Long-Range Bench Rest Silhouette

Long-Range Bench Rest Silhouette

An Overview

Long range target shooting can be enjoyed from many different levels.
The number one problem people have on their first attempt at 600 yards
is inadequate elevation adjustment in their scope to let them hit near target,
more bullet drop than they realized. Careful study of ballistics charts
for your caliber will help prepare you, and a ramped scope base may be needed
to keep the scope adjustment centered where optical quality is most consistent.
For example, the .308 caliber needs to be sighted in 18 inches high of center at 100 yards
to be on target at 600 yards, a pronounced “lob” trajectory that you can see
in the vortex shadow as the bullet travels downrange, in some optics.
Various manufacturers such as Nightforce Optics and Badger Ordnance offer
one-piece or two-piece scope mounts with up to 20 minutes of angle taper built in.

Bipods can be used effectively on some stocks, but generally do not produce
as consistent shots as can be coaxed from front rest rear bag combinations.
At the entry level bring what you have and enjoy the challenge! Next level up might be
using an adjustable front rest and rear bag to stabilize the gun and produce
better shot consistency. Up from that might be upgrading to a target stock with flat forend,
designed to track smoothly in the rests. At the high end front rests with
windage cross slides let you set up on target one on the left and “dial”
across the lineup, producing very consistent results.

A broad range of calibers can be effective at this game, with manageable recoil
being a consideration. Even with a spotter calling your point of impact on each shot,
there is a distinct advantage to being able to maintain your sight picture through
the rifle’s recoil. A lightweight hunting rifle will not be as manageable as a
benchrest gun partly because the target image feedback is not the same. It is also
much more satisfying to see the steel silhouette fly off the rail on impact than it is
to see it missing from the rail once you have recovered your sight picture
after a heavy recoil.

Download the Rules and schedule here.

Ammunition

Differences in accuracy at long distances are pronounced with variations in ammunition.
At 600 yards it is always worth starting with at least factory Match grade and working up
from there. You can try shooting your plinking reloads, or standard boxed rounds,
but the results will be a discouraging score in this game.

Entire books have been written on reloading for accuracy, but we can touch on the basics
important for this game. Safety First! Work up your loads from below the
maximum recommendations, the tightest groups may come from the middle of the spread.
Matching the overall length to the chamber is important for accuracy, with guns individually
“liking” certain length and component combinations.

Reloading tooling matters. Sorting and checking components matters. Beam scales
appear to be more accurate than digital, breezes in the workshop matter.
EVERYTHING MATTERS! There is no such thing as going overboard in ammunition building.
Once your hardware and optics are as right as you care to spend, your ammunition and your head
are the other big variables within your control. The more care you bring to ammunition construction
the tighter your groups can be.

Heavier calibers may be less affected by wind. Typically the calmest air is in the morning,
with afternoon winds creating more of a challenge. If you are planning on trying a variety
of bullet weights, you might shoot the lighter rounds early in the day and save the heavier
rounds or larger calibers for afternoon.

You don’t have to be a fanatic to have fun at this game, but it helps.
WARNING!PRECISION RELOADING CAN LEAD TO OBSESSIVE BEHAVIOR!
Do a reality check once in a while or have somebody hit you with a board
and remind you there is more to life than precision shooting. No, don’t ask what!

Electronic Ear Muffs

These are worth considering for protecting your hearing and enhancing your enjoyment
of the experience. As with most things you get what you pay for, and the
more expensive units are well worth the price in my opinion. Being able to hear
and take part in conversations is important, and you will learn a lot faster
when you can catch comments that you might have missed wearing passive hearing protection.
Some of the better units will amplify sounds by up to 18 decibels, while limiting noise levels
to 85 decibels. The higher the Noise Reduction Rating the more noise the unit will be able
to filter out, very important if you are set up next to someone using a muzzle brake.

There are some inexpensive electronic muffs on the market, and these can be very helpful
in proving the concept without breaking the bank. The pair I have shuts off amplification
completely rather than compressing the sound level, and takes 2-3 seconds to recover
amplification after shut-off. The result on the firing line is that half the time
you can’t hear anything, every conversation is chopped up. Fine for some applications
but less than desirable for competition use in my opinion.