There are a number of variables in long distance shooting that must be accounted for in order to hit the target. The further away the target, the more variables must be accounted for. Here are the components of a successful shot broken down by the ranges at which they become critical to consistently hit mid-sized targets.
Inside 250 Yards
First off, if the furthest you ever need to shoot is 250 yards, the shooter is the limiting factor. At these distances there is no sense worrying about BC, ballistic calculators, and standard deviations. Time spent practicing the fundamentals of marksmanship and how to quickly build a shooting position will be much more fruitful than fine tuning the perfect load or studying wind calling.
At these distances a simple maximum point blank range system is adequate to hit targets. Standard velocity centerfire cartridges are flat shooting enough that you can hold on target and make hits at these ranges. This system avoids the complexity of a rangefinder or technical scope.
250-350 Yards
Pushing past 250 yards and bullet drop begins to matter a lot. For years people held over targets to compensate for a certain number of inches of drop at a given distance. While you can still do this, this distance is about the limit of what a maximum point blank range setup can shoot consistently and even still there are better options.
Nowadays, a properly set up ballistic calculator and a laser rangefinder take the guesswork out of this process and make the shooter much more accurate. Simple solutions like writing the corresponding yardages on your scope turret or taping a drop chart to the rifle stock keep drop data handy. Alternatively, ballistic binoculars, rangefinders, and calculators can run the numbers real time.
350-550 Yards
Importantly, 350-550 yards are common maximum shooting distances for western hunters. At this range, even moderate winds can have a meaningful effect on where the bullet impacts. Unfortunately, wind is one of the most difficult variables in long distance shooting to account for. There are wind meters available to measure wind. However, perfectly capturing the angle as well as shooting before it changes is difficult.
Additionally, there’s no guarantee that the wind downrange is doing the same thing as the wind at the shooter. Reading vegetation, mirage, and nearby terrain is imperative to correctly calling wind. Also, a ballistics calculator or MIL based quick wind rule are also key to determining an accurate hold for a given wind value.
550-1000 Yards
Next, past 550 yards the time of flight is much more significant. This means that factors that only had a minor effect at shorter ranges start having a much larger impact. For shots past 550 yards getting accurate temperature, pressure, and humidity readings is important. Shooters should use the actual environmental conditions of the day to calculate their drop and windage instead of an average.
Also, at these distances, bullet selection and the quality of your ammo matters. High BC bullets make calling wind more manageable and allow the bullet to hang onto velocity longer. The consistency of the ammunition’s velocity becomes important as poor quality ammunition causes random shots to fly high or low. Finally, more niche effects such as Spin Drift should be accounted for to prevent error stacking.
1000+ Yards
Lastly, past 1000 yards everything matters. The consistency of the bullet’s BC and differences between BC calculators and drag models are taken into consideration. At these extended ranges the Corialis and Eotvos effects also have non negligeable contributions to the trajectory.
Candidly, I rarely shoot much past 1000 yards and those who do regularly are true disciples of their craft. Suffice to say, if you want to regularly shoot past 1000 yards my best advice is find a mentor in your area to show you the ropes.
Closing Thoughts
In closing, how far you need to be able to shoot guides what skills you should be practicing. Investing in an expensive Kestrel if you never shoot past 400 yards is likely a waste of money. Similarly, if your goal is to shoot 800 yards consistently, developing high quality handloads with consistent velocities will prove useful. Keep in mind, the variables in long distance shooting are additive and the shooting process becomes more complex the longer the shot. Let your application guide your practice, and happy shooting.