I PICKED A BAD TIME to learn how to shoot. At least, that’s what I think as I pack my gear for a long-range shooting class in Grand Junction, Colorado. I’ve been shooting rifles since I was 13, but a lot has changed since then—mainly the long-range craze. Like countless other hunters, I became interested in learning whether the math and science behind shooting at long distances could improve my skills in the field. I got started by competing in my first PRS match about a year ago and have been practicing ever since—but one thing is clear: I need more training.
My biggest problem right now, though, isn’t a lack of instruction. It’s a lack of ammo. Of all times to get serious about learning how to shoot, I do so in the midst of a countrywide ammunition shortage. I can’t find any to save my life.
Specifically, I’m looking for about 200 rounds of match-grade 6.5 Creedmoor. I bought some Berger Hybrid Match, but my rifle can’t group it tight enough for shots at distance. I call Chris Roberts, a shooting instructor who's holding the class in Grand Junction, to see if it’s even worth going. “You should come anyway,” he says. “Let’s see what your rifle is doing when you get here. Worst case, I’ll lend you some ammo.”
When I meet Roberts three days later, he’s low-key and confident in a way you’d expect someone who can ring steel targets at over a mile would be. After serving in the Army for 18 years and working as a sniper school team leader and senior instructor, he helped open to teach the general public. CR2’s three-day Mountain Rifleman course is geared toward taking long shots in adverse conditions. Along with instructor Chris Way, Roberts will teach us the effects