Hey guys,
As always, this may be kind of longwinded,and I'll be sure to put the goals and questions in list format at the end for those of us running short on patience.
I've decided that 2014 will be the year when I get serious about getting my hits at longer ranges. At the suggestion of one of my shooting buddies, I've started watching the "Sniper 101" videos on Youtube, and I'm seriously considering investing in a new scope that would be more suitable for shooting at 1000+ yards.
Specifically, I'm thinking of putting an SWFA SS 10 power scope on my Savage 111 30-06, which begs the question, what do i do with the 3-9 power Bushnel scope that's on there now? Well, I've got an FAL in the safe... I'm not planning on turning my FAL into an extreme long range rifle, but I would like to be able to shoot it out to 500 yards, and hopefully still be able to use it for the closer ranges that I would see at a 3 gun match if I ever want to use it for that.
Now that ya'll can see kinda where my head is at, I'm wondering, how far can you shoot before you have to start making given corrections? I'm assuming that if I'm shooting my AR with iron sights at 200 yard, that I don't need to adjust for humidity and barometric pressure, but I might have to take wind into account if its really blowing hard, assuming that I'm using a decent sight that is properly zeroed. I'm also assuming that there my be a few differences between calibers.
My goals are (In order of priority)
I - Make my AR-15 an effective firearm for targets out to 250 yards*.
II - Be able to shoot my Savage 30-06 at least out to 1,000 yards.
III- Make my FAL an effective firearm for targets out to 550 yards +/-**
Questions:
1 - At what ranges do I need to start correcting for:
A-Wind. If this is caliber/rifle dependent at all, I'm thinking in terms of an AR15 in 5.56 and a FAL in 7.62. Chances are with the 30-06 I'll just adjust for wind regardless of distance.
B- Air Temp
C- Barometric Pressure
D - Any other factors I'm leaving out?
2 - If a scope is made for a 30-06 bolt gun, will it be able to handle the recoil of the FAL? I know the FAL kicks less, but it also has a much heavier forward recoil due to the mass of the bolt, so...
3 - If I put the Bushnell scope on my FAL, I will eventually (probably) put one of the 1'oclock angled iron sights on it, but until then, how much of a handycap is it going to be for the run and gun type shooting that I see at local 3 gun matches where you are shooting primarily in fairly large pistol bays? The lowest I can go with it is 3 power, which I figure will be slower, but help yield better hits, and for the super close targets I can just "point shoot."
4 - I just ordered a Daniel Defense A1.5 fixed rear sight. It is not elevation adjustable, but can correct for windage. With the 50/200 yard zero, am I expecting too much from this sight if I try to push it to shoot targets at 250 yards?
* My AR is primarily for 3 gun and HD.
** I know that there may be limitations imposed by my rifle that may keep it from being a 550 yard gun, but I think its a good goal for me to shoot for, and my concerns at this point are largely about the optic, until I have a chance to find out what, if any, limitations that particular rifle has.
As always, if I didn't articulate something very well, feel free to ask me for clarification.
Thanks guys,
Chris "The Kayak-Man" Johnson
As always, this may be kind of longwinded,and I'll be sure to put the goals and questions in list format at the end for those of us running short on patience.
I've decided that 2014 will be the year when I get serious about getting my hits at longer ranges. At the suggestion of one of my shooting buddies, I've started watching the "Sniper 101" videos on Youtube, and I'm seriously considering investing in a new scope that would be more suitable for shooting at 1000+ yards.
Specifically, I'm thinking of putting an SWFA SS 10 power scope on my Savage 111 30-06, which begs the question, what do i do with the 3-9 power Bushnel scope that's on there now? Well, I've got an FAL in the safe... I'm not planning on turning my FAL into an extreme long range rifle, but I would like to be able to shoot it out to 500 yards, and hopefully still be able to use it for the closer ranges that I would see at a 3 gun match if I ever want to use it for that.
Now that ya'll can see kinda where my head is at, I'm wondering, how far can you shoot before you have to start making given corrections? I'm assuming that if I'm shooting my AR with iron sights at 200 yard, that I don't need to adjust for humidity and barometric pressure, but I might have to take wind into account if its really blowing hard, assuming that I'm using a decent sight that is properly zeroed. I'm also assuming that there my be a few differences between calibers.
My goals are (In order of priority)
I - Make my AR-15 an effective firearm for targets out to 250 yards*.
II - Be able to shoot my Savage 30-06 at least out to 1,000 yards.
III- Make my FAL an effective firearm for targets out to 550 yards +/-**
Questions:
1 - At what ranges do I need to start correcting for:
A-Wind. If this is caliber/rifle dependent at all, I'm thinking in terms of an AR15 in 5.56 and a FAL in 7.62. Chances are with the 30-06 I'll just adjust for wind regardless of distance.
B- Air Temp
C- Barometric Pressure
D - Any other factors I'm leaving out?
2 - If a scope is made for a 30-06 bolt gun, will it be able to handle the recoil of the FAL? I know the FAL kicks less, but it also has a much heavier forward recoil due to the mass of the bolt, so...
3 - If I put the Bushnell scope on my FAL, I will eventually (probably) put one of the 1'oclock angled iron sights on it, but until then, how much of a handycap is it going to be for the run and gun type shooting that I see at local 3 gun matches where you are shooting primarily in fairly large pistol bays? The lowest I can go with it is 3 power, which I figure will be slower, but help yield better hits, and for the super close targets I can just "point shoot."
4 - I just ordered a Daniel Defense A1.5 fixed rear sight. It is not elevation adjustable, but can correct for windage. With the 50/200 yard zero, am I expecting too much from this sight if I try to push it to shoot targets at 250 yards?
* My AR is primarily for 3 gun and HD.
** I know that there may be limitations imposed by my rifle that may keep it from being a 550 yard gun, but I think its a good goal for me to shoot for, and my concerns at this point are largely about the optic, until I have a chance to find out what, if any, limitations that particular rifle has.
As always, if I didn't articulate something very well, feel free to ask me for clarification.
Thanks guys,
Chris "The Kayak-Man" Johnson