People often ask questions about what gear to buy without specifying their end use. "Long range precision shooting" is quite vague. There are several different shooting disciplines that could fall under that description. Without specifying the type of shooting you want to do, you'll get a flurry of conflicting responses since there are numerous long distance precision shooting disciplines and they use very different equipment. Beyond the fundamentals, the techniques are not the same either. Read below and be specific which one(s) you're interested in when starting a thread.
Disciplines related to the Target and Precision Rifles Forum:
F-Class:
-shot off a bipod or a machine rest
-all shooting from the prone position
-only one distance is shot at a time, its a known distance evenly divisible by 100
-targets are paper circular targets
-lots of time to make your shot (deliberate shooting)
-there are wind flags
-targets are always stationary
-shooting is always horizontal (no slope shooting)
-each shot is marked with an orange marker to show you where it went
-shot individually
-course of fire is always the same
NSCC Precision Rifle (ORA/NSCC):
-shot off a bipod (must be a practical type you would bring in the field)
-all shooting from the prone position
-only one distance is shot at a time, its a known distance evenly divisible by 100
-targets are military humanoid paper targets
-there are wind flags
-shooting is always horizontal (no slope shooting)
-some matches are deliberate (like F-class), some are snaps (target only exposed for 3-8 seconds), some targets are moving
-deliberate matches are like F-Class, in snaps and movers you get two sighters (marked with orange markers), but then no shots are indicated till the end
-shot with a partner
-course of fire is repeated/always the same/very similar each time
BCRA Precision Matches.
-positional shooting, anything from standing to sitting to prone.
-only one distance is shot at a time, its a known distance evenly divisible by 100
-targets are paper targets
-no wind flags.
-no sighters, all shots count.
-some stages use props (rooftop stages, possible barricades).
-shooting is always horizontal (no slope shooting)
-Some stages get changed at each match
Disciplines related to the Black and Green Precision Rifles Forum:
US Precision Rifle (PRS - Precision Rifle Series, it's what you see in the Youtube videos and what the Precision Rifle Blog is focused on):
-field improvised shooting positions that are more often not prone off a bipod (however, the bipod is often used in the improvised position)
-shooting is from barricades, terrain features, prone and sometimes positional (standing, kneeling, prone with a sling)
-multiple distances shot at a time, distance are oddball and sometimes unknown (shooter has to range the target ahead of time or on the fly)
-targets are mostly steel gongs in the 1-2MOA size (sometimes smaller), even the moving targets are steel.
-no wind flags (need to read mirage/vegetation)
-no sighting shots, all shots count
-matches often have stages with slope shooting (uphill/downhill shots, towers, even helicopters)
-shooting is under time stress, the shooters is rewarded in some way for executing his shots faster than the other shooters (either time is factored into the score or more shots can be taken)
-mostly shot individually, but a few matches allow a partner
-course of fire is usually different at each match, even for the same match from year-to-year
-this match shares the most in common with hunting
-this type of match is starting to show up in Canada
