Recently I had the privilege of attending a long range hunting cold bore accuracy class in Dupuyer Montana, taught by Donald Erpenbach. I thought I would share a bit of what I learned and my experience with you all to give back a little bit for all the help I've received from this forum over the years.
I wasn't really sure what to expect going into the class, but being relatively new to long range shooting I knew I'd learn something. Well I learned a lot - like drinking from a fire hose. Not just during the official "classroom time", but also from chatting with a friendly bunch throughout the weekend. It was a great experience filled with lots of gun talk, tons of good food, amazing mountain views at the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch, and best of all new friends.
The class basically collects all of the variables that go into making a long range shot and gives you a tangible method to manage these variables and determine the probability of hitting your target based on your given uncertainties. It's a great method to determine your maximum effective range for varying conditions.
Being a numbers guy I like it because it is a scientific way to judge your abilities. Instead of basing shots at game on the memories of when you were able to hit a target at a given range, you can actually know the probability of hitting that animal. Best of all, the next time somebody tells you that you shouldn't be shooting so far at a living creature, you can produce the math and tell them that you have done your homework and you have a 95% probability of hitting it where you intend to.
I wasn't really sure what to expect going into the class, but being relatively new to long range shooting I knew I'd learn something. Well I learned a lot - like drinking from a fire hose. Not just during the official "classroom time", but also from chatting with a friendly bunch throughout the weekend. It was a great experience filled with lots of gun talk, tons of good food, amazing mountain views at the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch, and best of all new friends.
The class basically collects all of the variables that go into making a long range shot and gives you a tangible method to manage these variables and determine the probability of hitting your target based on your given uncertainties. It's a great method to determine your maximum effective range for varying conditions.
Being a numbers guy I like it because it is a scientific way to judge your abilities. Instead of basing shots at game on the memories of when you were able to hit a target at a given range, you can actually know the probability of hitting that animal. Best of all, the next time somebody tells you that you shouldn't be shooting so far at a living creature, you can produce the math and tell them that you have done your homework and you have a 95% probability of hitting it where you intend to.
