Mid- and long-range shooting has clearly ceased to be a niche form of sport shooting over the past few years. This is due both to the dynamic growth of shooting sports in Poland and the parallel development of the firearms industry, as well as increasing competition among stores, providing shooting enthusiasts of every budget with access to a very wide range of equipment choices. Buying and owning equipment is one thing, but one must still learn how to shoot. There are many opportunities for that as well, but one in particular has accompanied us continuously for the past five years.
In 2022, the Polish company Delta Optical launched a unique initiative by organizing the Delta Steel Gongs shooting workshops at the WITU training ground in Zielonka. A year later, the event changed its name, and so last weekend the same venue hosted the fifth edition of the Delta Long Range Weekend 2026, an event held under the Delta Optical banner and at the same time a small celebration for mid- and long-range shooters. It was organized under the honorary patronage of the Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence — Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
On Saturday, May 9, the otherwise inaccessible WITU training ground in Zielonka hosted the Delta Long Range Weekend 2026 workshops — one of the largest shooting workshops in Europe, organized by Delta Optical. Unlike previous years, this year’s edition lasted only one day; however, that did not mean the training was incomplete. Quite the opposite — DLRW is a workshop with a unique character, highly diverse, and definitely deserving of being called one of the largest events on the European shooting scene.
DLRW offers training in four shooting disciplines: precision shooting, tactical shooting, extreme long range, and PRS, including the use of various shooting positions. As every year, the organizers prepared an extensive shooting field — placing over 100 steel targets of various sizes at distances ranging from several dozen meters up to as far as 1,600 m. The gongs were arranged in zones, making it possible to observe the effect of wind on bullet trajectory. This type of target setup also allows immediate visual and audible confirmation of hits, which is particularly important during the learning process and the improvement of shooting techniques.
Another strong point of the training organized by Delta Optical is its instructional staff — composed of top instructors, world record holders, and experienced practitioners. For this reason, the workshops are friendly both to beginners and experienced shooters alike — the instructors clearly had a great deal of knowledge to share with participants at every level of advancement. It should be emphasized that the organizers place great importance on ensuring that every participant receives the attention and assistance they expect in improving their shooting techniques, and the instructor team is selected with this goal in mind.
Weather conditions were variable — from a cloudy and calm opening with no mirage over the shooting field, to somewhat windier (around 3.5 m/s) sunny conditions later in the day. All participants were encouraged to begin the training by visiting the rifle zeroing station, where besides setting (or confirming) the zero, the muzzle velocity of the firearm was measured, and each interested participant received an up-to-date ballistic chart for their setup. During this year’s DLRW workshops, participants also had the opportunity to measure the target velocity of ammunition and determine the projectile’s actual ballistic coefficient (BC).
This year’s edition gathered more than 100 participants. The training fee (690 PLN) included instructors, drinking water, medical support, and paid catering available between 12:00 and 14:00.
Delta Long Range Weekend, as every year, took place in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, allowing every participant to improve their skills in engaging distant targets under comfortable conditions — which is exactly what precision shooting, especially at long range, requires. The good news is that this may not have been the last such opportunity this year...
Event website:https://deltaoptical.pl/dlrw
