Eye opening practice

[PlanoDano]

One common phrase I hear is "I want to be able to take animals to X00 yards" usually 600. I am not in the league of the long range shooters on this board but would love to hear them chime in. I practice regularly (about once a week sometimes more or less) and am now limited to 400 yards at my regular range. I visit family out west to practice at longer ranges. I have always shot some rounds at 100 to 200 yards and extended my range. I have always felt I had the competence to take animals at 600 and even more.

I have had a little extra time to practice out west this spring. I decided to make my practice mimic a hunting situation. I take the first shot of the day between 550 and 650 and was disappointed in my first shot hit rate. Hit rate was right at 50%. This is a much lower hit rate than I expected or experience in practice. Maybe I make better wind calls after shooting at shorter ranges first. The wind is trickier this year.

[labman]

Are you asking for a practice routine for long range shooting/hunting? If so, I'd recommend shooting routinely as far as you can given range limitations only after you've mastered the basics. Work solely on bench rest or prone positions initially, make sure your shooting form-body position, cheek weld, shoulder position, eye relief and trigger control are repeatable as shown by your target.

Get a good ballistic app and chronograph, make sure your ammo is accurate, reliable and repeatable. Know your DOPE out to X distance and work your turrets, then work on your using your reticle for elevation/windage adjustments. Don't shoot further than you can accurately hit and repeat-slowly move from 100-200-300-400, etc.

Windage calls take experience, the wind is probably different at muzzle versus 800 yards down range. Or, to speed up the process, buy a Kestrel and have a mini weather station to verify your windage calls.

Long range shooting isn't something special, you need a decent rifle, optic and quality ammo. Then, lots of practice because the longer the distance the more shooter error is magnified. Once you've become accomplished at bench or prone, work on different shooting positions.

[howabouttheiris]

One common phrase I hear is "I want to be able to take animals to X00 yards" usually 600.

Shooting weekly is more often than most get to do it and shooting at 400 is longer than most get to shoot. I don't think this will limit you at all.

You just need to be inch critical with your shots.... a 10 mph wind may only be 8" (depending on caliber), but still more than enough to practice shooting high side and low side of the gusts.

I liken it to golf. Never stand on the driving range and just rip balls out into the field. Pick a pin, pick a shot shape, pick a trajectory, step up from a fresh walk up, do your routine, hit the ball, then be honest about your shot. The "slight fade" that you crushed is really just another pond ball.

I had a serious attitude adjustment about my shooting ability when I shot my 1st long range match. I think it is common for most people to far overrate their ability. Having a test or measure, like you did, is a good start.


What were your misses like? A diagnosis and plan is pretty easy once you know how you are missing.

[PlanoDano]

I was mainly talking about the difference in hit rates 1st shot out of a cold rifle at longer ranges vs moving to longer range after shooting some rounds at 100 and 200. I hit at a much higher rate after warming up at short range. In my real world hunting situation there are never any warm up shots.

[howabouttheiris]

I was mainly talking about the difference in hit rates 1st shot out of a cold rifle at longer ranges vs moving to longer range after shooting some rounds at 100 and 200. I hit at a much higher rate after warming up at short range. In my real world hunting situation there are never any warm up shots.

Are you missing ...

high/low only = cold bore dope not aligning with normal data issue

left/right only = purely a wind call issue

both = both of the above or consistent setup issue


How big of a target are you shooting at 600? Big difference (and different options) if you are missing a 6" plate or an 18" plate.



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[PlanoDano]

Are you missing ...

high/low only = cold bore dope not aligning with normal data issue

left/right only = purely a wind call issue

both = consistent setup issue


How big of a target are you shooting at 600? Big difference (and different options) if you are missing a 6" plate or an 18" plate.



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6 inch target. I mostly miss high. I think you just hit on my issue - I have never kept cold bore dope. I have never thought it made that much difference.

[Briar Friar]

Are you missing ...

high/low only = cold bore dope not aligning with normal data issue

left/right only = purely a wind call issue

both = both of the above or consistent setup issue


How big of a target are you shooting at 600? Big difference (and different options) if you are missing a 6" plate or an 18" plate.

Good push.

[howabouttheiris]

6 inch target. I mostly miss high. I think you just hit on my issue - I have never kept cold bore dope. I have never thought it made that much difference.

If you clean or patch every time you put the rifle away, any oil in the barrel can temporarily increase the chamber pressure and cause a high hit on the 1st couple rounds.

This can be confirmed over a chronograph.

If there is no velocity shift, then it could be lots of things.

Barrel heating (reaching a steady state) , scope tracking (1st few rounds fixing issue with sticking elevator), ammo temp from sitting in warm barrel, etc, etc.

1 moa everytime is good shooting and a tough goal.






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[pure lefty]

Great post and answers

[Matt_C]

One common phrase I hear is "I want to be able to take animals to X00 yards" usually 600. I am not in the league of the long range shooters on this board but would love to hear them chime in. I practice regularly (about once a week sometimes more or less) and am now limited to 400 yards at my regular range. I visit family out west to practice at longer ranges. I have always shot some rounds at 100 to 200 yards and extended my range. I have always felt I had the competence to take animals at 600 and even more.

I have had a little extra time to practice out west this spring. I decided to make my practice mimic a hunting situation. I take the first shot of the day between 550 and 650 and was disappointed in my first shot hit rate. Hit rate was right at 50%. This is a much lower hit rate than I expected or experience in practice. Maybe I make better wind calls after shooting at shorter ranges first. The wind is trickier this year.

This is a great topic to discuss. A lot of guy's who do practice even at 100 yards then think they can hit a animal at 600 yards the first time are flat out wrong. I've learned that I shoot lights out at 200 yards. At 300, I'm suprised at how bad my hit rate is. I really do think the envirormentals have a larger impact on the longer distances. Thoughts?