What Distance Qualifies as "Long Range"?

"A pistol is what you use to fight your way back to the rifle you never should have left behind!" Clint Smith, Thunder Ranch

Moderators: carlson1, Keith B

User avatar

Beiruty
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 5
Posts: 9655
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:22 pm
Location: Allen, Texas

Re: What Distance Qualifies as "Long Range"?

#16

Post by Beiruty »

The Annoyed Man wrote:
Beiruty wrote:Hornady Solution for same bullet at 2713 fps with standard atmo
Your Gyro value is off. The barrel twist is 1:10, not 1:7. You might get a different value if you plug in the right twist rate.
Twist rate at 1:10 only changed

1) spin drift from 1.4 MOA to 1.0 MOA at 1000 yards
2) Aero Jump from 0.6MOA to 0.42 at all ranges. So, all Ups are +0.18 MOA for all values in above table
Beiruty,
United we stand, dispersed we falter
2014: NRA Endowment lifetime member
User avatar

C-dub
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 13531
Joined: Sat May 16, 2009 7:18 pm
Location: DFW

Re: What Distance Qualifies as "Long Range"?

#17

Post by C-dub »

I suppose what qualifies as long range could vary depending on caliber and firearm being used. I would like to think my 400 yard shots out at Top Gun would qualify, but I know better. I was thinking that long range was really something like 800+ yards like what Bitter Clinger posted.

So, I guess this qualifies as long range no matter what the criteria.
I am not and have never been a LEO. My avatar is in honor of my friend, Dallas Police Sargent Michael Smith, who was murdered along with four other officers in Dallas on 7.7.2016.
NRA Patriot-Endowment Lifetime Member---------------------------------------------Si vis pacem, para bellum.................................................Patriot Guard Rider

ApolloFrost
Junior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2017 10:56 am

Re: What Distance Qualifies as "Long Range"?

#18

Post by ApolloFrost »

It was explained like this to me when I got into extended long range shooting. Normal shooting is 100-300 yards. Medium range is from 301-600. Long range is from 601-1,000. Extended long range is anything over a thousand yards. The difficulty increases geometrically with every step.

Having shot with URSA for the last two years at ranges out to 2,600 yards I'll be the first to say that there's a lot more to long range shooting than just the numbers. A rifle might look much better on paper but that's no guarantee it will work better in actual use. I knew a guy that used to absolutely dominate at 2,000 yards in competition with a plane jane 300 WinMag and another newbie shooter that got the high score his first match using a 7mm RemMag. That's against 50 cals, 375 Cheytacs, 338 Lapuas and even 338 Snipetacs. The other guns had much better stats on paper, but they got crushed by one very dialed in shooter with a smaller rifle.

Now, when the second stage came and we moved back to 2,600 yards he got absolutely flattened. But at the 2,000 yard line the "smaller" calibers seemed to dominate. Heck, I even took my 308 Winchester to the 2k yard line twice and I scored 1/10 and 2/10 respectively on a 36" steel target. There was one particular fellow that had been trash talking all day and almost had an aneurysm when I finally connected with the gong.

Of course, now they're all building insane super magnums like 375-50 BMG improved and 10mm-50 BMG. One guy even has a 50-20mm which from what I've heard will really clear the sinuses "rlol"

But as for a point and click hunting round it boils down to what YOU can shoot well and YOU can afford to practice with. Larger magnums may not have more raw mechanical accuracy, but they do reduce the damage from a poor wind read or slightly wrong range estimation. You have to find what is a suitable envelope for accuracy and then work backwards from that to see what cartridge will give you enough of a safety net to stay within that envelope taking into account your own skills and abilities.

A word of warning, the further out you shoot the more little things can completely ruin your day. Case and point, one day I saw that my ammo box was in the sun so I tossed a towel over it until I was ready to shoot in the competition. That slight difference in temperature from direct sunlight vs covered was enough to completely miss the target.
User avatar

The Annoyed Man
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 5
Posts: 26789
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:59 pm
Location: North Richland Hills, Texas
Contact:

Re: What Distance Qualifies as "Long Range"?

#19

Post by The Annoyed Man »

ApolloFrost wrote:It was explained like this to me when I got into extended long range shooting. Normal shooting is 100-300 yards. Medium range is from 301-600. Long range is from 601-1,000. Extended long range is anything over a thousand yards. The difficulty increases geometrically with every step.

Having shot with URSA for the last two years at ranges out to 2,600 yards I'll be the first to say that there's a lot more to long range shooting than just the numbers. A rifle might look much better on paper but that's no guarantee it will work better in actual use. I knew a guy that used to absolutely dominate at 2,000 yards in competition with a plane jane 300 WinMag and another newbie shooter that got the high score his first match using a 7mm RemMag. That's against 50 cals, 375 Cheytacs, 338 Lapuas and even 338 Snipetacs. The other guns had much better stats on paper, but they got crushed by one very dialed in shooter with a smaller rifle.

Now, when the second stage came and we moved back to 2,600 yards he got absolutely flattened. But at the 2,000 yard line the "smaller" calibers seemed to dominate. Heck, I even took my 308 Winchester to the 2k yard line twice and I scored 1/10 and 2/10 respectively on a 36" steel target. There was one particular fellow that had been trash talking all day and almost had an aneurysm when I finally connected with the gong.

Of course, now they're all building insane super magnums like 375-50 BMG improved and 10mm-50 BMG. One guy even has a 50-20mm which from what I've heard will really clear the sinuses "rlol"

But as for a point and click hunting round it boils down to what YOU can shoot well and YOU can afford to practice with. Larger magnums may not have more raw mechanical accuracy, but they do reduce the damage from a poor wind read or slightly wrong range estimation. You have to find what is a suitable envelope for accuracy and then work backwards from that to see what cartridge will give you enough of a safety net to stay within that envelope taking into account your own skills and abilities.

A word of warning, the further out you shoot the more little things can completely ruin your day. Case and point, one day I saw that my ammo box was in the sun so I tossed a towel over it until I was ready to shoot in the competition. That slight difference in temperature from direct sunlight vs covered was enough to completely miss the target.
I've seen videos of shooting at those kinds of distances, but I can't even comprehend trying to do it myself. I'll be happy if I can shoot 1 MOA or better at 1000 yards, and I haven't even attempted that distance yet.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

― G. Michael Hopf, "Those Who Remain"

#TINVOWOOT

loktite
Senior Member
Posts in topic: 1
Posts: 440
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2015 8:13 pm

Re: What Distance Qualifies as "Long Range"?

#20

Post by loktite »

And then there's this report on a Canadian sniper with confirmed kill from 2 miles:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/wor ... 418889001/
NRA Endowment Member
Post Reply

Return to “Rifles & Shotguns”