Long range shooting has gained popularity immensely over the past decade. Part of this is likely due to the development of laser range finders and ballistics solvers. This allows your average shooter to be able to accurately compensate for drop much farther than previously possible. Regardless of the cause, long distance is more popular than ever before.
After reading and hearing about long distance shooting I wanted to try it out for myself. However, long range shooting equipment is expensive, and I didn’t want to dish out the money for an expensive chassis gun and precision optic. My passion is backcountry hunting and those types of rifles are just too heavy for that type of use. My solution was to outfit a rifle with what I had and try anyways. The worst that could happen is I miss!
Previous Experience
Before I tell you about my experience I do need to provide some background. I have practiced for and shot a few CRPS matches. For those that aren’t aware the CRPS is a Precision Rifle Series style competition with 22LR rifles out to 350 yards. While 350 yards isn’t necessarily long range for centerfire, a lot of the skills translate very well. Compensating for environmentals, wind calling, and reading impacts and misses are integral parts of CRPS. Before this experience the farthest I had shot a centerfire was 400 yards. Comically enough, I shot the same target later that day with a custom Ruger 10/22.
The Rifle and Equipment
An integral part to shooting long range is an accurate rifle. While SKS is a dependable combat rifle, a 5 MOA gun just isn’t going to cut it much past 300 yards. I perused my safe for a suitable candidate and landed on a Bergara B14 Hunter in 6.5 Creedmoor. It is set up as a hunting rifle with a internal magazine and a sporter barrel. However, it also dumps 123gr Hornady SSTs into a three quarter MOA group with boring regularity so I figured it will do.
Next I needed a scope. I considered mounting the Vortex LHT 3-15×42 I had set aside for my custom Tikka build. In the end, it felt wrong putting a 1500 CAD scope on a rifle that was about making do with what you had, so I opted for a 4-16×44 Vortex Diamondback Tactical. The extra weight would help the rig anyways.
Finally, I had to outfit my rifle with basic accessories. I dusted off an old Rio Rand Harris-style bipod I bought for $30 off Amazon. For a rear bag I used an old sock that I filled with rice and then sewed shut. Since my Nikon Monarch 2000 rangefinder doesn’t range well past 600 yards I downloaded the BallisticsARC app on my phone for $16 and used its map feature to range the target. Finally, I cut a shooting mat out of an old cardboard box. I was ready to go.
Sighting In
With my newly set up long distance rig I hiked through the snow into the mountains to do some shooting. While the set up only weighed 10 lbs, it felt heavy to me compared to many of the hunting rifles I was accustomed to. I bore-sighted the scope at 100 yards, shot one shot, adjusted, shot a three shot group, and adjusted to fine tune my zero. After one final three round group to confirm my zero, I set my turrets and prepared for the real deal.
Stretching Out
Confident in my zero I hiked to a dead end clear cut where I could set up my target. Marking the target location in BallisticsARC I began the trek back to my shooting spot. Due to the snow blocking access, I would be doing all the travelling on foot. I hiked back into a slash where I could get a view of my target and checked BallisticsARC. I was 810 yards away from the target. BallisticsARC said to dial 6.8 MILS so I set up and took a three shot group at the target, holding 1 MIL right for the mountain wind I figured was about 10MPH and quartering towards me. I didn’t spot any impacts in the dirt so I began the hike down to check my target.
As I approached the target I found the first group was surprisingly good. I didn’t measure at the time, but my group measured 4.9 inches at 810 yards, which is 0.58 MOA. Pretty good for a sporter hunting rifle. To be fair, my second group was a 14 inch 4-round group, although shooting during a gust of wind likely opened that one up a bit. Due to the 1 km hike between the target and the shooting area I only shot the two groups that day. Despite this, I was satisfied with my results, going 7/7 hits with my cobbled together set up.
Concluding Thoughts
Many people don’t try long range shooting due to the cost of the equipment to get started. My experience proves that the barrier to entry isn’t nearly as high as people think. Assuming you have a reasonably accurate hunting rifle, the only significant purchase that is necessary is a scope set up for dialing. The Vortex Diamondback Tactical sells for 500 CAD, which isn’t cheap but is much more affordable than most long range optics. Apart from the optic, all the equipment cost less than fifty dollars combined.
As hunters and shooters we are constantly barraged with marketing trying to sell us the latest and greatest. While purpose made products can certainly be be nice, they are rarely necessary. If long range shooting interests you don’t wait until you can dump five grand into a rig before you go out. Work with what you have, get out shooting, and you just might surprise yourself (and learn something).