Tips and gear advice on learning to shoot longer distances.

[Coopsdaddy]

I have finally got my rifles put together and ready to learn some longer distance shooting.
My goal is to be a better hunter at a reasonable distance (600)for hunting and would like to practice futher as much as possible.
Shot many whitetails over the years out to 200 and a bunch more with archery but this is something I’ve wanted to learn for awhile.
I will shoot off a table some but my focus is hunting situations so most of the stuff I buy needs to be used in my hunting.
Barrett fieldcrafts in 6.5 and 30/06
Tbac ultra 7
Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42 mil
I have basic selection of small bags thanks to hereinaz,Tricer bipod,Aziak ridgeline tripod.
8x32 Zeiss binos,exo k4 pack
I don't reload.
I want to learn the process and the math to using this mil scope and dialing as well as body position etc.
I have bookmarked forms post on using a mil scope and used it this week to sight it.Fantastic information!
Im going to look into taking a class in 2026.
Need advice on range finder,bino/spotter,apps and other gear.
I'm not a tech guy or loaded so I will probably buy my binos/spotter used but may buy the range finder new during Black Friday.
Prefer the simplest setup as far as gear and apps go.
Prefer stand alone binos.
Not sure about spotting scope or larger binos.Ill never be sheep hunting but elk,bear will on the menu.
Im looking at the Revic br4 but prefer advise before I buy.
Do I need a chronograph?

 

[Hydra6]

If you are in Oklahoma, you are in the middle of PRS competition and training. A basic PRS class will get you started in long range, using ballistic apps, dialing elevation, basic wind reading. Justin Watts has a range (Fouled Bore) in Oklahoma and he teaches.

Chronographs have dropped in price, and I would look at the new Athlon.

I run 15x binos for PRS spotting and hunting. The Bushnell Forge 15x are great less expensive binos (no they are not the best but awful good).

 

[Chris in TN]

600 yards you don't need a chrono but you'd be better off with one. I've owned a chrono of some sort for almost 30 years and would utterly despise having to get along without one now.

You do not need an expensive rangefinder for 600 yards. There are $150 rangefinders that'll do you fine. So what if they're off 5 yards? I have two used rangefinders - a sig buckmasters budget model, and an older vortex ranger, plus my not-designed-for-hunting trupulse360b that used to be a very expensive rangefinder (made by the same company as the old gunwerks g7, IIRC) but also very accurate when used for mapping purposes (it was a work tool) and I have done dozens of side by side range reading comparisons with the three of them. The errors between any of them and the actual, known ranges (known via decimeter grade GPS readings) is utterly meaningless inside of 600 yards or even 1000.

Almost any decent ballistic app will work. I use the Hornady app. Use whatever you want. Six hundred yards is not far (as the math goes - it's a very far distance as far as your part in the equation goes) and any errors in the app will be minimal at that range.

Zero your rifle from a bench, then burn it. Unless you have a gear failure once you have a zero the bench is not your friend unless you have one in the field. Most of us do not. I have a bench here at home that I use for zeroing and load testing at 50-100-225 yards. I also have a 300/500 yard bench that might get used 1x/year. When I go to the local private range I bring a pad and shoot prone. The bench shooters and I give each other weird looks. We are not the same.

If you aren't going to reload the best advice I can give you is to buy good ammo by case lots. Even better if you can buy 2-3 cases at a time from the same lot.


As a lifelong fan of the 30-06, I say forget it. You're better off with the lower recoil of the 6.5, by a large margin. I don't subscribe to the school of thought that shot-spotting is so important inside of 600 yards (not going to argue with the experts here as that deck is stacked against dissenting voices on this forum) that you must shoot a 6mm or .22 caliber, but it does matter to an extent, and you're better off without the '06 recoil, even inside of 600 yards. Recoil sucks and is never your friend when it comes to hitting stuff, and hitting stuff is the fundamental step in killing stuff. Beyond 600 yards I do believe that shot-spotting becomes more important. Inside of 600 even your misses should be on the critter or if you miss the whole animal it was probably your wobble, not a calculation error or even a wind error (unless you're shooting in higher winds, which are more likely on a 500 yard late season mule deer or midday pronghorn than an early morning 400 yard shot at an early season elk).

 

[Gunnersdad49]

I would say yes, you do need a chronograph. The magnetospeed was my first pick. Then I got rid of it for a Labradar. If I would have waited, I would have gotten the Garmin. If I would have waited longer, I would have gotten the Athlon. (get the Athlon like Hydra6 mentioned).

Also, check out Ryan Cleckner's book Long Range Shooting Handbook for some good information.

Knowing your bullet's specs, velocity, and accurate ranges, along with accurate wind/weather conditions are all key to reaching out to long distances.

600 isn't that far on steel, but you are going to want to go further once you get solid hits consistently at that range.

 

[Speaks]

Chrono is occasionally nice but really getting more into optimizing.

If wanting rangefinder seperate from binos the voretex crossfire is fine and cheap. If rangefinding binos I got the geovids based on many recommendations here and like them fine.

If you have the gun, binos, range finder, and pack and bags I would forget other gear and shoot more from field positions. The 100 yard drill on here..... Get that down first. Then add distance and wind.

Quick drop is good enough for me. Start with the base calculation here, measure against your gun and tweak as needed.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

If you are in Oklahoma, you are in the middle of PRS competition and training. A basic PRS class will get you started in long range, using ballistic apps, dialing elevation, basic wind reading. Justin Watts has a range (Fouled Bore) in Oklahoma and he teaches.

Chronographs have dropped in price, and I would look at the new Athlon.

I run 15x binos for PRS spotting and hunting. The Bushnell Forge 15x are great less expensive binos (no they are not the best but awful good).

I looked them up and just sent him a email,thanks for that!
I do have a leupold full draw 4 I use for archery.
My main focus is the 6.5.
I just put the same scope on the 06 for simplicity of having the same optic and keep it in case I ever get the opportunity for some larger game.
Just looked up the 100 yard drill and I’ll get started on they in 2 weeks.
Im taking off in a month for two weeks to bow hunt and camp on my place but I can practice this midday in a different area.

 

[TaperPin]

It’s cool you’re going all in with a lot of enthusiasm. There’s no substitute for practice and good equipment.

A new term you will need to get to know is natural point of aim. It’s setting the gun up so less effort is spent fighting it - it’s like a good fitting shotgun that just naturally points well, but applied to the more complex rifle/scope interaction.

You need repetition to build muscle memory, so there’s nothing better than regular dry firing at home and regular trips to the range. If your range goes out to long distance I’d suggest skipping 100 and 200 yards altogether. Waaaaay too much time is spent at short distance and it doesn’t teach you anything about wind, and becomes a crutch.

A short range rifle has to be gone through or it will drive you nuts. The scope mount has to be solidly attached. Movement in your scope base is magnified 2,880x at 500 yards so .001” is almost 3” on target. Glue that base down. A crisp trigger around 2 lbs will cut group size regardless of how much practice ammo is shot. It should be one of the first upgrades.

A rifle has to have good bedding or you’re one bump away from having to rezero that scope. With all the talk about scope reliability I bet half of all “wandering zero” issues are bedding related. Before glass bedding the action, shims between the receiver and stock in the right places will get you by, but the bedding cannot allow any wiggle room. A little useless trivia is all actions, even when glass bedded, move a slight amount during recoil and return to where they started after this “bounce.” Literally the action moves in the stock at every shot, so it needs all help it can get to return to the same place. It wasn’t until aluminum pilars came along that shooters began noticing fretting on the surface of new smooth aluminum in contact with the receiver as tell tail evidence of this movement.

A chronograph won’t take the place of shooting at long range to confirm your load’s trajectory, but they are fun to have and give important clues to things like lot to lot velocity differences, temperature differences and it’s the easy button for a starting place. Factory ammo is notorious for bad published velocities. If you have too much money go ahead and get one, but it’s not required by any means.

If a family friend wants to get into shooting at long range I suggest one of the simple inexpensive Sig rangefinders. No bells, no whistles, but will read sagebrush clear out well past 1,000 yards and it’s pretty inexpensive. Wear it out then get a fancy one if you feel it’s needed.