Here’s a truth: a good precision rifle in a suitable long-range caliber will, all else being equal, produce tighter groups than some off-the-shelf plinkster that hasn’t been accurized.
But here’s another truth. If you don’t train with the rifle, and understand the fundamentals of long-range shooting, you won’t be much better with a precision rifle, or even a rifle that’s designed for ELR shooting, than you’d be with any other platform.
That being said, this post will break down some of the fundamentals associated with accuracy at greater ranges.
Understanding Cartridge Ballistics and Rifle Performance
Something that’s interesting is that so many resources get poured into teaching students of ELR, or extreme long-range, shooting how to sit still, control their breathing and not apply any torquing forces to the rifle that some of the other fundamentals seem to get tossed right out the window.
Namely, the inherent performance of the cartridge, and, to a lesser degree, the rifle itself.
Just consider the facts: the ballistic performance of a given load is what it is, regardless of conditions. One specific load, accounting for bullet weight, ballistic coefficient (BC) and load data insomuch as they determine muzzle velocity, is going to do certain things, each and every time you pull the trigger.
For instance, a high-BC bullet is likely to resist wind drift and not drop as dramatically as a heavier, slower bullet. They’re just the facts.
Knowing how the cartridge you’ve selected performs, specifically how quickly it will drop and at what range, as well as how drastically it will be affected by crosswinds, is one of the keys to accuracy at greater ranges.
To a lesser degree, you should also understand the capabilities of your rifle. To a certain degree, the length of the barrel will influence muzzle velocity, which in turn will influence that flatness of the trajectory and how quickly the bullet will drop.
Understanding the performance of your precision rifle, and the cartridge you’ve chosen, are two of the preliminary, prerequisite keys to accuracy in extreme long-range shooting. Being aware of the presence of a crosswind, and making adjustments to your point of aim/holdover at extreme ranges can constitute the difference between a hit and, in some cases, a wide miss.
Body Positioning
Before you even exhale and get ready to touch the trigger, how you position your body with respect to the rifle can make a big impact on accuracy.
Whether you’re shooting from a bench, or you’re shooting prone (which is a highly stable and great overall ELR shooting position, by the way) you should be completely in-line with the rifle.
In other words, you shouldn’t be hunched over the rifle from the side, as though you’re leaning over it. Not only is this uncomfortable, but it can cause you to inadvertently put forces on the rifle that can throw off the aim, and when aiming through an optic (which is a nearly foregone conclusion at extreme ranges) it can cause a parallax distortion.
In addition to ensuring that your body is in-line with the rifle, you should also make sure that you have a consistent, solid cheekweld with the comb of the stock, and proper eye relief. Improper eye relief and inconsistent cheekweld can also result in minor aberrations that translate to not-so-minor incongruencies in accuracy at extreme ranges.
Grip and Control of the Rifle
Ideally, you would not be contacting the rifle at all, but this is, in practice, quite impossible, since you are the rifle’s operator. Therefore, the goal becomes to be as consistent as possible, and not to impart any undue forces on the rifle.
Where this becomes the biggest concern is through your grip of the rifle. You want a firm grip, but you don’t want a tight grip, and you certainly don’t want to be pulling on the rifle grip, or twisting it in any way. That’s how you torque the sights/bore off-target, and how you can rack up inconsistencies at extreme ranges.
Unlike in most other disciplines, your support hand and arm will be beneath/behind your shooting arm, rather than resting along the forend. No support is needed at the forend since the rifle should be supported either by a rest, a bag, or a bipod. Rather, your support arm should be tucked underneath the butt of the rifle, whereby you can make micro-adjustments to the point of aim, as needed.
Trigger Control
As in other shooting disciplines, your finger should be completely clear of the trigger except when you are immediately ready to execute the shot.
Even so, practicing good trigger control through dry-fire training can not only help you anticipate when the trigger will break on a live round, it can also help you mitigate any problems with flinching, if you are experiencing them.
Breathing Discipline
Breathing discipline, along with when you fire during the natural breathing cycle, can also impact your accuracy, particularly at extreme ranges.
The thing is, as you breathe, the movement of your body will cause the reticle to vibrate slightly, if you are putting too much pressure on the rifle.
While this dynamic cannot be utterly eliminated, you can practice breathing control while shooting so as to help mitigate these effects.
One practice is to hold your breath while shooting, although this is actually not recommended as the vision will start to dim within a few seconds.
Better advice is to shoot once you’ve fully exhaled before you draw your next breath. That way, you won’t quite be holding your breath, but you’ll also partially be counteracting the influence of your breath on the rifle.
Follow-Through
Lastly, it’s critical not to make any undue movements after you fire until you can see that your shot landed, whether it was on target or not. Follow-through is one of the most important elements of long-range shooting and a very important discipline to master.
Don’t shift the rifle, release your grip, or pick your head up off the stock until you know where your shot has landed. Every element of long-range shooting should be about complete consistency, and follow-through is no different.
Explore Precision Rifles Here
In the market for a new precision rifle to compete more effectively at truly extreme ranges of a mile or even greater? Take a closer look through our collection of precision and extreme long-range rifles and get in touch with us if you have any questions about the models we sell, their capabilities or features, what cartridge to choose, or if you have any questions about our interest-free payment plan .
