sniping
Long Range Shooting: Range Estimation
After months of theory and preparation, you are finally out with your rifle, ready to take your first long range shot. The first thing you need to do, is to compensate for bullet drop, and to do that you need to know the distance from your target. If you are in the comfort of a shooting range with clear range markings, you'll already know the distance from your target, so all … [Read more...]
Long Range Shooting: External Ballistics – Static Stability
So far in our discussion of external ballistics, we've covered bullet trajectory, elevation, the Coriolis effect, light effects, rifle cant, and bullet shape, but we still have one more important ballistics theme to explore: static stability. The concept of static stability is essential to precision rifle shooting; if bullets are not properly stabilized, you'll never get … [Read more...]
Long Range Shooting – Intro to Ballistic Tables
We've covered a lot of material on long range shooting thus far, and now we're ready to start implementing some of what we've learned, starting with ballistic tables. But first, what is a ballistic table, and how do you read one? Let's dive in. A ballistic table (also called ballistic chart, ballistic card, or data card), is a table containing a set of data regarding the … [Read more...]
Long Range Shooting – Understanding MOA and Mil
If you are into rifle shooting, you may have already heard of the terms "MOA" and "mil". As this long range shooting series progresses, we'll see these two terms more and more often, so let's take some time to talk about what they mean. MOA and mil are two angular units of measurement, used to quantify sights adjustments, to measure the accuracy of a weapon system, and to … [Read more...]
Long Range Shooting: External Ballistics – The Transonic Region
Long range rifles may seem to be capable of delivering accurate shoots at every possible distance, but they have a limit: the transonic region. In the previous articles about static stability and dynamic stability, we have seen what it takes to properly stabilize a rifle bullet to keep it accurate to the farthest distance possible. However, at one point during the bullet … [Read more...]