Thread: Long Range Beginner Courses around Auckland?

Originally Posted by Lemon

Thanks all for the advice!
I have decided to practice with .22LR for now.

Looking at Tikka T1X, and may go with a T3X 6.5CM if I decide to shoot further.

This is a great idea, a T1x is a great place to start.
The factory stock can do with a few upgrades in time (I could probably help you out with a few accessories) but they work great to start with.

If you are keen on long range start out with a decent scope, make sure it's FFP and Mil, you'll thank yourself in the long run.

There are other ways to begin too.

I started with an off-the-shelf Savage Model 12 in .223 with a 2nd hand scope, 2nd hand bipod and rear bag shooting FTR on a NRANZ affiliated range.
Some help with handloading and started shooting from 300 to 1000 yards.
Wasn't much good to start with but improved with practice.

The .223 was/is a great first rifle, little to no recoil, cheap to reload for.

Then moved to a custom rifle built around a Barnard 'P' action in .308, scopes were upgraded as was bipod and loading equipment.

MOA and 2FP scopes.

The biggest source of error is still the nut behind the bolt.

Second for Nathan's books, very much underrated.
Rifles come and go, good glass is here to stay.

Tibosauraus used to have a fairly good Playlist called long range 101, I see it's gone now.

I'd say there are two legs to the story.
1) learn to shoot well. That means an accurate 22. Learn trigger control and shot management, then positional shooting. A 22 will show any flaws in your technique as the transit time in the barrel magnifies any errors, and the lack of noise and recoil allows you to just concentrate on the shot and follow through.
When you have prone figured out, try sitting. I find a lot of my tops shots are a modified sitting/prone position, and learning a solid seated technique is really handy in the tussock. When you are able to call your shots with the 22, move your target further away and start studying the wind. I find it helpful to think of it as likeca wave in a rock pool - the general direction is one way, but as the water moves around rocks it can shift at very different angles - and the wind will be doing the same on the hill. Practice and thought will teach you what is going on, and how to manage it. Then...
2) take your centrefire and your knowledge out. I found shooting f class with a hunting rifle super handy - and the old guys with iron sighted 308s at Clevedon taught me a bundle - mostly about the wind.
Magpies are great for teaching you also. You turn up and have to create a shooting position, range, estimate the wind and as the little darlings are always moving you have to learn to pull the trigger before the shot is lost. If you're hitting magpies at 250, deer will seem huge at 4-500.

Originally Posted by Bent Barrel

I think you’re now on the right track.
Gaining confidence in your rifle is important, shot placement shooting a rabbit will gain confidence, knowing the sound of a neck shot to head shot & the almighty gut shot
Have you confirmed your eye dominance?
Muscle memory will develop over time
Sort out your breathing, sounds simple…that first deer through the scope, breathing turns to shit

I do have an airsoft background and have learned a lot from it. Trained to right eye dominance.
I often do practice breath and trigger control with replicas in the backyard.

Originally Posted by Beetroot

This is a great idea, a T1x is a great place to start.
The factory stock can do with a few upgrades in time (I could probably help you out with a few accessories) but they work great to start with.

If you are keen on long range start out with a decent scope, make sure it's FFP and Mil, you'll thank yourself in the long run.

I happen to find an NF SHV 3-10x42 and a Strike Eagle 1-6x24 in my storage of goodies.
Are those enough? Should I invest in higher quality stuff later?

If you put the NF on your .22, it will be a good one for the initial practice that people have suggested, it will be a bit marginal for the longer stuff that you want to do with the 6.5, but you can cross that bridge when you get there.

Practicing trigger control is a good move, but if you do it with a rimfire, make sure to use snap caps, dry firing a rimfire will cause eventually cause damage.

Originally Posted by Lemon

I happen to find an NF SHV 3-10x42 and a Strike Eagle 1-6x24 in my storage of goodies.
Are those enough? Should I invest in higher quality stuff later?

If you already have those scopes then I'd start off with the SHV 3-10, that will be more than enough to get you started.
Basically any range that you can shoot 100-200m is going to be good for 22lr, Waiuku pistol club, NZDA, etc will all be good places to get started.

It depends what your final goals are wth regards to long range shooting to the next step but 22lr is definitely the best starting point.
$90 for a brick of 500 rounds vs $70-$100 for 20 centrefire rounds is a no brainer. Not to mention the pracise you can do at 100-200m with a 22lr is considerably more useful than a centre fire at those distances.

You can start here. Many of your questions will be answered through demonstration.
Unlike most LR courses, this one is free

https://youtu.be/w8aJUkvoWzU