A Dozen Handy Items for Your Next Range Trip
With the end summer, the shooting season in full swing. When you head to the range you’ll want to be prepared. That means collecting all the gear you’ll need at the range. It’s easy to forget small, critical items, so we’ve provided a checklist of the small “extras” you should pack before you head out to the range. In addition to rifle, rests, ammo, targets, and cleaning gear, here are a dozen essentials you should include in your range bag.
• Shell-Holder — If you don’t have calipers, you can use a shell-holder to check for excessive case expansion from hot loads. If a fired case doesn’t slip into the shell-holder easily, your load is definitely TOO HOT.
• Extra Earplugs — Always use ear protection when shooting. We bring a 35mm film canister with extra sets of foam earplugs.
• Hex Wrench or Screwdriver for action screws — Action screws can work loose with time. Always bring the appropriate hex wrench or screwdriver whenever you go to the range.
• Small Wrench for Scope Rings — Check the tension of your scope base and ring fasteners before you go. Bring along a small Torx wrench for the ring screws (or other tool that fits your fasteners).
• Normal and Under-sized Jags — It is often wise to use one-caliber undersize jags when applying solvent with cotton patches. You should have a couple sizes in your range kit.
• Extra Batteries — Bring extra batteries for all your electronic gear — which can include chronograph, windmeter, digital camera, GPS etc.
• Small Notebook and Pen or Pencil — Use the notebook to record chron data, log group sizes, and make notes about wind and weather conditions.
• Adhesive dots — Bring a few sheets of adhesive dots (sold at office supply stores). Use small white or black dots as target pasters. Use larger red or orange dots as aiming points (target centers).
• Folding Chair or Camp Stool — This comes in handy if you’re spotting for another shooter, or if you reload away from the firing line.
• Water Bottle — You can’t shoot well if you’re dehydrated. Bring at least two quarts of water with you and keep a bottle at the bench.
• Surveyors’ Tape and Wood Stakes — You can make inexpensive wind indicators using surveyors’ tape attached to the top of wood stakes.
• Small Plastic Ruler — Use this to measure your group sizes. A transparent (see-through) ruler works best. Rulers are also useful for drawing lines on targets.
This list is not intended to be exclusive. There are many other items you may wish to include. Obviously bring safety glasses, and Sharpie-type pens are always handy to mark targets. We invite our readers to add other “essentials” to the list. The important thing is to plan ahead, packing your key items before you drive to the range.
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Tags: Ear Protection, Jags, Range Bag, safety, Tools
IMHO, the number one thing that we need to have when headed out to a match is a check list. I even left the bolt to my rifle home once.
Using a shell holder to judge case head expansion is truly dangerous. By the time you see trouble with this method you’re way over the line.
Editor: You miss the point here. Most shooters probably go to the range with no means of evaluating case head expansion at all. We suggest that bringing a shell-holder is certainly better than having no measuring tools at all. Yes, calipers would be more precise. But again, you will know nothing until the case is fired — and the SAME is true no matter what method you use! If you use the shell-holder after firing, and you get a difficult entry, you know immediately that you have a problem, and you know to stop shooting that load.
Some toilet paper from home. The range stuff isn’t far removed from being wood.
And a cleaning rod; Squibs happen.
I liked the shell holder idea because it’s something one could get in the habit of checking quickly, especially when one doesn’t usually check at all.
I left my chair @ Williamsport last match, I guess I’ll see if it is still there.
I would say cleaning rod, lug cleaning tool, and surveyors tape.
You never know when you are going to have to clear an obstruction in the barrel or the lugs. I popped a primer at a match last weekend and luckily I had a lug cleaning tool in my kit.
The surveyors tape is a good way to roughly judge the wind. Tie it to a bush, twig, post or the target to get wind direction and speed.