Long Distance Hunting Rifles

anyone that does any amount of LR shooting especially over the course of the year, quickly learns that there are changes required to drop charts depending on the powder used and the ambient weather/location.

Changes in projectile/load can have a huge affect on your drop chart values. So can barrel wear.

having a BDC scope knob doesn't make you an accurate shooter nor does it account for environmental changes. Simply takes your 'paper' drop chart and puts it on the knob.

Biggest down side, you only have one revolution worth of up to account for your effective range. For most cartridges, that doesn't get you very far - maybe 600yds. Max adj I know of is 15 mins per revolution (1/4" or min clicks). How far can you go with 15mins of up? Many scopes have way less like 6, 8 or 12mins.

If you have a scope that allows you to have more up over one revolution (1/2 or 1min clicks), you loose the fine resolution to adjust for varied distances and conditions. The clicks are way too course when distances reach out. Now you have to hold off using the reticle which defeats the purpose of having a BDC in the first place.

BDC reticles and turrents work at shorter distances....sometimes.

Most LR shooters I know prefer to dial up the needed adjustments using conventional turrents. The further you go, the finer the click value.

Jerry
 
I fail to see the point of anyones custom knobs. With a change in temperature, elevation or humidity your trajectory changes as well, so to have knobs that only are precise for a few days of the year in the same location makes no sense to me. It DOES however make the knob maker money.
More gimmicks for the gullable in my mind.
 
Another thing to think about when choosing a caliber is barrel life, I am just getting into long range shooting and bought a new savage F class in 6.5x284 and thought I would have a life time of shooting out of it then a buddy at the range told me to expect 16-1800 rounds before accuracy starts to drop, I heard the RUM's and Lapua's are hard on barrels aswell. Just something to think about.

Brain-
 
Brainless said:
Another thing to think about when choosing a caliber is barrel life, I am just getting into long range shooting and bought a new savage F class in 6.5x284 and thought I would have a life time of shooting out of it then a buddy at the range told me to expect 16-1800 rounds before accuracy starts to drop, I heard the RUM's and Lapua's are hard on barrels aswell. Just something to think about.

Brain-
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PLEASE stay AWAY from my rifles with stories like that.
Thank GOD my guns can not read or none of them would shoot.
I sold my 1st 338LAI to a good friend and fellow CGNer at gun point last year when it had 1800 rounds down the barrel, since then the new owner has shot it a fair bit more and guess what..... it still shoots 1/4 moa.
My latest 338LAI has just over 2000 rounds down the pipe and it still shoots 1/4 moa. I know of several other 338LAIS that I have built that have a pretty high round count on them that also are still shooting well under 1/2 moa, these guys may chime in at some point.

Barrel life is mostly determined by how hot you allow the barrel to get. I have seen bore shot out in under 200 rounds, but the barrels could have been used to cook a whole pig over.
Many of the BR and F Class guys will change a barrel at what they feel is their magic round count to avoid having a barrel die during a match, but many of these barrel still have a loooong life still that is useful. Serious competitors however do not like to risk taking chances.
I have a 300 wi mag with over 5000 rounds down the pipe and it still shoots under 1/2 moa.

Grossly overbore calibers can and do cook a barrel faster than others, by grossly overbore I am meaning 300 RUM necked down to 6mm, or 505 gibbs necked down to 7mm.
Just because a caliber has a large case capacity does not mean it will burn barrels out quickly.

Be very careful about the advice of some of the range "experts". Some truly know their stuff, there are many that sense a new shooter like a shark senses blood and then the manure really starts to flow. I have heard some really good 1s at the range over the years.
 
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1 MOA to .25 MOA adjustments are all I have ever used, can not see myself ever changing!

As all points above are valid and so true when you go play the game, I have seen up to 75 fps velocity change winter to summer, and from 250 asl, to 2000 asl. That is a big Miss at 1000m.

I have made a bunch of range cards for different shooting conditons all read in MOA.
 
alberta tactical rifle said:
PLEASE stay AWAY from my rifles with stories like that.
Thank GOD my guns can not read or none of them would shoot.
I sold my 1st 338LAI to a good friend and fellow CGNer at gun point last year when it had 1800 rounds down the barrel, since then the new owner has shot it a fair bit more and guess what..... it still shoots 1/4 moa.
My latest 338LAI has just over 2000 rounds down the pipe and it still shoots 1/4 moa. I know of several other 338LAIS that I have built that have a pretty high round count on them that also are still shooting well under 1/2 moa, these guys may chime in at some point.


WOW...am I surprised!!....he told me that it belonged to a little old lady from Calgary and she only fired it twice...selling cause it scared her cat !!
He actually grabbed my nether-regions and forced me to sign the dotted line.
Barrel life you say ?....well I can add 500 to the 1800 and it is still 1/4 MOA.
Best investment I ever made...goes everywhere with me.
Without a doubt it is the best one-shot coyote killers I've ever had my hands on.
Rick....if you have an old picture or two of it could you post them....every time I try posting a pic of it, a half-naked young ### godess pops up.....:D
Click to expand...
 
JasonYuke said:
1 MOA to .25 MOA adjustments are all I have ever used, can not see myself ever changing!

As all points above are valid and so true when you go play the game, I have seen up to 75 fps velocity change winter to summer, and from 250 asl, to 2000 asl. That is a big Miss at 1000m.

I have made a bunch of range cards for different shooting conditons all read in MOA.
Click to expand...

PDAs with ballistic calculators installed and Kestrels are your friends.
Range cards were used before we became a paperless society:rolleyes:
Either system in my opinion is vastly superior to prefab knobs.:runaway:
 
Kevan said:
alberta tactical rifle said:
PLEASE stay AWAY from my rifles with stories like that.
Thank GOD my guns can not read or none of them would shoot.
I sold my 1st 338LAI to a good friend and fellow CGNer at gun point last year when it had 1800 rounds down the barrel, since then the new owner has shot it a fair bit more and guess what..... it still shoots 1/4 moa.
My latest 338LAI has just over 2000 rounds down the pipe and it still shoots 1/4 moa. I know of several other 338LAIS that I have built that have a pretty high round count on them that also are still shooting well under 1/2 moa, these guys may chime in at some point.


WOW...am I surprised!!....he told me that it belonged to a little old lady from Calgary and she only fired it twice...selling cause it scared her cat !!
He actually grabbed my nether-regions and forced me to sign the dotted line.
Barrel life you say ?....well I can add 500 to the 1800 and it is still 1/4 MOA.
Best investment I ever made...goes everywhere with me.
Without a doubt it is the best one-shot coyote killers I've ever had my hands on.
Rick....if you have an old picture or two of it could you post them....every time I try posting a pic of it, a half-naked young ### godess pops up.....:D
Click to expand...

Just for you , the naked gun, no ### Goddesses
MyRifles008.jpg


How about a dead critter though??
Africa121.jpg
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Thanks Rick...I do appreciate !
But now you've got me thinkin....theres an animal like the one in the picture you posted and it stands just inside the fence at the Aldergrove Zoo.
That would be a 10 min drive for me....:evil:
 
Kevan said:
Thanks Rick...I do appreciate !
But now you've got me thinkin....theres an animal like the one in the picture you posted and it stands just inside the fence at the Aldergrove Zoo.
That would be a 10 min drive for me....:evil:
Click to expand...

Oh Yeah take the cheap route. Miss all the pre departure medical shots, the bugs, the poor food, the 24 hr flight and the chance of being chewed on by a lion.
At least only drive 1/2 way to the zoo and make it a sporting shot ok?:D
 
On a serious note I must apologize to m2hunt and all others involved for hijacking this interesting thread with my nonsense.
However since acquiring the 338LAI I haven't fired a round thru my 300 Mags and in fact have sold all but one simply because the big rifle totally out -performs them in every respect.
And above all it is insanely accurate at any distance I've used it.
If only it could be a wee bit lighter ....:)
 
alberta tactical rifle said:
PDAs with ballistic calculators installed and Kestrels are your friends.
Range cards were used before we became a paperless society:rolleyes:
Either system in my opinion is vastly superior to prefab knobs.:runaway:
Click to expand...

LOL! I am heading that way, Just need to get a Ballistic program loaded on the old POD!

But your right the technology offers unlimited programs now, along with pocket devices, that read wind, humidity and pressure, elevation and along with a good Range finder your guess work is gone, all you need is to adjust and hold...

The only thiing I was worried about was destroying it in the field! but will be neat to be able to plug in numbers real time at different ranges to play.

I am old style, I guess I like my 3 laminated ballistic cards. Spring, Summer and Fall!

I am limited to the ranges I shoot anyway, 300-600-1000, and living in Ontario I can not even see 500 yards in most woods when hunting....
 
JasonYuke said:
LOL! I am heading that way, Just need to get a Ballistic program loaded on the old POD!

But your right the technology offers unlimited programs now, along with pocket devices, that read wind, humidity and pressure, elevation and along with a good Range finder your guess work is gone, all you need is to adjust and hold...

The only thiing I was worried about was destroying it in the field! but will be neat to be able to plug in numbers real time at different ranges to play.

I am old style, I guess I like my 3 laminated ballistic cards. Spring, Summer and Fall!

I am limited to the ranges I shoot anyway, 300-600-1000, and living in Ontario I can not even see 500 yards in most woods when hunting....
Click to expand...

It makes real long range work FAR easier to have accurate numbers for that moment at that place and time.
I am running a Palm Treo cell phone and have it loaded with the NF version of Exbal, between the phone my Kestrel and my rangefinder, there is not much I can not cover once you have the basic info like velocity at given parameters to work with.

I won't get into the long range hunting ethics B.S. Suffice to say if something I want to make dead is within 1 mile and the conditions are perfect, it has cause to worry. With practice and technology 1000 yards is now pretty damn close.
 
JasonYuke said:
ART, what type of Kestrel are you using for a hand held weather station, I am looking at getting one this month.
I was looking at the 3500...
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Kestrel 3500NV I don't need the nightvision version, but hate the bright yellow of the non NV model that is $10.00 cheaper.
I looked at the 4500 but can never see when I would need to hotwire it to my laptop.
 
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