First attempt at “long range” shooting.

[Gila]

or simply get a burris eliminator scope,,good out to 700 plus

That scope is illegal in some of the states with really good hunting. Here in NM it is illegal to have light emanating from the sight. I don't know what a local judge would say, but I won't risk it.

 

[kiwi hunter]

That scope is illegal in some of the states with really good hunting. Here in NM it is illegal to have light emanating from the sight. I don't know what a local judge would say, but I won't risk it.

my bad,,its ok in nz

 

[Gila]

my bad,,its ok in nz

I think it's a really cool concept. Sig Sauer has their BDX scope that pairs with a BDX rangefinder that does the same thing, but alas it is illegal in some states as well. I tried the BDX system but I sent the scope back as I didn't care for it. I kept the Kilo rangefinder though. I can upload a ballistic profile for my rifle to the RF. The RF spits out LOS, angle, and MOA. I can't do windage though. If I want atmospherics I pair a WindFlow to Strelok Pro.

 

[mtmuley]

or simply get a burris eliminator scope,,good out to 700 plus

I'd throw rocks before I mounted an eliminator on any of my rifles. mtmuley

 

[Millsworks]

I highly recommend a 200 yrd. zero with the .300 wsm, as that will put you closer to the elevation needed at longer ranges and allow a dead hold out to 250yrds on deer size game and larger to make a good hit.

 

[kiwi hunter]

That scope is illegal in some of the states with really good hunting. Here in NM it is illegal to have light emanating from the sight. I don't know what a local judge would say, but I won't risk it.

so then it must be illegal to have a rangefinder in those states as well seeing as they both work on the same principal

 

[RockinU]

I'm not real big on telling folks how they should do stuff, as I've always seen that there are lots of paths that lead to the same place. Having said that, it just makes sense to me that if a body wants to shoot any kind of distance at all, just learn to do it right, and go on with it. Sure there's some investment in it, but it doesn't have to be ridiculous.

You will need premium ammunition, hand loaded is best, but that doesn't mean you need to dive into hand loading head first. You can seek out and make friends with someone who loads, and get them to mentor you on their equipment. Or there are several places now where you can buy hand loaded ammo commercially. It won't be loaded with all your gun's distinct tastes, but it will be much more consistent than factory ammo.

You will need access to a chrono. Again, make friends with someone who shoots a lot, or most any hand loader, and they'll probably have one. In all the ranges I've been to, I've only ever seen one that rented them, but it I'm sure there are others that do. Then there's always ebay, or clearance at midway...they aren't terribly expensive, and the information they equip you with is critical.

Spend some time learning MOA (or mils if your into metric), there are books, and countless articles and tutorials around the internet. The basic concept isn't hard to grasp, and once you do, it's just practice from there.

There are a bunch of ballistic apps out there for whatever phone you have, and once you have all the information they require, they aren't hard to run. Go to the range, and confirm everything and practice...it's fun! There's no reason to make elevation hard, with just a little work it's not hard. Wind, well wind is hard as hell, but you can do elevation if you really want to.

 

[BuzzH]

To butcher Patton's Quote: "Amateurs debate range correcting, professionals talk wind".

Bottom line, compensating for ranging is predictable and objective, wind requires alot more skill. Most real skilled LR shooters I know are good because they know how to read wind.

Yep... bullet drop is pure physics, nothing complicated or tough about that. Wind? Pure voodoo.

 

[npaden]

Well I did a little better tonight. 20 clicks up and a 10 mph ESE wind so not as much of a crosswind. I held for center of target and shot 3 times. Changed my setup a little so I was sitting on a table with a little step stool in front of me for a rest, it didn’t feel much better than the ladder, for sure not as steady as prone or sitting with my pack on a rock.

At least I hit the target this time!! The circled shot to the right looks like the paper covers it and it couldn’t be a shot from tonight, but the paper is slightly curled there and it snuck in next to the paper. 9” group at 390 yards. Not that impressive, but for sure an improvement.



I think if I can get myself steady I would tighten that up quite a bit.

Thanks again for the comments. I’m getting closer. Just need to remember to dial back to zero afterwards!

As I typed this I remembered that I need to dial it back!

Nathan

 

[Gila]

so then it must be illegal to have a rangefinder in those states as well seeing as they both work on the same principal

Range finders are okay in all of the states as far as I know.

 

[mtmuley]

Yep... bullet drop is pure physics, nothing complicated or tough about that. Wind? Pure voodoo.

No flags or reliable indicators to read wind while hunting. mtmuley

 

[RockinU]

Yep... bullet drop is pure physics, nothing complicated or tough about that. Wind? Pure voodoo.

Funny that you go with that, a friend of mine calls it PFM. Can't decode the whole thing but the P is for Pure and the M is for magic...

 

[BrentD]

No flags or reliable indicators to read wind while hunting. mtmuley

But there are lots of other things to tell you about the wind.

 

[mtmuley]

But there are lots of other things to tell you about the wind.

Obviously. Reading wind in the mountains is awful tricky. mtmuley

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Obviously. Reading wind in the mountains is awful tricky. mtmuley

Reading mirage, trees, or grass (that might not even be present) is way tougher than a range flag.... It is no wonder why all the long range shooting shows fire a spotter round or two off camera, before they film the shot on the animal. A Kestrel can't read the wind halfway to the target.

 

[BrentD]

Reading mirage, trees, or grass (that might not even be present) is way tougher than a range flag.... It is no wonder why all the long range shooting shows fire a spotter round or two off camera, before they film the shot on the animal. A Kestrel can't read the wind halfway to the target.

Actually, I and most shooters I know prefer mirage to everything else.

But I think the key is simply knowing your wind tables and doing a little practice with estimation. Certianly, it depends on what you want to call long distance. The OP here was talking about 400ish yards. For you guys shooting modern guns wind isn't really going to be that big of a deal MOST of the time. A 10 mph wind at 500 yds from one of Randy's .308 Nosler loads is going to drift about 20". Supposing you mistake a 10 mph wind for a 5 mph wind you are missing by 10". That sounds like a lot but there is no way you are going to make a mistake that big. Remember, it's not the amount of wind that matters - it is the amount you MISJUDGE the wind that matters. For modern rifles - heck it's not that bad, but you gotta know your drift tables. Fortunately, windage charts are easily made on the JBM website and windage effects are, for all practical purposes, linear, so 20mph winds need twice the correction of 10 mph winds. The other problem is that most people dramatically overestimate windspeed.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Agree on all counts. I am not an expert, but if I were really intent on getting good at 500 and beyond, learning to use mirage is what I would focus on as well. The problem with mirage is it disappears by about 15mph. In the mid-west, or on a bermed range that is ok, but in a lot of real world scenarios it isn't always there.

I am not sure about anyone else's experience, but I too have had good luck with the JBM tables.

 

[ImBillT]

A .308Win with a 168VLD has about 3X the drop at 400yds that it does drift in a 10mph crosswind. 26.5” drop, 9” drift. And 4X as much at 800yds. 161” drop vs 40.5” drift.

 

[rmyoung1]

I appreciate your honesty. There’s so much bad information, prideful bravado, and plain ol’ lying on this subject in the hunting community. Thanks for the sharing your experience truthfully.

 

[Gila]

Reading mirage, trees, or grass (that might not even be present) is way tougher than a range flag.... It is no wonder why all the long range shooting shows fire a spotter round or two off camera, before they film the shot on the animal. A Kestrel can't read the wind halfway to the target.

The largest effect wind has on a shot is at the muzzle. For half a century I just threw up a fistful of dirt. This year I decided to go high tech and bought the WeatherFlow that is designed for hunting. The WeatherFlow is bluetooth to Strelok Pro on the phone. $15 for Strelok Pro and 85$ for the WeatherFlow. Point the meter into the wind. Get the wind direction and speed. Then point the phone (the GPS) in the direction of the target and recalculate for the windage hold. What I do is walk through the area and take periodic readings in the direction of where a shot might be. I also bounce the RF off of trees or rocks to get a feel of what the windage should be at different ranges. That way if it is a hurry up shot I know what the holds are going to be beforehand. Of course the ideal situation is that you sit down, take readings, spin the turrrets and send the round. Unfortunately, that does not happen very often.