Dan Lentz has been a top performer since he entered the US program and he recently won the Sinclair East Coast Nationals. We asked Dan if he would share a few tips that have helped him in competition.
He tells us that “before a match large or small I go over all my gear that I am using to make sure nothing is loose or broken. I always get a 100 yard zero in the week before check grouping and velocity from there I may make a small adjustment to the load . The week leading up to the match the last operation in the loading room is to drop powder and ball. This is where I get to mentally switch gears”.
Dan goes as many local matches as he can to work on his wind reading skills. He says he usually will shoot very slowly, trying to make that perfect wind call. In some cases he will put zero on the rifle and shoot to see what happens.
Working on shooting speed is also very important according to Dan. He will shoot rapid five shots groups with the target up at 1000 yards while working to keep his vertical to a minimum. This has really helped him hold tighter vertical, while shooting fast.
Dan believes that practicing simple fundamentals will produce good results. He says that “rifle handling is important to me. I work very had to be smooth and follow though the shot”.
Dan will practice about once a month at the very least year around. More in the warmer months. Winnequah Gun club in Lodi Wisconsin is his home range. That is where he does most of his practicing for long range .
Dan credits Bob Sebold for helping him get started in the sport. Bob is a very accomplished F-Open shooter who also calls the Winnequah club home. Dan says that Bob really took him under his wing and got him pointed in the right direction.
The Sinclair match was held in unusually tough conditions this year. Dan’s strategy was to literally talk himself through what he was seeing on the range. He was quietly verbalizing to himself every direction shift and speed change that he could detect. The Sinclair match was pair fired, so Dan had to stay on top of the wind and shoot when it was his turn. He said he just had to stay with it and not second guess himself.
Dan thanks his US Teammate Jeff Rorer of the North State Shooting Club for all the work put into running the Sinclair East Coast Nationals and all of his fellow teammates for their support.
Dan uses the following products and services: Krieger Barrels, Nightforce Competition Scope, Berger Bullets, Kelbly Panda Action, Piercision Rifles, 5.11 Tactical, Crosstac mat, Holland's scope level, Applied Ballistics, Sinclair International reloading products, Hodgdon gunpowder, Americase , Lapua brass, Duplin Rifles bipod, Powder scale from Balances.com, Precision Rifle & Tool LLC, Redding Reloading Equipment.