Thoughts on YouTube's "TiborasaurusRex" and his "Sniper 101" video tutorial

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ezmiraldo

New member
Hi guys! I'm trying to learn as much as I can about medium- and long-range shooting, and I stumbled across this video series on youtube. The guy who put this series together has about 80 videos on extreme long-range shooting, and appears to know his stuff.

Here're the first 3 vids in the series:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwG-D0HjCBQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7bOIB2Zk-E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtlwoNCNnFA

This guy presents a ton of very technical information, and his vids do appear very interesting, logical, and well put together. But, because I'm a total newbie to this topic, I cannot assess if he's legit, and if his info is trustworthy.

What do you think of his sniper 101 tutorial? Worth watching or not?
 
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I watched a couple of those videos when I was searching for resources for a friend.

I wasn't impressed. Not that there was anything outright wrong, just that a lot of his opinions were stated as fact, for example some of the ballistic tables he used deliberately chose sub-optimal loads for some cartridges to make his pet cartridges seem better by comparison.

So if you do watch, keep a grain of salt handy.

Long range shooting is all about two things. 1, finding an accurate load for your rifle, and 2, learning to read the wind. Anyone can adjust their sights to account for ballistic drop at air pressure and angle of shot. Reading the wind is another skill entirely. Don't be intimidated by learning to crank on your sight adjustments, everyone will screw up at some point so just get out there and get shooting.

Jimro
 
Sniper 101

As a newcomer to long range shooting i have found the info he presented very interesting. I wish i'd listened to his scope selection section before i got a variable power leupold scope with a bdc for my varmint 223. I would have purchased a fixed power swfa ss scope instead. My rifle class at Thunder Ranch would have been way less stressful. There is also a lot of info on a breadth of topics. I'm not an expert by any means, but i've found his stuff interesting and helpful. I think his approach to rifle, cartridge and scope selection is helpful as well and provides an organized way of thinking about these issues. Considering these items in terms of what Rex calls the "mission parameters" has been of use to me in deciding which rifles and cartridges and optics to give more serious consideration to.
 
I have watched a few videos, but found them far to drawn out and boring.
I also got sick of all the military type stuff, don't know if he really was in the military, but it appears a bit too mall ninja for me.

The scope selection I thought was a bit rubbish, for someone just getting into long range shooting it was not good advice. If I remember correctly he said you must have zero stop and first focal plane, which is rubbish and forces you into a very high bracket of scopes. I'd be inclined to listen more to people on this website, and search other forums for information.

Basically just get out and start shooting. Start learning the basics by shooting at 100 and 200 yards, once you have the basics down and are consistently shooting tight consistent groups, start pushing the range out further. The wind is the main thing you need to learn to read and will take a lot of practice. The atmospheric conditions tend to make very little difference until you are shooting out to 1000 yards + and even then any slight miscalculation in the wind will have a much larger effect.
 
A couple of years back, Matt Burkett had a podcast about learning to shoot for the long distance matches.
Except for a lucky few, most of us are confined to practicing on 100, or maybe 200 yard ranges.
And few of us are able to stand a full day of centerfire practice, due to the ammo costs, even with reloading, and physical punishment.
The recommendation was to practice with a good quality .22 to learn the basics.
A .22 mimics a .308 at 3 times the distance, and reading the wind gets even more exaggerated.
Just a thought.
 
I've watched the whole series. I think it's probably the best free resource out there for beginning to understand what goes into making a 1000 yard shot.

You may disagree with his ballistic tables, but his advice about making tables and analyzing the differences in calibers is solid. Most of us won't be making tables for 10 different calibers, we'll probably have just a few that we're trying to pick from.

The specific scopes he mentions are just a small range of what's available. And remember, the whole series isn't about scoped shooting or even just "long range shooting," it's about making consistent, first shot hits at 1000 yards. It's a pretty specific skill.

The first focal plane advice and the zero-stop advice both go toward making that possible. Using a mil-dot reticle effectively is more difficult with a second focal plane scope, and when you're making 20 and 30 MOA adjustments on a scope, a zero-stop is pretty nice to have too. I think he explains why you might want to consider purchasing scopes with these options pretty well.

All that being said, taking classes will probably be a lot more helpful than any video series. Also, before you get all caught up in what he's saying, remember that he's talking about 1000 yard shots. That's really far. I know dozens and dozens of people who shoot, and I think maybe two of them actually shoot out to 1000 yards with any frequency.
 
I've watched them all as well , hmm maybe not the last couple . Have not looked in a month or so . I think they were great videos . I believe he was fare and did not push any ideas that were not fact . I too thought his ballistics charts were a bit off but after watching a couple more times . He clearly states that they were common numbers and you the shooter need to make your own and find what works for you . That in fact is one of the things I like about the guy . As much as he clearly knows he never pushes anything on you and often says what ever works for you is what you should do but this is how I do it .

For experienced shooters watching , there is not much to learn in the first 30+ videos . He does have good info in all of them and I always seem to find something in each one that I either did not know or forgot about . The problem is the length of the videos . The first 30 could be as much as 15hrs of video . There's not a lot of long time shooters going to have the time and patients to watch that much video to learn just a couple new things .

That all being said . For a new-ish shooter just starting to look into long range shooting I think his videos are as good as any and better then most . I think who ever watches these videos should keep in mind that they are for EXTREME long range shooting and first shot hits . He's not talking about walking your shots in . His notes are so detailed It can get a bit mind blowing . Yes a lot of what he talks about works at all ranges but he's talking about one shot hits at 800 yards to 1 mile really .
 
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Rex lives long range or as he calls it extreme long range as I remember it. It was a long cold winter this year and yes I also watched his video's, Video's 1-60 but I must admit I some times found my self asleep in my chair. I also believe it is the best reference to learn the how and why's of long extreme long range shooting for FREE. He touched on some things that I didn't agree on but we all have our opinions. The mounting of the scopes I thought were way to simple but useful. The handloading also was simplified as I believe he mentioned. I don't believe he is a crack pot in any way. Communications is not a simple skill but the Video's help to make it easier and more efficient.
 
Thanks all for your thoughts on this! Looks like discussion from 2012 and this year converge on the conclusion that his stuff is generally solid (with few minor exceptions). I love how he shreds US army manual for incorrect description of humidity effects on long-range shooting (as well as couple of other points). But, I agree with folks in the 2012 thread that he's a bit cavalier when discussing shooting deer at 1,000 yards...
 
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What do you guys think about his take on importance of maintaining "copper/carbon fouling equilibrium"? See relevant vids here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KRUAv3Byp4
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV9QvEm1nFc

It just makes me nervous to shoot a rifle hundreds of rounds without cleaning the barrel thoroughly... I clean my sig p226 (barrel and all other field-stripped components) after every single range trip (and 9mm is ain't no 30-06 - in terms of the amount of fouling it leaves).
 
Keep in mind he is talking about first round hits . If you clean your rifle after sighting it in and putting 100 rounds through it . The next time out it will have a different POI from the last shot fired the day before . Also remember he's talking 1000yd first shot hits . That 1/2 moa or more POI shift you get with a clean barrel will be a miss at long range .

All that being said I tried that and went as many as 400rds before cleaning . My rifle did shoot consistent a and pretty well but the fouling built up in the throat of my chamber and I found my self having to seat my bullets deeper and deeper to the point I was getting pressure signs . I should add I already had 300+ rounds through the rifle with out cleaning before I started reloading . I could not chamber a 308 cartridge with a OAL of 2.800 . the bolt would not close . My max OAL was 2.730 of I would get marks on the bullet . At the time I thought it was the rifling making the marks but it turned out to be the fouling in the throat . Seeing how I was new to reloading at the time I was a bit confused at the time and had a few threads about it . all better now :)

I did not do enough shooting at Looong range while trying to to get first round hits to see if there was a benefit . When I did clean the rifle I gained 40 thousandths of OAL and because of that I no longer go that long before cleaning . As of late I've not been going more then 100rds before cleaning but my plan right now is to go 200rds before I clean and see if the fouling changes my grouping or shooting in general .

I like the concept of it just not sure If I'm on board yet .
 
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