Student’s Comments
Feel free to browse through our student’s testimonials and student updates below. If you would like to submit your own testimonial, we welcome you to fill out our contact form and make sure you select ‘testimonial’ and let us know where you are from. SUBMIT TESTIMONIAL HERE

“Everyone heading overseas should go through this course. All the tactics taught can save your life and the life of your team.” Sgt J.C. - Canadian Army Sniper, Bosnia & Syria combat veteran, prior to deploying to Afghanistan, April 05

“…you guys are the embodiment of professionalism at its best, you are clearly subject matter experts… You provided an interactive learning environment in which the material was passed in an interesting/informative manner. Not only do we plan to pass it on to others, we plan on incorporating into our workup.” M.S. – Officer SEAL Team 3, former USMC Scout/Sniper, Feb 05

“it looks like I will be activated in a few weeks (for OIF) I will be taking a lot of skills and lessons I learned from the course and last year’s competition with me. Thanks.” M.J. - Columbus, Ohio PD, NSWG-2 USNR, Feb 05

The Instructors were “Absolutely professional & very open to new ideas & techniques…This facility is exactly what SOF units need. I.E. snipers. Getting off the base and doing what needs to be done for defeating the enemy is here. Thank you & we hope to get our platoon snipers here for the 2 week course!!” SSgt G.C. – USMC Scout/Sniper, Afghanistan & Iraq war veteran, Dec 04

“Nearly all techniques taught over the past week will be incorporated into our platoon training. It all correlates directly with what we experienced in Iraq in a variety of scenarios” Sgt M.M. – USMC Scout/Sniper, Afghanistan & Iraq war veteran, Dec 04

In Memorial to Cpl. Cory L. Palmer, 2nd Recon Battalion, USMC Scout Sniper

Cory was a memorable student of ours in Jan 2006, shortly before deploying to Iraq for the second time. The first picture of Cory, in his ghillie suit, was taken by me while attending our course during a break in between exercises. Cory was a hard working and great guy to work with, as you can see from his big smile that he usually displayed.Cory’s funeral in Delaware and final resting in Arlington was well attended by loving family, friends, fellow Marines and residents of Seaford, DE while being protected by the Patriot Guard Riders.

Note: The following is an unsolicited letter from a Navy SEAL sniper graciously responding to a March 04 inquiry about their attendance at our course in Spring 2001:

“I happen to be the operator that is quoted on Mr. Graves’ web site. I reply … in defense of what I know to be a sound, professional, and reputable training aid to the military and law enforcement, respectively.”"I attended the GPS sniper/counter-sniper COI, and the material presented did, actually, change our SOP’s. An example would be the escape from our traditional “stealth mode” where we slowly withdrew the bolt, as not to extract brilliantly colored brass from our carefully constructed hide sites. Mr. Graves imparted to us that the days of hunting man and the “one shot, one kill” mission were over, and it was much more important to have your magazine fully jammed (another practice we neglected, always loading from the breech) and cycle the bolt, get back on target, and be prepared for a follow-up shot. We also implemented the use, of ammunition carriers to the stock of every weapon - something that was not SOP at the time, due to the shiny brass on the bullets that could give away your position during a stalk. Another SOP that was altered was the needless transition to a cumbersome secondary weapon system, or the feeling of defenselessness felt if you had an inattentive spotter, while changing positions - we shot close quarters, off-hand, over the scope with .300 WinMags, something entirely unheard of in the SPECWAR community, but so simple it would seem inherent. Those are just a few examples of how the experience changed the community, and not just the team members in attendance. I attended the course with the lead sniper instructor for SEAL Team 4, at the time, and his after actions report became a point paper on the dormant inclination of sniper tactics in our community. To this day, I still teach my new guys the lessons learned from the COI, and still recommend it to anyone that can attend.”"It is very easy to discredit many businesses that claim endorsements by SEALs, because there are just so many out there, and if you just played the odds, you would probably be right 90% of the time. The fact of the matter is, I learned a great deal at Mr. Graves COI.” M.C. - SEAL Team 2 Scout/Sniper, Iraq war veteran, March 04

Staff, students and friends from all over the world!

“Before becoming a military sniper, I was a competitive shooter as a member of the Philippine Army Rifle Team. Our sniper training program here is still in its development stage and we lack the much needed equipment and facilities for sniper training. Our main assets as snipers are our training background as guerilla fighters and as former competitive shooters. However, when I experienced the training program provided by McMillan Sniper School, I realized that we still have so much to learn! First and foremost, I give credit to Bill Graves for removing my “bull’s eye mentality” which I unknowingly developed through the years of joining shooting competitions. Shooting target papers that do not shoot back is simply too easy but as a sniper I learned that rapid bolt manipulation is very important to ensure that “follow-up” shots can be delivered once needed. During the instructor’s course, I also learned the most effective way of molding another group of future snipers. With the additional TTPs (techniques, tactics, procedures) that I learned from the training, I recommended to my higher-ups the needed changes in our various standard operating procedures. I will start my efforts of introducing these changes by conducting a Sniper Instructors Course to improve the capabilities of the cadres in our sniper training program.” H.M.C ‘94-Scout Sniper, First Scout Ranger Regiment

“About a week after coming home from your school, our tactical was deployed to a barricaded suspect who fired a shotgun after officers attempted to serve a warrant. I can say without a doubt that the courses prepared me fully for these real life incdents.” P.H. – Oklahoma Police Sniper

“Thanks to the instruction we received, we have moved from a planning and training phase to an operationally functioning unit.” D.J. – Dallas Co Pct 4 SRT Sniper Team

“Thank you again for your support during this process. Your flexibility, responsiveness, and ability to deliver a quality product has gone a long way in ensuring our Marines go to war with the required skills to kill the enemy. Semper Fi.” D.M. - Major, 4th Recon Marines

“My partner and I just won 1st place at the OTOA (Oregon) SWAT competition for Sniper Observer team. We utilized the drill (you taught) and it helped in our unsupported shoot thank you so much.” S.D. – Gresham, Oregon Police Sniper

“I just want to thank you for your training course. The training was a Keep it simple stupid approach to tactical training. It is a long time coming to have live fire training (train how you fight mentality), where the officers/operators are responsible for their own safety without being hand fed or coddled around the range like children. This course was filled to the hilt with various experience to include present operators currently assigned to OIF (operation Iraqi freedom) and state and local police snipers. The training I received was top notch and was a nonstop learning as you go course…” T.H. - Federal Officer, Dept. Of Homeland Security

“Well, I took my first AZ deer at 420yds in one shot. Your class, instruction, and help in picking our the right rifle, scope, and accessories has made it easy! Thanks for all your help!!!” K.K. – Civilian Sniper School Student

“Mr. Graves, I can’t wait to attend another course of yours. The training I received through your sniper school was outstanding, and my experiences from it will be proudly shared with others…Thanks” B.A. - Nuclear Security Team

“Thanks for your help and support w/our guys prior to deployment. You additional effort is not unnoticed and we (56^th SFS) appreciate your assistance. After talking w/our guys, they stated it was remarkable training which greatly enhanced their abilities and technical skills.” -W. B., 1LT USAF

“Hey Bill, I did compete in an all weapons competition a few weekends ago during a two day match.  It was the Az Guard who put it on and had 100 competitors.  I ended up placing First in overall points for the two days of matches, First in Rifle (M-16), Second in Pistol (Berretta), First in Rifle Team and First in Pistol Team and being the top shooter for the state I received the Governors Dozen Marksmanship Award.  I do have to say I applied all the principles taught at the school into the matches I competed in and it paid of with the placing first and second in all the events I entered.  I even rolled my thumb around to the right side of my M-16 while shooting at the 300m, 400m, and 500m targets.  This provided more stabilty and control shooting at those distances.  I passed the infoo on shooting that way to my team and they applied the same technique during their long distance shots.                  -Phoenix Police (Army SF)