June 1st, 2017

Long Range Shooting: Video Series with Bryan Litz

Bryan Litz Video Long Range large caliber rifles

Getting started in long-range shooting? Need some pointers on gun set-up and hardware options? Bryan Litz of Applied Ballistics has created a helpful series of videos for the NSSF covering long range shooting. Bryan, a past F-TR Long-Range National Champion and Chief Ballistician for Berger Bullets, knows his stuff. His Applied Ballistics squad was the winning team at the 2016 King of 2 Miles event. Here are four (4) videos, each covering a topic of interest for long-range shooters. Running 3-4 minutes each, these videos can help you get started, and invest wisely when acquiring your next long-range rifle, scope, and accessories.

Long Range Precision — The Keys to Success

TIP for Plotting Long Range Trajectories: You want to know the true, actual ballistic coefficients of your loads. The BCs listed by manufacturers for their projectiles may be somewhat unreliable — the real BC could be higher or lower (and BC can change with velocity). That can result in problems at longer distances. Using sophisticated equipment, Applied Ballistics has measured true BCs for hundreds of projectiles. Plugging these verified numbers into your Ballistics App can improve your hit percentage at long range.

Tools of Choice — Purpose-Built Long Range Rifles

TIP for Choosing a Rifle: When you’re selecting a rifle for long range shooting, it’s important to understand your application and objectives. The applications for long-range shooting can be very refined. You have to select all the details of your application to select the correct rifle. Here are two examples — a semi-auto AR-platform rifle with scope and a bolt-action Fullbore (Palma) rifle with aperture sights. There are many other long range disciplines — F-TR for example. The F-TR rig uses a bipod and rear bag and a scope. To be competitive, a modern F-TR rig should shoot well under half-MOA.

Equipment Advice — Upgrading Your Hardware

TIP for Upgrading Your Rifle: At some point factory rifle owners will recognize weak links in the equipment chain. You can run that factory rifle for quite some time, but the barrel is eventually what’s going to hold you back. The twist-rate may not be high enough to stabilize the high-BC bullets. So the first thing you’re going to want to upgrade is the barrel. You want to get a fast twist-rate barrel with a chamber that is optimized for the bullet you’ll be shooting. A good-quality, custom barrel will be easier to clean, and it will improve the overall accuracy and precision of your shooting.

Big Boomers — Large-Caliber Rifles for Long Range

TIP for Shooting Hard-Recoiling Rifles: Bryan Litz defines “Large Caliber” as .338 caliber and bigger. These rifles can shoot heavy bullets with high BCs. However there are some trade-offs. It can be hard to maintain good fundamentals of marksmanship (trigger control, sight alignment) when you’re fighting heavy recoil and burning 100+ grains of powder. You’re dealing with the challenges that high energy brings. You want a muzzle brake with any cartridge .338 or above. Also, when considering lathe-turned solid bullets, remember that these typically have less sectional density compared to lead-cored bullets with similar profiles. This affects ballistics as well as recoil energy.

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