Range gear recommendations

[fitch270]

I'll be honest, we haven't been shooting this summer. Still have three months before the trip and our rifle league starts the beginning of September. Baseball season is over, vacationing is mostly done and food plots are in. Kid can mow the lawn while I'm at work so it's go time.

We'll be knocking some rust off this weekend, can shoot to 100 yards here at home and we have a friend who has a flat range to 200 and another 100 yards rising uphill behind that. The plan is to check zero with our intended ammo (Barnes TTSX) for our elk rifles and dial in a new scope on my .22-250 and possibly do the same for his .222 if i swap out the scope on that for my take off one. So four rifles in rotation to keep barrels from overheating.

Now more to the question.

Next Thursday I'm taking the day off work as a friend who shoots High Power matches has offered to take us to a range he competes and practices at. The plan is to see what we're capable of and hopefully get drops out to 400 yards. (I think we'll end up trying his gear out to 600 as I have a feeling he's trying to get the boy interested in the High Power game)

We'll be taking the same four rifles and likely a .243 to rotate. I'll bring my spotting scope, a cooler for our ammo and our daypacks filled with some of the gear we plan on carrying to use as a rest. Obviously shooting glasses and muffs/plugs. My friend says we won't need targets. Drinks and food.

Off the top of my head I can't think of much else. This is to simulate hunting shots so no competition gear is necessary. I've never really shot at a real outdoor range, let alone spent a day away from home for hours of practice, so for you guys that do what else am I forgetting?

[dewman]

One thing I always did warm weather preseason shooting for Colorado was I took a small pillow/pad that I put between my shoulder and stock. Not for recoil reduction, but to simulate practice shooting with a heavy coat or layers of clothes. It makes sure you can get down on the stock and have a full field of view in the scope. Especially sitting or off hand. Another bit of advice I'll offer is the first couple times you shoot, if the rifles are more than you're used too, don't overshoot and wear yourself out. Good luck fellas.

[Amflyer]

Bug spray, my friend. And treat those trousers with permethrin as well.

Field positions include prone. If you have a range mat, bring it.

If you're really looking for realism, or if you use a shooting sling, bring your puffy hunting coat to wear. Your rifle will sling (and shoulder) differently when you're wearing it. (But you hafta be pretty danged gung ho for this one)

Bring a logbook to jot down notes, or an ubiquitous cellphone will do.

Finally, bring along a sense of awareness of what you are preparing for...this is the stuff that makes life worth living; so enjoy the living hell out of it.

[Amflyer]

Dewman beat me to the coat/pillow thing.

[fitch270]

One thing I always did warm weather preseason shooting for Colorado was I took a small pillow/pad that I put between my shoulder and stock. Not for recoil reduction, but to simulate practice shooting with a heavy coat or layers of clothes. It makes sure you can get down on the stock and have a full field of view in the scope. Especially sitting or off hand. Another bit of advice I'll offer is the first couple times you shoot, if the rifles are more than you're used too, don't overshoot and wear yourself out. Good luck fellas.

Exactly the kind of reminder I was looking for Dewman, thanks. I'll put a pad on the list as it's probably going to be quite warm, way too much to wear a jacket. I'll be putting the ammo in the fridge overnight and keeping it cooled to simulate the temp differences as well.

The three smaller guns should allow us to get a lot of rounds downrange without beating ourselves up.

[fitch270]

Bug spray, my friend. And treat those trousers with permethrin as well.

Field positions include prone. If you have a range mat, bring it.

If you're really looking for realism, or if you use a shooting sling, bring your puffy hunting coat to wear. Your rifle will sling (and shoulder) differently when you're wearing it. (But you hafta be pretty danged gung ho for this one)

Bring a logbook to jot down notes, or an ubiquitous cellphone will do.

Finally, bring along a sense of awareness of what you are preparing for...this is the stuff that makes life worth living; so enjoy the living hell out of it.

No range mat, but our host will have one or two. I'll ask him. I'll have the cellphone as usual but will bring a notepad and pencil just in case.

Puffy is new and 750 fill down. Ughh. Think I'll stick to using a pad. Montana Sling I'm use to and as you know they adjust pretty easily.

Kinda psyched about checking out the range and trying some distance stuff just for fun, but the main objective is seeing what we can really do at 300 yards, consistently. Our outfitter said most shots are inside 200 but be ready for 400. We'll try it and see how it goes. Might just separate the men from the boys, or boy as it were. Probably with him coming out ahead.

[PigHunter]

I've started using my range finder to more accurately verify targets are at known distances. So you might want to have yours available. Also, I carry enough tools to remount a scope if necessary or to disassemble the firearm. Of course it never hurts to have your cleaning kit, just in case.

Some ranges have rough benches that will scratch your firearm. A scrap of indoor / outdoor carpet can be very useful to prevent that. Also, some ranges require that bolts are left opened or empty chamber indicators are used when clearing the weapon before someone heads downrange to change targets. I generally carry extra empty chamber indicators, but then again I shoot semi-autos and you may not need them.

Even though you will be using field positions, I would still anticipate shooting from the bench if a question of accuracy needs to be answered. So, take your sand bags and / or shooting stand. Also, a small measuring tape can be very useful.

A final note: I wear a shoulder recoil pad when shooting anything with noticeable recoil. Not only does it reduce felt recoil, but it also helps simulate shooting while wearing thicker clothing.

https://www.amazon.com/Caldwell-Plus...s%2C160&sr=8-1

[fitch270]

I forgot to mention my rangefinder. I want to check it against known distance as well. Good call.

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

I've started using my range finder to more accurately verify targets are at known distances. So you might want to have yours available. Also, I carry enough tools to remount a scope if necessary or to disassemble the firearm. Of course it never hurts to have your cleaning kit, just in case.

Some ranges have rough benches that will scratch your firearm. A scrap of indoor / outdoor carpet can be very useful to prevent that. Also, some ranges require that bolts are left opened or empty chamber indicators are used when clearing the weapon before someone heads downrange to change targets. I generally carry extra empty chamber indicators, but then again I shoot semi-autos and you may not need them.

Even though you will be using field positions, I would still anticipate shooting from the bench if a question of accuracy needs to be answered. So, take your sand bags and / or shooting stand. Also, a small measuring tape can be very useful.

A final note: I wear a shoulder recoil pad when shooting anything with noticeable recoil. Not only does it reduce felt recoil, but it also helps simulate shooting while wearing thicker clothing.

https://www.amazon.com/Caldwell-Plus...s%2C160&sr=8-1

Pighunter, that diet is sure working for you! Wow! I'm guessing you got it from Oprah?

[PigHunter]

Pighunter, that diet is sure working for you! Wow! I'm guessing you got it from Oprah?

OHH, good one! I'm wondering right now if that velcro strap will even still fit around me. This past year I transitioned to XXL shirts. A couple of weeks ago I was slow dancing for the 1st time with a woman I've known a couple of years. She smiled and said that dancing with me is like hugging a big teddy bear.

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

Can't offer a lot of advice because, as you know, I eschew rifle range shooting. Too boring and noisy ... and expensive. I do what's necessary from the bench to get the gun zeroed for 100 yards and leave. Two years ago at the range with a fella and his two daughters I put the first shot right in the centre of the bull ... and put the gun away. Second shot a few days later went right through the heart of a nice buck on top of a doe. Next year I didn't even take one shot at the range before hunting ... and regretted it. Missed three prone shots at a standing nice buck at about 170 yards. Last bullet hit the snow about a foot over his back. I'm pretty sure I shot that same buck two days later with my brother's gun. One shot through the heart at 65 yards. Moral of the story? Though I hate the rifle range, I will definitely be spending some time there with my African hunting partner before we leave. Should be going up to his place maybe this weekend (two hour drive). His club has a nice facility.

I suggest going to an outdoors store and buying one of those cheap foam backpack sleeping bag mattresses. One of those would work great as a range mat for either sitting or prone. Actually they are very useful for a lot of stuff: getting under the sink to do plumbing repairs, crawling under the truck to change oil, kneeling to change boat trailer wheel bearing, etc.

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

Personally I wouldn't worry too much about trying to adjust the LOP for heavy winter clothing. I shot my old Springfield just as deadly in minus 25 as I did shooting through mosquitoes. Correct LOP is critical for fast shots at moving targets but I have always advocated that's not ethical for big game ... unless the animal has already been hit. If a scoped rifle is adjusted for shirtsleeves, it should be no problem shooting it with three layers. Might not instantly find the scope ... but it should only take a moment. And if you don't have more than a moment to shoot a big game animal, I don't think you should be shooting at it.

P.S. In all my years hunting them, I only missed one elk (and I shot thirteen of them). And that was ridiculously out of range. After the three of them disappeared and I looked around, I shook my head. "What are you DOING! It would be IMPOSSIBLE to get one of those off that canyon wall." More than likely it would have rolled to the bottom which would have been utterly impossible to retrieve. Not even a helicopter could do it. Never pulled a stunt like that again. But it was my first year elk hunting and I had only just turned nineteen. Young and stupid.

[jhjimbo]

Can't offer a lot of advice because, as you know, I eschew rifle range shooting. Too boring and noisy ... and expensive. I do what's necessary from the bench to get the gun zeroed for 100 yards and leave. Two years ago at the range with a fella and his two daughters I put the first shot right in the centre of the bull ... and put the gun away. Second shot a few days later went right through the heart of a nice buck on top of a doe. Next year I didn't even take one shot at the range before hunting ... and regretted it. Missed three prone shots at a standing nice buck at about 170 yards. Last bullet hit the snow about a foot over his back. I'm pretty sure I shot that same buck two days later with my brother's gun. One shot through the heart at 65 yards. Moral of the story? Though I hate the rifle range, I will definitely be spending some time there with my African hunting partner before we leave. Should be going up to his place maybe this weekend (two hour drive). His club has a nice facility.

I suggest going to an outdoors store and buying one of those cheap foam backpack sleeping bag mattresses. One of those would work great as a range mat for either sitting or prone. Actually they are very useful for a lot of stuff: getting under the sink to do plumbing repairs, crawling under the truck to change oil, kneeling to change boat trailer wheel bearing, etc.

Shooting from a bench is the worst for recoil. I have thick rubber pads I hold up to my shoulder for the larger calibers. (I don't shoot the .340 Weatherby from the bench - never) I bet most of your shooting at game will be standing with sticks. If you loaded those 190gr bullets you better sight in 2.5"high at 100yds and you would be point blank to about 200yds. At 400 that 190 will sink like a rock, you will be 4' or more low - low percentage shot.

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

Shooting from a bench is the worst for recoil. I have thick rubber pads I hold up to my shoulder for the larger calibers. (I don't shoot the .340 Weatherby from the bench - never) I bet most of your shooting at game will be standing with sticks. If you loaded those 190gr bullets you better sight in 2.5"high at 100yds and you would be point blank to about 200yds. At 400 that 190 will sink like a rock, you will be 4' or more low - low percentage shot.

I'm not shooting at anything four hundred yards away ... not even paper.

[Happy Myles]

Ontario, don’t forget to practice shooting off the sticks. Just familiarize yourself so you find position comfortable for you. Find out if your PH will have bipod or tripod. You can cobble up something with pvc. If you wait until you are looking down the sights at an animal you will wish you had practiced a bit. For example if you insist on a sling it may get in the way. The thought, gee, do I want the sticks far out on the forearm or next to the receiver. Believe me you will wish you had. Do not worry about long shots, the PH will not allow it. Oh, doo not take sticks with you, way too much trouble and you want to use what the tracker is familiar with anyway.