Getting Into the Sport

[Rebel]

Hey everyone,
So I am new to posting on this forum, although I have been reading posts for awhile, and this is my first post. I am 17 years old and extremely interested in getting into the long range shooting sport. I have been around firearms whole life, and greatly enjoy shooting. However, my experience doesn't go much beyond the local 100 yard range. As I mentioned before, I have been reading this forum for awhile, and there seems to be a wealth of knowledge in the members of this site that I would love to benefit from. So I suppose my question is (and excuse me if its the same as the one asked by 1000 others like me) what do you all suggest the best course of action is in getting into long range shooting? Currently, I have access to a couple .22's (from what I heard they are the best to work on fundamentals with) that I have been shooting for a number of years. I also have just recently picked up a 700 varmint in .308 that is currently sitting in the cheap factory stock (im thinking about an AICS) with a Nikon monarch 4-16x40 on top. Keeping in mind what I have on hand, and the fact that I do not have instant access to 5000 dollars to drop on a custom rifle or training courses(cash doesn't grow on trees at 17), what do you all recommend as a good outline to becoming proficient in this sport? I realize I'm not going to be shooting nickels at 1000 yards in a month, but I'm passionate about shooting and I'd like to know where I should be heading. Please excuse my inexperience, and any wise words would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Xcount]

Rebel,
you haven't indicated what part of the country you are in but every state that has NRA highpower or smallbore matches has some degree of junior shooting program, you're a junior until the year of your 19th birthday. my state has everything needed for a junior to step on the line and start shooting in matches, coats, scopes, mats, the whole schebang- even free ammo! we issue the stuff to your parents and as long as you are shooting in matches you can use it. We are currently building .308 Palma match rifles just for a junior program! paid for by match fees, contributions and grants by the nra. You will find no better support for junior shooters than through the nra competitions programs.
Are we going to make you a sniper, hell no, but marksmanship fundamentals are what matter. nra shooting programs especially the 22 smallbore programs have trained thousands of the top shooters in the country over the last hundred years. The .22lr is the place to start learning so I recommend you go online and locate the nearest NRA match of your choosing and try and contact someone associated with it to get started.

here is one link to start, you can look elsewhere:
Youth Programs|National Youth Shooting Sports Cooperative Program

 

[40xs]

Welcome to the Hide, Rebel! Why don't you take a couple minutes and fill out your profile. Can we assume that from your handle you are from the south? Or am I reading too much into that? First off let me say that I appreciate your humble approach and honesty, sometimes rare these days, (you'll go far). Since you are just getting into the "game" it appears that you have a gun that will get you started. If you don't already have a forward rake base for that scope I would suggest you get one. Also, count the number of moa you have from bottom to top on your turret. If by "long range" you mean 1000yds. then you had better figure on a total of at least 37 minutes of angle, depending on what load you settle on. Typically, that requires a total movement of close to 80 moa from your scope. I don't believe that monarch has it. You may get by with a 30 moa base, but it depends on how much movement you have. try to find a match somewhere and exhibit the same approach as you have here so far and you will receive a wealth of help and info to get you started on your way. I first started with a 20" Remmy LTR with a 14x lupey and learned a lot about the game even though my comeups from 100yd. zero was at 42 moa. I progressed from there and learned a lot. So don't feel too inadequate at this juncture. Good shooting!

 

[Erud]

Rebel,
you haven't indicated what part of the country you are in but every state that has NRA highpower or smallbore matches has some degree of junior shooting program, you're a junior until the year of your 19th birthday. my state has everything needed for a junior to step on the line and start shooting in matches, coats, scopes, mats, the whole schebang- even free ammo! we issue the stuff to your parents and as long as you are shooting in matches you can use it. We are currently building .308 Palma match rifles just for a junior program! paid for by match fees, contributions and grants by the nra. You will find no better support for junior shooters than through the nra competitions programs.
Are we going to make you a sniper, hell no, but marksmanship fundamentals are what matter. nra shooting programs especially the 22 smallbore programs have trained thousands of the top shooters in the country over the last hundred years. The .22lr is the place to start learning so I recommend you go online and locate the nearest NRA match of your choosing and try and contact someone associated with it to get started.

here is one link to start, you can look elsewhere:
Youth Programs|National Youth Shooting Sports Cooperative Program

This is excellent advice. There is no better way to learn how to shoot than with experienced shooters and coaches. Most states treat their juniors extremely well because we realize that you are the future if the shooting sports. NRA Highpower, smallbore etc in an organized program will teach you more about shooting in 6 months than you would learn in years on your own, and you will be a better shooter than almost everyone you meet. Check it out.

 

[Rebel]

Thanks for the advice! I live in Tennessee so I'm sure there is no shortage of NRA action that I can get into. I will definitly look into that! In the meantime, are there any drills or things I can be doing at the range that will help me get started? I've read a couple of marksmanship fundamentals threads on the hide already and I've been working on incorporating those into some dry firing and range time, but are there other drills I can be doing? Also, other than looking into a base with some compensation in it (I simply cannot afford to pay for top grade glass right now), are there any other recommendations you all have for gear? If I can pool the money together, is an AICS a good first step in improving my rifle? I have heard good things about the increase in precision they yield right when you put them on. Also, if I'm being honest, I've drooled over AI rifles all my life, and the AICS has always just looked and felt good to me. Is this enough justification for dropping 800 dollars on a top grade chassis right now? Or am I over killing it for where I am in "the game"

Sent from my RM-845_nam_vzw_100 using Tapatalk

 

[George63]

raise your right hand, swear to uphold the constitution, and shoot the governments ammunition

 

[Rattler56]

My best advice is to go to the range or if you have any matches that are local, check them out, most of us
are more then happy to help out a new shooter just learn to separate the BS from the truth and remember
a some people will tell you that there $5000 rig will out shoot a $1000 rig and a lot of time thats just them
trying to justify spending all that money..

 

[gstaylorg]

The first thing I'd suggest would be to make sure your .308 is set up correctly (ie. scope not canted, length of pull and eye relief right for you, etc). Do you have a shooting mat, bipod, and some type of rear bag to support the stock when shooting prone? If yes, you're GTG. If not, PM me and I may be able to help you out with those items. A spotting scope/stand (even if it's an inexpensive one) is also a useful tool for seeing your shot placement without having to go out to your target.

Once you have these things in order, go out to your local range, get the rifle sighted in, and shoot some 5-shot groups at 100 yd. This will do at least a couple things for you: first, it will give you some idea of exactly where you and your setup are in terms of accuracy/precision; second, you can find out what load/ammo your rifle shoots best. If you don't reload, you probably want to buy a box or two of a few different types of commercial match ammunition (Federal Gold Medal Match 168 gr/175 gr, Black Hills 168 gr/175 gr, and Hornady 178 gr BTHP are a few examples). Ammunition will likely be one of your big expenses if you shoot very often, so you might also check out Copper Creek or Southwest's .308 ammunition, which are very solid loads, but a little less costly. You don't need large amounts of any type to start, you just want to find what your rifle likes best. Then you can purchase larger quantities of that specific ammo.

The idea is to see where you are before making any big expenditures that may or may not do what you want. As an example, an AICS stock replacement would definitely be a step up from the factory stock, but if it severely limits the amount of ammo you can buy, maybe it's not the best thing to do right out of the gate. Also, there are other stock upgrades you could do as an interim measure to improve your setup that would be a lot less expensive. Between your .308 and .22s you can work on fundamentals until you are shooting to the limitations of the rifles. While you're doing this you can squirrel away some funds and if you still want to continue, you can think about upgrading.

Another thing you probably want to do is start learning about some fundamentals of ballistics and optics; how they work and how to best use them as you're shooting. For example, do you know how a scope actually works? The difference between MOA and mils? How to use the scope reticle to make adjustments on a target? How wind affects your shot and how to adjust for it? How to make a drop table or use a ballistic calculator? These are things you can you can learn about at home without firing a single round, and having some basic knowledge of these topics can help you better understand the precision shooting game as you learn and improve.

Finally, as mentioned above, expert marksmanship instruction can be a huge help to getting started the right way so you don't have to later "unlearn" bad habits you might pick up on your own. Whether it's an experienced shooter at your range, formal NRA or CMP instruction, or the online training here, expert training can be an important step to improving your marksmanship. Best of luck with it!

 

[Cdiver0109]

Hey rebel welcome to the hide it's great to see guys and gals in your demo showing interested in LR.

 

[tnichols]

Welcome to the Hide Rebel! Good first post. Sit back and take it all in.

Any of you guys notice the obvious difference between this lad Rebel, and the other fricken' newbie idiot that was asking about who the best snipers are, hand signals, and other stupid shit? My money is on this kid!

 

[Rattler56]

Welcome to the Hide Rebel! Good first post. Sit back and take it all in.

Any of you guys notice the obvious difference between this lad Rebel, and the other fricken' newbie idiot that was asking about who the best snipers are, hand signals, and other stupid shit? My money is on this kid!

+1

 

[KYpatriot]

Rebel you know how to enter a room so I've got no doubt you will figure this out. Read Xcount's post again. You don't need to drop a ton of money on custom stuff but if you must to keep in interesting at least don't do it for awhile until you really know that you know why you are buying something. For now spend that money on disciplined shooting and you can'y help but have some rewarding fun in your future.