Just need a bit of advice on how perfect my groups should be at 100 to move to 200, then 300, 400, etc. Right now I am shooting touching shots at 100 , not same holes yet. Is it time to try out further yet? Want to get to 500 by end of summer as I will be leaving country for awhile..
Advanced Marksmanship when to stretch out to longer range shots?
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holes touching or 1inch groups..go ahead and stretch it out and see what it does at distance, part of the fun and learning
What are you shooting for exactly? Small groups? Just hitting the target?
If you are shooting moa at a given range I would say you are fine to move out to the next range. You can be an amazing 100 yard shooter but that doesn't mean you will instantly be an amazing 500 yard shooter either. Have to practice at that range
If you are shooting moa at a given range I would say you are fine to move out to the next range. You can be an amazing 100 yard shooter but that doesn't mean you will instantly be an amazing 500 yard shooter either. Have to practice at that range
With stable platform and fair scope you should be able to stretch out to 500 after a few range trips. For distance it's easier if you start on a day when you don't have to "fight the wind" too much.
Thankyou to all of you, im movin out!
Sounds like you're already ready! Enjoy it and take a notebook to write down what happens and what it takes to get on target at different distances. Don't forget to write down as much as you can about your conditions. Temp, altitude, barometer if you can, or even better Density Altitude. You'll find that being able to dig back through this data later in life makes things easier and you'll learn and remember how your platform performs a lot faster.
~Brett
~Brett
I agree. Wouldn't even worry about 2,3,4. If 500 is your goal, just do it. It's FUN!! Good luck.
P.s. what caliber rifle and bullet you shooting. We could probably get you close with a 100 yard zero.
My local range makes you qualify at 300 before going further. This consists of placing 5 shots in 6 inches @ 300yds. Years ago i barely did when i qualified. Now i can run moa at 600 easily. Trigger time will get your there, have fun.
Two questions. Do you have a specific reason for shooting longer? Why do you need a reason for shooting longer?
This, and many questions like it can be best answered by skipping the conjecture and giving it a try. To my mind, if shooting longer is the goal, then shooting less is only necessary if experience proves the longer distance can't be achieved.
Greg
This, and many questions like it can be best answered by skipping the conjecture and giving it a try. To my mind, if shooting longer is the goal, then shooting less is only necessary if experience proves the longer distance can't be achieved.
Greg
I say go for it!
But keep this in mind - you don't have to shoot at long distances to improve your skill. You can practice positional shooting sling supported, barricades, etc at short distance. Almost all of my long distance shooting (outside of matches) is only for the purpose of gathering data on my rifle/load. I don't have access to long distance (beyond 300 yards) often, so when I do I have to make the most of it. To me, that is gathering data so that when I get to a match I trust the data I have.
It doesn't have to be work. Have fun with it. Get your data by dialing, then zero the scope and repeat with hold overs, or let the 500 data on the scope and hold under. But having that data is critical if you want to be able to repeat the hits you have today on another day.
But keep this in mind - you don't have to shoot at long distances to improve your skill. You can practice positional shooting sling supported, barricades, etc at short distance. Almost all of my long distance shooting (outside of matches) is only for the purpose of gathering data on my rifle/load. I don't have access to long distance (beyond 300 yards) often, so when I do I have to make the most of it. To me, that is gathering data so that when I get to a match I trust the data I have.
It doesn't have to be work. Have fun with it. Get your data by dialing, then zero the scope and repeat with hold overs, or let the 500 data on the scope and hold under. But having that data is critical if you want to be able to repeat the hits you have today on another day.
I was in the same boat for a while, and didn't realize until I had the access to a longer range to realize that if I could shoot 1ish MOA at 100 yards then I could shoot 1ish MOA at x yards (without wind), and low and behold it worked. Now I use smallbore to practice/improve my fundamentals while I save fullbore for LR, whether it be matches or recreational. I rarely shoot fullbore at 100 yards now other than to test ammo and confirm zero unless I think I'm doing something wrong.
OP,
I practice LR at SR since I can better understand the effect of an inconsistent position through grouping assessment or call/strike evaluation from an SR target than from an LR target. This is because shooting at LR, positional errors, although magnified due to their angularity, will still be masked by less than perfect wind appraisal. I also practice LR at LR since I can better understand the effect of not countering for wind correctly at LR than I can at SR.
Here's my advise, work on building your position at SR and work on your wind counters at LR. Trying to work on it all at either SR or LR will always compromise an understanding for position and wind error.
One more thing, when practicing at SR, where angular errors will be so miniscule that they would be dismissed by most shooters, just the recognition that anything other than zero dispersion is about something inconsistent in the position will help the shooter to realize the importance for making the position perfect.
I practice LR at SR since I can better understand the effect of an inconsistent position through grouping assessment or call/strike evaluation from an SR target than from an LR target. This is because shooting at LR, positional errors, although magnified due to their angularity, will still be masked by less than perfect wind appraisal. I also practice LR at LR since I can better understand the effect of not countering for wind correctly at LR than I can at SR.
Here's my advise, work on building your position at SR and work on your wind counters at LR. Trying to work on it all at either SR or LR will always compromise an understanding for position and wind error.
One more thing, when practicing at SR, where angular errors will be so miniscule that they would be dismissed by most shooters, just the recognition that anything other than zero dispersion is about something inconsistent in the position will help the shooter to realize the importance for making the position perfect.
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Bruno 300 win mag, Berger and Siera matchking bullets, experimenting handloads of 155 gr. To 190, and 210 gr. R 22 and other powders. A big science project in progress! lol . My brain feels like it might explode sometimes with all the ballistics lol
Thankyou too, for your advice! I will use it.
I should mention, I am also playing around with COAL on these various loads...
Thankyou! I really appretiate your thoughts and help!
That makes a whole lot of sence, THANKS!
I had the same question mulling around in my head. I had until very recently never shot past 300yrds. I wouldn't call my shots at 300 a nice group either. I figured it'd be a while before I ever saw a 1000yrd target I would be confident enough to hit. After some thought I ponied up and snagged a 3 day course from a well respected instructor (Ed Shell -Central Virginia Tactical <--Awesome!!). We spent about 15min shooting under 500yrds. Our first real engagement was at 580 yrds. It was hit after hit after hit all day on targets from 580 out. By the end of the day we were see-sawing between 950 to 1050yrd with similar results. The next day 1250yrds was our main play toy.
Full Range
Me
Ed Shell (Left) friend -Jason (Right) Also never shot past 300 and was doing as well or better than I was.
1250 Target with (IMO-fluke 3in four shot group adjacent the paint can.) I'm just not that good
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you're confident in your tool and you can do basic math, 1000yrds is within your reach right now. Just go do it.
Wow, nice soft and grassy range ! Sooo different from what we have out here (rocks and sand mostly with some sagebrush)
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