If you are training with us, or are considering doing so, please take a look at the questions we most often receive. Some of these have not been actually asked, but are posted here because they should have been.

Why "black hat?"

There is nothing nefarious about the term. Black hats are the instructors in US Army Airborne School. A couple of us coincidentally wore "black hats" and the term just stuck.

"I want to attend a clinic, course, or workshop but have doubts about my equipment. How will I know my rifle and scope are "good enough?"

We have worked with several brands of scopes. If you have one of these, and it is mounted using quality rings and bases, it is fine.

  • Leupold MkIV, VariXIII
  • Nightforce
  • US Optics
  • Nikon Tactical
  • Schmidt & Bender
  • IOR

If it is NOT one of these, and you paid less than $300 for it, there is an extremely high likelihood that it will fail during training with us at long range. If you insist on using such equipment, please perform this test.

1 - Fire a five round test group, set it aside. On a fresh target, Shoot one round. Dial the scope up 38 minutes or 10 MILS, depending on adjustment. Return it to zero. Dial it down to the full extent that the knob allows, counting the minutes or MILS, then return it to your zero.

2 - Fire another round at the same target.

3 - Repeat this exercise until you have fired 6 five shot groups at separate targets. If there are changes in your group size, the scope is UNSUITABLE. Don't be stuck watching with a broken chinese scope while everyone else is shooting. Get the proper gear.

If you cannot dial elevation upward from your zero, and reach 38 minutes, you will probably not be able to shoot past 900 yards.

"I've heard I can't use 168gr. bullets in my .308 at long range. What's the deal?"

You can use them reliably out to 800Y in our experience, but they do not offer good wind resistance. The bullet will reach the target area, but you will have far greater difficulty placing shots than a shooter with 155's or 175's. Unless there is no wind, the 168 is a poor choice for 800-1000Y. Inside of that is fine, provided you can dial the elevation as listed above.

"What scopes do you guys recommend?"

See the list above. You get what you pay for, and your shooting will improve with a quality optic. Don't make the mistake of mounting a quality optic with cheap discount rings and bases. The companies above also sell bases and rings. We strongly recommend those too, along with any other quality brand. Buy once, cry once. For the price of three junk scopes, you'll have a VERY GOOD ONE.

 

"Can you do 1 on 1 introductory level training?"

Sure, no problem. Contact us, and we can set that up.