Help shooting reliably to 500yards

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DimDam

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Hello team,

would you have any advice to help me improve my marksmanship? I have a Hell's Canyon (regular not LR) in .308 with a Burris Optics 3-15x50 MAD Veracity. I don't have a gun sled and my local shooting range is only 200 yards. I would like to be consistent at 500 yards.

I'm taking any advice thank you > located in East Kootenays

Regards,
-Dimitri
 
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Shooting reliably to 200 yards at your usual practice range is going to be the biggest thing. Knowing where to dial for your starting shot at 500 (and having the scope range!) is most of the rest. Reading the wind becomes much more significant. And you need better hiking shoes for the stroll downrange to set/change targets.
 
Gun sled are only good for zeroing. Gets a good bipod and a good rear bag. If you only have a 200yard range, shoot smaller targets to simulate shooting 500yards.
 
Practise to be consistently accurate at 200yds. If the combo and ammo will let you shoot sub MOA anytime you can figure out the wind, 500yds just means you dial your elevation several more numbers counterclockwise.

There really isn't any difference in shooting close vs far... or said another way, if you can't shoot close, it ain't getting any better going far.

If you are shooting prone or off some other field rest when you are at 500yds, practise the same thing at 200yds. A stable bipod will go a longs ways to helping and can offer a really light and stable unit if interested.

Handloading can really help make the hit ratio much better/higher

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
Practise to be consistently accurate at 200yds. If the combo and ammo will let you shoot sub MOA anytime you can figure out the wind, 500yds just means you dial your elevation several more numbers counterclockwise.

There really isn't any difference in shooting close vs far... or said another way, if you can't shoot close, it ain't getting any better going far.

If you are shooting prone or off some other field rest when you are at 500yds, practise the same thing at 200yds. A stable bipod will go a longs ways to helping and can offer a really light and stable unit if interested.

Handloading can really help make the hit ratio much better/higher

Jerry
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Hi Jerry, thanks for your interesting tips. How could handreloading help with the ratio? Would you have a .308win ammo to recommend and a bipod?
 
Hey DimDam, I'm just down the highway from you. Lots of places around us that you could set up steel out to 500 yards (I was just out 3 weeks ago shooting out to 850. Reloading allows you to tailor a round to your particular rifle, but most modern rifles can take good factory ammo to 500 yards without issue

Jerry has some great tips as far as practicing fundamentals. A poor position, or jerky trigger pull shows more and more as distance increases
 
DimDam said:
Hi Jerry, thanks for your interesting tips. How could handreloading help with the ratio? Would you have a .308win ammo to recommend and a bipod?
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I don't sell reloading stuff. Reloading can really help with both tight groups and low vertical which makes LR shooting alot easier. I have been able to load to 1/2 MOA for a factory rifle (smaller with match barrels) and that could be alot tighter vs factory ammo.

However, there is plenty of good factory ammo that might get you sub MOA. Fed gold medal match in 168gr or 175gr are nice gotos... as are the various "match" types from Hornady and others. You just need to test to see what is consistent.

The key is count EVERY SHOT... take your time and make good shots so you don't need to wonder if you 'pulled it'. any ammo that tosses fliers can be excluded from LR duties.

If you visit my facebook page, you can see my MPOD bipod and the many rifles and happy shooters using it. Very stable as it was designed for F class shooting at 1000yds (sub 1/2 MOA at 1k)

Send me an email to chat/order one.

Good luck and it really isn't that hard to do... IF you are consistent at SR.

Jerry
 
What would people recommend for a range setup that is reasonably priced? Front rest like a Caldwell the rock? Or bipod mounted to the gun? Similarly what should one look for in a rear bag?
 
Assuming that your kit is all good, and your ammo is fine, I'd say training and practice. Take a course that will cover / reinforce the fundamentals and help you understand the things you need to improve on.
 
oppy said:
Assuming that your kit is all good, and your ammo is fine, I'd say training and practice. Take a course that will cover / reinforce the fundamentals and help you understand the things you need to improve on.
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Sounds good mate, I've been looking but I can't find a course for hunting rifle in cranbrook/castlegar/calgary. Would you have any recommendations on that?
 
I'm biased, but best bang for the buck would be to hit up an event from Project Mapleseed next year. Covers the fundamentals, and it's inexpensive. Check the Project Mapleseed website in late winter/early spring of 2024. Traditionally there are a always a couple of events near Calgary. These always fill up fast.
 
Suther said:
What would people recommend for a range setup that is reasonably priced? Front rest like a Caldwell the rock? Or bipod mounted to the gun? Similarly what should one look for in a rear bag?
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If you are handy and just shooting at the range off a good bench, you can make up sandbags from cut up jean pant legs... Stacked up to cradle the forend and support the buttstock, these simple bags could be more stable then many foldy leg bipods. I would fill them with sandblasting grit cause you have weight, density and it will mold/conform very nicely to a stock. This can be especially useful for thinner plastic hunting stocks.

If you want a pedestal rest, the basic caldwell with an upgraded protektor bag front and rear can work very well. For the money, the protektor rear bags are a bargain. the good old sock filled with poly beads can also work so it just boils down to how basic you want and how you want to use the stuff.

I am very biased to my MPOD as it offers me pedestal rest stability and then I can run them in the field when I want LR accuracy but don't want to pack a big heavy rest.

I also run a Harris cause some of the games demand a foldy leg bipod but this is a rest that has a learning curve to be good at using... as do all other foldy leg bipods.. some more wobbly then others.

If going with the cheapest, flimsiest offshore product, miles ahead to just shoot from those sandbags.

Jerry
 
I mostly use my MDT GrndPod, combined with a basic leather/vinyl bunny ears rear bag. I load up the bipod a bit and get the height/position on target by squeezing the rear bag with my left hand. Then, with no directional force from my strong (right) hand, just focus on a smooth trigger pull. I also keep my strong hand thumb on the right side of the grip. I don’t wrap my thumb around the grip.

First time I tried shooting 1k and beyond was effortless this way.

IMG-0208.jpg
 
73582 said:
Hey Jim, id like to go to Blackwater, has it been typically busy when you were there? Wondering how long a cease fire would be?
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It’s a great facility. Longest ceasefire was about 15 minutes as a guy drove out to grab his stuff from multiple distances. I’ve only been there a couple times, and it wasn’t busy. The people that were there were great. Super friendly and we had a great time.
 
jimbo14 said:
I mostly use my MDT GrndPod, combined with a basic leather/vinyl bunny ears rear bag. I load up the bipod a bit and get the height/position on target by squeezing the rear bag with my left hand. Then, with no directional force from my strong (right) hand, just focus on a smooth trigger pull. I also keep my strong hand thumb on the right side of the grip. I don’t wrap my thumb around the grip.

First time I tried shooting 1k and beyond was effortless this way.
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So with no direct input forces on the rifle with either hand, are you loading the bipod with shoulder pressure? And is not needing to do that a prime reason to go to an MPOD or bag or benchrest system?

Already used to steering the reticle onto target mostly via left hand squeezing the bunny ears, but may need to ease up on the right hand.
 
old303 said:
So with no direct input forces on the rifle with either hand, are you loading the bipod with shoulder pressure?
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Yes. Not much, but a bit. I try to maintain consistent pressure from shot to shot. Shout out to Jefferson on here for that great tip. :cheers:
And is not needing to do that a prime reason to go to an MPOD or bag or benchrest system?
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I have an MPOD, but find that it can move around on a bench so I need to pull the rifle back into my shoulder with my strong hand to be consistent. Right now I want to play with the MDT bipod for my rimfire PRS skills.

Already used to steering the reticle onto target mostly via left hand squeezing the bunny ears, but may need to ease up on the right hand.
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Yup. Play with it. I’ve been getting great results when I’m right behind the gun so it doesn’t hop to one side under recoil, and when I keep the shoulder pressure consistent from shot to shot, while reducing demands from my right hand. I just want it to build consistent pressure on the trigger until it breaks. Nothing else.
 
jimbo14, consider adjusting your body position and location of the buttpad relative to your shoulder pocket. I also pay alot of attention to the comb and its height/width/location. When set properly, the MPOD will not do anything but track back and forth in a straight line. I use the position of the reticle AFTER firing to judge how well (or not) my set up and position is.

when viewing a F class target and a 308win, set up properly, my reticle should not leave the 5 ring (moa circle) after firing. When I am on my game, it will not leave the V bull circle (1/2 moa). This is shot prone of course

All this allowed me to fire, extract the empty, drop in a live rd ready to close the bolt usually before the target was making its way up from being marked for score. Often, I was back in position and ready to shoot while the target was in the scoring pit. Just pushed the rifle forward for the reticle to be looking at the impact area behind the target in the berm.

With todays PRS rifle, I can spot my own impacts while the reticle is just off the target.. sometimes I have to move the rifle over so the reticle doesn't block my view.

Hope this helps

Jerry
 
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