I always say like work on tripod work.
00:45:47
Speaker
Get a good carbon tripod, something nice and light, sturdy. Tracer. Get a nice, sturdy, lightweight tripod. Folds up real small. I like it because I put it in my side pouch, or my like my pack.
00:46:02
Speaker
I'll have it in there strapped to my pack. All it is is one buckle, and I have a tripod. It's already preset. already know generally where my settings are that, like, I drop, I, you know, unlock, drop my legs, lock. And I know generally where I have to get to for standing, kneeling, sitting.
00:46:20
Speaker
And then whatever you're shooting in dictates that. If you're in super high grass, like what are you going to Not shoot at something because you've never shot in four foot grass. Like, no, I'm going to put my tripod up and I'm gonna take that shot from the standing.
00:46:33
Speaker
You know, ah that's, I want that ability. Yeah. mean that's why I made that bipod. Right. Cause I always had like, I'd have the short bipod and now I need a long one or I have the long one. I need a short one. And I just never had the right bipod on my gun.
00:46:46
Speaker
that's why made this one. like, I need somebody who does everything. Cause like just realize in the field, like you just don't get that prone shot all the time. Even though I did shoot quite a few animals from the prone this year. Um, a lot of times you're just, you're just not, you're on a rock or you're up, you know, you just, you're down a hill, up a hill. Like it's just not comfortable to make the shot. Like even the shot I had in Africa this year, if I didn't have this bipod, I would have been stacking backpacks to make the shot. it was uphill 390 yards. And i was like,
00:47:13
Speaker
in but boulders. Like I was, it's just like, I was able to make the bipod, like one leg was like 18 inches. One leg was like 12 inches. And I was able to get it thing stable and put a, I use, i think I use my bino horse and that one and get real stable on the animal.
00:47:26
Speaker
But it's just like, you just, that prone position is not, always perfect like my tip my kid did shoot his buck this year prone but we had like it was 385 yards and it was like canyon it was the most beautiful like you couldn't asked for a better spot to be prone right canyon to canyon flat rock i mean just it was like it was beautiful it was just like you couldn't but most times you don't have that most time you're on the the decline of a hill to cross yeah and you're you know what i mean it's just not there so and that's why i always like That's why I always emphasize like go out with what your gear you're going to hunt with and go shoot with it in weird positions and go waste ammo. and I know ammo is expensive. You guys, but dude, a $1,200 elk tag that you might only get one shot at
00:48:07
Speaker
You will not regret spending $500 in ammo. I mean like burn, yeah you should be spending thousands of dollars a year on ammo to go, to go shoot and practice because you're going to get one chance.
00:48:17
Speaker
If all you're doing is going to the range and like, I'm good to go. I got a three quarter inch group or one MOA group at a hundred yards. Like, You are not ready go. Not at all. Like this, this guy right here.
00:48:29
Speaker
Yep. Pride possession of that was the greatest day of my life in the hunting standpoint. Shot from the standing. Really? Like it just, yeah I never in a million years would I have ever been able to pull off a prune shot.
00:48:42
Speaker
It just like, you're on stuff that you're holding on to. If you're not holding on to a tree, like you're sliding. You're rolling. Like show me how you're gonna shoot prone on that. But the caveat off of that, that's why I like that.
00:48:55
Speaker
The, the bipods, because with the long legs, you can go super, super wide and get all the way into a low prone position. You unlock them. You're in a high kneeling.
00:49:06
Speaker
Yeah. A hundred percent. But now even, even if you're not kneeling, say you're sitting in that and you throw them up real high. Well, now I'm shooting uphill. you can shoot down. like You could do all these different things. Now you're on the side of a hill having to shoot across side hill on it.
00:49:19
Speaker
i that one yeah like i did that too I did that same shot to deer this year. And one leg was long, one leg was short and I can't to the rifle level. And I was shooting ah you'reer me like along a hill and I killed a bucket.
00:49:32
Speaker
295 yards dropped him in his tracks. It was like, wow, this works. This is before anyone had the bipod, right? It's just me prototyping. Like and was like, that's how, that's how I knew it was going to sell. So good is I killed so much stuff with it in every possible position. And I'm like, Oh, this thing is going to sell itself.
00:49:49
Speaker
Oh yeah, absolutely. As soon as I saw cause I started seeing everything on Instagram. Like I started seeing the promotions coming. The first time I saw it, I was like, Ooh, I need those.
00:50:00
Speaker
Cause I know exact, those are going with me out West. Every time I go hunting, you could shoot predators with those things. Like anything. It's an an awesome predator. It's an awesome predator, a bipod.
00:50:11
Speaker
And that's what I made it for. I tell people all the time, like everyone keeps comparing me to like the MDT, which I love those guys. They're a great company, but like, I didn't make this thing. never even held. I didn't hold the thing till like two weeks ago. Like I have built this thing to be a hunting bipod, not a shooting bipod for hunting situations to kill elk, to kill deer,
00:50:28
Speaker
to kill coyotes. Like that's what I made it for. Like I could care less. I mean like, yes, go use your NRL, go use your PRS. But like what it's made for is being a lightweight bipod that'll get the job done. and and that's, and that's what it's all I care about. the nail on the head.
00:50:42
Speaker
That's all I care about. Like I don't, I can care less when my score is an integral hunter. All I care about is that when I have my kid in that bipod this year and we're in New Mexico, I can make sure I get him stable enough to kill a deer his first buck. I'm not having to stack three backpacks, you know, like my other kids first. If there's just so many situations, dude,
00:50:59
Speaker
with hunting where like, like this year we're here in Utah. Right. And there's this buck and he might, he's a hundred yards. Like kids can't see it. i'm like a hundred yards. He's right there. And the buck takes off. And I'm like, he's like what do you want to do Use your tripod. I'm like, no, use that down tree right there.
00:51:11
Speaker
Cause like, he's like, well, the tripod. Like, no, use the tree. Cause the tree was right there. Like there's so much faster, way faster. Right. And he'd have shooting the bucket, like 220 yards through the neck, dropped in his tracks, you know? And like, there's just like, we were in, you'll see the video come out soon. And my kid shoots a, a,
00:51:28
Speaker
ah not an antelope, what are those damn things called? Impala in Africa. And he's fully extended because we're shooting through a barbed wire fence in two foot grass. He's fully extended on the front bipod. The rear is a rear tripod supporting. He shoots his by this Impala at 220 yards where the neck drops and is tracked.
00:51:43
Speaker
You know, it's just like, there's all these things. Like I remember like my first coos year, I was jumping back and forth on this hill and like, ended up shooting it off a barbed wire fence, you know, or, or I lean up against a tree and you pinch your gun to the tree and shoot off a tree. Like hunting is so unpredictable and you have to take
Adapting to Hunting Conditions
00:51:58
Speaker
the shot. The animal gives you not the shot you want most the time.
00:52:01
Speaker
Oh, it's almost never the shot you want. it's it's lot rock trees backpacks and that's kind of where this whole i'm not doing a bipod commercial but it's where the bipod came from it's just from so many years of killing so many animals in so many different positions just realizing like i need something that does all that because like it just there's never it's is you almost never get that freaking harris nine inch bipod shot you just don't get it i i've had i've had harris on my guns i've had i've had a bunch of different bipods on my guns and I don't know if I've taken more than a handful of shots ever off of bipods.
00:52:35
Speaker
That, like, low bipods. but It's hard. I've taken shots off little bipods on top of three backpacks. Yeah. My kid shot a bucket, uh, like three 85 or three eighty or something that. His first, his first mule deer off of like, there's two backpacks and a 12 inch bipod at uphill. what mean? To get the shot, you know, it was just like trying to make you describe trying and but make it work and you do it, you figure it out and you kill stuff, you know?
00:52:59
Speaker
So we're getting close to the end this thing, dude. We always end with the hunting story. You got a hunting story for us someone tell us what that big bull behind you or what? Yeah. Yeah. Uh, it was over the counter. public land. It was the archery muzzleloader combo season. if I think it's 10 days.
00:53:17
Speaker
Day two, we'd done a bunch of maps map work. um Me and my dad's best friend, Troy, went up over the mountain to a spot we're looking at. I had a muzzleloader.
00:53:30
Speaker
I think he had a muzzleloader, but it's all open sights, loose powder. 50 caliber. You're in Colorado, I take Yep. Yep. Oh, is that loose power 50 caliber rifles? Yep. Got you.
00:53:41
Speaker
Yep. So we came over to Hill and it, it was pretty open and it was just a block of timber, which is where we're heading. We looked into it and I looked back at him, like trying to make his little noise. I looked at him and like, yes, like that's the spot. If we're going to get something, we go creeping in get about a hundred yards into it.
00:53:58
Speaker
I let out a cow call and just hell erupted below us. I was like, Oh, he's pissed. So I dropped straight down at him. I checked the wind. It was coming uphill to my left. I bumped like 30 yards off to the left to see, try and cut him off if he was going to try and wind us.
00:54:16
Speaker
Troy stayed back. He started calling. And I freaking, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, here he comes. I just see antler tips coming through the trees. was like, oh boy, cracked the hammer back. And I'm sitting way downhill as he's coming up the hill at me. He did exactly what I thought. He went left And he came right in my opening at 30 yards.
00:54:38
Speaker
Didn't even have to stop him. Click. Nothing. No. I was like, no primer. No, I had a primer. The primer went off. All it did was it just made a pop.
00:54:50
Speaker
Primer went off. Never let the powder. So now I'm so i'm frozen because the bull heard and he stopped, but his head was behind a tree. But i his rack was facing mean I knew he heard it. And I'm just frozen. i'm like, dude, he's at 30 yards. And I'm like, so what do I do now?
00:55:05
Speaker
He turned away from me and walked downhill. Like, you could tell he was cautious, but he didn't know what was going on. As his head crested behind this little roll on the hill, broke the gun down, and I was going up. I ran up to Troy as breaking it down. I ripped the breech plug out. I rammed everything out the back, put the breech plug back in, grabbed a new shot, dumped a new shot in, new primer, closed the gun up.
00:55:29
Speaker
I checked the wind again. And the whole time, Troy's sitting here cow calling at him, and he's down there like, Just making bold, like just chuckling and like, like almost growling. Like he was still fired up, but he just didn't know what that noise was.
00:55:43
Speaker
So I checked the wind. It was coming uphill right. i went ah turn a trial went, I I got to go at him. And I think if he, if the wind's going right now, he's going to try and figure out what we are. He's going to go right.
00:55:57
Speaker
I started downhill and right away from Troy, and I went about 15 steps. And the bull is standing in an open and looking straight up the hill at me at about 90 yards.
00:56:08
Speaker
I threw it up, and as I came up, clicked the hammer back, and I put it right on the patch, let the hammer go, and gun went off, and I lost him in the
Personal Hunting Stories
00:56:17
Speaker
smoke. And I was like, I don't know.
00:56:20
Speaker
ah f like I felt like I was in a ah dip can. like I felt solid, just freehanding it. And I turn around and Troy's like, his eyes are like this. He's like, dude, what happened? i was like, he was standing, looking at us from 90 yards, you know, and went down, no blood. I found exactly where he was because I found his, where his hooks pushed.
00:56:42
Speaker
Started trailing his, his tracks down through this just super thick timber, made it like 80 yards, maybe 80 yards.
00:56:53
Speaker
And I walked around a corner and he's laying there with his head up. And I said, oh, no chance. I put another one in him and he rolled down the hill. ended up having to tie him to trees. just so he would stop rolling. So we can, I've had to do that. They only live where you don't want to be.
00:57:08
Speaker
Like they only, they only die. They only die in the worst possible places. I hate elk. Like every time I do it, I'm like, God, I hate you guys. They ah like, they just live in Like, told people all the time. Like if you get into a spot and you're like, Oh, this looks beautiful. I'll go to love it here.
00:57:24
Speaker
No, look for the spot. That looks like your worst nightmare. That's what they're going to be. And go past that to the worst spot. Yeah. The worst spot. That's what they're going be is in there. And that's, i mean, is he a beautiful, typical six, six miles? He's a six by six with less than two inches of deductions. He's like perfect perfectly even.
00:57:43
Speaker
i mean but Like with like beautiful three 2330. He's right at that. I actually never got him like officially scored. The guide taped them out in camp.
00:57:54
Speaker
He said he was like 290, 300, maybe. I'm thinking he's like 290-ish to 300. He's a beautiful bull. I can only see his right side, like half because he's hardcore like that. But it's a beautiful, beautiful, perfect bull. I mean, it's got the big whale tails, looks great.
00:58:13
Speaker
And you got your bull, dude. That's awesome. i I got him. The next one is with a bow. Now I got to go down that rabbit hole. Yeah. Yeah. Me, you and me both. I've got a handful of them with a rifle and just need to do the bow now. I'm just, I'm turning my tag, my bow tag back this year. Cause my kid's got a rifle tag. So I'm going to turn that back.
00:58:30
Speaker
But Zach, man, that was a fun pod, dude. Ghost firearms training. Still to be working with you guys a little bit. Where can we find you guys? We are on pretty much everything, but tick tock. We got banned on there for posting gun stuff.
00:58:43
Speaker
um But if you just look up ghost firearms training, it's online. You can sign up for any of the courses. Dates usually come out early January, February timeframe.
00:58:55
Speaker
We're on Instagram. We're on pretty much everything other than TikTok because we got kicked off. So we've got a YouTube channel. We've got a YouTube channel. got a pretty good YouTube channel.
00:59:06
Speaker
Kind of shows you a little bit of everything. We do. We train everything. Tac med, carbine classes, long range classes. We we teach CQB. We teach everything. Yeah, it's cool. I should come back bring a handgun back and some rifles and go back to my COO that's back there.
00:59:22
Speaker
i think I have a whitetail lease now in Pennsylvania. So I'm going to have to kill a whitetail at some point. I think we're going to have a whitetail lease, whatever that means. So I got one of those now. There you go. So I'll be back there at some point until we don't milk hang out with you guys. But, dude, Zach, thanks again, man. Let's do it again, huh?
00:59:39
Speaker
I appreciate it. Good talking yeah Thank you for listening to the Tricer podcast. Do us a favor and like and subscribe on whatever platform you're listening on. Give us a follow on Instagram and Facebook at TricerUSA and go and check out all of our innovative gear at www.tricerusa.com.
00:59:58
Speaker
Until next time, shoot straight, have fun, and always put God first.