Simulate long shots

[Captain Bravo]

I am sure it isn't an exact replacement for long range shooting, and it isn't cheap to get a good one, but a GOOD pellet gun can definitely help you judge wind at shorter ranges. You need a good one though, not a break barrel.

 

[redneckdan]

Yeah, pellet gun might be the way to go if 50yds is all you have.

I like a 22lr with subs out to 200yds and a .223 out to 600 for practice.

 

[shootski]

If you live in a state, county, town that lets you shoot air rifles then your best practice for long range hunting is Pesting with one! The light pellets and TOF (Time Of Flight) and be closely matched to shooting out to 1,000 meters and well beyond. Reading the wind will be the hardest thing for someone new to shooting ADULT airguns...these aren't your Red Rider bb gun. Ranchers and Farmers will be a great place to ask if they need some pest elimination. A .177 won't disturb their animals or damage their out buildings and barns. With a .25 caliber PCP (PreCharged Pneumatic) I routinely shoot out to 150 meters and can hit soda cans (P'Dogs) to 250 shooting .40grain bullets.

See where airguns have gone at Pyramid Air, hardairmagazine, or Utah Airguns.

shootski

 

[Tex_Hunter]

Hi everyone, I hope this is not to far out there. Any way to practice long shots at a close range? The closest open range is an hour drive. It has a 25 and 50 yard range. To shoot longer I have to drive 2.5 hours. My thought is, can I shoot at a very small target to simulate shooting at 300 or 400 yards. Maybe someone else has an idea?
thanks for any ideas, feed back.

If you are thinking this will be a long term situation and you have the money, I'd pick up one of the several very good 22lr trainer rifles out there. Shooting 200-300yds with one of those is pretty close as far as drop/drift to shooting an intermediate caliber out to 800+yds. It'll defintiely challenge you on windy days. Works for pretty much everything except for learning recoil management.

Several good options out there from CZ, and Savage... or even the current trend towards Remington 700 pattern actions like the Bergara B14r on up to some more expensive makers like Vudoo. If you have an R700 you can build a 22lr clone of your fullsize gun!

 

[yobuck]

I agree with that. Work on your fundamentals at close range. That's all you can really do. Wind at long range is more of an art than a science most times.

Two weekends ago, we were shooting at 1550 in northern Arizona. About 7000 foot elevation. Wind was all over the place. Mirage was terrible, but at least it gave you something visual to judge the wind down range. Using a kestrel to measure wind was worthless because it changed 4 times between you and the target.Watching mirage and making a judgement was the best wind reading method, but there's just no way to simulate that at close range.

Use your short range practice to perfect your fundamentals. Everything gets maximized at long range. Some things you can control, some things you can't. Fundamentals is under your control. Wind isn't, but experience helps.

Use your short range practice to perfect the things you can control. Realize that there are things that require shooting at long range to become better at (not perfect). I don't think you can perfect wind at long range, you can just use your past experience to help judge your next shot.

I dont disagree with what youve said, but being very truthful here, what gave you the best information?
The mirage, or adjusting off the hit location of one of your misses?
AKA a sighter shot.
Cheat every chance you get. lol

 

[Bull_Mtn]

I am a member of the Quail Creek Airgun Club, near Green Valley AZ. We have a 20 lane air gun range and can shoot out to 100 yds. The air gun I shoot is a Rapid Air Weapon, .22 cal. I shoot a 15.9 gr pellet at 950 fps. My scope is a Sightron 10x50x56, It is one of the most accurate air guns available and is made in the USA!! I get lots of "long range" practice shooting at 100 yds. All shooting is from a bench with front and rear rest. Wind drift with a 5mph, 90 degree wind is similar to my 300 WSM, shooting 200 gr bullets, at 500 yds. I have shot thousands of rounds (at $.03 apiece) at 100 yds and it has helped me become a much better long range shot with my .300. I have shot many 100 yd groups under 1" with this air gun. However, only the top level, PCP air guns are capable of this type of accuracy. There a several PCP air guns on the market today, that have decent accuracy, in the the $400 to $1000 range. Utah Airguns, Airgun Depot, Pyramyd Air and Airguns of Arizona are good places to look for the better quality airguns and accessories. A word of caution, air gun shooting can be addictive!!

 

[dirthead1]

I dont disagree with what youve said, but being very truthful here, what gave you the best information?
The mirage, or adjusting off the hit location of one of your misses?
AKA a sighter shot.
Cheat every chance you get. lol

That day the wind was all over the place. I was shooting a 6.5 PRC, and out of my first 8 round magazine, I had wind calls that ranged from 2.5 mils left to 1.5 right. There were 4 of us shooting, and I can't remember any of us getting more than a couple of shots off without the wind completely changing. That area is just really windy in summer and the mirage is horrible. The topography just creates all kinds of swirls downrange. But at least the mirage gives some reference to wind direction. We were shooting off a small hill, and the wind was fairly consistent at our shooting position, but not so much down range. So I would say that on that particular day, the mirage was the biggest help to at least get us on the correct side of the target. If we could get a follow up shot before the wind changed, then we would absolutely adjust off the miss location.

 

[Paper boy]

Hi everyone, I hope this is not to far out there. Any way to practice long shots at a close range? The closest open range is an hour drive. It has a 25 and 50 yard range. To shoot longer I have to drive 2.5 hours. My thought is, can I shoot at a very small target to simulate shooting at 300 or 400 yards. Maybe someone else has an idea?
thanks for any ideas, feed back.

??????

 

[snookntarpon]

I just picked up a Tikka T1X in 22LR. Suppressor will go on it and I will be shooting subsonic ammo at my local 100 and 200 yard range as soon as i find the ammo it likes best. My LR rifle is a 6.5 GAP and i figure some day I may spend money to get me the same McMillan tock I have on the GAP to make it an identical setup...
SnT

 

[Bradley James]

When I was a member of the USAR Marksmanship Training Unit we issued Eley 10X to practice at shorter ranges of 50 and 100 yds. The adjustments ar those ranges were very close to the M14 at 300 and 600 yrs. I still use these ranges today to practice as my closest 600yd range is at the Whittington Center in Raton, NM

 

[Pro2A]

Hi everyone, I hope this is not to far out there. Any way to practice long shots at a close range? The closest open range is an hour drive. It has a 25 and 50 yard range. To shoot longer I have to drive 2.5 hours. My thought is, can I shoot at a very small target to simulate shooting at 300 or 400 yards. Maybe someone else has an idea?
thanks for any ideas, feed back.

You might consider shooting tall target test targets. Aim at same bottom target for each shot dialing your dope/come ups for range. Measure your high impacts against intended dial ups. Practice wind hold with a Christmas tree reticle again measuring impact against intended wind dope. Really, there is no substitute for shooting in the wind. It separates the shooters from the trigger tuggers.

 

[hzy1369]

we use this in Japan where land scarce

 

[Recon$$]

Nothing can replace trigger time when it comes to wind. It's different for every caliber. However, working dry fire scenarios on small targets is beneficial. Nothing's stopping you from working your couch, tripods, and whatever else you can cook up on small targets you put on the wall. You know when you you make a good shot and a poor one in my opinion.

 

[del2les]

Nothing can replace trigger time when it comes to wind. It's different for every caliber. However, working dry fire scenarios on small targets is beneficial. Nothing's stopping you from working your couch, tripods, and whatever else you can cook up on small targets you put on the wall. You know when you you make a good shot and a poor one in my opinion.

Agreed. I lost count of the days/nights I stood/lied in the hallway of my old house aiming an M1-A, Palma or smallbore rifle and dry firing at a black thumb tack on a 3x5" white card. It really reveals the movement and follow through.