Long range shooting
This is something I learned, but after learning it and separating fact from fiction I question both the ethics and usefulness of it. Ethically shooting someone that can't shoot you is murder and unnecessary. Tactically giving up your position would not make sense except to cover others or stop an advancing force that could not be escaped. You must also know that 90% of the people that make claim to being to hit at long distances are full of it! As you learn more this will become increasingly apparent when you hear the common myths they perpetuate. You should get your knowledge of this from technical books, not magazines, advertisements or the internet. That having been said, lets get to it.
Velocity is often misunderstood to improve accuracy. What it does is flatten the trajectory making it easier for those without the ability to factor trajectory to shoot at a greater distance. Even cartridges such as the 30-378 will drop over three feet at 500 yards and continue to increase the rate it drops beyond that. Using what is called maximum zero a round like this can be sighted in at say 400 yards and stay within 12" above or below the line of sight out to 500 yards. Beyond that the drop increases to the point trajectory must be figured in. Some reloading manuals will provide maximum zero distances. Accuracy is decreased some by two factors. The first being that spin rates need to be increased to stabilize bullets and as with anything that spins imperfections affecting balance will cause it to wobble throwing it off coarse. While velocity decreases with distance the spin rate does not. This is what causes bullets to ricochet and leads to other myths. I've heard stories of 300 Magnums bouncing off a bears skull and leading people to think they need more gun. The simple truth is that a slower bullet with more mass such as a 44 magnum will blow a hole straight through their skull. The other factor is that gas expansion tremendously exceeds the bore capacity and the excess pressure exiting the muzzle with bullet can affect the bullets path if there are any imperfections in the bullet or crown. Increases in velocity also increase recoil that may cause some shooters to flinch affecting accuracy. The 30-378 is an extreme example of velocity, but to be practical I recommend a flat shooter that is much easier to handle and can be used at far greater distances as you learn more. I have a 270 now, but have had many in that range that perform similar. Sighted in at 200yards the 270 will shoot about 3" high at 100 yards and about 6" low at 300 yards. I suggest rather than actually sight in at maximum zero distances that your refer to ballistics tables and determine how high the bullets trajectory will be at 25 or 50 yards and sight in to that height at that distance. The bullet will be less affected by wind and other variables and have a very tight group for accurate measure. Then check it at all maximum zero distances. This will get you fairly accurate to a very respectful 300 yards quickly.
Long range accuracy is about a consistent flight path, knowing the trajectory, the distance to the target and factors that affect the flight path. Knowledge is more important than skill. The skill involved is removing yourself from the equation which is easily accomplished and will be discussed later, for now lets talk ammunition.
Rifles are all chambered as close humanly or economically feasible. Ammunition is manufactured to an average specification to account for the variance. A person could spend thousands of dollars to buy a quality rifle manufactured to exacting chamber specifications and load it with expensive target ammunition that achieves its consistency by weighing and choosing only the components that meet an exact specification. Money will only take you so far without knowledge.
Re-loaders can match ammo much closer to a particular chamber and increase accuracy dramatically. It must be remembered that this ammo fits a particular rifle and may not function in other rifles. When a cartridge is fired the brass expands to the shape of the chamber to seal it. It almost instantly cools and shrinks allowing it to be extracted. Fired brass is an exact match to the chamber it was fired from. Normally the entire case is resized in a die but that would destroy the perfect fit. Target loads should be neck sized only, leaving the rest of the case dimensions untouched. this improves the alignment of the bullet to the bore which brings us to another aspect of custom fit. Throats or free bore as some call it is the part of the chamber that controls the distance the bullet travels before it comes in contact with the lands. This can vary from the normal 1/32th of an inch up to 1/2 of an inch depending on the views of the manufacturer. As a re-loader you can adjust the bullet seat depth to match your gun to achieve the greatest accuracy. Velocity affects trajectory and if the bullet is seated too deep in the case velocity will be reduced ,if the bullet is seated to far into the lands it will not allow smooth initial expansion and pressure will increase velocity and can be VERY DANGEROUS. Some prefer to set the bullet slightly into the lands to start the bullet down the bore and reduce powder charge without reduction in velocity due to the increased pressure. I prefer to set my bullets just off the lands because I have found that powder measure becomes more critical as pressure rises (another thing I have against high velocity loads for accuracy). To determine bullet seat depth place a bullet in an empty unprimed case leaving it out to far and chamber the round. This will leave marks on the bullet. Remove the marks with steel wool, press the bullet deeper and repeat until you have achieved the seat depth you want and the place bullet into seat die and set. Another advantage to setting close or into the lands is that the initial jump in pressure starts case expansion eliminating the need for a crimp which will further increase accuracy. Of coarse these rounds will be more fragile and less waterproof. They should not be used in the field or in magazines. Consistency in components will increase consistency on the range. I use a lee case trimmer to cut all cases to the exact same length. They are small cheap and preset which makes them idiot proof (I need that). After being trimmed weigh them, weigh your bullets, weigh powder setting your own standards for quality. Buy powder in large quantities as it can vary from batch to batch. Always use the same brand of primers as these can vary as well. I have found that the most accurate powder loads are slightly mild to medium measurements. Consistency should be checked at the range on a cronograph. I have been able to achieve a less than 5 feet per second difference, but then I'm a fanatic about it. If you don't want to spend a lot of money or learn reloading just buy every brand of ammunition you can find and see which one works best in your gun and stick with that brand.
Another thing you will want is to deliver as much power down range as you can. Bullet design plays a major role in that. A little known fact is a bullet is slowed more by drag than it is by resistance. Boat tail bullets increase the ballistic coefficient but at a cost in high velocity rounds. A full base will handle the pressure much better and be more accurate but the drag will slow it and deliver less power down range. Heavy round nose bullets have the advantage of sectional density and forward weight that makes them highly accurate and real thumpers down range. But the boat tails will over take them for power usually somewhere past 600 yards depending on cartridge. Up to that point though it is my choice. I used to use target hollow point boat tails but have switched to the new ballistic tips with amazing success. My hallmark bullets (when you want to send the very best) are Hornady SST and Scirrocos.
Ammunition is a key factor in long range accuracy and without it the best you can hope for is a lucky shot.
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