Shooting 600 yards, have i got this right?

[Trackselk]

After reading and plugging numbers into ballistic calculators, I think I have a recipe for success out to 600 yards. Please smack me around if I'm wrong!

*edit- using 6.5 CM 143grain eldx .625 BC Velocity 2735 (copper creek ammo)

If all the stars align, and the wind is about zero, and I take a 600 yard shot:
-Hunting at about 7000 ft, I plug in about 23.11 for barometric pressure. Maybe I'm off by .3 because a storm is coming, and affects my drop by .13" @ 600 yards.
-i have a bad day and guess 20 degrees off on temp = .44" @600 yards
-i guess elevation off by 1000 ft = .58" at 600 yards.
-somehow Murphy's law strikes and these mistakes all compound in the same direction (down) and my bullet drops 1.15" more than I expected.

Am I wrong to think that based on these numbers, that I don't need a watch with pressure, altitude, and temp if I'm ok with 1.15" of error at 600 yards? Planning on plugging those values in a ballistics app and using that to dial. Not interested in taking 600 yard shots when there's more than a light breeze.

I probably missed something

*edit. Field verified to validate my
drop/load/actual velocity
*last edit. .5 moa or better shooting rifle!

Thanks for any advice!

 

[PredatorSlayer]

You are right…600 yards isnt far enough to worry about all those factors.

 

[svivian]

I would make sure all of your inputs are as exact as possible on the ballistics calculator. I would then put up a target at 600 yards and start shooting groups and use that to true your calculator based on how far off you are. This should help you be more accurate across all yardages. Thats how i do it atleast...

 

[WeiserBucks]

I would make sure all of your inputs are as exact as possible on the ballistics calculator. I would then put up a target at 600 yards and start shooting groups and use that to true your calculator based on how far off you are. This should help you be more accurate across all yardages. Thats how i do it atleast...

This is sound advice. Anybody who hasn't shot very far will be in for a learning experience very quickly. 600 yards on a paper target isn't gravy when you're first starting out.

 

[starsfan989]

After reading and plugging numbers into ballistic calculators, I think I have a recipe for success out to 600 yards. Please smack me around if I'm wrong!

*edit- using 6.5 CM 143grain eldx .625 BC Velocity 2735 (copper creek ammo)

If all the stars align, and the wind is about zero, and I take a 600 yard shot:
-Hunting at about 7000 ft, I plug in about 23.11 for barometric pressure. Maybe I'm off by .3 because a storm is coming, and affects my drop by .13" @ 600 yards.
-i have a bad day and guess 20 degrees off on temp = .44" @600 yards
-i guess elevation off by 1000 ft = .58" at 600 yards.
-somehow Murphy's law strikes and these mistakes all compound in the same direction (down) and my bullet drops 1.15" more than I expected.

Am I wrong to think that based on these numbers, that I don't need a watch with pressure, altitude, and temp if I'm ok with 1.15" of error at 600 yards? Planning on plugging those values in a ballistics app and using that to dial. Not interested in taking 600 yard shots when there's more than a light breeze.

I probably missed something

*edit. Field verified to validate my
drop/load/actual velocity
*last edit. .5 moa or better shooting rifle!

Thanks for any advice!

Direct answer- you are not wrong about having to worry about pressure and temp too much at 600 or less yards. Assuming you have good glass, you can be very accurate with this load under 600 yards without much consideration pressure, temp, etc…

Indirect - I used to do some dead reckoning like this to make sure things were going good enough for hunting situations under 500 yards. Then My wife bought me a long range shooting lesson as a gift. That introduced me to the concept of 1000 yard shots with heavy bolt guns, using a kestrel weather device, and ballistic calculators. I would never use the precision rifles in the field due to weight and other issues, but I can’t emphasize enough how much these skills improved my shooting with hunting rifles.

TLDR; try getting proficient with long range precision rifles and their technologies, and the shorter hunting shots with lightweight rifles will feel like chip shots

 

[Trackselk]

Very encouraging, thanks fellas! I'm going to take my first trip to a long distance range very soon, and look into classes.
Only other thought I have is my 6x42 SWFA precise enough to make 600 yard shots on deer easy? I'll dial back the distance or get a different scope if 600 takes a professional marksman.

 

[starsfan989]

You’ll get lots of opinions on this.

My thoughts: it’ll work in good lighting at ranges you’re interested in. The objective is a bit small and you may have problems in low light. It’s fine if you’re above tree line chasing sheep, but you could have issues hunting timber in the morning or evening.

My preference is a 50mm objective, first focal plane, and bonus if illuminated reticle.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Very encouraging, thanks fellas! I'm going to take my first trip to a long distance range very soon, and look into classes.
Only other thought I have is my 6x42 SWFA precise enough to make 600 yard shots on deer easy? I'll dial back the distance or get a different scope if 600 takes a professional marksman.

Depends on the size of the deer, lighting, vegetation, and how obscured the deer is by vegetation.

 

[Trackselk]

Thanks for the answers, sounds like it'll work for most of my hunting. Hopefully the buck in the shade isn't too hard to see. I wish it was easy to determine what the best scope options are.

 

[PathFinder]

That 6x42 will do you well out to 600.
In terms of error, vertical is the wrong axis to be worried about. Spend your time and focus learning to call wind correctly: speed, direction, percentage of effect along the flight path, and vertical effect when applicable. That can only be learned by shooting in the field. Really focus on observing every aspect of the wind and what it does to the POI. But before that...have good neutral data to compare to.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[Trackselk]

That 6x42 will do you well out to 600.
In terms of error, vertical is the wrong axis to be worried about. Spend your time and focus learning to call wind correctly: speed, direction, percentage of effect along the flight path, and vertical effect when applicable. That can only be learned by shooting in the field. Really focus on observing every aspect of the wind and what it does to the POI. But before that...have good neutral data to compare to.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Thanks for that. The wind is elusive enough, and moves bullets around enough for me to not have much interest in trying to deal with much of it. But, your comments have me interested in at least wanting to see how tough it is to read at the range. I really don't like the idea of the wind being stronger at the target animal 600 yards away, and that putting my bullet placement out of the vitals. Maybe I'll only feel confident with a max of 500. Range time will tell.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

Kestrel

 

[Antares]

Only other thought I have is my 6x42 SWFA precise enough to make 600 yard shots on deer easy?

I don’t want to be a party pooper, but 600 yards in the field is never “easy.” Pretending it is is doing yourself a disservice.

 

[Lawnboi]

I don’t want to be party pooper, but 600 yards in the field is never “easy.” Pretending it is is doing yourself a disservice.

If you got to ask, it’s probably time to punch more primers.

 

[Trackselk]

I figured as much. I've always been a hunter first, not a shooter, but I'll work on the shooting part more. My adversity to wounding animals has kept me inside of 330 yards for 30 years. Time to change that if I'm up to the task

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Here's my two pesos:
Focus on what you can directly control:
1) Focus on strong shooting fundamentals. This is the biggest "culprit" to screwing up a shot.
2) Validate your ballistics. This is a big "culprit" to screwing up a shot.
3) Learn to pass on a shot. It sucks but if the shot is not there, don't force it. This can include animal position, shooting stability, lack of time, etc.
4) Practice shooting from various positions. A rimfire is your friend at least initially.

Begin to address those things that you cannot directly control:
1) Learn to read the wind. This is a never-ending effort for the bulk of us.

 

[Trackselk]

Thanks for the rimfire suggestion especially! Don't know why I didn't think of that when I use it in the pistol form for the same reason

 

[MTNHUNTER76]

Small errors in your environmental inputs will not cause a big change in your data. Large changes in shot angle at that distance will change your data drastically. Run a few simulations at 600yds on whatever device your using.

 

[Trackselk]

Small errors in your environmental inputs will not cause a big change in your data. Large changes in shot angle at that distance will change your data drastically. Run a few simulations at 600yds on whatever device your using.

Will do, and thanks! Doesn't my angle compensating (or whatever it's called) range finder solve that problem?

 

[MTNHUNTER76]

I use mil but same applies to moa. My dope at 600yds for 6.5 creed is 3.8 mils at 0 degrees. It changes to to 2.3 mils if shooting at an angle of 45 degrees. Thats a difference of 32.4'' at 600yds. Make sure you know your angle or have a rangefinder that has angle compensation.