LongRangeShoo+ngTips,Ge2ngStarted

ByJimSee

Wheredoeslongrangeshoo+ngstart?

Thisisagoodques-on.Ifwearegoingtodiscusslongrangeshoo-ngitwouldbeagoodideatodefineitinmodernterms.Inregardstotoday’sstandardequipment,ofmoderncenterfirerifles,highBCbulletsandadvancedop-cs.Iliketodefinelongrangeshoo-ngasthis.

“Longrangeshoo-ngwouldbetargetengagementsatanydistance,whereweneedtocompensateoureleva-onholdoradjustmentsbasedonaclearunitofmeasure,toreliablyhit thetargetwitheveryshot.”

Sotopresentexamples;anaturallytalentedhuntercouldholdKentuckywindageandeleva-onoutto350yardsandhitamuledeerreliablyusingastandardduplexre-cle.Tomethatisnottheintentoflongrange.OnthesametokenahuntergoingaOerprairiedogsmaymakeasightadjustmentorre-cleholdover,inconjunc-onwithballis-cdata,tohithistargetat350yards.Duetothetargetsizeandacalculatedcorrec-on,Iconsiderthatlongrange.

HowdoIgetstartedinlongrangeshoo+ng?

Equipment;

AgoodplacetostartishavingariflewithaboSleneckcartridgeshoo-ngrela-velyhighballis-ccoefficient(BC)bullets;themajorconsidera-onisthehighBCbullets.AlmostanymodernboSleneckcartridgeoverthelast100yearsiscapableofshoo-nglongrangeaslongastherearesuitablehighBCbulletsavailable.

Nextweneedanop-contheriflewithsuitablemagnifica-ontoiden-fyourtargetatdistancewitheitheranadvancedetchedre-culewithsometypeofholdoverreferences,oranop-cwithexposedadjustableturrets.Todaytherearemanyop-cscompaniescateringtothismarket,inmanyqualityandpricelevels.

ThirdweshouldequipourrifleswithabipodandarearbagsowehaveasolidstableplaYormtoshootfrom,regardlessifweareproneonthegroundorshoo-ngoffabench.

Nowlet’sconsidertheammuni-onweputthroughourrifles.Todaythereisawideselec-onoffactoryloadsforcartridgeslikethe308Winchester,6.5Creedmoor,300WinMagandmore,whichareverycapableandconsistentenoughtoengagelongrangetargetswithreliability.Ingeneral,mostlongrangeshootershandloadammuni-on.Thevolumeoffirerequiredingainingtheproperfundamentalsandexperience,shoo-ngindifferentenvironmentalcondi-ons,necessitatesalevelofexperiencewhichweonlygainbydoingit.Byhandloadingtheammuni-ontheshootercandevelopaloadspecifictohisfirearmthatwillbebothaccurateandconsistentenoughtomaintainpropereleva-onatdistancefromshottoshot,allwhilesavingaliSlemoneyinloadingithimselfandreusingthebrasscases.

Yourammuni-onshouldincludearela-velyhighBCbulletsoitmaintainsenergyandvelocityasittravelsdownrange.Yourammuni-onshouldbeaccurate,andhavealowvelocityvariancefromshottoshotforconsistencydownrange.ThisvarianceiswhatwerefertoasVelocityspreadorStandardDevia-on(SD).

Picturedisaverycapableloadfiredat100yardsonaCaldwellOrangePeelTarget.Thisloadwouldbeacceptableforlongrangeshoo-ng;thefollowingpicture,withchronographdata,assuresusthatthis308ammuni-onisconsistent.www.b-brands.com/product/orange-peel-sight-in/

Finallyweneedaprogramtocalculateourrifleandbulletsexteriorballis-cs.Yearsagobeforeballis-ccalculators,thiswasreferredtoas,DataofPreviousEngagements(DOPE).DOPEwascollectedbyactuallyshoo-ngyourrifleinthefieldatvariousdistancesandindifferingenvironmentalcondi-onsandrecordingthesightadjustmentsinabook.ThisbookwasthenreferredtoasyourDOPEandconsultedforanyfutureengagements.

Todayweusecomputerprogramsthatweinputcertaininforma-onlike;BulletBC,Velocityatthemuzzle,scopeheightabovethebore,temperatureandeleva-on.OncetheprogramhasourinputsitcancalculateourtrajectoryandwinddriOveryaccurately.Ifyouarenotfamiliarwithballis-cprogramsyoucanplaywithaverygoodoneatJBMBallis-cs.hSp://www.jbmballis-cs.com

Althoughbrief,thisar-cleshouldigniteyourresearchintoyourlongrangequest.

Bio;JimSeehasbeenshoo/ngcompe//velyandbuildingcustomriflessince2008,heownsEliteAccuracyLLCandcon/nuestoshootprecisionriflematches,instructsincompe//ontrainingclassesandbuildcustomrifles.