I recently attended the GPS Defense Sniper School in Phoenix, AZ. This school is run on the Cowtown range north of Phoenix and has been in continuous operation for almost two decades now. Founded by William Graves, and known in the past as the McMillan Sniper School, the program is now run by two former Marine Scout Snipers. Our class in particular was instructed by Gary McElroy, a man with extensive experience in long range shooting, and who is obviously passionate about the subject.
Most days started at the GPS facility located on one of the upper ranges at Cowtown. Day 1 began with introductions, a powerpoint, and equipment setup. Everyone is our class had their equipment squared away for themselves on arrival so this didn’t take long. I did learn a shortcut for measuring LOP on a rifle, and we discussed the importance of being able to relax and be “comfortable” behind the scope for extended periods of time. Comfort was a relative term meant to convey the importance of not having to apply muscle tension to maintain position while observing, or waiting to take a shot. We were informed, and learned during portions of the class, that the role of a true sniper is rarely one that involves comfort. More on that later.
After making sure everyone was zeroed we began shooting the first lane of targets established on the hills surrounding the shooting platform. The facility is outstanding for its purpose, and we had 3 lanes of targets at unknown distances that we would engage throughout the week. Range estimation with “milling” was instructed on the first morning and we jumped in right away with estimating ranges to the targets. This was one of my goals for coming to this class and it was met very satisfactorily. Gary’s method of teaching is very practical and no-nonsense, a style that I enjoy and find to be very effective. We were able to get hits the first day on unknown distance targets out to 550, which not only included our first range estimations, but also learning to deal with the Arizona desert winds.
Days 2, 3, and 4 began with a modified FBI qual and some 100 yard work to work on shooting with elevated heart rates and shooting under time. We also began engaging lanes 2 and 3, working again with unknown distances, beginning with target detection on the camouflaged targets on lane 2. We shot targets as far out as 920 yards, in winds gusting to a measured 20MPH. A lot of important lessons were learned from these exercises, and we gained valuable experience spotting for each other and learning wind calls. I learned that for me personally, spotting for someone using a different caliber and different adjustments and helping them get solid hits was even more satisfying that pulling the trigger myself.
These days also included several KIMS (Keep In Mind) exercises, as well as observation exercises. We were repeatedly told that “it all matters” and while the biggest focus of the class was on shooting, for a true sniper there are other skills that are just as important.
Day 5 gave us the chance to practice another core sniper skill, camouflage and stalking. The day began with a camouflage exercise in the field, and was my first real introduction to the inhospitable Arizona desert. I grew up in the woods of Kentucky, and I have spent plenty of time in the forests of Wyoming and Alaska. I am pretty comfortable crawling around on my belly in any of those locations, but the desert offers a new level of pain for activities like this. I didn’t realize before this week that there are thorns in existence that will actually hunt you and jump on if you get close enough. I kept my leatherman close and did plenty of emergency “surgery” on myself, removing dozens of the barbed cactus thorns.  During our stalking exercise we had one classmate who decided it simply wasn’t worth the pain and he became more of an observer. Gary reminded us at the conclusion of the day that there are very few people who are cut out to be sniper, and that the job is far more uncomfortable than most people can conceptualize. While the experience was not pleasant for me (I flew in accustomed to sub-zero temperatures and against the advice of two doctors due to recovering from pneumonia and a partially torn Achilles tendon), it did whet my appetite to keep training in fieldcraft skills, and I will be watching the GPS schedule for the fieldcraft course they are developing.
The last two days involved honing skills we have already begun to develop, discussing high angle shooting, and learning to perform faster with the knowledge we had been given.
At the beginning of this week’s course I had very little experience with long range shooting, and had only engaged targets past 100 yards once before. The level of instruction at GPS however left me feeling very confident that I have the knowledge to continue practicing and I feel as if I will be a much greater asset to my team already. I did a lot of studying before deciding on a class to travel to, and I am very happy I went with GPS Defense. Gary has a vast amount of experience and the ability to teach to anyone who is paying attention and trying. I highly recommend this course for anyone who is looking to improve their skills and I will be working to make sure our team can host a course this summer so more of our guys get the benefit of this training.
Because most of us are also gear queers at heart I am editing this to add my equipment setup here. I was using a brand new Larue 308 from the “Ultimate Upper” kit, a S&B PM II with a T3 reticle, and a Harris bipod with Larue QD mount. The only trouble I had was with the janky cheap Keymod rail section I bought at a local store to attach the bipod to. During the course I saw the need for a drag bag and the Hawk Hill custom bipod feet that were recommended by Gary. Those have already been ordered from Euro Optic. During the shooting portions we often saw students with $700 scopes shooting as well or better than others with more expensive equipment. The target detection, ranging, and observation exercises however were made much easier with the high quality S&B glass.

Solid review. Nice!