Gunsite staff for this event included range masters Il Ling New, Mario Marchman, and Gary Smith. The organizer was Richard Mann. This was a very involved event that required many hours of planning and prep work. Considering the varied backgrounds, skill levels, and experience of all the participants, the whole week seemed to be very smooth. I have had the good fortune to attend a number of classes at Gunsite; all have been run very well and planned out, this special week was no exception. Of course, I must give mention to all of Gunsite’s support staff; they kept everything running smoothly in the background. Ken Campbell, head of operations at Gunsite, was frequently seen down on the ranges, making sure everyone was well cared for.
The conference week was divided up into several days of training, a day of competition, vendor/manufacture demonstrations with participant involvement, and a half-day conference session inside the classroom facility.
The training portion of the week was very informative, and the six prior students (myself included) who were invited both participated and helped coach media and manufacturer reps in many aspects of scout rifle use, manipulation, and application. Special mention goes out to the contingent from Steyr, as they were ALL very skilled and highly proficient with their products. Their engineer from Austria was out for the event, and it was he who took top honors during the day of competition. Mossberg made a strong showing as well. Ruger sent a local rep from Prescott.
Specific skills that were presented focused on topics such as field shooting positions and techniques, use of slings for carry and shooting support, target locating at known and unknown distances, target assessment after engagement, malfunction drills, optic reticle vs target focus, loading methods for various platforms when no magazine is available, removal of optics and making the transition to use of iron sights, team movement, use of cover, use of concealment, reloading techniques, etc. Several of Gunsite’s outdoor simulators were used to present field shooting challenges; the terrain at the school is perfectly suited for this.
During the entire conference week, I was able to observe other shooters handle their scout rifles, and learned a lot during the process. I was able to spend time with manufacturing reps from Steyr, Mossberg, Ruger. Jim Brockman, who makes some of the best custom scout rifles to be found was in attendance. Some of the other manufacturing reps who attended the conference included those from Amega Mounts, Andy’s Leather, Burris, Galco, XS Sights, and Southern Grind Knives. Media reps included those from Outdoor Channel, Bearing Arms, Tactical Response, FMG, Guns & Ammo Magazine, Gun Digest, NRA American Rifleman, NRA Shooting, and SWAT Magazine. Richard Mann, who writes the Empty Cases internet blog, as mentioned previously was the event organizer.
Competition on day four consisted of several fun exercises: snap shots, more outdoor simulators, manipulation drills with no magazine, removal of optics and using iron sights, some shooting for tight groups, and a few school drills. The prize table had rifles, optics, accessories, clothing, knives, etc. Everyone got to make several selections; it was a fun moment.
The last day of the 2016 Gunsite Scout Rifle Conference started off with opportunities by all participants to spend time using various scout rifles and associated products from the manufactures present. We ran their rifles and gear hard, and noted areas where improvement was warranted. Of course the hot weather, blowing sand, and dirty rifles that we pushing for the entire week helped us form our own observations, and the chance to test fire various makes was good for comparison.