#1 best tip for new shooters trying to get into the long range game!

[Orange Dust]

Agree with everything else others have said.
On wind, terrain compounds difficulty, but even on flat ground, strong wind in the 5-7 and 10-1 clock positions are compounded because reading the wind angle becomes just as important as gauging it's magnitude in whether you adjust left, right, up or down

The good news for me is the wind is almost always lite early and usually lays late in the afternoon. Also the only time our hard pressed whitetails come out in the open. More often than not it is dead calm right before dark here. Almost like cheating, but there are other challenges. When it is blowing crosswind is easiest for sure. Gusty and swirling wind are the worst. Goou time to hunt in the woods... a man has got to know his limitations. Haha

 

[Hand Skills]

Run a 'tall target' test before you do anything

 

[Canhunter35]

The good news for me is the wind is almost always lite early and usually lays late in the afternoon. Also the only time our hard pressed whitetails come out in the open. More often than not it is dead calm right before dark here. Almost like cheating, but there are other challenges. When it is blowing crosswind is easiest for sure. Gusty and swirling wind are the worst. Goou time to hunt in the woods... a man has got to know his limitations. Haha

Yeah that's the great thing about dawn/dusk, but like you said earlier, in a low sun with the light bending, the mirage can easily shift the poi, especially beyond the 1k mark.

Stormy days where a new weather system is blowing in are just for humbling shooters lol

 

[tomsd]

I have read that If u shoot that though u have to have a manbun?

LOL

 

[milo-2]

Not at all. I never said I can't shoot, I am actually very good at shooting just not at distance cause I have not done it. Asking for help is all, think what u want.

I did not catch this post, lol, I kinda thought you were playing us also, fantastic group with a 300 Norma that all novices own.
Few suggestions, try find a shooting partner and learn together, paying attn to details. 300 Norma with heavy bullets great for spotting shots, both hits and misses. Better yet, find an accomplished LR shooter and learn from him.
You never mentioned just what you have access to as far as a range, or ground, do you have to build your own each outing(public lands)? If there is a range with targets set all the time, stopping by 2-3 times a week in differing conditions helps immensely.
I get to shoot alone 30% of the time, which I really enjoy, no distractions. One thing that really helped me was knocking off the 50-100 rd days with each rifle I bring. After so many shots, it becomes easy to miss because you have more ammo,< my case anyway. The range I frequent is a 35 mile round trip drive, best thing I ever did was start making the journey with 12 rds, 3-4 times a week, either quit on a miss and go home thinking about it the whole way, or follow up and continue. With the goal going as far out as you can and bettering that each outing, makes one think about the task at hand. I have no clue if that will work on your end.
You will experience a lot in your travels, pay attn to what happens, you will see it again, maybe not the exact same, but same principle happened.
Of coarse I made it sound like I am some expert here, but make no mistake, I have been guilty as all get out lobbing lead at targets too far in building winds, it is always futile, but that was the goal. < On that note, for a snicker, this summer another fool and I got stumped by a 10" plate at 600 yards, we both warmed our rifles up real good in a building blow.
Good luck and have fun!

 

[jdavistx]

New shooter and I read all the threads. A lot of valuable knowledge here built from lots of experience and money spent on gear. For a new shooter such as myself, what is the #1 tip to assist in the journey to long range shooting? Thanks in advance.

Everyone can get the math right. Get a hot round. Get an accurate rifle. Get whatever you need.

But, if you want to shoot 500+ yards you need to read the wind over distance.

 

[DTinTX]

A heavy barrel 308 with a free floated stock and a scope that tracks well, but can be inexpensive, (like a sightron stac) then shoot the snot out of it. Wear it out practicing, trying different loads, whatever and you'll learn the rest along the way.
Todd hodnetts accuracy 1st intro to long range shooting is a great DVD and really gets a person the pertinent info to start into long range

If you were a raw beginner, I'd put the 6.5 on top of the list because of its inherent ballistic advantages (now I'm going to contradict myself and tell you the .308 is a great choice because it doesn't have the ballistic advantages so you'll have to learn the toughest part of LR shooting better, and that's reading wind). Shooting a .300 Norma takes you out of that category however!

Absolutely agree with Canhunter 35 about Todd Hodnett's DVD. Even better, attend some of his Accuracy 1st classes...best practical way to absorb complex material. His methods make it very accessible.

 

[Canhunter35]

I'd put the 6.5 on top of the list because of its inherent ballistic advantages (now I'm going to contradict myself and tell you the .308 is a great choice because it doesn't have the ballistic advantages so you'll have to learn the toughest part of LR shooting better, and that's reading wind).

Absolutely agree with Canhunter 35 about Todd Hodnett's DVD. Even better, attend some of his Accuracy 1st classes...best practical way to absorb complex material. His methods make it very accessible.

Lol the 6.5s make wind reading too easy.
The 7mms are even easier.
But a 308 is a great starter rifle and shooting it through transonic range and past is a lot of fun no matter how experienced you are

 

[thwatson2]

Your 10 shot group is awesome, assume 100 yards? Now start taking it out to 200,300,400 then1000 yards. It all comes back to practice but now at longer range, then when you got that, do it in windy conditions

 

[jdavistx]

Brother it's the internet now days everyone shoots 1/4 moa groups lol

Actually, I do...

 

[mdvctry]

I have read that If u shoot that though u have to have a manbun?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/patch....-shooter-nordstroms-denver-police-seek-couple

 

[jpope02]

GREAT GROUP. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR THUMB. JUST KIDDING,

 

[Don A Parsons]

Get a rifle that will shoot.
Learn load development.
Click away with trigger control on target.
Practic getting set up behind your rifle.
Get the same rhythm going.

Find a way to comfortably get your rifle planted with the proper front rest and solid bunny ear bag.

The fast track to all of this is teaming up with someone at your local shooting range,,, find the fellow that has a wall full of National match awards on his walls...

The proper leed will save you alot of time,,, weed out the impractical stuff for the beginning and address the things that will have the major influences on your shooting performance...

Like the old guy said: If you don't have a rifle,,, ammo,,, optic,,, and shooting supports to get consistant shoots down range,,, you'll struggle all the time...

Take care of the major stuff first as it allows you to address the smaller stuff later...

Cheers from the North

 

[msmith57]

I honestly think you get what you pay for...sure you can buy a ruger american and a vortex hs-t to get in the game. If you really want to get serious about it you need to go full custom and you can't cheap out on glass - at least thats what I was told by another member on this forum. I am hoping my kids decide not to go to college and am saving up my pennies to be able to get a tangent theta in the next few years

Custom is NOT the answer to a good shooter. one of the BEST rifles I ever had was a Savage 110 from the early 70's heavy barrel wood stock Factory 22-250 I had a Tasco 50 X scope and I would shoot all day long 500 - 1000+ yds and never miss, this was all free hand standing. once you become one with your gun you can't miss. I was shooting my own loads 52gr BTHP at 4300 fps. I couldn't miss my target if I wanted to. no matter what I pulled up on it was dead. Gophers to Elk and it didn't matter the range. I knew where the bullet was going and I didn't have lots of fancy wind speed indicators, range finders, bi-pods, or shooting sticks, just me and my gun. bottom line is LEARN to use your gun.