For "sniper" rounds, a .308, .30-30/.3006, or even a .270 would be ideal...

November 05, 2007 01:46AM
What I would really reccomend is buying a few acres of land and setting up your own shooting range. Sounds far-fetched, but you'll learn much quicker if you don't have to wait for 10 other people to get done shooting to check your targets. <br> <br>To begin with you'll want a spotting scope to check close targets and a rangefinder to get a feel for distances. Go out to the wilderness and eyeball different landmarks, guess the range, and check it. Eventually you'll get good at it. I've never used a rangefinder, but god I wasted many years learning distance. You'll also need to learn to adjust for foliage/hills, because they can -really- throw off perceived distance. <br> <br>The main things to learn with shooting long distances is how to sight in a rifle correctly. If you want to shoot 600-1000 yards, good luck. It'll take years and thousands of dollars worth of ammo to learn it. But you can learn to sight in a rifle at 300, even 400 yards (if it's incredibly nice), and learn how to adjust for the drop. Essentially you'll need to be able to eyeball distances (very hard), and adjust your aim accordingly. <br> <br>I've dropped deer at 3-400 yards with vital shots many times, but it took many many years to learn how to do it. That's not quite sniper range, but it isn't bad at all, either. <br> <br>You'll also -need- a free-floating barrel, unless you want to wait for your barrel to cool off between rounds. When your barrel heats up, it expands and puts pressure on the stock. The barrel and stock can never be completely flush, so your shots will start going wide in one direction or another. Free floating barrels are ridiculously expensive I hear, but you could probably find a local (and hopefully competant) gunsmith to set one up for you a bit cheaper. If you want to sight in a rifle without a free-floating barrel, be sure to let your barrel cool off between shots. <br> <br>Then, all you need to do is try different powder grains to see how tight you can get your grouping. IIRC, the more rifling in the barrel the more grains you can use. Start small, and work your way up. This is another reason you want to load your own shells - you can adjust the grain to perfection. <br> <br>You also need to make sure your action works nicely. Not only smoothly, but the casing must fit perfectly into the... thing that holds it. A smooth action is only part of the deal, it also needs to hold the casing well and accurately with every shot. <br> <br>After you master all that, you can begin to work on 500 yard shots and such, but good effin' luck. You'll never compare to a Navy Seals sniper. <br> <br>Start shooting prone/benches to learn your trajectories, work up to 1 knee to learn to steady your hand, and then shooting sticks while standing to learn to shoot standing. You'll need to buy/make a few sandbags to steady your rifle at first, and to sight it in. Anything else is a lesson in futility. After all that, you can likely hold your barrel fairly straight while standing. You probably want to start off with a light barrel too, so I'd reccomend the .243/.270. A .243/6mm can be -extremely- accurate, if made correctly. <br> <br>You might actually want to buy two rifles, too. A heavy barreled .243, and a light barreled .270. The heavier the barrel, the more accurate the gun, for the most part. It also keeps it from heating up too quickly. <br> <br>There's my rifle faq. I may not be right on all of it, so you may want a second opinion before you run out and buy a .243/.308. Don't buy from a dealer, buy from a reputable gunsmith. Only they can tell trash from gems. Don't -ever- -ever- -ever- buy any gun from a pawn shop.
Subject Author Views Posted

Question for the gun geeks

Rade 1686 November 04, 2007 01:52PM

I would go for the classics

ExPaladin 1058 November 04, 2007 02:01PM

Steyr Aug, hands down. n/t

Someone not special, Esquire 1039 November 04, 2007 03:09PM

As for the others...

Someone not special, Esquire 989 November 04, 2007 03:16PM

Re: As for the others...

Rade 1054 November 04, 2007 04:23PM

For &quot;sniper&quot; rounds, a .308, .30-30/.3006, or even a .270 would be ideal...

Someone not special, Esquire 1082 November 05, 2007 01:46AM

So the movie shooter.

Cointreau 978 November 05, 2007 05:45AM

Yes, they can do that.

DurNominator 990 November 05, 2007 06:21AM

That assumes a perfectly trained sniper and perfect conditions. nt

Someone not special, Esquire 973 November 05, 2007 01:16PM

Google longest recorded kill shot

ExPaladin 1084 November 05, 2007 06:22AM

Re: For &quot;sniper&quot; rounds, a .308, .30-30/.3006, or even a .270 would be ideal...

Rade 1048 November 05, 2007 04:20PM

I personally like the model 870 over the Mossberg 500, but I'm not an expert. nt

Death_Claw 1075 November 04, 2007 04:10PM

Remmington 870 has way more options and parts available for modifications n/t

Lightmage 980 November 05, 2007 08:40AM

Re: Question for the gun geeks

Tyin 1026 November 04, 2007 06:41PM

An official red ryder carbine-action two-hundred-shot range model air rifle! nt

Devildogg7051 1006 November 04, 2007 11:14PM

You'll shoot your eye out, kid. NT

Quixotic 1023 November 06, 2007 03:12AM

Also...

Someone not special, Esquire 1015 November 05, 2007 01:49AM

About the long rifles.

Odrirg 993 November 05, 2007 05:39AM

OMG, you read paladin press? I'm scared of you. nt

Someone not special, Esquire 1026 November 05, 2007 01:19PM

Heh.

Odrirg 1008 November 05, 2007 02:05PM

Paladin Press, dedicated to teach paladins the way of duo dimension. nt

DurNominator 1066 November 05, 2007 09:47PM



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