Beginner long distance shooter

[C Ward]

Here are some ramblings from running and shooting precision rifle match's for the last 12 plus years in no particular order

Not once have I heard anybody complain that they were using top quality gear but more than once once have heard complaining about " this was just as good as X " bargain gear .

Spend as much as you can on glass , if you can't see it you can't hit it , and more so remember it is a sighting system and not just a telescope . It's got to track and be repeatable more than anything else .

Factory ammo is acceptable but to get the best performance you have too handload . Factory ammo is OK to 5 or 6 ish but the ES / SD numbers cause too much vertical on target after that . With that said the small semi custom ammo makers and the Hornady 6.5 CM are the exception being closer to true handloads .

Savage and Remington rifles have a track record of being acceptably accurate out of the box , the tupperware stocks on them are shit but the stocks of that construction suck from every manufacturer .

The Ruger RPR's are new and not proven yet . Ruger has been known for hit or miss rifle barrels on there centerfires from day one . There are already reports of accuracy issues with the RPR's out there , you just have to look further than the tiny sample of COAR to find them . The other thing that concerns me with them is they are built on Ruger's price point action and how the action is going to hold up in the long run .

The Rem 700 and clones are still king , the 700 is the most supported by the aftermarket for parts and upgrades with Savage being #2 .

Factory barrels are typically only going to be 3/4 to 1 MOA barrels , wallet groups with 3 shots that happened one time is not how well a barrel shoots . Groups need to be at least 5 rounds and every shot counts none of the called flier BS to throw shots out and it needs to be with multiple groups shot on different days .

100 yards is not a determination of how well a rifle will shoot across the board , you need to shoot and confirm at distance .

Get off the bench and shoot in the dirt and shoot in the wind , only way to get better in the wind is to shoot in it .

If you can afford a custom action do it you wont be sorry .

Practice with your gear before you have to go do it somewhere for real .

Get a chronograph and not one of the cheap Chrony's .

Get a ballistics's program for your data but don't trust it without verification . Record your data and make a set of cards with it on them , batteries die and running numbers on the clock takes too long .

Too say one mass produced factory button rifled barrel is better than another is crazy , every manufacturer runs them as fast as they can with as cheap of materials and processes because they want to turn a profit . Factory chambers are horrible and not conducive to max accuracy and brass life .

Even custom barrel manufacturers turn out a turd once in a while , I've had a bum Kreiger and Kolar has had 2 bad Pac nor's , it happens . Don't get attached to a barrel it is a consumable item just like ammo .

Come out to a local match and watch and talk to people before plunking down money , what works for one guy doesn't always work for another , the learning curve for long range is steep and expensive .

The PRS is not the end all be all of precision shooting , there courses are specialized to the style of shooting they do and not a representation of precision rifle shooting as a whole . Every match around the country is pretty much a representation of what the shooters in that area are interested in doing themselves and the capabilities of the range they shoot at .

308 is dead as a beginner caliber , with the availability of 6.5 CM ammo which is typically cheaper than 308 match ammo and acceptably accurate factory rifles it is a no brainer to go with a creedmore unless you have to run 308 for a specific reason .

BC is king in bullet selection , use the highest BC bullet that is accurate in your rifle / cartridge combo . High BC bullets create ballistic advantage which in turn increases danger space and decreases wind deflection which effectively makes the target larger .

Gucci bullets and powder availability when the election insanity was going on was problematic and the search for substitute components was interesting for some people . All the way through the craziness Powder Valley never raised their prices to the stupid prices that most others did .