So you’ve decided to get into long-range shooting have you? Whether you plan on pushing the limits of your current rifle, or plotting to get another, today’s subject is quite relevant. You’d be surprised at how much difference the right bullet can make. And today we are going to discuss how picking the right bullet for long-range shooting can pay off big time in this game.
Ballistic Performance
The very shape of a bullet is designed to be aerodynamic, cutting through the air with as little resistance as possible. Much like the fairing on a motorcycle or the front of your car, they are designed to reduce drag so they can retain energy and avoid deflection.
Ballisticians have come up with a mathematical formula to assign a score to a bullet’s ability to cheat this drag and deflection. This score is called a ballistic coefficient, there are a few different models for this numerical grade, but mainly folks use either the G1 or G7 drag models. That may be deeper than you wish to look, so to keep it simple lets just stick to the G7 as it seems most popular.
A ballistic coefficient (BC) is shown as a decimal, and an easy way to understand it is that a 1.00 BC is significantly better than a .500 BC. And the .500 BC is still better than a .300 BC. Most bullet manufacturers produce a BC for each bullet they manufacture. And for the most part you can use the manufacturer’s BC with confidence to calculate and theorize a trajectory. Many offer a stepped BC for different velocity ranges.
It would appear, based on the design of most high performance bullets that there seems to be a set of perfect proportions to them. You can put high BC bullets of various calibers together, and you’ll start to see a pattern. They are typically long, and have slender points with uniform tips, and almost always a boat-tail at the back.
Whether you are shooting a .223 or a 300 Winchester there is a selection of bullets out there with higher performance. The question is; Can you shoot them?
Stabilizing Bullets
One of the greatest development in firearms has been the rifling of the barrel. The grooves cut into a barrel are done so with a specified twist rate, the purpose is to cause the bullet to spin as it exits the muzzle. Barrel twists are depicted in a “one rotation in XX inches”, and written like 1:12, meaning one rotation in 12 inches of barrel travel. Spinning bullets stay far more stable than non-spinning ones. Much like a football, when you throw it right it will fly much farther and land closer to you point of aim. But when thrown without the characteristic stabilizing spin, it is bound to fly more unexpectedly.
Testing various bullets and loads in this Bergara rifle identified the best performer
High BC bullets as I mentioned are usually longer than a typical for caliber bullet. For example; A popular 30-06 Springfield bullet might weigh-in between 165 and 180 grains. But you could also load the same cartridge with something like a Berger 210 grain VLD bullet that has a much higher BC than your typical 30-06 bullets.
Most 165 to 180 grain bullets on the market today would shoot acceptably well from a barrel with a twist between 1:12 and 1:10. But the longer 210 grain bullet I mentioned needs at least a 1:10 twist to stabilize, and might do even better in a 1:9 twist barrel.
So How do I Pick a Bullet Already?
You may have figured it out already, but if you know or can figure out the twist of your rifle’s barrel, you can then evaluate the bullets that will best stabilize through it. Once you have that figured out, you can decide which one might give the best velocity.
Speed isn’t everything though. If you start out two bullets at the same speed and measure the speed again 500 yards downrange, the one with the higher BC will be faster. So the only thing better than a higher BC bullet is a high BC bullet going even faster.
Two very similar Hornady bullets with differing performance profiles
The secret: picking a bullet that will stabilize in your barrel twist, has the highest BC, and allows you to get the best velocity from your given chambering. And if you still aren’t seeing the performance you desire either on paper or on range, you might need to step up to a bigger cartridges, or a faster twist for better bullets.
Long-range shooting has become a very popular sport across the world, and the folks on the extreme cutting edge of this sport are the extreme long-range (ELR) shooters. Today I am writing you from the world championship King of 2 Mile competition, where ELR enthusiasts are pushing the limits of non-guided munitions. Since it is a bit challenging to explain the entire ELR scene, I decided to share with you something a little more familiar and exciting for gun folk. Today we are going to be looking at the guns of King of 2 Miles.
Can that even be done? What could you possibly hit from two miles away? Is this even a practical sport? These are all questions you might be asking yourself, and you aren’t alone. So before we get too deep, lets get some context on what’s happening in this event.
Here you can see one of the many distant targets, if you look closely (about 3.4L and 2.5D) you can see the target cameras setup to watch the targets
Targets
Yes the targets are big. To a typical shooter they might even seem ridiculously big. But when you push these targets out across a wide desert canyon three to four-thousand yards away, they become quite small. Small enough in fact that when seen through the scope they measure around one to two minutes-of angle (MOA). Imagine for comparison; a typical paper target you shoot at the range is likely twenty or more MOA in size. So essentially, ELR shooters are shooting for just a tiny portion of a typical target. Like one of the squares on the target you might zero your rifle with.
chronographs like this one use doppler radar to get exact muzzle velocity for every shot. That way, if a shot lands lower than expected but is correlated with a low muzzle velocity the shooter knows immediately. This prevents making unnecessary corrections
PRS shooters are aiming at targets of very comparable size, but shooting 1 MOA targets is much easier when its done at distances like a thousand yards or less. Wind is the name of the game in ELR, and there can be many different layers of wind to deal with at distances like these.
Rifles
Big rifles are used to engage these big targets. Most of these rifles are shooting large cartridges like .375 Cheytac, and .416 Hellfire. Many of them are both custom cartridges and chambers, and they are all built to be heavy. Not just because of the cartridge size, but because a heavy rifle makes a more stable launch platform.
these rifles are big, and they are chambered in big cartridges like the 416 Hellfire
Heavy barrels with incredibly thick profiles add both weight and stability. Most of the barrels I saw came from companies like K&P Precision, and they used aggressively fast twist rates. This is due to the long length and highly efficient bullets that are typically used. These are CNC lathe turned solid copper bullets that are exceptionally uniform. Shooting bullets from Cutting Edge and using mostly Peterson Brass.
Most guns don’t use an ejector, spent cases are pulled from the action by hand. Expensive and carefully prepared brass are too valuable to be tossed into the dirt or gravel. Every rifle I’ve seen here uses large muzzle brakes, to help keep the rifle as stable as possible.
Optics and Mounting
You can imagine that only the best optics are used to see such distant targets. High end optics from big names like Nightforce and Zero Compromise adorned every rifle. And just as important as the scope itself, was the mounting and offset solutions used.
Heavily canted scope mounts allow shooters to aim dead on targets even at these extended ranges. Using optical offset wedge prisms of various types allow you to shoot and test your rifle as close as 100 yards, while still being able to make hits two miles away. For example, I looked through one of the rifles with dual prisms to inspect a deer crossing the range perhaps half a mile away. But when I pointed the rifle at where the deer was, I could only see the dirt halfway between the deer and I. To see him I had to look at the ridge behind him.
Various prisms were used on nearly every rifle, the prism sits in-front of your riflescope. it works by essentially bending the line of sight as seen through the scope, and it bends it an exact amount. This allows you to add or remove large amounts of optical offset, they can even be stacked to multiply the effect
Precise optics paired with very robust mounting systems are required. And the repeatable adjustment of both mechanical and optical offset’s are paramount to being able to make these hits.
Ancillary Equipment
Aside from the gun itself, there is a necessary collection of support items as well. Very large bipods are used to hold up these heavy guns. Accu-Tac Bipod extenders allow the rifle’s balance point to be moved to the rear. This makes the gun more stable, and recoils straight into the shooter for maximum control.
this rifle incorporates a bipod extender, they have a set of collapsible carbon shafts that allow you to push your bipod out even beyond the muzzle. You can see the feet of this Accu Tac bipod are also made to slide back under recoil. Also you can see the thin carbon fiber mirage guard that covers the barrel, this works to keep heat waves out of your line of sight to prevent obscuring the target
Rear bags and inflatable cushions are used to make micro-adjustments in the way the gun is held on target. Stability is another important part of this type of shooting.
This rifle chassis made by Accuracy Solutions incorporates the bipod extension into the chassis itself. At the rear you can see a bag-rider rail under the buttstock, this is made to slide on the bag under recoil. The bag itself is a heavy sandbag that incorporates an inflatable air bladder controlled by a squeeze-bulb in the shooters support-hand
Chronographs like the doppler radar Garmin Xero were used on nearly every rifle. Electronic leveling indicators as well. Knowing each shot’s velocity can mean the difference between corrections from one shot to the next.
long custom barrels give maximum velocity with these high performing solid bullets
Taking the Shot
Shooting a target two miles away takes a few seconds. In fact, depending on the target there was often enough time to reload, and have a brief discussion with the spotter before the bullet would hit the target. After each shot, the collection of people sitting behind spotting scopes would finish their conversation and about the same time all would turn to their scopes to watch for impact.
shooter and spotter work as a team to watch for impacts, and evaluate the wind for the next shot
Spotters
Spotters would use very large spotting scopes and binoculars to watch conditions. Keeping an eye on the boiling mirage downrange, and watching it shift and where. A true skill in its own right; being able to evaluate the shift shot to shot and suggest the corrective action for the shooter. All this is done under a time limit, while everyone else watches with excitement. This is also why both the shooter and their spotter are awarded at the end of the match. The impacts can also be watched by target cameras setup downrange, giving a clear view of each hit or miss.
monitors setup for spectators to watch, each target can be seen by remote cameras
Loading
Every rifle I witnessed was manually loaded, even though some of them had magazines. There are several reasons for this, first off; even the guns with magazines replaced the mag with a single shot dummy mag.
cartridges are loaded carefully, and extracted by hand as well. With as much time and money as shooters invest in their ammunition, it makes sense to take care of themlarge muzzle brakes help drastically reduce recoil helping the shooter stay on target, allowing the shooter an opportunity to spot his impact
Has high tech hunting pushed back the goal posts for hunters?
I can remember, not too long ago, when shooting a deer from a distance like 600yds or more would get you raked over the coals by the general hunting public. I remember telling my own Father about my aspirations of hitting targets at 1000 yards, and hearing his skepticism. I remember a well known gunsmith telling me that it was silly to twist a .223 Remington barrel for 75 grain bullets and higher. “Everything else peeters out past six or seven hundred yards” I told him. Again, came the refrain; “you cant shoot that far.”
Like Ralphie, in the famous Christmas Story, I felt like nobody understood my dream. Nobody could see what I saw in my mind. But there was a wave coming, and it was fueled by science, technology, and at least in my case, a quest for ballistic perfection.
Don’t get me wrong here, its not that I simply wanted to kill something from as far away as possible, that could be borderline recklessness. What I wanted was something more, I wanted to build a rifle or rifles that would make me unstoppable at hitting small targets at distances like half a mile or more. And to that end the ability, if needed, to take my game wherever it presented itself be it near or far. It’s easy now, to see my former folly. I had focused so hard on equipment, and failed to see my part as a marksman that is equally important. Thankfully, these Rocky Mountains are a great educator. In today’s hardware driven market, it is hard not to fall for the sales pitch of this rifle will make you a sniper. Many of the best manufactures sell more than just hardware, they sell you training to go with it. Dont be a fool thinking that your wallet will make up for your aspirations.
You can buy accuracy to a degree, but you cant buy skill.
A young buck being surveilled
There is so much more to making a good shot, than just the hardware. Skill is equally important, perhaps more so. “Its the Indian, not the arrow” many people say. You can put a good rifle in the hands of a skilled marksman, and he will deal deadly force against anything within range. But even the finest precision rifle in the unwashed hands of a novice may be useless beyond its point blank aiming radius.
I should move on from the generalizations and get down to real information we can use. The foundations of a good shot are anchored firmly on several things, I dont claim any kind of authority or prestige, so I’ll just throw em out there in the order I see em.
A properly trained marksman, who can yield at least MOA accuracy in expected conditions
Ammunition matched to the rifle providing at least MOA accuracy
MOA is a good start, but ideally you should strive for much better
If you cover those three basic pillars, you are well on your way. But all three of them have been around for at least half a century, so why has it taken so long to break these time cemented barriers that I mentioned above? I think part of it is human nature, and conservative thinking.
If you cover these bases, all it takes is a little pinch of science and a dash of high tech equipment to shatter the barriers that once congested both minds and ranges.
Now lets talk a little bit about hunting. As I outlined in my last piece, killing an animal, is about placing enough energy in the right spot. To me, that is what accuracy is all about, being able to hit my target exactly where I want to. The capacity to place a shot accurately should be the main determining factor in a hunter’s killing radius. If two hundred yards is as far as you can shoot accurately, then you would be imprudent to shoot beyond that.
Now we have come back to my original point, which was people looking down their noses at long range shooting, and long range hunting in particular. Shooting animals at long range distances is a taboo subject, mainly because people have either shot beyond their accuracy envelope, or watched someone else do it, and experienced poor results (wounded/unrecovered animals). Nobody likes seeing things like that happen, so most will shy away from questionable shots, which is a safe and conservative choice.
And so it was for the better part of the twentieth century, few dared to push the limits, mostly those in competition or LE/Mil circles. But to the average shooter, and particularly the hunter, the subject remained taboo and legend.
The advent of technology has brought a miriad of supplies to the industry, this has allowed everyone, even rednecks like me the ability to crash through the taboo with impressive impacts.
Some of these technological advances are worth pointing out, in no particular order:
Better bullets with higher Ballistic Coefficients allowing the bullets to cheat wind and resistance, keeping them on track further.
Better propellants, giving higher velocities, more stable and efficient burns.
Compact, accurate, and affordable laser rangefinders, allowing marksmen to extract the data they require to make proper predictions.
Precise and accurate telescopic sights, to adjust their shots according to data with exactness.
Reticles that allow precise measurements and wind holds.
New tools like the Kestrel are available to hunters can increase your odds of success
All of these tools, as well as others have not only become available to the average shooter, but they are affordable, and fit in a pocket. The science of shooting has also progressed greatly, even in the short time I have been following it. And again, it is all available right at your fingertips.
So it seems no small wonder then, that what once seemed nearly impossible, is now commonplace. Even as little as twenty years ago, who would shoot at something so far away that a guess could be off by hundreds of yards? And the target could barely be made out in your 3X9 scope? And even if you doped the wind right, and managed the correct holdover, your bullet may have run completely out of energy before it gets there.
These high tech gadgets have given us the tools to cross all those T’s and dot all the i’s. Now you hear about it at every end of the internet, on hunting forums and Facebook pages.
Which begs the question; Are we now living in a post short-range world? And is taking those long shots any more irresponsible with the help of today’s technology? I guess that depends on how you look at it. I have heard both sides of the argument for some time, and I have yet to find a compelling argument against this new anomaly as long as one does his due diligence. For starters, anybody can make a poor shot on an animal. If you hunt long enough, you will eventually make a bad shot, we’ve all seen it. Whether its caused by buck fever, lack of experience, weather conditions, equipment failure, or any one of a million other things that people can blame it on rightly or wrongfully. I’m not making an excuse for it, nor am I defending it, it just happens. I would go as far as to say that more animals are wounded and go unrecovered at close range, than at long range. Simply due to the numbers, the majority of hunters probably never shoot beyond 400 yards. Hitch that to their hit a paper plate at 100yds mindset, and you can count on some animals going unrecovered or lost.
We’ve seen people miss easy and simple shots, as well as make incredible and amazing shots. I’ve said it before, a good shot should be no surprise to a marksman, it should be expected after much practice and experience making same or similar shots in the same conditions and circumstances regardless of range.
We know what it takes to make a good shot, we outlined that above. Making a good shot is the same whether you are shooting 200 yards or 800 yards, the difference of course is the variables that come into play. For example, the wind at 200 yards is much less a factor than it is at 800 yards. What might only blow your bullet off course by an inch or so up close, may blow you completely off target at the further distance. Also, at 800 yards, one MOA is eight plus inches, which is why sub MOA is a much better goal.
As long as one considers all the additional variables and their consequence, they can be mitigated and overcome. Unless they cant be, what I mean by that is the further away your target the more downrange forces that simply cannot be anticipated unless you have forward observers or other assistance. And the further out the target, the more of these variables you have to worry about. Perhaps someday soon, technology will cover that as well.
Conditions will always dictate what you can and cant do, if it is a dead calm morning, you might be able to pull off something incredible. But if it is a switch wind breezy afternoon for example, it would be a wise choice to keep within your known envelope. A wise shooter, will always keep within his known realm of proficiency. But an even wiser shooter will recognize that his realm changes with atmosphere and weather. Keeping your finger in the air like a weak a politician, and paying close attention to what is happening around you, will go a long way towards letting you know when to shoot, or more importantly when not to shoot.
The ethics of long range hunting will be debated forever. There are those who think taking long shots will always be reckless, and there are those who are willing to take a long hard look at the data, make their calculations, and either take the shot, or choose another course of action.
Those who claim moral high ground, saying long range shots are unethical will always abound. But the truth is this; Not taking long range shots does not necessarily make you an ethical hunter, but staying inside your limits does. For some people, that limit may be four hundred yards, for others it might be twelve hundred yards. It is up to each individual to figure that out, and prove it to themselves repeatedly long before an animal falls in their crosshair.
I don’t hold anything against those who dislike long range shots, they are entitled to their opinion. But the irritating part of the debate comes when someone tells me (or anyone else) that you shouldn’t do that, simply because they cant do it. They love to make insults like; that’s not really hunting, or real hunters get closer. And it occasionally comes from people who hunt from a shoot house, with a Keurig and heater, overlooking senderos strewn with corn feeders on land so flat you cant see more than a hundred yards without jackin up the shoot house. Its really an ignorant position to take, particularly when you don’t know someone else’s skill-set or practices.
Just because a person can make a long shot, doesn’t mean they cant stalk into arrow range of an animal. There was a time where big bore muskets were used to shoot deer at what we today would consider archery range, should we go back in the name of purity? Would our ancestors look down their noses at our modern equipment thinking there is no challenge? It was the push for innovation that took us from those ancient smooth bores and stick bows to the rifle and/or bow you hunt with today.
Another problem with this way of thinking is that it is a never ending slippery slope. Long range hunting < spot and stalking < archery stalking < spear hunting < knife hunting < teeth and hands < etc. < etc. Where does it end? Are we so dedicated to our own ideal of hunting that we would deny another’s? Surely if a stalk into bow range is your thing, with wooden arrows and handmade broadheads, who am I to stop you? Despite having seen many wounded animals with arrows still in them, I wouldn’t argue that archery is unethical, nor would I want to keep people from doing it.
That leads me to my last point.
The worst thing that we hunters can do as a group, is to fracture off into different tribes pitted against each other. The anti hunting movement is growing wildly, everywhere you look there are people trying to take away our ability to hunt and fish the way we enjoy. We as a group need to stand together more than ever, for divided we will surely lose.
I used to be infuriated by the mass hordes of hunters that would flood my favorite hunting spots. It drove me nuts that they didn’t understand my plan, and walked right through my hunt. As years have passed, and age has toned my opinions, I have changed my attitude. Those hordes have just as much right to be there as I do, and I would rather it be other hunters interfering in my hunt than protesters.
Instead, I have evolved as a hunter. I now welcome these large groups of bush beaters, and like the predator that I am, I simply await the inevitable, like a hawk kiting in the sky. Instead of trying to beat them through the forest, and beat them to the stalk, I await the escaping game from a position where my skill allows me an advantage over the hordes. An advantage I intend to keep.
Technology and necessity have indeed pushed back the goal posts in todays hunt. I see nothing wrong with it, provided marksmen respect their prey enough to become swift and lethal, and stay within their known limits.
