I was contacted on Discord a few days ago by someone who had a question about one of my hobbies...It was a really good one and inspired me to write this blog, which I have had a lot of fun writing.
I won't say who asked however her question revolved around shooting at distance, how I can ensure I hit my target for a clean kill, and specifically around knowing how far away my targets are and how important that actually is.
A really intelligent question considering that knowing the target-range from the shooter is critically important.
It has a simple answer of course; I use a laser rangefinder. However it gave me an idea for a post and here it is explaining a few concepts in simple terms and talking about the rangefinder I use. It's not too heavy or technical so should be completely understandable.
This is one of the locations I shoot; A big cattle farm not far from where I live.
Bushnell Elite 1 Mile ConX rangefinder
Long range shooting is a complicated process; Point and shoot isn't going to bring much success as there's so many factors that come into play to accurately put a round onto a target from distance.
Environmental factors like wind, humidity and altitude are obvious elements but the angle of the shot (up or down) and even the point on the compass one is shooting comes into play...Azimuth and the Earth's rotation matter in a long range shot also as when a bullet is in flight the Earth moves beneath it moving the target; The longer the bullet flies the more the target moves. There's the various effects the bullet and gun themselves can have, which I won't go into right now, and of course the distance of the target which is where the rangefinder comes into play.
I use the Bushnell Elite, the very unit you see above photographed in my workshop.
This unit is designed for civilian use and whilst quite costly, at around $1400AUD when I bought mine, it's nothing when compared to a Vectronix unit which could run into tens of thousands of dollars. They are regulated of course, for military use only. I've used one and they are sexy AF! They can range to many kilometres, the Vector 21 Aero out to 12,000m (12 kilometres/7.45 miles) for instance. Anyway, my unit won't go so far...And the government say I can't have a Vectronix.
As the name suggests mine will range to 1 mile (1600m) however it would only do so on something that had a reflective surface like a vehicle, steel target, building or some such thing. With non-reflective surfaces like fuzzy animals it'll only reliably range to about 700-900m depending on the animal size and battery power.
With a press of the ranging button the unit sends a laser downrange which bounces off the target back to the unit which shows range, angle and other details on the screen. Below you can see what it looks like. You have no idea how difficult it was to get this shot in my back yard using my phone...But I did. This is looking through my Elite 1 Mile unit.
A little blurry, but this is what I see once the ConX has ranged a target. The round circle in the middle is the crosshairs...(It turns into a crosshairs when the ranging button is pushed.) You can see the flower pot was 4.8m from where I was standing. During the day you would only see red numbers, not the red rectangle.
The unit is compact and light making it easy to carry around in my pack and also comes with a neck-strap for when one needs to use it repeatedly whilst on the move. I also use the available tripod for when I'm in a fixed-position shooting at long range, say out to 1500m or so. The tripod isn't necessary to get the unit to range that far, but it helps.
The cool think about the unit is that it connects to smart phones and Kestrel ballistic calculators by Bluetooth. This means that with the push of a button information is displayed on the phone app and one can proceed from there. It provides distance, angle and a field firing solution (FFS) to the shooter quickly and efficiently. The user can also set up various rifle profiles in the ConX for the different rifles used and the unit provides calculations around that particular weapon system. Multiple profiles can be stored.
Putting the Elite 1 Mile into practical use
I'll be honest, I don't connect it to anything preferring to simply use it to range targets. I use a ballistics App called StrelokPro (available at the AppStore and PlayStore) for my FFS. It reads, via Bluetooth, the environmental data directly from my Kestrel Drop which is an environmental data logger and once I plug in the range from the Elite 1 Mile and calculate I'm good to go with a field firing solution. (FFS).
That looks like this on the StrelokPro App snapped off my phone.
From the top: - White data fields
- Distance 750m
- -12°slope angle (A downward shot)
- 5 mph wind speed ( I gauge this myself after years of practice)
- 90° wind direction (i.e. 3 or 9 o-clock, also called full-value)
- Coriolis coordinates
- 250 DA (Environmental conditions shown as Density Altitude)
- Rifle and bullet details
Pressing calculate brings all the data together.
The coloured numbers are the FFS (field firing solution) in MOA, MRAD, CM and CLICKS...This is the FFS that get's dialled into the elevation and windage turrets and subsequently moves the crosshairs inside the scope so the shot can proceed.
The buttons below do other stuff you don't need to know about just yet...Except for the little table icon at the top right. Pressing that brings me a table of various ranges and their associated data. As per the second image below.
Below is the FFS table I mentioned above.
You can see the ranges down the left column, bullet speed, energy output, flight-time, elevation input and windage input in MRAD which is the measurement I use on my scopes.
It's interesting to note the drop in energy the further the bullet flies. This makes a difference to the knock down ability the projectile has on the target - Important to know depending what is being shot at.
Also look at the elevation required at different ranges...The further the bullet goes the more elevation is required to get it there. So, you can see how important knowing the range is.
Look at 500m as opposed to 550m for instance. There's a difference of 0.5 MRAD of elevation required. That difference, if not accounted for, is enough to result in misplacement of the bullet upon the target. Considering I have to head-shoot when I cull it's critical to place bullets with precision. Not killing the target-animal effectively is not humane, or acceptable.
OK, I don't want to get too technical...Essentially, you can see, very clearly, that knowing the range of a target is critical to an effective shot. The table below is set at 25m intervals but I can change that depending on what I'm doing at the time.
Bringing the process together
Using my culling operations as an example - I get to the property, gather my kit and hike out to wherever I'm shooting that day or night.
On arrival to that spot I draw a mud map of the terrain I will be operating in and range landmarks with the Elite 1 Mile writing those ranges on my notebook.
I then input the information (range) into StrelokPro as above and generate the table you see above. That stays on my phone screen in my pocket, or beside me if I'm laying prone and I'm ready to shoot.
When a target comes into my area of operations I am able to work out the range quickly based on my mud map and its location to my landmarks, plan my shots (there may be multiple targets) and start shooting.
The only caveat to that is environmental changes which can happen rapidly with temperature and humidity variations. So every 15 minutes I go back to StrelokPro, gather fresh data from my Kestrel Drop (via Bluetooth remember) and generate a new table with appropriate data.
Summary
The unit is durable (it's taken a few tumbles down the mountain-side so far and is unmarked) and has a reasonable battery life. Just on the battery, I have found that if I want it to range to 1600m it needs a fresh one. For the ranges I use it for, mainly out to 800m, the battery life is fine for a long time. I always keep batteries in my pack though...You know what they say, two is one, and one is none...I always back my gear up.
The on-board ballistics calculator is useless to me as you can see from the above text and my use of StrelokPro. Some of my buddies use it but I've seen them shoot and they'd be better to use a different system as it's pretty average.
Ranging is good although at 1 mile (1600m) it struggles on anything other than extremely reflective surfaces like vehicles and buildings. Out to 800m it is ok and at 600m is super accurate.
So, there you have it...A look at one of the essential tools I carry in my pack when I go long range shooting. This equipment isn't generally required for competition shooting as we normally work around known distances however for hunting, culling and long-range practice it is essential.
One could go without it and guess ranges although considering the cost per round of ammunition it's best to know distances so one doesn't waste them. Also killing things needs to be done efficiently and humanely so taking a guess at a range and possibly wounding something instead of ending it is bad and I pride myself on never doing it.
In an attempt to make this post readable, and less technical, I have left out a lot of stuff that I might have included if the audience were accomplished long range shooters so for those with a lot of understanding around these concepts there may be holes in it. I'm sure you'll understand.
Anyway, if you have any questions feel free to drop them into the comments or on my discord as the person who asked this question did. I hope this has demonstrated that shooting isn't just about blasting away on tin cans, and anything that moves.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.
Be well
Discord: galenkp#9209
I know, I know...It's long...1798 words long. Sorry. Not sorry.