Long Range Shooting Classes or Startup Instruction?

[chukar hunter]

All,

More and more the talk these days of my hunting group is getting into long range rifles.  I know the information is available on the interweb on what you should by, how much you should spend, ect, but honestly all of the opinions are mind blowing and even after the purchase of a multi-thousand set-up, how to even operate the gun effectively.  Are their any local(westside) gun ranges or clubs that offer long range shooting classes?  I'd even go eastside if there was a weekend class of some sort.  I'd like to explore as much information as possible before making the upfront investment, just to find out that it's not what I want or need. 

I'm not a self proclaimed long range hunter and would rather shoot an animal with my bow at 20 yards all day long.  That said, I've had a few in state and out of state experiences this year alone, that if I had a firearm capable (and I was trained) I could have put some real life time trophies on the ground.  Shots out to 5 and 600 yards that I didn't feel comfortable with my current setup or training. 

Any advice on where to start and training that may be available?  Willing to put in the work to get proficient at these distances.   

[W_Ellison2011]

to be honest... most rifles are capable of doing a 500-600 yard shot. So that throws out needing a special rifle. Are you shooting factory ammunition or reloads? Factory ammunition will do the job but even high end competition factory ammo has a mv difference of 3-5% and that can be a big difference at longer ranges. I didn't see where you lived but if you live close to Graham, Wa or in the surrounding areas the Tacoma Sportsmens club does do a monthly 600 yard shoot. Its $25 for non members to shoot and it is a competition. Its more friendly than anything and if you need help almost EVERYONE there will be willing to help. Find a range that has the sort of range you want to shoot at open more regularly and put a lot of time in. I bought a wby vanguard lazermark in 300 wby mag and worked up loads for it. Within a year I had close to 700 rounds down barrel and had won a couple of the 600 yard shoots in the hunter class. Myself and my friend, he now helps run the 600 yard shoot at TSC, started out just shooting 200 yards in the woods max for fun and now we have hits on steel at 1,000 yards and a mile. It takes a LOT of time and practice! It takes a lot of patience! I believe if you go to the Calendar for Tacoma Sportsmens Club you can find the dates for the shoots and get a LOT of help and good info!

[h20hunter]

@rbros

I've been meaning to ask Travis....last year they did a class in Wenatchee.  2018?

[KFhunter]

bull hill ranch does beginner long range classes

[Biggerhammer]

$400 bucks for the rifle and a $200.00 for a Nikon scope or any other in that price range with a BDC reticle and you could shoot big game day in and day out at 500 and 600 yards.

There's a slew of factory rifles even on the lower end of the cost spectrum that are well capable at the distances you mentioned with factory fodder to boot.

A class would cost you more than the basic set up. It's a simple concept Mil's or MOA, your choice. A little math and crap gets shot and dies. Simple.

People way over think the shooting long stuff. 600 yards is a chip shot.

[GoldenRing270]

600 yards maybe a chip shot to someone from the bench shooting at a steel plate but in the woods at a live animal it is a completely different story. The bullet is in the air over 1/2 second. An animal can move quite a bit in that amount of time. IMO if you really want to shoot at game animals at 600 yards you need to be practicing tons and punching paper even further. Even then understand that anything can happen and there is much higher likelihood of wounding an animal at 500-600 yards compared to the same shooter at 300-400 yards. 

[Biggerhammer]

Did I mention a bench or steel plate for that matter?

Shooting distance is simply a little math. Allot of game gets killed every year at distance. This isn't a ethics post.

[KFhunter]

Did I mention a bench or steel plate for that matter?

Shooting distance is simply a little math. Aloft of game gets killed every year at distance. This isn't a ethics post.

Correct, unethical shots can happen at any distance with any tool be it archery, off the rack guns or full custom rigs...it's all situational, shooter talent, quality of gear, and cooperation of the animal being shot.


back on track now, a guy wants to learn how to shoot.  A class would be a good way to do that if he doesn't know someone with some basics, or he can go it alone. 

I guarantee with a good class (he seems willing to spend the coin) he'll accelerate his learning curve tremendously, and develop less bad habits. 

[h20hunter]

I can do math. A class is not about that. A class is about hands on shooting instruction.  A class is about getting together with like minded individuals about a shared interest.  A class is about making some connections and learning some things Google won't teach you. Provide some input or don't.  Derail or for lack of a better term trash the thread or belittle the OP for wanting to better themselves and I'll send you packing. Clear enough?

[GoldenRing270]

Not questioning anyone's ethics especially not the OP. He said he is new to long range and would like to take a class. Sounds like a great plan to me. Biggerhammer, your comment seemed misleading to someone who is new to long range shooting and I didn't want the OP to get the wrong impression. 600 yards is not a chip shot at an animal or paper for that matter and long range shooting has much more to it than mathematics.

[Oh Mah]

I can do math. A class is not about that. A class is about hands on shooting instruction.  A class is about getting together with like minded individuals about a shared interest.  A class is about making some connections and learning some things Google won't teach you. Provide some input or don't.  Derail or for lack of a better term trash the thread or belittle the OP for wanting to better themselves and I'll send you packing. Clear enough?

sorry sir but the class will most def. start with math and how to do it quickly with formulas so it can be done before any changes are likely to happen,Like wind,direction.movement etc.Then on to how to hold,breath,setup rifle.getting acquainted with trigger,positions.learning how to read wind at distances from terrain................meeting people like yourself,,,,,,,,,,,,,,etc etc etc.it is no quick meet and greet go shoot done. 

[W_Ellison2011]

If the OP lives close to graham and the Tacoma Sportsmans club myself and many of the others wouldn't mind helping a fellow shooter/hunter learning the basics and having some fun shooting longer ranges when the opportunities arise. If you are looking to harvest deer sized game a 6.5 cm or a .308 win are perfect and are light on recoil for backup shots. If you are looking for elk rounds for 500-600 yards I would recommend at least a 7mm mag. That's just me personally recommending those. It can be done with lighter calibers at range with good shot placement. Most of us didn't take any classes on shooting or reloading but learned from knowledge passed down from the old timers at the range. You get in good with them and you have a HUGE array of knowledge on all manner of shooting whether it be benchrest or hunting. If you want to pay to go to a professional school then cool! Have at it. I went 3/5 at a mile this year with my 300 wby mag which is a lot better than last year and I owe a lot of the knowledge for the loads to the older guys at the range and I would still never take a shot beyond 600 at a game animal. Now mind you those numbers aren't the greatest but a couple years ago I had no clue beyond 200-300 yards like most people. Also they have a TON of ballistics apps on phones where if you plug in the bullet info such as the BC, weight, mv, and your sight in numbers it will spit out the velocity, energy, inches dropped, MOA of elevation dropped anywhere from point blank to 2,000 yards. Also if you decide to build a custom rifle let me know. I know a guy with a lathe that will put one together for cheap. Just have to get the action, stock, and barrel and pay him a bit for his time. After that throw the scope on and go have fun. BTW The invite to come out to the 600 yard shoots extends to everybody on the forum that wants to come! It will be on the 17th of this month and sign up usually starts around 8:30 am and we run through as many people as we can until 2 pm. They will score your target and you can win a plaque with highest score and/or win something for getting closest to the X.

[Biggerhammer]

In that case hop on over to Snipershide. They have on line classes from the basics on through advanced courses when it comes to shooting A-Z. I know for a fact that several members here who hold their selves in high regard when it comes to shooting distance started by taking those on line courses. I don't know how much they cost but it's a start and their well in the know. 👍

Shooting at distance is all math! Your hold and breaking the shot is the same at 600 is it is at 100. You just need to do the math. Drop and windage. Math, math math.

[Oh Mah]

  scratch this,sorry didn't read enough into that thread.You can only learn the math and a little of the other stuff online.You really need a group so you can have a buddy.Your buddy will figure dope for you and you for your buddy.you should learn together,it is important to get a friend into this with you.You can learn together then practice together then even compete together if you are interested in that.doing all these things without a partner really doesn't work well.you become each others coach.

All this said i would love to get groups together in diff. areas of the members of this site and compete against the other groups.I was thinking just yesterday that it would be awesome to have a long range thread on this forum for this very reason.

[h20hunter]

Thank you all for getting on track and posting some very good info.