There is the story of a bunch of blind men that all grabbed a different part of an elephant. One grabbed the tail and said an elephant was a rope. Another grabbed a leg and said an elephant was a tree. Another grabbed the trunk and said it was a snake. If you are new to long range, you are like a blind man. You might see scopes, rifles, turrets, etc. and it may seem just like regular shooting, just further away. But, you would be wrong. Long range shooting for hunting purposes really is complex. It is a skill that requires better technique and specialized gear.
Competency in long range shooting requires excellent technique and quality gear. There is a minimum level of quality of gear that is necessary to reach highest levels of competence. Many rifles can do it, but most scopes cannot. Many scopes marketed for long range shooting are not suitable because of higher failure rates. This is why you will see many people say they will never buy a certain scope, but that scope also has a reputation for failure. It isn't that it can't be used.
But, I am not here to get you to spend $1,500.00 on scopes. I am here to tell you that the best money you can spend is on a quality long range training course that focuses on the fundamentals of marksmanship. Spend that money on personal instruction. If you can't spend that much, then find good online training. Sniper's Hide and Modern Day Sniper are two online courses that I have paid for and are worth the money, even though much is repetition. They focus heavily on the fundamentals to improve your technique. I watch them still because it is good to be reminded and to learn about the same skills from a different angle. There is still an art to it all, after all. There is no one perfect technique, there are techniques that have their own cost/benefit analysis based off the fundamentals of marksmanship.
Training is so important, because the typical rifle system is far more capable than the shooters. You can buy the best gear and gadgets, but until you can see the whole picture of the firing task, you will be like the blind man groping around the elephant. You just don't know what you don't know. You can't see how recoil is managed. You can't see how to press the trigger without disturbing the rifle. You can't see how to get your mass behind the rifle to manage recoil. You can't see how to support the butt of the rifle. You can't see lots of details, including the technical aspects of developing a good firing solution and managing the technical gear and electronic information available.
Technique and the act of shooting is critical to long range precision and accuracy. Knowing and applying the fundamentals of marksmanship is key to repeatability, being able to make the first round hits, and being able to watch it and make corrections for a second round hit if necessary. The fundamentals are your ability to manage the firing task before you fire and manage recoil of the rifle after firing in a repeatable way. Many shooters can get the crosshair perfectly on the target, but they can't finish the task of breaking the trigger and managing recoil without moving the rifle. That is why shooters think a "lead sled" is a good idea, to take the shooter out of the equation (but in reality it is a bad idea for many reasons I won't go into).
The actual act of shooting from prone is not hard if you have a quality rifle system in front of you, including rifle, scope, bipod and rear bag. In prior tips, I explained how teenage boys and their dads were able to lay down and easily get impacts at 975 yards by following my instructions. They executed all the tasks to fire the rifle and were properly aligned to the rifle so they could control recoil by themselves, but I literally coached them through the process. We went through the firing process slowly and methodically. I didn't advance a step until they had the prior step completed. I had to back up and start over a couple times, because they shifted and undid work we had done before.
Even though they were successful, those new long range shooters couldn't even begin to see all the parts of shooting, even if they had watched me do it. But, with a couple days of instruction, they could be doing the entire shooting task on their own. They would then know for themselves. Training, instruction and coaching is critical to developing the skill. Paying a real professional for instruction is definitely worth it. Before you buy a second rifle or scope, you should buy instruction.
In Tip number one, I talked about my experience at along range shooting course. No other single thing I did improved my long range shooting like that. I could learn all sorts of things about the science, but personal instruction is the best way to learn the art. Personal instruction has always lead to a giant leap forward for me. Besides personal training, I have also purchased and watched quality online training courses. I have watched them over and over again. As I repeat them, I see new things or remember old things.
If you can't afford a personal training course, definitely look at online training, its the next best thing. If you can't do that, buy Ryan Cleckner's book Long Range Shooting Handbook and watch all the videos he did on YouTube. Be careful with who you trust watching any videos online. There are many who are like blind men describing "the elephant's tail" in their videos, but they are standing under the elephant ignoring what comes out under the tail. But, hey can't see all the crap in their video, cause they are blind to what they just don't know. If you haven't receive instruction, you can't always see the crap either. It is amusing when I see guys who seem to have bathed in the stuff at the range. I have probably been that guy too...
Its not always fun to talk about technique. I think part of that is because we like to think we are better than they actually are. It requires being humble and staying open to learning. Another reason is because it is hard to write about technique. What we love to talk about though is gear. Look on any forum, and it is most common to talk about the gear. I am guilty of it. We endlessly debate quality, features, cost, etc. While important, it is still only part of the long range equation.
Talk about gear, but don't get sucked into thinking better gear will make you shoot better. Yeah, there are ways to buy smaller groups. But, I would bet that 99% of the shooters out there could do more to shrink groups by getting instruction than a lot of the voodoo they practice. I know that all my expensive scopes and semicustom guns still outshoot me...
Bottom line, find some quality training by competent professionals. In person is best, but paid online is next best. Free online is sketchy at best, unless you can pick out the competent trainers.
I've covered some basic ideas and tips so far. I know they are "boring" but I think they are that important. I am starting these tips as if someone is brand new to the idea of long range shooting. It is the advice and things I wish I knew. These basic ideas will form a solid foundation. From now on, keep watching for more "exciting" tips, including videos.
PS: Besides instruction, there are other great opportunities to learn and grow. Attend a "local" precision rifle match or larger two day matches, and especially the new NRL Hunter series matches. You don't have to get sucked into the gamesmanship, competition and sport of it. Yes, there are some primadonnas in the sport and yes there are a few contrived stages at each match. But, just go and use it as an opportunity to practice and learn your skills. You will also meet other likeminded people. I've met some great guys that I shoot with outside of matches. My couple of years attending matches accelerated my learning greatly. I still attend, but generally use it as a chance to test new gear and my skills.
If you are in Arizona, PM me and maybe we can meet up and have fun shooting.
Competency in long range shooting requires excellent technique and quality gear. There is a minimum level of quality of gear that is necessary to reach highest levels of competence. Many rifles can do it, but most scopes cannot. Many scopes marketed for long range shooting are not suitable because of higher failure rates. This is why you will see many people say they will never buy a certain scope, but that scope also has a reputation for failure. It isn't that it can't be used.
But, I am not here to get you to spend $1,500.00 on scopes. I am here to tell you that the best money you can spend is on a quality long range training course that focuses on the fundamentals of marksmanship. Spend that money on personal instruction. If you can't spend that much, then find good online training. Sniper's Hide and Modern Day Sniper are two online courses that I have paid for and are worth the money, even though much is repetition. They focus heavily on the fundamentals to improve your technique. I watch them still because it is good to be reminded and to learn about the same skills from a different angle. There is still an art to it all, after all. There is no one perfect technique, there are techniques that have their own cost/benefit analysis based off the fundamentals of marksmanship.
Training is so important, because the typical rifle system is far more capable than the shooters. You can buy the best gear and gadgets, but until you can see the whole picture of the firing task, you will be like the blind man groping around the elephant. You just don't know what you don't know. You can't see how recoil is managed. You can't see how to press the trigger without disturbing the rifle. You can't see how to get your mass behind the rifle to manage recoil. You can't see how to support the butt of the rifle. You can't see lots of details, including the technical aspects of developing a good firing solution and managing the technical gear and electronic information available.
Technique and the act of shooting is critical to long range precision and accuracy. Knowing and applying the fundamentals of marksmanship is key to repeatability, being able to make the first round hits, and being able to watch it and make corrections for a second round hit if necessary. The fundamentals are your ability to manage the firing task before you fire and manage recoil of the rifle after firing in a repeatable way. Many shooters can get the crosshair perfectly on the target, but they can't finish the task of breaking the trigger and managing recoil without moving the rifle. That is why shooters think a "lead sled" is a good idea, to take the shooter out of the equation (but in reality it is a bad idea for many reasons I won't go into).
The actual act of shooting from prone is not hard if you have a quality rifle system in front of you, including rifle, scope, bipod and rear bag. In prior tips, I explained how teenage boys and their dads were able to lay down and easily get impacts at 975 yards by following my instructions. They executed all the tasks to fire the rifle and were properly aligned to the rifle so they could control recoil by themselves, but I literally coached them through the process. We went through the firing process slowly and methodically. I didn't advance a step until they had the prior step completed. I had to back up and start over a couple times, because they shifted and undid work we had done before.
Even though they were successful, those new long range shooters couldn't even begin to see all the parts of shooting, even if they had watched me do it. But, with a couple days of instruction, they could be doing the entire shooting task on their own. They would then know for themselves. Training, instruction and coaching is critical to developing the skill. Paying a real professional for instruction is definitely worth it. Before you buy a second rifle or scope, you should buy instruction.
In Tip number one, I talked about my experience at along range shooting course. No other single thing I did improved my long range shooting like that. I could learn all sorts of things about the science, but personal instruction is the best way to learn the art. Personal instruction has always lead to a giant leap forward for me. Besides personal training, I have also purchased and watched quality online training courses. I have watched them over and over again. As I repeat them, I see new things or remember old things.
If you can't afford a personal training course, definitely look at online training, its the next best thing. If you can't do that, buy Ryan Cleckner's book Long Range Shooting Handbook and watch all the videos he did on YouTube. Be careful with who you trust watching any videos online. There are many who are like blind men describing "the elephant's tail" in their videos, but they are standing under the elephant ignoring what comes out under the tail. But, hey can't see all the crap in their video, cause they are blind to what they just don't know. If you haven't receive instruction, you can't always see the crap either. It is amusing when I see guys who seem to have bathed in the stuff at the range. I have probably been that guy too...
Its not always fun to talk about technique. I think part of that is because we like to think we are better than they actually are. It requires being humble and staying open to learning. Another reason is because it is hard to write about technique. What we love to talk about though is gear. Look on any forum, and it is most common to talk about the gear. I am guilty of it. We endlessly debate quality, features, cost, etc. While important, it is still only part of the long range equation.
Talk about gear, but don't get sucked into thinking better gear will make you shoot better. Yeah, there are ways to buy smaller groups. But, I would bet that 99% of the shooters out there could do more to shrink groups by getting instruction than a lot of the voodoo they practice. I know that all my expensive scopes and semicustom guns still outshoot me...
Bottom line, find some quality training by competent professionals. In person is best, but paid online is next best. Free online is sketchy at best, unless you can pick out the competent trainers.
I've covered some basic ideas and tips so far. I know they are "boring" but I think they are that important. I am starting these tips as if someone is brand new to the idea of long range shooting. It is the advice and things I wish I knew. These basic ideas will form a solid foundation. From now on, keep watching for more "exciting" tips, including videos.
PS: Besides instruction, there are other great opportunities to learn and grow. Attend a "local" precision rifle match or larger two day matches, and especially the new NRL Hunter series matches. You don't have to get sucked into the gamesmanship, competition and sport of it. Yes, there are some primadonnas in the sport and yes there are a few contrived stages at each match. But, just go and use it as an opportunity to practice and learn your skills. You will also meet other likeminded people. I've met some great guys that I shoot with outside of matches. My couple of years attending matches accelerated my learning greatly. I still attend, but generally use it as a chance to test new gear and my skills.
If you are in Arizona, PM me and maybe we can meet up and have fun shooting.