by FTW SAAM | Testimonials
Our first family trip to the FTW Ranch for a SAAM precision course was in 2015. The South Island of New Zealand was our upcoming international hunting trip. Kaylee was 8 years old and a spunky little student toting her pink gun. She took right away to Efren as an instructor and still hunts with him to this day. We followed up with subsequent trips to the Ranch prior to other international and domestic hunting excursions (2017-2020) mixing it up with a combination of Precision, Safari and Hunting combo trips. We have made it through gun, scope and ammo changes like a champ! We had great successes in New Zealand, Australia, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Mexico and Zimbabwe. Our experience at SAAM has taught us many things. From mils to MOA, super- to trans- to sub-sonic, first to second focal plane, just to name a few. While these are all technical terms that we mastered, we also gained much needed confidence and a sense of responsibility to ethically harvest an animal. It is more important to know when NOT to shoot than to shoot. It is our responsibility, as a hunter, to know when the time is right. The time spent at SAAM has developed these skills and taken us further in our hunting pursuits. Thanks to all the SAAM staff & instructors, and Lodge & Ranch staff we have been with over the past 5+ years. You are what makes the experience a complete success! Without any reservation, all three of us, highly recommend to any Hunter to attend the SAAM school.
Russell, Mary Edith and Kaylee Stacy
by FTW SAAM | Testimonials
Good afternoon Tim and crew, I just got out of the Alaskan bush and wanted to let you know that I harvested a big Dall ram. Shot range was 485 yards. Thank you again for your generous donation of the SAAM precision shooting course and the unbelievable time I had with you all. Sincerely, Keith Hart
by FTW SAAM | Testimonials
Thanks so much to FTW for giving my girl the confidence to take the shot! She developed a skill set that the she will always appreciate and will be outshooting the boys, and training her kids, one day, for the rest of her life.
by FTW SAAM | Testimonials
I took the SAAM Safari Course in December 2019 and the SAAM Advanced Course in May 2020. Both courses far surpassed anything I was expecting, but the thing that struck me most during both classes was the unparalleled professionalism of the entire staff.
What does that mean? Safety – Safety is always the most important and religiously followed rule during your entire stay at FTW Ranch. The staff at SAAM has a unique ability to practice and demand absolute respect for firearms and firearm safety in a way that is not condescending or imperious, but rather in a way that acknowledges you can practice gun safety and have fun while doing so.
Experience – At SAAM, the quality and depth of instruction is unequalled anywhere else. In terms of knowledge and experience, the difference between the instructors and the vast majority of the students could be likened to the difference between Mikael Baryshnikov and the students in a first-grade ballet class.
In such a scenario, one might reasonably expect the chasm between instructor and student would be so wide as to intimidate even the most stout-hearted participant. However, the SAAM instructors (“Baryshnikovs”?) are more than happy to leave all pretense at the gate while drawing on their superior skills and passion for shooting to encourage, enlighten, and enhance the shooting abilities of every student in the class. It doesn’t matter whether you are a new-to-the-sport mother of three or a 25-year veteran of white tail hunting, these guys know instinctively how to coax the best out of each shooter. And they do it in such a way that every shooter not only enjoys the experience but develops a strong sense of confidence in themselves. Learning – There is no question that the SAAM courses are designed to teach even a relatively new shooter how to properly set up for that once in a lifetime shot.
Those same courses also enable a more experienced shooter to supplement and expand their previously existing knowledge to bring them to the next level of shooting proficiency. That next level may come from a better understanding of the effect of wind on a bullet as it flies to its target, learning to incorporate a more stable shooting position, or realizing the point beyond which the shooter can no longer be sure of the outcome of their shot. Patience – At SAAM, it appears to me that perhaps the second-most important element of instruction (after safety) for students and instructors alike, is patience. Students realize quickly that mistakes and repetition are key to the learning experience and not a basis for ridicule. The instructors also know this, and in fact, they incorporate room for both into each day’s events, and their patience helps every student, regardless of experience, to feel comfortable and spend more time learning and less time worrying about what may happen if they need more time to grasp a concept or don’t hit the center “X” on the first shot. Meanwhile, the instructors still find a way to take the time necessary to help every student “get it,” while at the same time making sure the class meets its daily goals.
Of course, few if any students will be able to incorporate what they’ve learned into flawless performance the first rattle out of the box, and most will have to go through various exercises several (or if you’re like me, numerous) times before they get things right. Yet, despite the innumerable instances of mistaken direction, improper form, or dropped ammo on the range, I never once heard anything remotely resembling a complaint or tone of frustration from the instructors. Because of all of the above, during both of my visits to SAAM I noticed I was able to leave “the world” behind, focus on improving my shooting skills and knowledge, and have a really great time. It couldn’t happen without the SAAM team of instructors and support staff, and I heartily encourage anyone who wants to be a better shooter/hunter/gun enthusiast to take advantage of what the FTW Ranch and SAAM have to offer!
Phil McKinney May 2020
by FTW SAAM | Testimonials
The level of professionalism, competence, and positivity among the entire staff at the FTW Ranch impressed me greatly. Every aspect of my experience there, from the quality of instruction, lodging, meals, etc., was exemplary. The SAAM Advanced and Safari courses teach rock-solid principles addressing the entire spectrum of physical and mental prerequisites critical to expert marksmanship and successful hunting. The instructors possess absolute expertise and more importantly, the ability to make complicated topics easily comprehensible and instantly applicable behind a rifle. Their enthusiasm for the covered subject matter and toward improving the customer’s abilities is genuine, and more than once I sat with an instructor discussing various principles well into the night. The many long-distance ranges are top-notch, and I was pleasantly surprised to shoot on ranges with both forward and lateral moving targets. There are also ranges with shooting positions along boulders and tree branches of various heights and angles to get the shooter accustomed to challenging shooting situations encountered during a hunt. The handbooks they provide condense lots of complicated information into easily understandable sections, and the level of detail is impressive. Their handbook on the Kestrel 5700 is the best I have seen. I highly recommend SAAM to shooters of all experience levels.
– Jeff
by FTW SAAM | Testimonials
Great start to 2020, thanks SAAM!!!
Rich
