So What is Long Range Anyway?

[stokesrj]

Hi Pago sawing nut.

I had missed your last comment back in February, my apologies, I'm not sure why that happened. But you are verifying my supposition that most hunters give much more thought to the vertical drop of a bullet than they do to the horizontal drift. I think that anyone who had been there and done that would readily agree that reading wind is by far the most difficult variable to deal with for long range accuracy.

I have personally put many years of effort into perfection my wind reading and am very good at it. However, I would also say that given todays laser range finders and ballistic calculators, the skill still comes down to reading the wind. It is vitally important to do so with skill.

[Rod]

Long range varies by the weapon in use and the culture and notions of those using them. For Instance my long .............

My personal view on this is that long range is anything that causes me to seek a solid rest, dope for wind, or adjust for elevation. .......

That is a pretty good definition for "long range" when used in a hunting context.

Cheers

Rod

[Saugmann]

Good thread Bob.

I use a laser range finder, know my bullet drop from a ballistic calculator and through verification and I can dial elevation on my scope so that part of the equation I'm fine with.

Long range to me is when I need to start worrying about wind as this is the variable with the greats uncertainty.

I shoot out to 800 yards on my local range, but I'm still not great at estimating wind. That is obviously magnified off the range with varied terrain and the absence of flags.

Long range probably starts at 200-250 meter for me as this is the range where wind starts affecting my bullet's trajectory.

I don't consider myself a long range hunter in the normal sense of the word, although I've shoot deer out to about 300 meters in calm conditions. That's probably also the maximum distance I would shoot at. The limit will be shorter in windy conditions.

I guess caliber depends on what species one is after. As you say, long range hunting adds the requirement for an appropriate level of energy down range. 6 mm can be a great long range caliber, but you don't get much terminal energy at longer ranges. And, it's illegal for species bigger than roe in many European countries.

So, for long range calibers I'd probably look at 6.5mm, 7mm or .30 - with high BC bullets, final choice depending on the species I was hunting.

I've always been intrigued by the STWs, but for practical reasons I'm looking at a .300 WM when I get something bigger than my 7x64.


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