100 Yard Zeroes

Recently, Reid Henrichs made a YouTube video regarding  some new policies at Valor Ridge. The most criticized was his decision to disallow home-build rifles. Additionally,  number of persons online mentioned the fact that they don't like his adherence to a 100-yard zero. Particularly for AR15 rifles.

As is often the case, the arguments against were not founded in fact, but in feeling. Here are a couple of counter-proofs to these arguments.

A Rifleman knows his holdovers.
Regardless of your zero, you should know your holdovers. My ACOG was zeroed at 100, as per manufacturer specification. However, during Rifleman I, we zeroed and checked zero at 50 yards. I knew to hold over by an inch, because a Rifleman knows his holdovers. My first three shots were in the 10-ring, and grouped within an inch, prompting Reid to remark to me, "good shooting!"

So, a real Rifleman would simply know his holdovers and apply that knowledge, rather than kvetch about the 100-yard zero. And as that is common knowledge among folks who shoot rifles, said kvetching is just that person being intentionally obtuse.

You haven't received the instruction.
Complaining about something like a class - without having attended that class - leaves one open to rebuke due to lack of knowledge. This is he case here. Notice I said above - "we zeroed and checked zero at 50 yards." Most of the participants were already zeroed. Two in my group of 6 were not yet zeroed. That was accomplished first thing... at 50 yards. Red dots were to be zeroed dead-on at 50 yards.

[I can hear the moaning now] "But Reid said to zero at 100 yards!"

Fun fact - with a 4 MOA red dot, if you are zeroed at 50, the bullet impact will be right about where the upper middle edge of the dot is at 100 yards. Maybe just a tad over that. And that was the 100-yard Zero that Reid was referencing.

This is about what the dot would look like on a target at 100 yards.




And, thanks to the folks at Arma Dynamics, here is an illustration of point of aim vs. point of impact for an AR15 with 50, 100, and 300 yard zeroes:

You will note the 100 yard zero and 50 yard zero (which is really close to a 200 yard zero) are really similar. Certainly similar enough to warrant a similar holdover strategy from 100 to 300 yards. If you argue the bullet won't strike at exactly the same point... you are intentionally being obtuse. Red dot shooting with an AR15 is not the same as precision shooting with a bolt gun.

Rifleman I is not a precision shooting with a bolt gun class. And nobody pretends it is.

Not So Conservative

Posted on the 8th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks: "Never forget what those ragheaded bastards did to us."

But, when there's  backlash, back down and take the sissy way out:
"I apologize that some may have interpreted my comments as about Muslims in general, which is not true, and that some of my language was inappropriate."
This was done, of course, to try to salvage the job. Predictably, it didn't work - he got fired anyways. 

Fast forward to more recently. The same individual tells the Rifleman that he is lobbying for a bump stock ban in Tennessee. He mistakenly assumes the Rifleman would agree. 

The Rifleman does not agree.  Bump stocks are stupid... but that doesn't mean they should be banned.  Rights are lost inch by inch.  The Rifleman does not intend to give up any more inches. 

Not ironically, the same person is also against Constitutional Carry in Tennessee.


And he calls himself a conservative. This is why Conservatism has failed. 

Final Arrangements

If we  had some eggs, we could have some ham & eggs...

If we had some ham. 

- Pops

Election Prediction

Three tweets sum up my election predictions:

You must deliver what your employer wants.  If you do not, they find someone who does. 



That leads to poll skewing:

This is why polls lie. 




Because polls lie, we cannot believe them.  So, what's the truth?

Mitchell was right in 2016, and he will be right tonight.  There is no blue wave.  

Sad Times

The most avid reader of this blog - Pops - passed away  yesterday. 

Vote Republican

Seen on social media -

Fact:  You can vote Republican and be the better person!

Republicans don't instigate violence...
Republicans don't threaten to raise your taxes...
Republicans don't use the FBI to rig elections...
Republicans don't sell our uranium to Russia..
Republicans won't take away your doctor...
Republicans won't open our borders to anyone who wants to come here... (that includes the criminals and terrorists that sneak in with all the others)
Republicans won't allow illegal aliens to shoot your children only to be let out on the streets again...
Republicans won't allow Sharia Law to be practiced in our country...
Republicans will treat all of us as Americans, not divide us against each other for their own hateful, greedy, purposes...
Republicans will not allow Communists to take over our government...
Etc...  Etc...  Etc...

So be the better person.  Vote Republican and STILL CARE about the poor, the jobless, the physically and mentally ill, and all those in need of help inside our own borders.

Understand this, and it is not rocket science:  For every illegal alien or illegal border crosser we take care of, there is one needy American citizen we have to brush aside.

Home Built...

Recently, The Rifleman took the class  Rifleman I from Valor Ridge. There has already been a review of the class posted on this blog, and I would suggest you read that review. The purpose of this post is to discuss the decision by Valor Ridge ban rifles that have been built at home, or that contain internal parts originating from somewhere other than that manufacturer's Factory.

Here is  The Video announcing that decision. You will note that there are thousands of comments, mostly negative.

Here is  an AR15.com  read on the topic. This is not linked for fact, but for the fact that ar15.com discussions usually will contain all sides of an argument. And this one is no exception.

If The Rifleman were to guesstimate the percentages of the responses seen online, they would probably look something like this -
60% - This is BS.
35% - Reid's School, Reid's rules.
5% - Legit decision. 

So what are the Rifleman's thoughts on this?
No, I do not know more about the AR15 platform than Eugene Stoner. But I would be willing to wager that Bill Geissele  does. And unquestionably so when it comes to triggers.

I trust myself to assemble a rifle better than a $15 per hour laborer at the factory.

Every rifle I have seen fail in a class I have taught, has been a home built rifle. Reid is most certainly correct about this.

No, I do not buy the argument some are using against Reid stating that he is being anti-libertarian in his views on what is and is not allowed at his range. It is Reid's property, therefore you must abide by Reid's rules.


For the record.
Now here comes the real confession. During my class there, I used a hand built rifle. I was the one who built the rifle. To my knowledge, had it been checked, this rifle would not have been permitted on the line. In an effort to be able pass a less than thorough check, I put an ALG trigger in it. The ALG trigger is a mil-spec trigger, which has been smoothed out a bit... by Geissele Automatics. However, I did not use my Geissele SSA-E trigger.

I was the one who assembled the barrel to the upper (forbidden, according to the Valor Ridge disclaimer). I was the one who put the gas block on the barrel (again, forbidden). I was the one who put all of the pins and detents into the lower (again, forbidden). It had a Fail Zero built in it, which is not mil-spec (again, forbidden).

Nevertheless, my rifle did not experience the first malfunction. It would not have malfunctioned, even if I had left the SSA-E trigger in it.

And I say all of this, in full knowledge of the fact that if Valor Ridge discovers this post, and if they determine who I am, I will likely be banned from ever taking a class there again. This is not as I would prefer it, but I understand the consequences of my actions.

One of the rules at Valor Ridge is to conduct yourself with honor and integrity. I know that some will ask how I consider my actions to be those of honor and integrity. Simple. When I signed up for and paid the money for the class, those rules were not in effect. Under the contract I signed, that rifle was perfectly acceptable. Under contract law, an agreement cannot be changed unless the change is agreed to by both parties.  I never agreed to the change.  And I abided by the agreement I made.  That is integrity.  

Some will say that I deceived the school.  That is not the case.  They had every chance to inspect my rifles.  They never did. Simple. 


And, most importantly...
The greatest teacher, failure is. 
It is my estimation that people who bring a home built rifle to Valor Ridge do so at their own risk. This is my estimation, and not something that was said at the school. However, there were hints in that direction. It is my estimation that the disclaimer was put out there so that they can remove students from the line, without having to refund them, if the student is foolish enough to home build his own rifle without any knowledge, and expect it to work in a high performance class.

Class Review

Recently, The Rifleman took the class,  Rifleman I  at Valor Ridge, with Reid Henrichs. This is a review of that class. For the record, The Rifleman took this class on his own dime.

Facilities.
The range at Valor Ridge is quite unique. And this is a good thing. The primary shooting area, a 100-yard range, is staged on a bed of gravel. At both ends, there is a 10-yard long slab of concrete - which is fairly close to the targets. Around and through other parts of the property there are opportunities to engage targets anywhere from 100 yards to 600 yards away. Generally speaking the classroom and the range area were on par with other classes in this price range.

Curriculum.
No, I am not going to tell you everything that happened at the Ridge. For that, you would need to take the class yourself. It is no secret, however, that Reid and the staff put the focus on Marksmanship. There is not a drill that is done in this class where in instructor is telling you to hurry up. However, in every drill, the instructors emphasize making a quality hit on your target.

History.
Reid Henrichs was once a history teacher. This comes through in the class in a very positive way. Several of the lecture portions are geared around the history of the rifle, specifically as it pertains to the history of the United States. In Reid's estimation, the firearm was so integral to the founding of the United States, that the two cannot be separated. The Rifleman concurs.

The guns.
All but one participant were using AR15 pattern rifles. The one exception was using an AK pattern rifle. The Rifleman observed no malfunctions out of any of the rifles present. One optic came loose, but that was quickly remedied. Of note, The Rifleman had purchased the ticket to the class prior to  the controversial video; and took the class after said video. No rifles were checked; but, then, none had major malfunctions, either. More on this topic in a different blog post.

The participants
Before lunch on the first day, every participant had made a shot on a 300-yard man-sized Target. Part of the class description is that it does turn out Riflemen. Without a doubt, this is the case. 62% of the participants were from out-of-state; most with a drive that exceeded 8 hours. 38% of the participants were from Tennessee, and the rifleman's 3:45 drive was the longest for the Tennessee residents there. All were men in this class; however, many women have participated in this class in the past. Student to teacher ratio was less than 5:1.

The little things
"Toxic masculinity" was in full display the entire class. This is a lovely thing.
Reid either has an exceptional memory, or he works diligently to remember everyone's name. He never forgot a single participant's name.
Every training school has its own culture. The culture at Valor Ridge is distinctly American, and rooted in history.
The class description says to bring 950 rounds. The Rifleman brought 1400 rounds, just in case. We shot about 750 rounds.

Wrap up.
Without a doubt, more things happened in this class then could ever be summarized in a single blog post. Hopefully, this post will give someone food for thought if they are considering attending.

Ultimately, The Rifleman would recommend this class for anyone who is interested in taking it.

Go Light

A musket, some ball and powder, and a small pouch around the belt. This was the standard Lodo to the American Soldier for quite some time.

With the adoption of the repeating rifle, The loadout changed slightly. Soldier had a rifle, a small pouch, and some ammunition in clips or magazines stored on or around the belt.

Then, in the 1990s, things changed drastically. As you can see, it was almost a contest to see how much the soldier could carry. This made the soldier less nimble, and as a result, the soldier was forced to carry more ammunition.

The soldier during the American Revolution usually carry less than 20 rounds of ammunition. Even after the invention of the cartridge, and in the Civil War, the soldier would carry no more than 40 rounds of ammunition

Today, it's not uncommon to see a soldier with over 300 rounds of ammunition on his body. That's not including all of the extra burden of the other things he is required to carry. Many times that burden approaches or exceeds 100 pounds. Not surprisingly, the enemy can easily outmaneuver the US soldier.

The modern Minuteman needs to be smarter than this. The modern Minuteman needs to emphasize the "moving" part of "shoot-move-communicate."

Is it possible?

Here is is a patrol pack that weighs less than 20 pounds.  Add to that an 11 pound AR15 (and even that is overkill) and a 10 pound load out, and suddenly, the Modern Minuteman only has to carry a reasonable pack of 40 pounds. 


More on this to come. 

Cheapskates, Part II

From  this post post, we have follow up information.  The friend did not send payment on "Sunday or Monday" as promised. 

So, The Rifleman sent a follow-up message requesting details on when payment might be expected. Whether due to embarrassment, or intent to defraud, the following replies were sent. The rifleman's comments immediately following.


LK: I was told it was free.
Rifleman: I've never heard of a free gun class. And you sure as hell weren't told that by me or any instructor. 

LK: I told you i would pay you but i wouldnt have attended if I knew it costs. 
Rifleman: You say that as if it's some great honor to have you on the line. This is a paid event, and you knew it.

LK: ALL of our classes and training are free of charge. (Referring to a prepper group he belongs to... but the group does charge dues, and takes donations)
Rifleman: This class was not put on by a group. Even if it was, you don't belong to that group. Even if you did, you hadn't paid any dues to that group.

LK: I was told it was free thats why i thought it was.
Rifleman: I'm not buying that. You clicked that you were interested in the event. It was a public Facebook page. For a public shooting class. All of the details were right there up top, written in plain English. 

LK: I just sent 50.00. (Class was $100, unsure where he got this number from)  [Concidering] the fact i was told this class was free of charge.  I will not be paying anymore, im sorry.  I took the class because i was invited and was told it was no charge for me to attend.  
Rifleman: who told you the class was free? 


LK: Thank you for the class but i will not be taking anymore classes for you in the future.
Rifleman: Oh, you didn't make that decision,  skippy.  

And that brings us to the biggest question: if you didn't know that it cost money, and you wouldn't have attended had you known that, then why didn't you leave during the registration period, when you "found out?"
And why did you agree at that time to pay me after you got home???

Richard Cortez and Lawrence Kinzie of Hohenwald, TN are liars and con men.