Ryan Cleckner - Long Range Shooting Handbook: Complete Beginner’s Guide to Long Range Shooting

Copyright 2016 Cleckner, LLC

All Rights Reserved.

Published By:

North Shadow Press, an imprint of Cleckner, LLC
5543 Edmondson Pike
Nashville, TN 37211

To order additional copies of this book,
products discussed herein, or to learn about
additional books and projects, please visit
the authors website at
www.RyanCleckner.com

ISBN: 151865472X

ISBN-13: 978-1518654725

Photography, Illustration, and Design by: Ryan M. Cleckner

Edited by: William Keller and Iain Harrison

DISCLAIMER: This publication contains content intended to educate readers about long range shooting principles and theories as well as assist readers in safely handling and shooting firearms. Readers are responsible for their own firearm safety. The publisher and author assume no liability for the careless handling of, or misuse of, firearms.

Ryan is a firearms attorney who helps and represents FFLs all across the country. Hes also started a new project to help people get their own FFLs:

RocketFFL is the premier resource for getting your Federal Firearm License (FFL), becoming an SOT (Class 2 or 3), and learn about firearm compliance. Learn more at https://www.RocketFFL.com

Get Your Own FFL - Use our online guide to help you get your very own Federal Firearm License (FFL) and start buying and selling guns, or even make your own firearms, fast! Complete step-by-step guide makes it easy.

Become an SOT - If you already have your FFL, becoming an SOT will allow you to start dealing in or making Silencers, Machine Guns, Short Barreled Rifles and Shotguns, and more!

Learn About Firearms Compliance - Getting your FFL is just the first step now youve got to comply with the MANY rules and regulations! Our online training courses make it easy!

Courses available:

Get Your FFL:

http://courses.rocketffl.com/courses/get-your-ffl

Become an SOT:

http://courses.rocketffl.com/courses/become-an-sot-class-3

Compliance Training:

http://courses.rocketffl.com/collections/compliance-courses

I dedicate this book to the memory of the Ranger heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Battle of Takur Ghar:

SGT Bradley S. Crose

SPC Marc A. Anderson

CPL Matt A. Commons

I am particularly grateful for the assistance and support from my family.

To my wife, thank you for helping me finish this book.

To my kids, thank you for distracting me and keeping me from finishing this book.

Additionally, Id like to thank everyone who advised or encouraged me along the way. Specifically, a special thanks is owed to:

Iain Harrison

Colby Donaldson

Tony Shankle

Robert Farago

Chris LaValley

Trevor Wilson

Firearm safety is paramount. The fact that I included this section before any others should be a testament to my belief in its importance. I wrote this book because I enjoy passing along the information I have learned and I enjoying seeing people fall in love with shooting like I have. I want you to be able to take the information in this book and apply it out on the range. But, I only want you to do so if you are safe. If you are not safe with firearms and choose to disregard this chapter, please pass this book along to someone else. I want to grow a community of responsible shooters.

Just as there are many techniques and theories to shooting, there are also many versions of the rules of firearm safety. While I do not believe that any of the published rules by other entities are bad, I do believe that they are often too dense. If firearm safety is not tangible to a new shooter, then it wont be followed. My personal rules of firearm safety are heavily based on the rules of firearm safety from a legend of firearm instruction, Col. Jeff Cooper.

There are 4 basic rules of firearm safety. The first three rules apply to handling firearms and the fourth rule applies to the use of firearms while shooting. I segregated the rules for handling firearms to help remind you that they apply every time you are around a firearm not just while you are at the range.

Rule #1 Treat all firearms as if they are loaded

If there is a most important rule, this is it. I teach this rule to new shooters like this: Never do anything with a firearm while using the excuse, dont worry, its not loaded. If you treat every firearm with respect and you treat every firearm like it was loaded, then youll never break the other rules.

Take note that keeping a firearms safety on until youre ready to shoot is not part of these rules. This is because mistakes can happen when shooters rely on a guns safety as a safety device. Firearm safeties are mechanical devices that can fail. Also, reliance on a safety often encourages shooters to break one of the other rules. For example, dont worry, the safety is on is an unacceptable excuse for poor firearm handling.

Rule #2 Never point a firearm at anything you are not willing to shoot

I teach new shooters to treat the firearm like it always has a laser pointing down and out the barrel. If they are always conscious of where the imaginary laser is pointing and they never let the lasers dot appear on anything they arent willing to shoot, then theyll be following this rule.

Rule #3 Keep your finger off of the trigger until you are ready to shoot

Ready to shoot means that the firearm is oriented towards the target and you are about to shoot - it does not mean that you have showed up to the range and you are ready to go to the firing line and shoot.

This rule is easiest taught with a training device/non-firearm. Have the new shooter repeatedly pick up and handle the non-firearm until they can demonstrate that they can keep their finger not only off the trigger, but also positively aligned with the firearms frame. My favorite restatement of this rule is Keep your booger hook off the bang switch.

Rule #4 Be sure of your target, what is around it, in front of it and behind it.

Every bullet that leaves your firearm is your responsibility - regardless of where it travels. Once you fire a bullet, you can never bring it back. Always ensure that you have an appropriate backstop and always think about where your bullet may travel if you miss your target.

In an effort to organize the information in this book, I have divided this book into three sections: 1) equipment, 2) fundamentals, and 3) application. These sections should help you understand 1) what each piece of equipment is and how it works, 2) the core principles of long range shooting theory and technique, and 3) how to apply what youve learned. I believe that this what it is, how it works, and how to use it system is the best way to guide you through this information. After all, you wont be able to use it properly if you dont know how it works and before you know how it works, you need to know what it is.

This is supposed to be a handbook. This means that I expect you to carry this book with you while you are learning and refer to it as often as needed (I made the cover orange so that it is easy to find in your gear at the range).