Jack Carr's Long Range Shooting Setup | Jack Carr: Former Navy Seal Sniper & Best Selling Author

Jack Carr spent two decades as a navy seal  sniper he's led assault and sniper teams through   afghanistan iraq and beyond this seal became a new  york times bestselling author when he rolled his   real world combat experience into an incredible  thriller series and today I'm proud to have Jack   join me to break down his long-distance shooting  and to share his personal setup when you read the   terminal list true believer savage son probably  my favorite or the new one the devil's hand you'll   certainly connect with the league character's  journey but you'll also come to realize just   how much of a gearhead Jack Carr is as I was  first reading the terminal list I knew I had to   get this guy on the show today Jack is sharing  his decades of experience as a long distance   shooter we're going to discuss primary factors  for ammunition selection spotting scopes wind   meters and ballistic software Jack's dope logs  and of course Jack is gonna show us his entire   rifle setup if that sounds awesome it is even more  awesome this will not be Jack's last appearance   on Gearbox Talk so hit the subscribe button  hit the bell icon just to make sure you don't   miss anything all right let's pull the trigger on  this one this is Gearbox Talk with the Jack carr Jack Carr welcome to Gearbox  Talk man how's it going  Jack: dude thank you so much for having me on  this is awesome I always love talking gear which   you'll know if for those who have read the book  so they'll understand that they're kind of they're   gear heavy and geary tells a story so I love I  love talking to you it's a it's beautiful yeah  Brad: love your books and and if anybody has  read your books they know that you have to be   drawing upon something to pull all this knowledge  around long distance shooting on and I know you   like you kind of just said before we started  recording here I know you've been out of the   game for a little bit but people are going to be  super pumped to see your setup for long distance   shooting and I'm excited to to really be able to  go into this but before we start talking gear here   I really just wanted to ask you what do you think  is one of the biggest mistakes people make when   they're getting into long distance shooting Jack: I think it's that the barrier to entry   is having to have this crazy understanding of  ballistics and coefficient this and that and   buy something that's super crazy expensive with  a crazy with a scope that's even more expensive   and all that sort of thing so I think it's  that there are these barriers in place that   might seem like they exist if you were to do  just a google search on it but it's just being   discouraged out of the gate because there's  so much information out there today and you   don't really know just like a lot of things you  don't know what to trust who to trust or how to   get going so I think it's that I think that's  there's this barrier there that doesn't exist  Brad: yeah I think if you're new something  you just said as part of it like you don't   know who to trust so you don't know who  the authorities are and you can end up on   on platforms or websites that certainly  overcomplicate things and and today we're going to   try to break down all this really simple for for  the person that's new to long distance shooting   and you know what some of you veterans might  learn a little something along the way too   so what is one of the primary thing what's one of  the primary things to consider for your ammunition   ammunition selection for long distance shooting Jack: that your rifle likes it so rather than just   buying x rifle x x box of ammo with  this these scope rings and this glass   it's if you're starting from zero actually I  would say that the most important thing is to   go to a school first where you're going to learn  these things you're not going to make a mistake   out of the gate and be like why did I do that  once you have the more information so if you   have a certain amount of dollars to invest in  this I would invest it in the school part of it   so you're going to there's some great schools  out there now my experience happens to be with   thunder ranch for the most part in oregon with  clint smith or ftw ranch down in texas there are   other great ones as well but but those are the  two that that I I've been to multiple times and   can recommend because I've been to them so if I  was gonna just start I would go to one of those   schools and call them and say hey can I borrow  a rifle do you guys do that and if one does then   I would go there and while you were there in that  class now you're talking to people that have been   doing this for years in many cases that is their  only job is to know rifle scope ammo combinations   and then for just in the conversations you have  during class and in many cases after over a   drink or something you're learning more about the  culture you're learning more about the options and   you're learning hey this isn't as intimidating as  it might have seemed online when I saw these crazy   pictures and scopes and all this expensive stuff  pop up so i'd say initially that's where I would   start if I was like at the sniper school in the  military you're going to school and then you're   getting this this weapon you're going to school  you're getting given a certain rifle you're going   through a certain course of instruction with that  rifle you're getting another one you're building   but it's part of a school it's not you just they  just don't hand you the rifle and say go forth   and do good things so for me I would say invest  that in that training part maybe with a rifle   that they have to lend you at first so then you  can make better decisions and choices as to what   gear you need for your particular application Brad: I love that answer it's a great answer on   you know kind of a different way to think about  that and it's certainly not something that's   going to be common to other content you might be  seeing out there let's talk a little bit about   your setup what's your I know you got a couple  on hand here let's look at what you got on hand   for your long long distance shooting setup Jack: yep so I have a few things but this   one I when you said to grab something and  I'll scoop it back a tiny bit you can see   the full thing so I figured I would grab  the rifle that I grab more often than not   when I'm hunting these days this is a  rifles inc it's a 300 winchester magnum   and which is the rifle that was the workhorse  for the seal team snipers when I was in   we do see a lot of different calibers now and  we did at the time too they just added to that   arsenal but but this is what I what I grabbed  more from that because I like the lightness   in iraq and afghanistan if you look at pictures on  instagram with me at the beginning of the war and   then later on you'll see that I've slimmed down  and that's just not from running and working out   that is gear-wise so getting a little more mobile  moving out of vehicles in and out of helicopters   and out of windows over compound walls that sort  of thing so slimming down was very important and   going as light as possible and people that  have spent time in the backcountry know how   important that is to to shave those pounds shave  those ounces down so this is a very light rifle   but you don't need some this is a very expensive  rifle but you don't need the rifle I want to make   sure that people understand that that you can get  the job done with something that's that's not not   custom that's just right out of the box there's  so many great companies out there just throw some   good glass on and you and you're you're good to go  after you understand your reticle scope rifle ammo   combination which you'll understand a lot quicker  and a lot more in depth if you go to one of those   but yeah I put good glass on swarovski on there  this is the z6i right here but for the last 10   years I want to say maybe just just shy of 10  years this is what I have taken out more often   than not so super light great glass I  get a dope guard with it so I can shoot   by dialing or by holds in this reticle and each  reticle can be different there's choices out there   but once again going to that's going to those  schools we'll we'll we'll cue you in on what's   going to work best for you so you have options Brad: I was going to ask how you're logging   your your dope so can you can  you talk through that for a   newbie that has no idea what you're talking about Jack: yep so so we were just talking earlier about   how you can go back you can find some instagram  pages that show people going out in the 1940s with   jeans and cotton-based layers and red flannel  shirts and coming back you know either a bolt   action 30x6 or a lever action 3030 and and getting  the job done so you don't need all this crazy   gear to to go do it but for this one this has a  hunter zero meaning that it's set and depending   on which rifle it is it's usually either 200  yards 250 yards that's probably the average so   I know that if something pops up at 50 a hundred  and fifty a hundred and seventy eight yeah two   hundred two fifteen two hundred three hundred I'm  good with whatever with that dope that is in there   I don't need to dial I don't need to think about  it that's it now each rifle caliber everything   else is going to be different but then if we  start getting over that if I get over that 300   yard mark for the target well I'm going to  dial or I'm going to hold based off my reticle   so that's typically how I do it so this card  tells me and I have two of these typically for   each rifle one goes here on this particular  setup the other one will be in my pocket or   in my pack somewhere else so I always have a  backup of a picture of it on my phone as well   so I so I have this and I can go okay 700 yards  okay this many clicks okay got it boom it has some   wind information on here that sort of thing as  well reminds me what ammo this rifle likes because   once you have more than one it can get confusing  especially if you have a lot of different rifles   yeah is it the 165 grain or the 180 grain that  this one likes I can't remember and it might not   make a difference at 250 or 100 but you know if  you're taking a shot pretty far out there then  Brad: what what is your preferred  for the for this particular rifle  Jack: 165 I think so so 160 actually this is for  the other rifle behind me but 165 oh here we go   there it is right there in front of it 165 grain  psx which is what I thought so yeah so 165 grain   for this one and then the card that I had in my  hand which is for a different rifle that I'll   hold up here and give people a little bit Brad: yeah so say we saw your old faithful   what's your other setup you got here Jack: yeah so this is a little newer and I   like this from sig buh because this this stock is  that across yeah here's the new is the new cross   this is 6.5 creedmoor and so this one likes sig  130 grain cet ammo so it tells me on this card   and it was just right there you can see if you can  see on the screen so it tells me exactly so I have   all these other ammo on the shelf like I forget  which one this was oh it tells me on this card   here okay the 130 grain boom yeah check so I get  that and I go so this is for this rifle it has   has my name on it has the rifle on it has the  ammo on it has all the dope on it right there   so that'll go with this rifle so I wanted to  keep this one all said so I put some sig glass   on here and 6.5 creedmoor of course it has a  magazine right there and it's super light and   pretty affordable and you can fold this thing up I  really like you can fold this thing up and put it   in in a backpack or yeah or whatever really  cool feature yeah so put a bipod on this one   typically my hunting rifles don't don't have  that but when I'm sighting them in then I put a   bipod on there just to get the get the sighting  down so that's this one look it looks cool too  Brad: what I'm going to ask  you off the cuff question here   for hunters the 6'5 creedmoor is like either the  greatest gift or it takes so much flack what's   your what's your take on why that is I hear a lot  of people beating it up but I'm kind of curious   from you as someone who has a ton of shooting  experience you obviously selected that can you   talk through some of that criticism you often hear Jack: yeah so I i chose it because I didn't have   one in 6.5 yet my daughter did I got her one in uh  6.5 grendel it was a little little different but   I wanted to rifle in 6.5 for that reason I had  friends that took this round to africa and just   slayed it with with a plains game in particular  so it's it's it's it's all shot placement I mean   but for me I grew up essentially in the  seal teams with a 300 win mag so I'm   very comfortable with that round I know it just  intuitively by shooting it so much I haven't shot   a 6.5 as much because it's my first one  but so I don't know it as well off the   cuff I just don't have that relationship built  with it like I do with a 300 win mag but yeah   you know if you get shot with this in the chest  or with a 300 win mag in the chest like you don't   want to be you won't be shot by either yeah so Brad: shot placement that's the answer   you you talked about your your 300 win mag  the what what are the primary differences   between that and what you were using when  you're an active sniper or like are there any   really between that or is it the class  or is that pretty much your setup  Jack: yeah no there there are choices here now  that I'm in the private sector so in the military   side of the house you didn't have that many  choices particularly when it came to to the rounds   you had more choice with the 556 rounds than  we did with the with the 300 win mag rounds but   so you were given a round you're getting a  rifle and you're having scope rings in scope   and we started with leupold scopes the mark  fours which are on this right here so this   I just made when I left team five kind of  harkens back to some of the it's a remington  model 700 but it's yeah I kind of wanted one  of those old-school type rifles this is the   the the scope that we used back then before  we switched over to the to the night force but   uh yeah you were just given you didn't have a  choice yeah the big the big difference is like   we didn't put much thought into all the options  because there weren't there weren't any you had   a certain tool and you learned to use that tool  and you got used to what it what it could do you   learned its capabilities and more importantly its  limitations and your limitations with that weapon   system which is almost more important than just  knowing the capabilities so both those things   I think are probably the most important things for  people to understand about their chosen rifle its   capabilities limitations and your capabilities  and limitations with that and by going to one   of these schools you're shooting 50 yards out to  1500 and it's not that you're going to take a shot   on an elk at 1500 but it's just so you get to know  that round a little better in different conditions   and so when you go to take that 200 yard that 250  yard shot at an elk that 100 yard shot at an elk   you are so comfortable because you hit steel at  2200 yards with it in some cases depending on your   setup so it's just really something that teaches  you what you can do to give you that that to give   you that confidence in what you can do with your  chosen weapon system when you're a lot closer  Brad: yeah archery it reminds me archery very  much the same way you know you shoot out to 60   70 yards to tighten up your your 30 to 40 yard  shot you know makes it makes a lot of sense   you know the the the closer distances are  a little bit more forgiving but you learn   some discipline at that long distance and  you can apply that at the shorter ranges   hey to kind of pivot here into a different piece  of gear but I'm sure is vital to your setup what   kind of spotting scope are you using you know  in your civilian life these days when you're   out just you kind of practice shooting yourself Jack: yeah so I have the I usually I borrowed   friends up until this point actually have friends  that have the swarovski setups I think there's two   there are two main ones that swarovski has and  I can tell you off the top of my head because I   don't own them yet but they're on my on my short  list so I have a I don't have it in here but I   have this new sig spotting scope out there and  I haven't had a chance to take it out and really   put it through the paces yet just because I'm so  kind of in tune with the swarovski stuff and and   I like that the seal teams we had leupold stuff  or for the most part I think we had a few other   things as well because you could do off-the-shelf  purchases for things that weren't programmed items   okay now we're getting a little heated on that  side of the house but but yeah typically the most   the the quote-unquote best glass that I can  afford that's what I'm gonna go with but on   the other side you don't need the swarovski crazy  setup to get the job done like you can get it done   all the glass all the big-name glass companies  now are so good like everybody is like you know   there's I can't think of one that's not good if  you know the name you've heard it before and they   probably have a good some good at least one line  is going to be good out of all their at all their   offerings so the glass companies have come so far  in the last 20 years they're all they're all good   stuff these days from from my experience anyway Brad: yeah yeah and most people I've talked to   on this show and just in general say that really  during the day they're all the same it's it that   lasts 15 minutes yeah that last life yeah yeah  which it is important hey I shot my my deer this   year I got my buck at last light there's a lot of  activity happens at last light but but if you're I   guess I bring that up because if you're not using  it for hunting and you're gonna be just generally   shooting like my co-founder zack is really into  long distance shooting but I don't think he's is   interested in hunting is that something to factor  if if you're looking at pricing because the glass   can get expensive really quickly so if that is the  case that it's all during the day you know really   you're not having as much differences it seems  like that'd be something to factor that maybe   you don't need that last light performance Jack: yeah maybe I'm more of a I'm   definitely a glass snob Brad: I say I'm asking   the gear guy if he should take shortcuts Jack: yeah so so for me that's why I'm i'm I'm   waiting to get the swarovski set up but you know  you can totally get it done with anything else   that's just me being me you know I just haven't Brad: no I i just had some buddies on the show we   talked about bear hunting and bear hunting relies  so much on your glass and and those guys both said   the same thing of you know if you're putting  your money into anything put it into good glass   because kind of like you said about  the rounds like you can get it done   elsewhere a lot of different ways but if you  don't have good glass then then it's just going   to make a huge difference in your hunt so sounds  like it sounds like you're kind of in agreement   there and the show I'm talking about we did just  launch if you want to check that out we'll put a   link to it in the show notes that's with cody  rich and james nash who also shoots that that   sig spotting scope that we were just talking about  too he vouched for that yeah nice so I i want to   shift over to kind of talking about the wind you  know there's so much technology out there today   for reading wind but I'm kind of curious on  your approach and and how you set it up and   then maybe your recommendation for a newbie Jack: yep so the wind is tough so when I went   through sniper school it was an art so I went  through sniper school in 2000 and what we learned   was typically based on the experience of guys  in vietnam we're using the same type of rifles   which were essentially of hunting rifles painted  camouflage and there wasn't really a revolution in   technology behind sniper sniper weapon systems  until september 11th until we started getting   that experience on the battlefield shooting at  altitudes across canyons in snow you know cold   weathers that down then in iraq and basra  and hot you know summer that sort of thing   so we started to evolve and guys came back and  they started debriefing and writing up lessons   learned and figured hey what this is what I wish  I had had there if only I had had this more guys   started going to SHOT Show and going on into the  private sector and seeing what long-range shooters   were doing in the private sector what they were  using why they were using it hey can we adapt this   for military purposes that sort of thing so there  was it really took september 11th and going down   range to war for tactics techniques procedures  around sniper weapon systems and tactics   and gear to change and to evolve so now I'm  dated on all that so I've been out for a few   few years now and I can only imagine what they're  doing now because as I was leaving you know we're   shooting other things we're shooting 338 lapuas  we're doing the accuracy international stuff you   have tremendous scopes coming out I think on a few  things of course we have lasers on on our on our   rifles as well we have auto loading weapon systems  we still have bolt action weapon systems a lot of   the people we have these these pdas that are now  attached to the scopes that are talking to each   other and we have wind you know the kestrel meters  and all that stuff so there's just a lot more   information for guys to apply to that shot whereas  I tend to be because of how I came up in it   still more of the art type of person just reading  that wind down range hey what's it doing here   at the muzzle at the at my end of my barrel and  then what is it doing down there near my target   is it swirling down there is it going the opposite  direction of what it's doing up here what are the   trees doing what are the leaves doing are there  any other indicators out there that I can look at   to give me more information to tell me where to  hold as I take this shot so so mine's more of that  Brad: good skill to have as I've  read in savage sun I think you know   sometimes that technology goes out on you Jack: that's right exactly so it's like   what's more like my personal experience apply  fictional narrative but but guys today yeah very   you get very technical very scientific about the  science versus the art and of course there is a   an overlap there and probably the best snipers  are have the ability to do both the capability   to do both understanding of both and then of  course they have to know what happens when this   thing stops go when this goes down when the wind  meter doesn't work when their pda doesn't work   that sort of thing when something happens quickly  hey back when I was in everything was dialed and   now we probably missed quite a few  shots because we didn't understand   exactly how to hold with our reticles now reticles  didn't really lend themselves to be able to do   holds very well now there's some great reticles  out there that allow you to do holds very quickly   as well and change from a close shot to a long  shot without looking at your scope and dialing and   counting those clicks so so things have definitely  evolved out there and that's but hey once again   that stuff you don't need to that that might be  a little too technical you might just need that   that rifle that's sighted in at  100 150 200 250 whatever that is   and you know hey I'm not taking a shot over  300 yards of this thing or you know what I'm   if it's a if it's if it's a really windy day  and it's coming in from from right to left hey   I can still make a shot at 100 yards but you know  what I can't do I can't make a shot at 300 yards   where I could if there was no wind so that's the  part that's important to understand as a hunter   and as a shooter so you can make that ethical shot Brad: are you using any kind of like you kind   of talked I don't know where your art stops  with your your tooling and and what you would   recommend too like do you use any wind meters  or ballistic software today are you still kind   of leaning on more of your own personal judgment Brad: I have a ballistic software that I think   I did not update with my new phone so I saw  I've used ballistic software in these different   shooting schools I've so I've i've used that I've  done the calculations and all that sort of thing   but as soon as I get home I get on the field I  i don't do that yeah I go back to what I know   which is that rifle that round how to hold how to  look at that that wind and where to hold in that   wind depending on which rifle I'm using before  I take the shot but more so it's just about   understanding those capabilities and limitations Brad: that's all the questions I have but I do   want to wrap up with one last question on this  one what is your number one advice for somebody   who's trying to get a long distance shooting and  think they're interested into it and this may be   some summary of what you've kind of said but I'm  just kind of curious on that take home advice   what's the the one piece of advice for somebody  that's getting into long distance shooting  Jack: yeah it's to go to sign up for one of  these courses and get out there and do it   if you think you're you want to do it then this is  your year get out there make it a priority and get   out there and do it you know there's not there's  in the way of prep it's just that mindset it's but   it's signing up it's putting that date on the  calendar it's blocking it off and it's getting   out there there to do it now of course you can  teach yourself you know online probably can go   on youtube probably and do it but I like to  I like to go to learn from someone in person   whose only job in life and his passion in life is  understanding these things and then teaching that   to others so so I just like that interaction Brad: get out there and do it would probably   be the tagline of Gearbox Talk man so many  people at the end of the day just tell you   like stop thinking about it and just go try it  go try it go try it go try it that was that was   the last show I recorded that was the take  home advice there so I think that's awesome   awesome advice if you have not checked  out Jack's books I don't know what you're   thinking you got to go do that right now they  are fantastic audiobooks they're great physical   books however you like to read go get his  books Jack where can they find your books   and where can they find you on social media Jack: yep so officialJackcar.com and if you   go back in the blog section to the earlier  posts there are some articles there on some of   the weapons that I used downrange so the mark 12  mark 11 sniper weapon systems that sort of thing   so you can go and do a little more of a deep dive  than you'll get from the novels in some of those   earlier earlier posts so you can find me there and  then on the social channels at Jack Carr usa and   I'm most active on instagram and twitter on those Brad: awesome and we have another interview with   Jack Carr he's on our restless native  podcast I don't know exactly how the   timing is going to work out but make sure you  subscribe to us restless native so you don't   miss that show Jack thanks for coming on man Jack: thank you so much for having me let's   do it again soon Brad: yes sir all right thank you Jack for doing the show  reminder Gearbox Talk is a product of GoWild   if you have not downloaded the GoWild app  please correct this right now you can join   literally hundreds of thousands of people who are  posting about shooting hunting fishing and more   more things that you like to do outdoors  the social media app is available in all   the app stores and I'll put a link in the  show notes now I have to say Jack Carr is   literally one of the most humble people I've  ever had on any podcast either this one or   my other show restless native he was actually  grateful for me allowing him to be on my show   meanwhile the new york times bestselling author  who has literally been on like joe rogan he's   I walked in a bookstore the other day and  he was on the cover of I think three or four   different magazines this guy is the real deal but  he's so down to earth you have to appreciate that   and not only that I have to say thank you to Jack  and all of our audience who have served this great   country reminder all of the gear Jack mentioned  is in the show notes all purchases through these   links help us raise money for a camp that teaches  kids to shoot hunt fish thank you for helping   with this initiative and supporting the show and  GoWild thanks for watching until next week I'm out

Channel: GoWild Hunting, Fishing & Outdoors

Views: 107,739

Keywords: jack carr, long range shooting, long distance shooting, how to long distance shoot, how to start long range shooting, navy seal long range shooting, long range shooting setup, long range shooting gear, long range shooting rifle, gearbox talk, gowild

Id: UL3vISlh4lc

Length: 26min 55sec (1615 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 07 2021