Is Long-range Hunting Your Game?
To make sure you have the “right stuff” to make a long shot, visit a shooting range designed for long range and practice.It is hard to ignore the long-range craze in shooting these days. Gun displays in sporting goods stores showcase an array of rifles decked out in composite stocks or skeletonized, lightweight frames. Riflescope exhibits provide a multitude of variable scopes with settings that rival the power of many spotting scopes. And of course, the ammunition manufacturers tout new bullets and loads annually designed to fly better than a SpaceX rocket. If all this hype has you salivating at the shooting abilities you could achieve with the right rig, review what your really need out of a hunting rifle to decide if long range is in your hunting future.
As you ponder if you need the long-range advantage, keep these questions in mind. Do you routinely take shots beyond 400 yards? Does the terrain you hunt consistently require a long shot? Do the animals you hunt habitually stay out of normal rifle range of 200 yards or less? If you answered “yes” to most of these questions, then maybe long range is your game.
Using quality ammunition and understanding the trajectory of your particular caliber are just some of the details to consistently making long shots.
Rifle and ammunition manufacturers are continually releasing new calibers, along with perfecting old favorites, to feed the long-range craze in shooting.The next question you need to be honest about is whether you have the commitment to a long-range relationship. No, I am not referring to an online date from overseas. Long-range shooting requires unique gear, expensive components, precision setup and dedicated practice. If you are the type of hunter who pulls their deer rifle out once a year to re-sight and then heads to the deer woods, long range is probably not your game.
Spending money on the right gear gives you a leg up in long-range shooting, but you also must practice with it to keep your skills perfected.With inflation making daily headlines your budget is top priority. Long-range rifles cost more. It is that simple. By the time you purchase a bare rifle, add appropriate optics, upgrade your rangefinder, mate it to high-end or reloaded ammunition, you will be nearing $5,000. Even $10,000 is not out of the question depending on your taste for perfection. Make sure to run that purchase up the spouse flagpole before raiding the piggybank.
After you purchase the “right stuff,” setting up your rifle correctly becomes a top priority. Securing screw mounts precisely, leveling your riflescope, setting up onboard computers and other intricacies of any high-end gear requires some technological insight. New models, like the Sig Sauer Sig Sauer’s BDX system, Ballistic Data Xchange, transmits trajectory data via Bluetooth between a Sig Sauer BDX rangefinder and a Sierra model compatible riflescope. It then adjusts the reticle for the range automatically. This technology is not rocket science, but does take some knowledge to upload correctly.
If you do not have a degree from MIT, you may want to leave set up to a professional. Even though I am competent, I still prefer to have my son around who stands out with gunsmithing skills. Between the two of us, we get rifles set up with a degree of dependability to hit targets consistently beyond 600 yards.
Finally, once you settle on the right ammunition, the real test begins. It is time to visit a range designed for long shots. Many have targets staggered from 200 to 1,000 yards or beyond. If you cannot find a local range with distances you hope to shoot, then your next step is to find a property with a safe backstop to accommodate distant targets. Zero your rifle and
begin acquainting yourself with shooting it at all distances. Once you engage targets at long range you will discover your limitation. It may take a few trips to the range since gusty winds or other climatic conditions could foul your sight-in results, but eventually you will discover the distance you can effectively shoot in real-world conditions.
Sharon Kayser takes her turn to hit some extended range targets in the Kayser horse pasture.Follow that in the field if it meets ethical killing efficiency. Remember, your bullet needs to carry with it approximately 1,000 foot-pounds of energy for it to perform as designed on deer-sized game and up to 1,500 foot-pounds for large critters like elk.
There is a lot to think about in the long-range game and this article just touches on some of the highlights. Long range is not for everyone. If your little woodlot of whitetail heaven only gives up shots less than 100 yards, why spend the money? On the flip side, if you have a bucket list of hunts including pronghorn, Dall’s sheep, Coues deer and other long-range probabilities, the investment in gear and time might be worth it for great social media memories ahead.
For more about Mark Kayser and ways to follow him on social media, visit www.markkayser.com.
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