Magpul Core – Long Range Precision I
August 29 – September 1, 2015
Yakima, WA

Instructor
Caylen Wojcik is Magpul’s Director of Training and a former USMC Scout/Sniper and Scout/Sniper instructor. Caylen uses his experience in combat to teach real-world actualities of deploying a rifle effectively, whether it be it competition or tactical.  From the get-go you can discern that Caylen is passionate about what he teaches, he has no arrogance or a need for “ego-stroke” he is intent on helping you learn the fundamentals of marksmanship.

Rudy – Assistant Instructor – Former Marine and Army Sniper (I think he’s conflicted)




This course was four days and covered the basics of precision rifle from 100-1285+ yards.

My Gear
LaRue Predatar .308
16" Barrel
Nightforce F1 3.5-15X w/Mildot Reticle
Magpul MS4 Sling
Harris Bipod
TAB Gear Rear Bag
Eberlestock G2

Ammo
175 Grain Federal Sierra Match King

My goals for the course:
• Build upon the fundamentals of marksmanship
• Close the gaps in my knowledge base
• Making wind calls!
• Learn a LOT!


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Intros
The range is in Central Yakima – a generally desert region and is of sagebrush with large rolling hills.

There were fifteen shooters, including myself, and two instructors. Caylen and Rudy were there for every day of the 4 days.

We went over a basic briefing of the course and received a data books and DOPE Cards full of information and logging pages.

Next, we went over the rifles, scopes, stocks, etc. that were present. This gave everyone a chance to see different hardware. There was a wide variety of bolt actions, gas guns, scopes, etc…from the Mil to MOA reticles, it was a very diverse group of shooters.  Everyone was shooting a .308 or 6.5 Creedmoor.  Unlike military or law enforcement training where all of the shooters have the same issued equipment, each shooter in this course has a unique weapon system.

When it comes to training or being deployed in real-life, you do so in the roughest conditions.  Caylen & Rudy have the same mindset.  At this point, we were told to head to the 100yd line and zero our rifles.  The winds had been blowing a good 30-40mph all morning!  Here we went over the basics of firing positions, breathing, etc. We started off in the prone position, but Caylen was careful to caveat the fact that it’s not the most realistic shooting position that WE shooters face in the real world, be it competition, hunting, or tactical.  

This four-day class consisted of a short period of classroom instruction (see below), zeroing at 100 yards, a few accuracy drills at 100 yards, range estimation, unknown distance engagements on steel targets, known distance engagements on steel to 1300 yards, and unconventional position training.

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Shooting a precision rifle is a lot different than firing a carbine. Duh, right? The little things make a huge difference. We learned to not strangle the pistol grip. In fact, Caylen had us lightly hold the grip with just three fingers, without even wrapping our thumb around it and BOOM what a world of difference.
Caylen moves students through the fundamentals in the first two days, and the second afternoon and third day are all about shooting from obstacles and field-supported devices. With the ballistics information in hand and the optics manipulation practiced, shooting from obstacles becomes the focus of the training.  All the while stressing Natural Point of Aim and Fundamentals of Marksmanship.



The range was on private property about 30 miles outside Yakima near Sunnyside, Washington. The facility was excellent with several ranges, and wide open space. The wind was up the entire time and this made for a great training environment.


Handouts:
• Magpul Precision Rifle Quick Reference Cards
• Magpul Precision Rifle Data Book
• Class syllabus


Classroom topics covered:
• Circle of components
Rifle
Optics
Ammo
Shooter
• Body position
• Natural point of aim! Natural Point of Aim!
• Trigger control and follow-through
• External ballistics
• Wind, wind and more wind.
• Bullet Coefficient
o G1
o G7
o Spin rate
o Center of gravity
o Center of pressure
o Much, much more
• Environment
oTemperature
Humidity
Pressure
Altitude

• Applied Ballistics
Software
Kestrel

• Angles of measurement
o MOA
o Mil-Radian
• Rifle cleaning and maintenance
• Pre/post check lists
• Range estimation
• Wind Formulas
• Danger Space

Range Sessions included:
• Safety briefing
• Natural Point of Aim
o Rifle fit
o Adjusted position of optics
• Alternate position shooting introduction and practice
Unsupported standing, Supported standing, Kneeling, Sitting, Tripods, Sling use

The pace was excellent, and the information was organized in a building block format.  Caylen adheres to the crawl, walk, run philosophy of teaching and it really shows over the 4 days.  The wealth of knowledge transfer was amazing.

The demographic for this class consisted of all age groups, from across the country.  We had people travel as far as Massachusetts, Florida, Alaska, etc…

I think all of us left the course with a better understanding of the fundamentals of marksmanship but more importantly a yearning to learn the tricks of the trade that IS long distance shooting.  What I gained was an outstanding education from Caylen and Rudy!  I think it’s important to caveat that there is no substitute for real-world training.  Anyone can buy a gun, anyone can watch a video online, but it is no substitute for field work!
The instructors were great! Caylen was sick for the whole class, but continued to keep a good attitude. Both Caylen and Rudy were very approachable. I have attended other firearms classes, either through work or for fun, where the instructors weren’t as humble and had a superiority complex.  

My biggest advice to everyone is to - Keep an open mind and you’ll learn a LOT!

much like college, you have survey classes that give students an overview of a large topic, and you have other classes that deep dive into the meat of specific topics.
given the broad range of topics and fairly short time, and student/teacher ratio, it's still very valuable because it exposes beginners to all the things they need to learn about.    if someone expects to come away from a 3 day class proficient in positional shooting, they will be disappointed, even if that's all they did for 3 days.

Sounds like a much better version than the one I attended in 2009 or 10.

Having observed and talked with Caylen at 2013 SAC, I can say that he has a very good attitude for an instructor, and a wealth of knowledge and experience.

For a new shooter, or someone looking for more formal instruction in long range shooting, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him.

What I have seen trend-wise with attendees of formal courses like this is that the first course is a major info dump for those who have never really spent much time with it, and they have to try to digest a lot.

Many of those people will sign up for another follow-on course, and then another, and you see measurable gains in performance.  It's especially fun to watch couples take a long-range shooting course together, finding new ways to communicate with each other when they started out cold turkey, and eventually are gelling together with repeated impacts at distance in the wind.

The students that impress me the most are the ones with very high intellect who also are fast learners, like fighter pilots.  You tell or show them once, and all of sudden, they internalize it and run with the ball, never dropping it again if they even fumbled in the first place.

The most difficult shooters are the ones who already know how to shoot, and even though you get a hesitant agreement from them to put aside what they've done all these years, bad habits show up again and again, especially trigger control and failure to follow through.  I don't know why so many guys think it's cool to flip their finger off the trigger when the shot breaks, then violently lift their head off the rifle, but they do. I have to work with them to nip that in the bud on Day 1, but with a good attitude and different techniques, it's easy to overcome, as long as the shooter is willing.

It is a good question to ask though:  "What kind of shooter will I walk away from this course as?  Will there be measurable performance gains, or am I just burning ammo while some guy strokes his ego at my expense?"

In the case of Caylen, I will say that you are going to walk away a different shooter with a lot more practical knowledge and skills to put to use, gained during a very amicable instructional and coaching environment.