Long range shooting.....what do I need?

[N80]

I have hunted with rifles all of my life. All in the woods. Rarely have ever taken a shot much over 100 yards. Longest shot ever may have been 175 yards at most. Other than shooting at game I have never been interested in shooting just for fun. But like many people, I have gotten interested in long range shooting. For now, I have no interest in shooting game at long range, just targets. Maybe coyotes. And I'm just curious about what sorts of things I need.....if any, to do some long range shooting for fun.

But I guess I ought to get some help in clarifying 'long range' and then I'll mention the equipment I have. First, I'm thinking no more than 500 yards and in fact, on my property the longest distance I have available for shooting is 300 yards. So to shoot beyond that I would have to go somewhere else. And then I guess I would need to define accuracy. I don't know what is considered accurate at 300 yards outside of parameters you'd use for game....deer, pigs, coyote in my case.

Gear that I have now:

Remington 700 in .270. Fiberglass stock. Tack driver at 100 yards. (I would prefer not buying another rifle).
Leopold 6x scope
Spotting scope.
Bench rest
Leather bench rest pads/bags.

Experience that I have at 300+ yards. Next to none. This weekend I shot a .308 with some 150g reloads my Dad had labeled "practice rounds' at 300 yards. Outside of one flier I shot a 4 shot group of about 5".

I guess what I want to know most is:

What is considered accurate at 300-500 yards?
Do I need a higher power scope and if so, what type?
Do I need to learn to adjust in the field for windage, etc?
Would I need to learn to reload (which I'm considering anyway)?

Thanks.

 

[vtsnowedin]

:2cents: Just my amateur opinions OK , The 270 is fine caliber for long range work less then 1000 yd matches. The Remington 700 is known for accuracy but individual rifles vary and some like one particular factory or hand load above all others. Minute of angle accuracy MOA means one inch at 100 yards three inches at 300 and 5 inches at 500. A good rifle shot from sand bags on a solid rest will often be 1 MOA at 100 but when you move out to 500 yards the cross hair on your 6X scope will cover a couple of inches and any error you input into the shot when you squeeze the trigger will be five times bigger then it was at 100. If you can keep all five in a ten inch bull at 500 on a calm day your doing very very well. That 5" 300 yard group was pretty good and if you can do it more then once in a while would be very good.
To get serious at 500 yards you need more scope, 24 to 32 power with a fine target cross-hair and fully adjustable for parallax.
If the wind is blowing and you can't wait to shoot you will have to adjust for it. Use heaver for caliber bullets to reduce the amount of adjustment (150 gr boat tails for a 270). This takes practice to estimate the wind speed between you and the target and learning from you first shots. This is where the spotting scope comes in and "shoot-n-see targets save a lot of walking.
Before you try reloading try several brands of factory ammo to see if one works well in your rifle. With todays modern factory machinery it is hard to reload to a higher standard then what is on the shelf at walmart.
I'd get some 150s and sight it in to be 4 inches high at 150 yards then set back to 300 and see what you get.
Have fun and be sure of your backstop and other gun safety rules.

 

[MossRoad]

There's a whole fascinating world of long distance shooting out there. Really amazing stuff.
Windage has an increadible effect on the bullet.
Many years ago I was shooting 400' with my .22 at my property. No more than an inch, maybe inch and a half up and down. But up to 14" off center due to crosswind. That opened my eyes.
Have fun with your new hobby.
:thumbsup:

 

[Egon]

Your good to go with the gear you have. Reloading makes it cheaper and perhaps allows for more experimentation with powders, loads and bullet type. Takes time too.

A bench and some sandbags would help. Doesn't have to be fancy.

Accuracy is a rather vague term and may be more determined by companions and/or the shooting situations.

Playing with the scope settings could get interesting! Also note the wind may change frequently.

Enjoy yourself but be advised it could get old real fast.

Also note that accessories the truly afflicted will need can make for a long list and take up much time. Note: keep the record keeping skills real sharp.

 

[N80]

Thanks guys. Good points. If I got into reloading it would be more for the economy at first. Maybe for accuracy later.

I have a nice safe 100 yard range with a good back stop of logs, etc. To shoot 300 yards it is from my porch, down hill somewhat and into a steep hillside. So it should be very safe. Unfortunately it is across a pond. I have to take a canoe to get the target across! The spotting scope helps a lot especially if I get some of those shoot and see targets vtsnowedin mentioned.

My 270 can shoot 1 inch groups at 100 with cheap factory ammo. The trigger has been lightened considerably from factory settings but I don't remember to what pounds. So I'm hoping I've got the right gun.

Sounds like the main thing I need will be a scope.

I don't think this is going to be one of those hobbies that gets out of hand. I'd just like to be proficient (MOA or there abouts) at around 300 or so, bench or stable rest, with one gun.

 

[dodge man]

First off, you pretty much have everything you need to shoot out to 300 yards unless you are going into competition. I've shot out to 300 yards at my local gun club several times. At 300 yards, if you can hit a pie plate on a regular basis, that is really good shooting, even off a bench. I've often shot at the gong at 300 yards and its more the size of a small car door, round in shape. With my Mini 14 I'm lucky to hit at half the time. I also have a M1 Garand and a 03A3(think world war I style rifle) and even though they are open sights, shoot better at 300 yards than my scoped mini 14. One thing unique is that at that range you can hear the shots hitting the gong, and there is a noticeable time delay from the shot to the time you hear the hit.

I've shot at some informal competitions at the gun club for military rifle shoots and the 300 yard targets are large, I'm guessing in the range of 3 feet square. You want larger targets at that range.

As far as a higher power scope, it will improve your 300 yard shooting, but I've shot with open sights so its not needed in my opinion.

I've never adjusted for the wind other than seat of the pants. There are tables available if you want to get exact, and you can buy wind gages, hang pennants to gage the wind etc.

Reloading? There is a lot of info on the internet. I own a progressive reloader made by Dillon. I don't reload that often, but when I do, I make several hundred rounds at a time. Beginners are often told to not get a progressive, but I don't agree with that. Its just so slow without a progressive.

Also, its usually considered a bad idea to shoot over open water or ice. There is another post about people finding bulltet holes in there houses, and another post about people being shot. There are several stories about people getting hit after a bullter skipped off water.

 

[Baby Grand]

I'd want a powerful enough spotting scope to be able to see the hole in whatever target from 300 yards away so I could sight in and correct for windage. Otherwise, you're in for a lot of walking.

 

[charlz]

In this part of the world 300 yards is a normal shot. 'Long range' is 1,000 yard and mile.

 

[nybirdman]

You definitely have the right base;.270 Remington.Better choices of bullets in 7MM(.284) or .30 calibers.Example for reloading cost with premium bullets(Nosler PT) works out to about $18.00/20;not purchasing brass.If you are going to be using for hunting maybe a scope up to 12X or 14x,any higher power would be difficult with-out a bench.Right now brass/primers are the hardest components to find.With reloading you can tailor your round to your gun.

 

[dmccarty]

For the ranges you are talking about shooting, either rifle/cartridge is more than adequate and since they are paid for, they are a great place to start. A 270 is a 30-06 case necked down from a 30 to 27 caliper. The 308 is a shortened 30-06 case. You really cannot go wrong with either round.

When I used to shoot service rifle matches, all semi autos in 30-06 or 308 the best score I could squeeze out of my rifle with cheap, factory ammo was about 415 out of 500. Usually I was around 400 give or take. Once I started making my own ammo and matching it to the rifle my scores went up to around 450. At that point, the rifle needed work to improve my score. The guys winning the matches were getting around 480 out of 500.

This was on iron sights. The guys using glass where in a different group and where getting scores close to 500. Some matches were at 100 yards with the targets getting smaller to simulate longer range. I have shot at either 300 and 600 yards with an M1 with iron sights.

Glass is easier for those with aging eyes but having said that, I just shot THE best pistol scores I have ever done, and my eyes are rather aged at this point.

I still have a single stage press for reloading. If I was going to turn out quite a bit of ammo, I would buy a Dillion.

Later,
Dan