Is Long-range Hunting Your Game? — Ron Spomer Outdoors

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.