LONG RANGE 101- DIE LIVING
Over time, the process above will become one of automation because they are interdependent of one another. As you begin, however, it’s best to sustain and practice a mental checklist to ensure you don’t start to slip on any of the fundamental aspects. Throughout the process of taking a shot, you must consistently sustain these four fundamental tasks to accurately and efficiently engage targets with a firearm.
1. STABILITY
This the function of how you stabilize the weapon system to the target. A consistent base of stability needs to be maintained throughout the entire shot process to ensure the most accurate engagement. There are natural ways and artificial ways to achieve stability and 99% of the time it will be a combination of both
a. Natural support comes from your body. Muscles and bones. Where possible, bones are preferable to muscles, as muscles fatigue.
b. Artificial support comes from objects that are not your body. The most common way to achieve this is through the use of a bipod and a rear bag, also known as a sand sock. Other artificial support may come from slings, tripods, backpacks/rucksacks, barricades, and even rocks and tree limbs.
2. AIM:
a. Sight alignment with a scoped rifle is the relationship between your eye and the reticle of the optic. Achieving a full field of view free of vignetting, also known as scope shadow. You achieve this by setting the proper eye relief when mounting the optic, keeping your eye aligned properly, and setting the parallax on your optic properly.
b. Sight Picture(s). This is the actual act of aiming the reticle at the desired point of impact. There are two sight pictures in the firing sequence. Pre-fire and post-fire: Pre-fire is everything already discussed, while post-fire is the sight picture used as the reference for your post-shot evaluation.
