Whether you just got your first rifle, grew tired of handguns at the range, or want to be a serious marksman, being able to shoot down-range takes a different skill set. Luckily, there are a few pointers that may help you take on the challenge of long-distance shooting.
Long-Range shooting tips to help you become a better shooter below!
Choose Your Rifle Optic Carefully
After the rifle, your biggest decision to make when it comes to long-range shooting is which optic to use. Some factors to consider are magnification, lens clarity, and parallax adjustment,
Whatever your decision, make sure to choose the best long-range optic for you. When you mount it on your scope, be sure to give yourself enough eye relief for the recoil.
Divide By Zero
Once you’ve picked your optic and mounted it properly, it’s important to zero your scope for the distance you’ll be shooting at. Hitting a long-distance target comes down to inches, so accuracy is key.
Zeroing your rifle at 300 yards will help you once drop and weather that affects the shot more heavily at distances of 500 yards.
Zeroing your optic will give you that accuracy and allow you to hit what you aim at consistently. A good range to zero for is 300 yards in the beginning, because it gives a better ground for long-distance situations without being affected by the drop and weather that 500 yards causes.
Check Your Posture and Breathe Easy
Your shooting stance can impact your shooting ability significantly, whether you fire prone or kneeling. One effective position was used by American snipers in Vietnam, in which you sit on the ground with one knee up and the other leg tucked underneath.
Every shooter has a stance that works for them, so find one that you’re most comfortable with. Remember to keep the stock of your rifle tucked tightly into the meat of your shoulder.
Also keep in mind that there’s a main vein where your stock is, so controlled breathing is essential. For long shots, exhale, wait for your heart rate to slow, and remain still before squeezing the trigger.
One of the biggest separations between shooters is commitment to a routine. Especially in the beginning, the transition to long-range shooting is hard work.
When shooting long distances, consistent practice is key, which helps to build muscle memory.
Mental toughness means practicing often and shooting in tight groups frequently. Muscle memory can help with breathing habits, trigger tension, and reloading.
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03/07/2024 06:05 pm GMT
Study and Learn
The longer the shot, the more factors will affect the bullet. Over a distance of 300-500 yards, you’ll experience bullet drop and wind.
If the target is moving, you might have to calculate your bullet’s time to target and adjust. The average shooter won’t deal as much with this, but hunters and snipers will.
As you continue to shoot longer distances, you’ll pick up tips that you take with you, like what grain of bullet has the best velocity for your needs.
The ability to be still is critical when shooting a rifle long distances. Individuals who hunt deer and other big game certainly know the importance of staying still and quiet.
When you take a long shot, your body needs to be still. For snipers and some hunters, the ability to be quiet and unmoving is one of the biggest assets.
Even for the average long-distance shooter, though, patience is important. Expert marksmanship takes time and practice, so don’t expect to master it overnight.
Experienced riflemen can take years to reach their level of shooting. Zero your optic, work on your routine, and continue to practice.
One important aspect for long-distance shooting is your routine afterward. After you clean your weapon, what do you do?
You might need to wipe off the lenses of your scope and place the lens caps, but taking care of your rifle makes a difference. Dust or dirt can affect accuracy and rifling, so you should invest in a gun safe to keep your weapon clean and protected between shoots.
So, whether you are a novice or an expert marksman at long distances, these 6 tips should help you hone your craft at long-range shooting. Let’s review one more time:
Trust me, I am not trying to cause a problem with all this heavy arrow stuff.
I was failing.
The Ranch Fairy and promotion of high FOC (Front of Center) arrow systems began because of failure at impact.
High FOC Arrows | How and why they began to matter
Ok, so here’s the abridged version of how and why high FOC arrows became so important to me.
I really like fishing, bowhunting, and shotguns. (Of course, after 30 years of marriage – and still going – Mrs. Fowler is awesome too).
Do you want exit wound when encountering humerus breaks, shoulder blades, and spinal columns? High FOC is the answer.
So anyway, I killed a 150” deer in 2009 and just lost interest for “deer” hunting. I became an adult along the way (which surprised me too), had kids, and helped them become quite competent adults and outdoors folks.
I did NOT, however, lose my love for hunting mature, feral hog boars. They are every bit as challenging as a cagey whitetail, with additional features. Mostly, they suck up arrows like a vacuum and run off laughing.
FOC stands for “Front Of Center” (or Forward of Center), which indicates what percentage of the overall arrow weight is in front of the balancing point, or “center” of the arrow.
When you ask the guys at the local shop why they get away so often, they say something like, “big boars are just tough.”
Fast forward 7 years and hindsight being what it is, bowhunting is very simple… bowhunting is 100% equivalent to what happens at impact.
And, how much penetration your arrow achieves will increase your success; not the bow, stabilizer, or whiz bang back tension release, or a miracle peep sight.
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03/06/2024 08:50 pm GMT
Murphy’s Law (Anything that can go wrong will go wrong) certainly applies to bowhunting. But, what if we could have things go RIGHT more often?
What is a high FOC arrow?
So, Fowler “land the plane man!” Get on with it… “what is a high FOC arrow?”
And some other FOC-related questions:
“What’s considered high FOC?”
“Can you have too much arrow FOC?”
“What is a good FOC for hunting”
“Is arrow FOC overrated?”
Now, before we continue, you must realize that FOC or “front of center” is the measure of how much total arrow mass is in the front. The industry says 8-12% FOC is normal.
So, let’s chat this up…
A high FOC arrow starts around 15% and can go up to 30%.
Just as a comparison, we are talking about 100 grain points (low FOC) vs 300-350 grain points (High FOC).
So, I’d agree wholeheartedly that 8-12% is normal FOC. But that doesn’t answer a simple bowhunting question. “Is that the optimal arrow FOC from bow to animal i.e., “in flight” or is it the optimal arrow FOC to get through the deer, hog or other animal?”
The industry just leaves that as an assumption while moving on to bow tuning and other shenanigans.
To determine the front of center (FOC) of your arrow, first install the inserts, points/broadheads, wraps, vanes, nocks, etc that you will be using on the arrow shaft. Once you have completed your arrow setup use the equation in the graphic below:
Divide the length of the arrow (indicated by “L” in the graphic above) by 2.
Find the balance point. (The balance point is where the arrow balances perfectly on your finger or other object). Mark the balance point and measure the distance from that point to the bottom of the groove of the nock (this distance = “A” in graphic above).
Subtract center of the arrow measurement (calculated in step 1) from the balance point measurement (calculated in step 2).
Multiply the result from step 3 by 100.
Divide the result from Step 4 by the arrow’s overall length (L). This result will be the FOC of your arrow.
FOC Calculator
If you don’t want to take the time to do the math to find your arrow’s FOC, you can always use an FOC calculator. Just be sure your arrow has the inserts, points/broadheads, wraps, vanes, nocks already installed.
Before we jump off the FOC bridge, let’s clarify some things.
Ashby Rule #1 – Structural Integrity: The arrow and broadhead system cannot fail, bend, or redirect at impact.
Rule #2– Arrow Flight: Perfect arrow flight is the enabler to penetration, when rule #1 is achieved.
Structural integrity
Just so you know, I bare shaft tune each individual arrow before fletching, using the point weight I want to achieve for higher FOC. I suggest you do the same.
High FOC arrows often carry 300+ grain point or point / insert systems. This places a tremendous amount of impact energy into a very small area, pulling the arrow into the target.
Heavier inserts and field points/broadheads will help increase your arrow’s FOC.
Think of it like this. You’re shooting a 300-grain bullet with a tail. With lower FOC, you have a long object pushing a light point into sinew, meat, and bone.
It’s like hitting a nail with a hammer.
So, if you miss-hit the nail a little and your “arrow” goes sideways – it kills penetration.
But, what if we could pull the nail into the board? (Structural integrity, perfect flight assumed – you have to do that first).
A second benefit of high FOC arrows is great arrow flight, which increases accuracy.
During my journey, somewhere around 16% FOC, I started to see much more consistent grouping. It was like I was a better shot. It just doesn’t take as much concentration on form and grip, etc.
The heavier points, after proper bare shaft tuning, seem to pull the arrow along, and the fletch is just back there stabilizing the end of the arrow.
Since switching to high FOC arrows, my kill rate on tough feral hogs has gone to nearly 100%.
Finally, the jump to these higher FOC arrow systems almost requires you to buy better broadheads, made of great steel.
It’s not uncommon to have tool grade steels. The heads are machined, one-piece, and .08 thick.
They are solid. No fail points – (Rule #1 – Structural Integeriy… CHECK!)
For the bowhunter, this discussion may seem a bit off the rails. I would agree. The FOC town has an idiot, and I am he.
However, my pig killing stats have gone to almost 100%. Literally, if one gets away, I made a non-vital hit, and that’s on me.
But, the adult arrows don’t fail anymore. My arrows don’t break, the broadheads don’t bend or dull on impact, and penetration is almost always into the dirt (unless I hit a big off-side bone, which usually breaks, and turns the pig into a three-wheel drive unit. Pigs have short legs, so from an elevated position, its common to hit the ground before it passes through.)
In closing, I am vitally aware a “normal” arrow system kills millions of critters a year of all sizes.
Mechanical broadheads, the same. I got that. I’ve done it.
But, what if you had an arrow system you knew, for a fact, was going to achieve an exit wound in the absolute highest number of situations – all impact side humerus breaks, shoulder blades broken, and spinal columns snapped with almost 100% efficiency?
What if we accept Mr. Murphy is still alive and well, but we used a tool to level that playing field?
The next time you see your hunting arrow, you should ask, “Is my arrow system capable of almost any impact point OR only if I have perfect shot placement?”
Bowhunting is 100% equivalent to what happens at impact. And, how much penetration your arrow achieves will increase your success.
When I used to work at a sporting goods store I used to get asked this question a lot:
“What is the overall best type of fishing rod that I can use for any type of fishing?”
When I was working at this store, the people that were coming in looking to buy something weren’t die-hard fishermen. They weren’t guys looking for a million different setups. And, they weren’t looking for reasons why they should buy an expensive setup.
All they really wanted was a rod to get out there and fish from time to time, and they wanted it to be logical and of decent quality.
So, I want to walk you through a specific rod setup that should allow you to fish for whatever you want.
This is going to be a rod and reel combination based on size and power. That way, you’ll be able to get out there, and just fish a pond or whatever it may be with the same setup.
The rod that you will want to use in this setup is a 6’6” to a 7-foot, medium-action rod. You can certainly go medium-heavy if you want, but medium is usually a good all-around size rod to be able to handle the majority of fish you would catch.
Along with a rod of this size, I would recommend a 2500 to a 3000 size reel.
If you aren’t sure what those numbers mean, simply look on the reel. It will often say 2500 or 3000, or it may just have like a code name with some letters and after it, it’s going to say “30” or “25”, that way you’ll know what size it is.
These reels are going to allow you to hold an 8 to 10-pound test line, or even 15. And, if you guys are going to use braided line, they can hold up to 25-pound, 30-pound braid. So, it’s going to be a good size spool to have enough line to use the lures you need and catch the fish you want to catch.
So, why did I not recommend a baitcaster? Well, baitcasters can be complex, and it takes some skill and practice to use one.
However, a spinning reel will allow you to fish the majority of baits without much trouble. Most people are able to quickly learn to cast one of these and it’s just a good size rod to have all the time.
Now, some may say, “Oh, you can’t catch giant catfish or carp on those size rods because they’re going to break it.”
My answer to that is, you absolutely CAN.
Use some braided line, make sure you set your drag correctly and have a strong knot tied, and as long as you know how to angle that fish correctly, I can guarantee you you’ll get it to the shore or into the boat.
So there you have it. That’s really all you need to know about what the best all-around fishing rod setup is.
I hope I gave you enough information on the best all-around fishing rod setup. This rod size and reel size combo is fairly inexpensive and it’s going to be a fishing rod you can keep in your car or in your house… perfect for the everyday angler.
So, whether you’re fishing on the weekends, or riding your bike around pond to pond; bass fishing, crappie fishing, or even looking to hook into a big catfish, it’s going to be an affordable and good-size setup to do everything you need to when it comes to fishing (well, maybe not shark fishing!)