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Hello all!

I am looking for some information on long range shooting. I have handguns, shotguns and an AR platform but just purchased my first bolt gun. It's an FN Patrol Bolt Rifle in 300 WSM. It's now wrapped in a Bell & Carlson 7200 stock and fitted with a Nikon 4.5-14x40 and Harris bipod... I just dont know what to do with it. Lol

If anyone has any resources for information for shooting out to say... 600+ or so, I would greatly appreciate some help.

Thanks!
 
LongRangeHunting Online Magazine and Forums - Great people, easy going and full of information.

Sniper's Hide - Again, full of information, but chock full of egos and ex/former military types and at times you need a bit thicker skin than some other forums, though a lot of them have been there and done that and deserve the respect.

Then there is the universal source for information.... Google :)

If you would like to know anything specific, I can try my best to help.

<edit>: If you are the book type give "Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting" by Bryan Litz a try.
 
Here's a fun sim.
ShooterReady

When I started shooting at 300yds plus I just worked out to longer ranges as I felt comfortable. Hard part is find a place to shoot on the west side, it's normally hillside to hillside. Learning to read the wind was the hard part, getting elevation is just setting the sight, the wind is always changing.
 
your fundamentals must be solid.

by fundamentals i mean

1. breath control,
2. trigger control
3. sight alignment


if you have all of these things under control, the hardest part about long range shooting is judging the wind , distance can be read with lazers or optics. and bullet paths are predictable.

you try to get it down to the most basic elements. you have a rifle that shoots under 1 moa. ( 1 inch at 100 yards) is the base starting point your FN should be in this catagroy. some rifles will come 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch guaranteed from the factory or maker.

you only shoot match quality bullets. or the like for best results.

rule # 1 from the Ultimate sniper book

"(1) Never let your barrel touch anything; (2) use only the most sensitive portion of your
trigger finger; (3) place a beanbag below butt for precise hold; (4) ma intain correct eye relief for a consistent sight
picture and to eliminate parallax; (5) t ime allowing, improve stabil ity w ith the sling; (6) stay conscious to the danger
of canting; and, if ava ilable, (7) choose the support of a sandbag over that of a bipod. "


i like the old ultimate sniper book. it has alot of usefull information, there are others, but it will come down to practice, learning your rifle, your ammo, and yourself.
 
id recommend also keeping a shooting log to track your progress. even if its just detailed notes about temp, wind, rifle, bullets, location, and how you performed.(upon every shot) log every shot. be as truthful as possible this is just a tool to help you learn and grow.and unless your reloading or trying out some new ammo to check for accuracy and constinency. dont shoot groups.
 
This Saturday Aug. 13 Douglas Ridge hosts a Garand Match. 200-300-600 yards standing ,sitting and prone, slow fire and rapid fire. Standard national match course. Very challenging shooting
M-1 prone with iron sights at 600 yards. They have ammo for sale and rifles to loan. If you have not shot across the course before or pulled targets in the pits they want you to take a class the night before. Douglas ridge has regular matches, some out to 1000 yards, with scoped rifle matches. Try the M-1 match lots of fun I am planning to attend. Learn to dope the wind. PM any questions.

Douglas Ridge Rifle Club - CMP Program
 
Check you local club and see if they have any high power rifle organized practice. Shooting an uncommon caliber like 300WSM means you should be reloading and saving brass. Your per shot costs are going to be higher than say, .308 but you have better downrange performance. Ditto for the log book, tracking rounds helps monitor barrel wear and bullet performance. Good notes on the various wind and weather conditions will help you tons.
 
Oak., Check out Nikon's Spot On Ballistic Program. You can put all your load data into the system to get accurate distances for each BDC circle. I think you will be very impressed.
Best of all, it's FREE, just register and enjoy.
It's really quite interesting all the data at your finger tips using this Program. For those using the Nikon BDC reticle I think it is an invaluable tool. You can even print your specific reticle and the corresponding distances to keep with you while hunting. I tape mine to my stock for a quick reminder.
Drop me a note if you have any questions.
Bart
Nikon Pro Staff
[email protected]
 
That is an excellent platform to start out with. The key to true long range shooting is the scope... it should have repeatable adjustable turrets. Hold overs are ok if ranges are kept more moderate. The type of reticle that would be required to compete with "dialing up" your turrets are available through Horus Vision. Get out to a long range competition and hook up with the guys who are already doing what you want to learn, this is by far the fastest and easiest way to get into long range shooting....

Practical Long Range Shooting

Developing an Accurate Drop Chart
 
Land. Is correct that there is so much to be learned from attending an actual shooting competition. Watching and listening to what experienced shooters have to say is an invauable tool. No one shows up at these competitions and wins the first time, getting maximum range time will be your key. My 12 year old son and I were waiting for some rifles to cool down at the range I belong to in N. Tx. when we started up a conversation with a benchrest shooter. This guy was a fantastic data base. He even let my 12 year old shoot 4 shots from his rifle with a March scope at 200 yards. My son still has the target, 4 shots touching each other. Thank goodness I am left handed and didn't want to slide everything over. Come to find out this gentleman is a 2 time World Champion.The point I am trying to make is these guys love to share their knowledge and they enjoy helping guys get into the sport. There are many different levels of competition and everyone of them will make you a better shooter. So as Land said, try to attend a competition, ask questions and most importantly listen. Long range shooting is a lot of fun, frustrating on windy days but still a lot of fun.
 
Thanks a lot everyone. All this information is very helpful. This is pretty new to me since the longest range I've shot is around 300 with the M16A2 and iron sights. I don't plan on hunting, just shooting for sport with the hopes of better understanding how to dial in my scope and calculate for variations in ballistics, range and environmental factors. I am hoping to get out soon to get a little bit of trigger time and see where I am at. Will be looking forward to attending a few competition shoots and hopefully hooking up with a few shooters to get some more in depth and specific information.
 
Practice. Then Practice. When you are done, Practice.

All the "hardware advice" is worthless without practice.

You can become a very good long-range shooter with a .22 Long Rifle, or a .30-30.

But you need to practice. Then (and only then) you can explore your hardware options.

I forgot to mention:

Practice.

Free advice, worth what you paid for it. No charge for this service, Drive Safely.
 
Oak., Check out Nikon's Spot On Ballistic Program. You can put all your load data into the system to get accurate distances for each BDC circle. I think you will be very impressed.
Best of all, it's FREE, just register and enjoy.
It's really quite interesting all the data at your finger tips using this Program. For those using the Nikon BDC reticle I think it is an invaluable tool. You can even print your specific reticle and the corresponding distances to keep with you while hunting. I tape mine to my stock for a quick reminder.
Drop me a note if you have any questions.
Bart
Nikon Pro Staff
[email protected]

I checked this out last night, I must have spend three or four hours playing with it at work. This program is awesome! Thank you
 

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