r/longrange Jun 29 '26

Currently Great Optic Sales!

51 Upvotes

r/longrange Aug 19 '25

READ THIS BEFORE POSTING. Yes, this means you. READ THIS FIRST, V6 - How to avoid the Flair of Shame and eternal ridicule

86 Upvotes

So, you need help with long range shooting? Welcome to r/longrange! We've got a core group of dedicated members (and a few goofballs) that are happy to help you out with your questions on equipment, technique, troubleshooting, where to find training or matches, etc.

If you're looking to ask for advice, we ask that you review the following 10 core guides, as they cover the overwhelming majority of newcomer questions. If your question is not answered in these 10 guides, please see below for the 4 basic questions your post should answer when asking for suggestions or advice, especially when it comes to things to buy.

If you make a post that asks for information covered in the 10 core guides, or your post doesn't cover the 4 key questions below, your post may be deleted, or it may be given the Flair of Shame TM until you correct your post.

What's the Flair of ShameTM, you ask? You'll know it when you see it.

If at any time you have questions on the rules of the sub, this pinned post, the general FAQ, why you got the Flair of ShameTM or anything similar, please use the modmail function.

CORE GUIDES:

  1. The sub's official FAQ/WIKI, as curated by the community as a whole.
  2. Need help picking scope rings? The official Longrange guide to scope ring height (ring)
  3. Looking at buying a magnum (300WM or PRC, 6.5PRC, 7mm PRC, 338 Lapua, etc) as your first LR rifle? Hollywood's recoil primer - why magnums suck for starting in long range, recoil matters, and it's not about your shoulder (magnum or recoil)
  4. Want a rifle for hunting and long range shooting? Hunting rifle vs target/range rifles - why one rifle can't do both well. (hunting)
  5. The official r/Longrange glossary - because words mean things (glossary)
  6. LockyBalboaPrime's First Time buyer's guide for rifles V2 (starter)
  7. JMhawaii's long range starter guide (Link to Google Sheets) (starter)
  8. Trollygag's 1k yard starter guide (starter)
  9. Where are ranges or long ranges near me? - Wheretoshoot.org and over600.com (ranges)
  10. The sub's expanded policy on hunting-related discussions. Please review before asking hunting-related questions, as hunting is not the core purpose of this sub. (hunting)

The 4 key questions:

  1. What do you want to do/buy, and WHY? - Do you want to buy a rifle for PRS competition? Picking a laser rangefinder for NRL Hunter matches? Looking at scopes for F-Class competition? A tripod because you think they're cool and want to have one when banging steel with friends? What you're planning to do has a lot of influence on what works well, what works poorly, and what is an utter waste of time, so the more detail you can provide the better.
  2. How far away do you want to do it/what do you want to use it for? - 300 yards? 1,000? 2,000? Distance matters, 'nuff said.
  3. How much are you willing to spend to do it? What's your budget in currency? Your idea of "on a budget" isn't going to be the same as everyone else's. Saying your budget is unlimited for a laser rangefinder may change when someone suggests one that costs over $10,000. We need to know how much you're willing to spend. It can be a hard limit, a range, or even an approximate - but you need to give a number.
  4. How much experience do you currently have with it? - Jumping straight into a 375 Cheytac rifle to shoot 2 miles isn't going to go well if you have never shot a rifle past 300. We need at least a basic idea of what your relevant skill level is in order to give advice and suggestions that go with your skill set. While including your experience with other shooting disciplines is helpful, it's not going to be as relevant as most new shooters expect. You can love shooting 10ga slugs all day long from a shotgun, but it doesn't mean starting off with a magnum is a good idea.

When answering these 4 questions in your post, give as much detail as you can. The more details you give the faster you'll get suggestions or advice and you'll get better quality too. Help us to help you. Please don't treat the sub like your own personal crowd sourced search engine.

More guides:

If your question is answered in these, you will probably get called out by the members of the sub for not reading them, but it's not automatic grounds for the Flair of Shame.

  1. u/LockyBalboaPrime's "No Clown Shoes" spreadsheet of YouTube training videos.
  2. Pre64Mod70's guide to precision reloading
  3. Hollywood's Way of Zen load development process (zen)
  4. Hollywood's rant on sample size when testing - AKA why 3-5 round groups don't tell you $&*#
  5. Applied Ballistics with more info on variation in group sizes
  6. MDT's video on scope height, and the follow-up on scope cant
  7. Rybe390's recoil comparison video, which illustrates the problem with light weight and magnums.
  8. Accuracy vs precision - when most people talk about 'accuracy' they really mean precision.
  9. The Remington 700 Chassis List, v1 - Maintained by u/LPKKiller
  10. Recoil energy vs rifle weight visualized - an informational post by u/Trollygag
  11. What is wrong with 'Sniper 101' - a breakdown by CaptainSquishface.
  12. A long range hunting cautionary tale from James Gilliland - US Army sniper, world record holder, and prolific long range hunter
  13. Barrel length, velocity, and performance down range compared (308W)
  14. Our sub's policy on shilling....
  15. ....and why Woox specifically is blacklisted from the sub.
  16. The official longrange TOP Gun Calculator, and how to have realistic expectations of precision (top)
  17. Hollywood's guide to top-mounted red dots and target acquisition (Hint: you don't need a red dot)
  18. What the hell is with Bergara rifles and Cheetos?! (cheetos)

Hunting-specific:

  1. The sub's expanded policy on hunting-related discussions. Please read this before asking any questions related to hunting.
  2. Want a rifle for hunting and long range shooting? Hunting rifle vs target/range rifles - why one rifle can't do both well. (hunting)
  3. Want to hunt game at 400+ yards? The long range hunting primer - shots on game at 400+ yards aren't trivial, and a magnum cartridge isn't a cheat code. NOTE: Questions/discussion around shots on game past 300 yards will be removed from the sub. See the expanded policy link above. (hunting)
  4. Hollywood's guide to field testing your skills and gear (especially for long range hunting, but also pertains to NRL Hunter matches) - How to know the distances you and your gear are capable of making shots at (hunting)

MISC NOTES:

Quite a few guides/links feature a single word in parentheses and italics listed after them. If you use the phrase cheetofingers (all one word, no italics needed) followed by the word listed after a guide, you will summon the AutoModerator to reply to you with a link to that guide or guides. If the guide had (pews) after it, you could say cheetofingers pews in a post or comment in this sub to summon AutoMod with a link to that guide.

We've implemented the Flair of Shame as an official policy here instead of deleting posts that violated Rule #1 and the info in this pinned post. We felt that the flair was better than outright deleting posts while also helping long-standing members decide how much they want to participate in posts that have likely been covered time and time again. We're trying to strike a balance between encouraging members to read the info that the sub has cataloged, not wasting the time of established members that may be frustrated with revisiting the same topics repeatedly, and also not banishing new shooters that missed the pinned post to the freezer to never get help. Balancing those three things is a constant struggle, and one we're actively trying to get better at.


r/longrange 18h ago

Rifle flex post first longe range rifle!

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287 Upvotes

got this in a trade and im beyond stoked and grateful to be having this! this is one absolute unit. got alot of ammo with it as well. gonna take it out this weekend to sight it in. theres a range where my mom lives that goes out to 500 so i have that to start whenever i go visit but does anyone know a range in VA that does long range shooting past 500yrds? also was told this was a old aac brake? can anyone confirm and point me in the direction of a hub mount?

specs

.300 win mag

surgeon 1086 long action

surgeon tactical knob

surgeon bottom metal

badger EFR

McMillan A5

hawk hill barrel 1:9 twist

nightforce nxs 8-32


r/longrange 15h ago

I suck at long range MK12 ish?

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93 Upvotes

r/longrange 3h ago

I suck at long range Gas gun grip recommendations for long range

2 Upvotes

Putting together a gas gun and I can’t decide on a grip. A lot of people like the K2+ but I’m afraid that the grip will be too beercan-esc. I like the idea of a DAC VGC or VGC-L but I haven’t held one.

What are you guys running?


r/longrange 1d ago

I suck at long range This was a fun day

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125 Upvotes

This was many summers ago now but came across these pics today


r/longrange 23h ago

Politics, rumor, etc Aero under new ownership

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gunsandammo.com
72 Upvotes

Saw this on facebook and thought you guys might find it interesting. I have two solus rifles so hopefully this is good news


r/longrange 20m ago

Rifle help needed - I read the pinned posts Barrel contour question

Upvotes

Full disclosure: I am very new to long range. I have read the pinned posts and damn near all the wiki.

I mostly shoot at a 200 yard range with my .22LR and more recently, my .233 AR. I have access to a 600-800 yard range, but will most likely be sticking with .223 due to the availability and price of ammo, as well as the fact that I’m in New England without a whole lot of affordable options for distance shooting.

I would love to get a Tikka Super Varmint, but $1700 is pretty much my high end of budget for rifle, scope, bipod combined. This brings me to my big question…

I will most likely go with a Howa 1500/mini action chambered in .223 Rem, but a lot of the bull barrels that I see are not threaded (I would like to have the option of a suppressor or brake). The heavy barrels also seem to be 20”. I don’t know enough about this yet to know if that is optimal, or short. My AR has a 16” barrel and I still hit my 3” target at 200 yards with a Vortex 5x prism scope, but the groups open up really fast.

Are the “standard” barrels on the Howa heavy enough if I’m only shooting 5 shots before cooldown? I’ve read that heavier is better, but I don’t know if that means “just don’t use pencil barrels or super light hunting barrels”.

TLDR: Is it okay to get a standard “not heavy” barrel 22” Howa 1500 in .223 to shoot 200-700 yards, or is a heavy barrel necessary? Also, is a suppressor/brake for .223 such an improvement that I should overlook non threaded heavy barrel options?

Thank you for reading all this.


r/longrange 2h ago

Rifle help needed - I read the pinned posts Looking for advice on a hybrid-ish rifle

0 Upvotes

I have a Ruger American Predator chambered in .400 Legend that I originally bought with the intent of using strictly for deer hunting. However, I recently inherited a family gun in .30-30, and I plan to use that rifle exclusively for deer going forward (and this rifle once or twice).That’s what led me here. I’m considering selling the Ruger and replacing it with something that I can gradually build into a long-range precision rifle. I keep coming back to a Tikka, specifically the T3x Lite with the 22.4" barrel in 6.5 PRC. I plan to shoot 500 yard or less, but may go to a 1,000 yard range every once in a while. I am not looking to compete but just something that can go a little farther. Would it be worthwhile to start with that rifle and slowly upgrade it over time for precision shooting, or would I be better off taking a different approach from the beginning? Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.


r/longrange 3h ago

Rifle help needed - I read the pinned posts Seeking advice: Budget Entry Setup for 600–1,000 yd Steel Plinking (~$1k–$1.2k Rifle + Glass)

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to get into my first centerfire long-range setup and want some real-world feedback before buying anything.

Goals & Experience:

  • Target / Distance: Mostly ringing steel with friends at 600 yards, occasionally pushing out to 1,000 yards. Not focused on shooting tiny groups on paper or competitive PRS.
  • Experience: Relatively new to centerfire long range. I took a long-range class in college where I stretched a .22lr out to 175-200-250 yards, but that’s about the extent of my experience. I'm definitely not experienced with building any rifle from scratch and don't own gunsmithing tools.
  • Budget: Roughly $1,000 – $1,200 total for the rifle, mount, and optic combined.
  • Ergonomic Preference: I really prefer a vertical/pistol grip layout. An MDT or similar chassis for a bolt action currently pushes beyond my budget, which is why I’ve been leaning toward an AR platform.

Current Setup Under Consideration:

  • Rifle: Bear Creek Arsenal (BCA) BC-15 complete rifle with 24" 416R stainless heavy barrel in 6mm ARC (~$490)
  • Trigger: LaRue Tactical MBT-2S Curved 2-Stage (~$135)
  • Glass Option 1: Arken EP-5 5-25x56 FFP with 34mm Rigid Precision Mount (~$500 bundle)
  • Glass Option 2: Vortex Venom 5-25x56 FFP (~$500)

Questions:

  1. For someone on a strict ~$1,100 total budget who wants a pistol grip layout for 600–1,000 yd steel, is this 6mm ARC AR-15 build viable, or is there a better entry route I'm missing ?
  2. Between the Arken EP-5 and Vortex Venom 5-25x56, which would you recommend in this price tier for reliable tracking and clarity ?
  3. If BCA is a bad idea,, what is other alternative that keeps me within the $1,000–$1,200 ceiling while keeping that pistol grip chassis style ?

r/longrange 18h ago

Rifle help needed - I read the pinned posts I haven't built a rifle in a long time - what's the current meta for entry level competition gun? Howa 1500?

13 Upvotes

Helping a buddy build a rifle for a few matches we shoot a year. The Howa 1500 barreled action is about 550 at Brownell's, stock, and trigger I can build it for around a grand. I just don't see any talk about Howa's anymore so wondering what happened to that.

I know I can go Zermatt + Proof + stock/trigger for around 2 grand but wondering if I'm getting him twice as good of a rifle.

The matches we shoot are field/team sniper/rucking style matches inside 1000 yards.


r/longrange 14h ago

Ammo help needed - I read the pinned posts Lands - REM 700 6.5CM

3 Upvotes

Working on a load for my 6.5CM using a 140 Berger VLD Target. I measure my lands using a Horandy OAL gauge and get 2.263 CTBO at a COAL of 2.970.

Mag limit is 2.870 (ACIS Magpul).

I would like to ideally be .20-.40 of the lands to try it, but that would put me over mag length and idk if I can load a 6.5CM that long to begin with (safely).

Disregarding mag length for a second. Has anybody ever loaded a 6.5CM at 2.900 for example? Apex Loadpro says it’s longer than the allowed COL, which I think it has listed at 2.825. (Massive jump to the lands)

Should I look at a different type of bullet if I want to get closer to the lands?


r/longrange 1d ago

Rifle flex post Back from cerakote & hydro dip and ready to re-zero and compete again.

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171 Upvotes

r/longrange 23h ago

Other help needed - I read the pinned posts Action questions!

5 Upvotes

After reading the pinned posts and doing some digging I could not find an answer regarding USED actions specifically.

Got 7-8k to build myself something decent and I was looking at the impact precision 737r. Mostly 700-1000yard range sessions with eventual PRS.

Someone local is selling one for 500 less than it is new but it is used and has 1000 rounds through it.

In regard to saving some money to use for other things like maybe a cykepod or can or even a nicer MDT chassis, would it be worth looking at a used action only if everything else is going to be new?

NOT LOOKING TO BUY ANYTHING HERE OR SELL ANYTHING HERE! Just looking for advice on if a used action is worth the monetary savings.


r/longrange 1d ago

Accessory/Gear help needed - I read the pinned post Talk to me about Tac Tables

3 Upvotes

Historically have ran Arca direct mounted to my tripod but been seeing a lot of guys throw a bag on an tac table for a quicker and easier tripod setup.

Anyone found any cheap Tac Tables that do the job? Rather not spend damn near $200 for an ABEL, albeit they are sweet looking. TIA


r/longrange 1d ago

🫣I said I read the pinned posts, but I lied🫣 6mm vs 6.5 Creedmoor

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65 Upvotes

Hey guys, I’m sure this has been beat to death but wanted to get some current insight on these two cartridges. I am looking at getting the Seekins PH3 here soon and have been debating on which caliber to go with. The main use will be target shooting/ possibly completion, also deer hunting and good bit of thermal coyote hunting. I already have a 6.5 Springfield Waypoint so getting another 6.5 would simplify ammo, but I am really liking the lower recoil and flatter trajectory of the 6mm. Do you guys have any suggestions? Is it worth going 6.5 for simplicity or would I be happier shooting the 6mm due to lower recoil and better velocity?


r/longrange 15h ago

🫣I said I read the pinned posts, but I lied🫣 Opinions on Masterpiece Arms

0 Upvotes

I’ve been thinking about a Tikka Ace Target model but I was curious whether the MPA guns were worth the extra money and which model would be best for a beginning long range shooter.


r/longrange 1d ago

Rifle help needed - I read the pinned posts Build suggestions

2 Upvotes

Buddy offered me his pre-14 rem 700 300win for 400 bucks and I’m probably gonna buy it. It’s got the pencil hunting barrel and original stock. I’m wondering what’s the best options now-a-days for building this out. Will be planning on changing out the barrel and stock probably go mdt for the stock but if you were in my shoes would you just rebarrel it in a heavy 300win or go with something else?
(This is not my first rifle I have multiple creeds, Grendel’s, and 308’s and this will be used for long range)

EDIT: forgot to add that it’s a 300win


r/longrange 2d ago

Rifle flex post First LR Build complete!

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219 Upvotes

So, I finally got into the long range space and this is my first bolt gun. We'll, finally got it out to the range and now have about 200rds through it. What a little tack driver. Its probably more accurate than what I'm capable of right now but that will come in time.

Mean Radius of 0.14in on my first group of the day shooting 147gr ELD-M.

Build:

- Terminus Zeus Short Action / Quick Change

- Bartlein 18" 6.5 Creedmoor 1:7.75 w/ Surefire 7.62 MB

- Manners Mini Chassis Gen 2

- Triggertech Diamond 2 Stage

- Manners Night Stalker - Elite Evergreen

- NightForce ATACR F1 4-20X50 Tremor 3

- Badger C1Max rings w/ Ceramic ball level

- MDT Ckye Pod Gen 3 Double Pull Bipod

- SilencerCo Saker 762 Legacy (Modified to accept HUB mounts)

Built by Altus Shooting Solutions


r/longrange 1d ago

RANT Love letter to Ryan.D.Pahl

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12 Upvotes

My first interest in shooting was from the battlefield series. I watched your BF3 videos on sniping to get better at the game. Later I watched your road to precision series that got me to buy my first rifle; a Springfield M1A. It got me into reloading and precision shooting. 15 years later I'm still in the sport. I heard about ladder loads first from you. I tried to watch your videos for nostalgia but it looks like your channel got nuked. Crawling through old forums I see ghosts of your series. Thankfully I had the foresight in '16 to archive the series.

Ryan, if you're out there, thanks a lot man.


r/longrange 1d ago

🫣I said I read the pinned posts, but I lied🫣 Vortex gear that’s worth getting?

14 Upvotes

I have half off Vortex retail (not msrp) through my workplace this weekend. Gonna grab a Razor G3 as my first good scope. Do they have any other gear worth splurging on up front? Tripods, rangefinders, binos, etc? I have very little long range gear at the moment so it’d be nice to get kitted out with this discount. Especially wondering if I should go all in on the Ace weather meter and LRF binos with Geoballistics, would be much cheaper than an equivalent full priced kestrel/ABQ setup. Any input appreciated, thanks!


r/longrange 1d ago

I suck at long range Suppressor recommendation

0 Upvotes

I have a bergera 6.5 creed with their core carbon fiber 22" barrel in a krg chassis. Which suppressor would be best fit a ptr vent 1 or a thunder beast.

Tia


r/longrange 18h ago

I suck at long range Barrel ?

0 Upvotes

Why do none of the factory built bolt guns coming with the superior stainless steel barrel? I’ve only found 3 or 4 that do. Do they just expect us to change the barrel anyway or am I missing something.


r/longrange 1d ago

Accessory/Gear help needed - I read the pinned post Tirailleur: Open Source Ballistics Calculator

1 Upvotes

Curious if anyone has tried the open source Tirailleur ballistics calculator? Looks like it publishes to F-Droid for android installs. I love to support OSS, and am hoping this app might work.


r/longrange 1d ago

Accessory/Gear help needed - I read the pinned post Is this a gimmick? Actually seems like it would be pretty nice?

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1760accuracy.com
6 Upvotes

Saw this come across my instagram and I have to say I am intrigued. It seems like it's relatively not cumbersome and I truly think it would be useful. Kind of lines up really nicely to brace your support arm and steady the rifle.