Image Description: Eight of the AG & AG Sniper School Participants pose with their rifles and instructors from Defenders USA.

CAMEO (AGirlandAGun.org) — A Girl & A Gun welcomed 12 women who traveled to Grand Junction, CO, for the inaugural Sniper School event. Comprising riflecraft and fieldcraft instruction blocks, AG & AG Sniper School utilized several areas of the Cameo Shooting and Education Complex that served as the perfect backdrop for learning internal and external ballistics, wind, mirage, concealment, movement, angles, and more. Sniper/spotter teams engaged targets up to and beyond 2,000 yards in the mountainous desert terrain.

“It’s common to see military and law enforcement working in these conditions, but A Girl & A Gun was proud to offer this experience to everyday women,” says AG & AG Executive Director Robyn Sandoval. “Some of our participants had never recorded DOPE before or had the thrill of ringing a steel target that was over a mile away. The ladies came a very long way in just a matter of days and gained a solid foundation of long-range shooting. I’m very proud of their successes!”

Savage Arms donated ten custom 110 rifles chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor with Savage Arms actions, donated MDT stocks, and camo dips provided by Veil. Primary Arms donated ten Athena optics that allowed ladies to accurately calculate distance and holds. Stag Arms donated two AR-10 rifles in flat dark earth and Vortex Optics donated two Razor Gen II scopes and Carbon tripods. Voodoo Tactical provided shooting mats, Rite in the Rain provided waterproof DOPE books, and Daniel Defense contributed Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor ammunition.

“We’ve never had a lady in any of our Snipercraft or Sniper School courses, yet when 12 showed up from AG & AG, we knew it was going to be an epic experience,” said Adam Winch, Lead Instructor of Defenders USA, whose instructor team presented the course material. Firearms instructors Russell Anthon and Hank Ownbey were assisted by Myles Standish, who served as an infantry sniper in the U.S. Army with multiple deployments to the Middle East.

Anthon worked with the students to have a clear understanding of ballistics and atmospheric factors that affect bullet trajectory. He provided calculations to help ladies dial in faster and record accurate DOPE for known and unknown-distance targets. Standish led discussions on camouflage and oversaw the construction of participants’ ghillie suits. He was on glass trying to find our student snipers as the ladies did reconnaissance from their hasty hides in the terrain.

Winch said, “The ladies worked like crazy, pushed themselves, their gear, and our instructors hard, learned a ton, and showed grown competence and skill throughout the tough course. They came away with lessons that apply far beyond the training itself, with memories of a lifetime, a bond between them grown deeper through the mutually-shared demanding experience, and grew as people. Send it, ladies!”