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This video was shot entirely on our property… it is as close as you are going to get to training overseas! If you didn’t know better, you might think it was a small town in Afghanistan!

Since adding our article on Sniper Rifle Barrel length (Original article can be seen HERE), we have noticed that we have created a bit of a stir in the tactical community. People are starting to notice our method of not believing information simply because someone said it but rather because we have actually tested and confirmed or disproved it.

A recent student of ours who had read the article prior to attending our course was a bit skeptical. He came to the course with an open mind and was amazed as we dispelled the rumor that a shorter barrel reduces the accuracy and effectiveness of a rifle. He watched as we cut four rifles in front of the class and allowed the students to see the data for themselves.

Again, we here at GPS Defense do what works, not what somebody says should work. This is why the method of cutting a sniper rifle’s barrel shown by us below may shock you… but it works. And when you are trying to engage a target, theory doesn’t do a thing for you, what actually works, does.

Here are the student’s own words and pictures from a popular tactical forum:

“…To preface, 1 MOA accuracy was expected from the rifles. Many were box stock but all were Remington 700 variants. All shooting beyond 100 yards was on steel targets (except for the 150 yard high angle shoots and urban hide stuff). 6″ steel at 200yards and from 300 to 640 yards were the USMC silhouette shaped targets that are 9″wide x 12″high for the torso and a 3″ x 3″ head. The targets for the 740 and 920 were similarly shaped but were 18″w x 30″h overall with the 6″ head. While I have no pics of groups, all dopes for elevation were adjusted so that hits were mid-line or center of the target. On all the targets at all distances impacts within 1 MOA are pretty apparent. This school had a purposes and that purpose moved rather quickly everyday and taking the time to just prove this lone issue was not one of the main agendas. Therefore I am trying to recount accurate information as I had little time to write everything down for all the differing rifles and take exact pics that people want to see. However all of the dope and zero targets were accumulated and kept by each shooter who had 18″ barrel weapons provided by the school and 4 guys who brought their own guns cut their barrels while there and they developed dope prior to and after cutting the barrels. Ironically the only guys who cut their barrles on site, all shot the Black Hills ammo purchsed from the school. Everyone who shot the Federal ammo brought their own.

The schools standpoint which I echo is don’t talk about it, get out there and do it and prove it for yourself. We didn’t internet analyze the issue, we did it and the proof is in the puddin so to speak.

Anyway, here are a few pics.

Cutting included measuring 2 sides of the barrel to align duct tape. Then a steady hand on the sawzall followed the straight edge. The crowning tool is off to the left of the pic on the table. It was a hand held and hand cranked unit…”

We now have six identical Remington 700 .308 sniper rifles and six identical SPR sniper rifles for rent!

Above all else, we here at GPS Defense want to train snipers how to do their job to the best of their ability. We have spent much time and energy crafting our curriculum so that the correct information is relayed to the sniper in order to make the sniper more effective. Unfortunately, the availability of appropriate equipment can hinder a sniper’s ability to learn.

We can control what goes on at our school. We can not, however, control the budget of military and police units and of individual citizens. To help solve this problem and allow ALL students to learn at our school, we provide 6 identical bolt action sniper rifles and 6 identical semi-automatic sniper rifles for rent. This allows students to learn on quality equipment as well as provide back-up weapons for student’s rifles that may break during the course of training.

The rifles pictured to the left are 6 identical Remington 700 .308 sniper rifles with 20″ Barrels. They are fitted with match grade bases and rings and Mark 4 Leupold scopes (all are available for purchase through our online sniper gear store).  The rifle pictured below is one of our six custom built rifles from DPMS.  These rifles are also equiped with match grade rings and Mark 4 Leupold Scopes.  All of our school rifles are capable of engaging targets past 900yds and maintain at least 1 minute of angle.

Those that have been through one of our sniper courses or warfighter sniper courses understand that we take teaching seriously. We do not believe that a school with a high attrition rate is a good school. A school is meant to teach, not to test. Therefore, providing these rifles for rent is just one more step we at GPS Defense Sniper School can take to ensure that our students learn the most they can from their experience with us.

We fail if a student doesn’t learn because of budget preventing them from having a rifle. We fail if a student can not complete the course if their equipment breaks. We are doing what we can to make you a better sniper… are you? Enroll today

We are extremely proud to announce our 10 year anniversary! We have been teaching snipers, military government and citizen, for 10 years now!

For our anniversary we are giving away a FREE T-Shirt to every student who has ever been in one of our courses! This includes ALL courses taught by GPS Defense for the past 10 years…. even those while HS Precision and McMillan were our sponsors. CLICK HERE TO CLAIM YOUR FREE T-SHIRT

We thank you for your business and look forward to providing all of your sniper training needs in the future!

Back in 2002 during the infamous Washington area shootings, USA Today wrote an article about the skills of the shooter(s) involved. USA Today looked to EXPERTS in the field to draw conclusions about the skill level of the sniper(s).

When needing professional advice, USA Today turned to the same company that many turn to for accurate sniper information… GPS Defense. In the article, you can find information from GPS Defense’s owner, Bill Graves as he answers questions form USA Today about information pertaining to snipers.

See the article on USA Today’s Website

Experts: Sniper may not be highly trained

By Toni Locy and John Ritter, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Firearms experts say the sniper who is stalking the Washington area may not be a highly trained marksman because of the choice of ammunition and shooting distance.

Experts say the shooter has proved to be proficient, having killed nine people and wounded two others.

But the choice of the .223-caliber cartridge may be a clue that the sniper is not the military- or law enforcement- trained shooter who was initially portrayed.

The .223-caliber ammunition is popular because it has little recoil. It is light, fast and accurate at relatively short distances. It is a favorite among small-game hunters and target shooters.

As a result, “there are hundreds of thousands of people in the country” who could’ve pulled off the attacks that have terrorized the area since Oct. 2, says Ernie Clarke, president of the Anne Arundel Fish and Game Association in Annapolis, Md.

And that “literally opens up the pool” of potential suspects, says Paul Erhardt, director of public relations for the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Even so, experts say the sniper probably went to a range, a farm or open field to align the weapon’s sights accurately. They say the shooter could be using the gun’s open sights or a scope.

The sniper is said to have fired from about as far away as 150 yards.

At those distances, wind and temperature — which along with distance are the biggest variables in long-range shooting — have little impact on a bullet’s trajectory.

But at longer distances, 500 or more yards, wind and temperature can alter a bullet’s course substantially and adjusting to those changes requires sophisticated equipment and training.

Investigators have not revealed what kind of rifle is being used.

Experts say it could be a semiautomatic rifle, such as the Colt AR-15, the civilian version of the M-16, or a bolt-action rifle that must be reloaded manually after each shot.

Many guns use .223-caliber ammunition, which, when stripped of its casing, leaves a projectile no bigger than a .22-caliber bullet, one of the smallest made. The .223-caliber cartridge starts out fast but loses its speed after about 300 yards. It also loses its accuracy as gravity and the air affect its trajectory. Wind also can throw it off.

According to experts, the .223-caliber round travels at about 3,300 feet per second as it explodes out of a rifle’s muzzle. After 300 yards, the speed drops to 1,900 feet per second.

William Graves, a sniper instructor at GPS Llc, a private marksmanship school in Phoenix, says professionally trained snipers prefer the heavier, more accurate .308-caliber cartridge because it is not as affected by distance, wind and temperature as .223-caliber ammunition.

Graves says trained snipers also aim for the head.

The Washington sniper has hit some victims in the head, but others have been shot in the upper body.

“I can take someone in the morning and by lunch have them shooting as well as this guy,” Graves says.

“Shooting at 100 yards is not that big a deal with practice and proper training,” he said.

We at GPS Defense Sniper School believe in training snipers for real world scenarios. Although we love seeing great shot groups on a flat range just like anybody else, actual sniper deployments don’t tend to happen on flat known distance ranges… they happen in the real world. The real world has curbs, tires, and other obstacles that often prevent the strictly prone style of shooting that some schools are so fond of.

To prepare for these real world scenarios, our students are taught a rapid deployment drill that allows them to engage a face size target from 100 yds from three different sling supported positions. This allows them to quickly drop into position, and transition lower if the situation allows for it rather than diving to the prone only to realize that they can not see the target.

Our standard is to complete two shots from each of the three positions with a mandatory reload in 60 seconds or less. Watch the videos and even try it for yourself… when you are ready to get better at it, sign up for one of our courses!