Why do I suck at long range?

[TimberHunter]

Trying to keep this short…

Rifle: Tikka roughtech, 6.5cm, harvester suppressor, Hornady 143 precision hunter, adjustable cheek riser, Caldwell bipod, SWFA 10x, warne rings and basses torqued, SWFA bubble level. Has always been a sub MOA for 5+ round groups at 100 yards since I bought it a few years ago

Very proficient at hitting targets and game at say 500 ish yards. 600 pretty solid. But for some reason you start getting me closer to 700+ yards and misses start showing up.

Not always wind misses either, misses that I can’t explain. For example today at 670 yards (shooting across a deep canyon), 80% humidity (light rain) next to zero wind, target was approx 12”x20”.

Missed first shot (didn’t see where). Contact on next two shots, then missed high and right, contact again and then miss high and right, then contact again. All shots were within about 5 minutes so conditions were all very similar. To me these high and right misses were big misses, they likely missed the plate by say 6-8”. Shots broke well today, I was steady on target.

I recently stepped away from a BDC scope to this SWFA thinking dialing would help and it has some but 700 is still not hitting all the time.

I’d really like to understand why I struggle once I start getting out to 700+ yards so that I can make corrections and become a better shot. It’s got to be something that doesn’t really matter at say 100-500 yards but at 700 yards it makes a large difference


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[Quicksilver]

Are you setting your parallax correctly?

How stable is your rest/support setup?

What are your 3-5 shot group sizes at 600yds?

Any mirage in the scope?

 

[ljalberta]

Have you trued your velocity/bc?

 

[2-Stix]

Windage and ballistics really start to show up after about 350. I am good to 400 and 500, 600 it shows up on me...need to start calling wind. I limit my shots on game to about 400.

 

[TimberHunter]

Are you setting your parallax correctly?

How stable is your rest/support setup?

What are your 3-5 shot group sizes at 600yds?

Any mirage in the scope?

Yup, always checking parallax, not just setting it to the number on the dial, making sure the crosshair doesn’t move when I move my head

Not sure how to answer the second one. They seem pretty stable to me, if the cross hair is moving around I fix my rest. I use a cheap Caldwell rear bag

Have shot on paper at that distance but shooting rocks at 600 the grouping will be around 1-1.5 moa. Some days under moa

No mirage today that I saw, usually shoot with a supp cover but didn’t use it today since it was cold and rainy. There were rain drops on the scopes lenses, but I’ve had trouble at 700+ yards in the past


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[TimberHunter]

Have you trued your velocity/bc?

The factory ammo shoots around 2650 with an ES of about 40. I’m working on reloading to try to get that more consistent but I don’t think that’s the issue at foot. That’s only .1-.2 mils at 700+ yards. Today the POI from POA misses were +- 12-15”. If it was BC issues, wouldn’t I consistently miss or hit? Not miss and hit?


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[willfrye027]

Probably it’s your shooting technique/form. You’re obviously doing something right but there is almost certainly something you could be doing better. It’s not easy to be consistent at 700 yards unless your technique is good

 

[ljalberta]

The factory ammo shoots around 2650 with an ES of about 40. I’m working on reloading to try to get that more consistent but I don’t think that’s the issue at foot. That’s only .1-.2 mils at 700+ yards. Today the POI from POA misses were +- 12-15”. If it was BC issues, wouldn’t I consistently miss or hit? Not miss and hit?


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If your shots are trending up, maybe the velocity needs to be trued. But it sounds like it’s more of a case of inconsistency. In which case, you’re right and I don’t think it’s about velocity.

 

[PineBrook413]

My experience is similar but just at a little farther distance. My local range goes out to 1000 yards with steel all over from 100-1000.

I’ve found that I’m very consistent out to 750-800 but once I get to 800+ my hit probability plummets even on targets that are large enough that you would think would allow consistent hits.

I would guess based on what you’ve described your have a few different things happening.

1- like me your probably not calling wind as good as you think. Even a small breeze make a big difference at 700

2- your true cone of accuracy with 10+ shot groups is likely 2 moa with no wind. So once you include a missed wind call combined with a 2 moa group you may be shoooting a true 2.5 - 3 moa. 3 moa at 700 which could create a 21” group, that’s enough to miss your 12x20 target.

My 7 prc hand loads have been tested many times and consistently produce 1.3-1.5” 10 shot groups off a bipod and rear bag on a bench or prone. But once you add in missed wind calls & less ideal field positions I’d bet it’s pretty easy to be 2.5+ moa vs the bench tested 1.3moa.

That likely accounts for my consistency dropping off past 850. If I am indeed closer to 2.5 moa in the wind at 850, that’s going to create a lot of missed shots at 2moa targets.


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[Quicksilver]

Yup, always checking parallax, not just setting it to the number on the dial, making sure the crosshair doesn’t move when I move my head

Not sure how to answer the second one. They seem pretty stable to me, if the cross hair is moving around I fix my rest. I use a cheap Caldwell rear bag

Have shot on paper at that distance but shooting rocks at 600 the grouping will be around 1-1.5 moa. Some days under moa

No mirage today that I saw, usually shoot with a supp cover but didn’t use it today since it was cold and rainy. There were rain drops on the scopes lenses, but I’ve had trouble at 700+ yards in the past


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Honestly a good bipod is worth its price, for target shooting I like to use the heaviest and widest possible. Atlas super cal is my go to for that. Rear bag is just as important, if you don’t have a consistent and solid rest back there, your impacts will be high from the stock dropping on recoil. I have a heavy fill bag and get it setup with the bipod so the rifle is on target while being settled in, so very little manipulation is required on my end. The second half is shooting form and consistency. I’ll work with newer shooters, grab their gun and every time I’ll post a better group than them. I also have thousands of rounds down large magnums and that’s all it is, get a good shooting form down and get some range time in.

Also hand loads to tighten up your groups would benefit. My buddy has a 300 prc that will post moa groups out to 400yds. We get to 600 and weird misses start happening with factory ammo. I’m trying to push the hand load route onto him.

 

[hereinaz]

What’s your shot process to build a position?
What are the target sizes and group sizes at 500-600 where you hit?

 

[JohnJohnson]

Honestly a good bipod is worth its price, for target shooting I like to use the heaviest and widest possible. Atlas super cal is my go to for that.

I have a single-pull Ckye pod coming in today and I've wondered whether I should use it when just shooting groups to assess the precision of my gun. Would my Atlas CAL be better suited to that? I'll be putting it on an untested rifle that I don't know how well it shoots yet.

 

[squid-freshprints]

Some projectiles just wont long range. I assume you are launching cup n core not bonded right? When bullets suck at long range their performance devolves pretty quickly.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Don’t load the bipod. It is really unnecessary unless there is slack and can put torque on the gun and even cause the stock to touch the barrel. Harris type bipods dont have any slack.

 

[Jason Snyder]

What’s your shot process to build a position?

Do you have a checklist for yours? Curious.

 

[JohnJohnson]

Do you have a checklist for yours? Curious.

This one below is probably a decent start. I think you can take or leave the somewhat minimal loading of the bipod he does depending on your thoughts on it.

 

[Quicksilver]

I have a single-pull Ckye pod coming in today and I've wondered whether I should use it when just shooting groups to assess the precision of my gun. Would my Atlas CAL be better suited to that? I'll be putting it on an untested rifle that I don't know how well it shoots yet.

The ckye is a great bipod, I’ve shot off a double pull before. I use a standard atlas cal for hunting and have always been really stable with it. The ability to get a wider stance offered by the ckye is beneficial. The larger footprint of your shooting tripod (bag, bipod legs) increases stability. I would run the ckye pod with confidence. If you had a super cal I’d probably give the nod to that, but between the normal cal and the ckye there probably isn’t any difference in stability. Sometimes certain bipods just sit better with their height and adjustment points as well. See which one naturally feels better to be behind at the range, but both are going to be stable to shoot from.

 

[Quicksilver]

One trick I’ve learned for stability and recoil management is get claw or spiked feet for your bipods. I can spot my impacts with my 10.5lb 300nmi shooting 245 bergers at about any range. Makes it fun to watch your bullet impact an animal, the validation you made a good shot on it. Also at 100yds with all my rifles after the initial recoil the crosshairs settle back on the target. The bipod legs don’t leave the ground either, which is usually the problem with muzzle jump. A great muzzle brake helps as well.

 

[Shortschaf]

Very proficient at hitting targets and game at say 500 ish yards. 600 pretty solid. But for some reason you start getting me closer to 700+ yards and misses start showing up.

When shooting vitals-sized targets, this statement describes 95% of people (myself included, with a full custom rifle)

Having said that, first establish good shooting. ModernDayRifleman videos are the best Ive seen and used

After perfecting, you may find gear upgrades are in order (or not). All gear has diminishing returns.

Having a spotter to help you understand misses is important. Nothing worse than wasting ammo and learning nothing

 

[JollyRoger]

What do you see after the shot? Are you still right on target? Or off to one side/low/high?