the fallacy of long range

Rifles and cartridges evolve, and so do hunters. I started out with a Marlin lever gun in 35 Remington and iron sights and was deadly to 75 ish yards. Added a 4 power scope and was deadly to 150 yards and semi-deadly to 200. After 15 years I went to a 270 and extended my range. Then, 15 more years and went to a 260 with a 20 inch barrel, and in stainless. Slightly less range, less recoil, less maintenance, and less weight, but no less effective. All good.

If, but just if, I decided on one more evolution, it would be the same rifle (Tikka T3 Lite Stainless, with 20 inch #4 contour barrel) and probably the same scope (Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50 FFP), but in 6.5-284. Yup, 270 ballistics in a 6.5 caliber. And the same guy would put it together for me.

But I think I'm through evolving...
 
No "fallacy" to long-distance shooting. Proper gear and beaucoup practice. Few spend the time and money to develop the skill needed to be justifiably confident out in Ma Bell country.
 
Not sure of the entire train of thought here and I'm no spring chicken by any means, but I spent the early afternoon shooting a custom 6.5 Creedmoor at steel out to 500 yards. DING!! An hour before sunset I grabbed my old trusty "dirty-dirty" and headed for the woods. So, what am I missing here?
 
I am not nearly as educated on this subject so please forgive me if I'm wrong but it doesn't seem to me that flat shooting is necessary for long range as long as you compensate for the drop. That is sort of what the art of ballistics is about isn't it? I know when I want to shoot farther with my bow I don't go get a stronger bow I tilt the bow up. Am I missing something? Probably :p
 
Not sure of the entire train of thought here and I'm no spring chicken by any means, but I spent the early afternoon shooting a custom 6.5 Creedmoor at steel out to 500 yards. DING!! An hour before sunset I grabbed my old trusty "dirty-dirty" and headed for the woods. So, what am I missing here?
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You all are some amazing shots - either that or I am a horrible one. I don't think I could hit a rail car at 500 yards. (edit) That's if I could even see the damn thing.
 
Ocraknife, I don't see myself as amazing. Sure, I've been at it for a long time, but all that means is that I've built up a good rig and have practiced. I've never shot past 500 yards, but I worked at it such that I could at least halfway legitimately claim that anything inside of 500 yards belonged to me. :)
 
I am not nearly as educated on this subject so please forgive me if I'm wrong but it doesn't seem to me that flat shooting is necessary for long range as long as you compensate for the drop. That is sort of what the art of ballistics is about isn't it? I know when I want to shoot farther with my bow I don't go get a stronger bow I tilt the bow up. Am I missing something? Probably
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For known distance long range shooting, flat shooting is irrelevant. You know (or calculate) your elevation dope and spin the knob, or for goofballs like me who shoot old military stuff, you move the slider on the rear sight.

For unknown range, flat shooting can help, but not that much beyond about 400 yards. You still need to spin the knob for what you think the range is, you just may not have to spin it quite as much.

You all are some amazing shots - either that or I am a horrible one. I don't think I could hit a rail car at 500 yards. (edit) That's if I could even see the damn thing.
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Have you ever tried?

This is me shooting at a steel IPSC target at 470 yards:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWOePGiaBcM

The "torso" of the target is ~18" X 24", so in MOA terms, roughly 3.8 X 5.1 MOA at 470 yards. That is not a particularly difficult shot, once you get the range figured out, and can account for wind. Much easier with a spotter.

Would I take that shot on a game animal, absolutely not. Too many variables, and too likely to end up with a cripple.

The country range near me has steel plates starting at 300 yards, going out to ~950. I was shooting the 300 yard steel, which is ~14" square, with a German WW2 K98k and surplus ammo.

Hearing the steel ringing, a guy walked down to see what super high tech rifle I was using, and was shocked that not only was it an old military rifle, but I was using iron sights, and surplus ammo made in the early 50s.

In reality what I was doing it is not all that difficult a shot at all, it wasn't windy and the target was about ~4.7 MOA across (and almost 7 MOA corner to corner), but in that guys mind it was nothing short of witchcraft.

Give it a try.
 
There is no fallacy of long ranges shooting.

Instead of caliber or round used, the bullet (BC) is what matter. Using your velocity and BC, figure out where the bullet goes sub-sonic and that's your limit.

The most critical aspect is the shooter's ability to follow the fundamentals and adjust for environmental conditions.

It don't take modern rounds or magnums, for example the 270 Win. of the 30s good for 1700 yards with the right bullet and shooter.

The long trusted 243 Win past 1300. The 308 Win, loaded for gas guns is good to about 1500.

That puts these cost to the newer 6.5 CM.

The real problem is the shooter.
 
I'd like to try it but there aren't any public ranges anywhere near here with that kind of distance. The private clubs have waiting lists measure in years.
 
I wasn't there,of course,but the old match between the Irish and USA at Creedmoor was a pretty big deal.(That was long range,and long ago)
Wimbledon has been going on for some time.
Long range shooting for fun and any of the other reasons has been going on for well over 100 years.
And specialized cartridges like the 44-90 Rem were used.

A lot of fun can be had hunting small game,plinking,or target shooting with a 36 cal muzzle loader squirrel rifle.
I have had a lot of fun shooting a Chipmunk SS .22.
I would not hesitate to carry one bunny hunting.
I fully accept,and respect,that there are the hunters who just don't really care too much what tool they use.They get close and kill clean,with 30-30,Krag,.303 Brit,etc.They generally know a little about Kentucky windage,but mostly stalk close.
From the express cartridges,like the 1886 Win in 45-90 shooting 300 gr bullets at a little higher vel,to the Weatherby and Wilcat extension of that,folks have pursued the "Shoots Flat" idea of max point blank range.Put it on hair and pull the trigger.The more extreme cartridges stretch this to well over 300 yds.
And then,even back in the SS BPCR days,there are those who can estimate range,know ballistics and dope well enough to adust sights!! well enough that range,to a degree,is just another parameter.
For myself,I think it is a good thing that technology and shooters evolve.
Its cool that skills evolve so a .308 gives clean kills at ranges beyong what folks used to do with a 300 Weatherby.
When someone offers me a few rounds through a 50 BMG or a 338 Lapua,I jump at the chance and enjoy it.Why not?
No,I don't really want to hunt that way,but shooting is fun.

I think a little CZ bolt Carbine in 6.5 Grendel would be a great hunting rifle.


I guess my point is,shooting is fun.Used responsibly,cartridge matters little.

But,to the OP's description,targets silouhetted on the far horizon imply your bullets will be impacting lands downrange you cannot see.Thats not good.
But other than that....Who has what to belly ache about?

If 1500 yd watermelons with a 338 Lapua are your thing...Sounds fun!!
 
Doping out the wind is the hard part once you know the range and the ballistics of your load. The wind on the way to the target can change directions and velocity several times along the way.
 
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