Quote:
Originally Posted by PriestFoxley
So I decided to learn the ins and outs of Mil-dot reticles, and considering my unit is not about to send me to sniper school, I decided to learn it myself.
I picked up a remington 700 VTR and a few other things, based on what I could afford, what works, and as cheesy as it sounds, what I heard you guys use. Most of it is easy. A remington 700 is a civvie M24, a carl ziess 4.5-12 mildot scope stands in for a leupold mark 4 fixed ten power. (Local dealers told me they don't exist anymore, so I just left the CZ set to ten.) A cheap spotting scope saves some time, and all I needed was a notebook and a bunch of .308 that didn't come from walmart.
I can zero to 100 meters, just like anyone. I can dope a shot on a known distance target, but thats apparently kids stuff as well. what I CAN'T do, is visually estimate range on unknown distance targets. No practice, you see. I figured I would pick up a laser rangefinder, and that would help me eyeball things, but the first one I bought sort of screwed me over. It said it worked to 1000 yards, but it wouldn't return off anything over 200.
I hear you screaming. "Stupid kid, never buy cheap shit, it only breaks at the worst time, buy quality!" I know. But articles never tell you what sort of rangefinders SF guys use, just rifles, scopes, and ammo.
What rangefinders do you guys use?
Next question. Whats a good shot? Between all the rifles, ammo, and technical garbage I am reading, I understand that some scoped guns are different. I benched my rifle, held really still, and can reliably put five shots into an inch at a 100m. But again, thats kids stuff. Sooner or later my unit will be getting DMRs, and when they ask who has experience, I want to be able to raise my hand and say something impressive enough to get handed one. I figured if I could reliably hit a torso at 600m that would qualify, but thats supposed to be the extreme range for my AR. I know I will just keep trying new stuff until I suck, then practice till I don't. What sort of ranges are designated marksmen and snipers supposed to be able to hit?
Thanks for your time.
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The first thing you need to do is read. There are numerous books besides FM's. Maj. Plaster's "Ultimate Sniper" is a good reference. A Rem. 700 is not a "Civvie M24." That is simply the action most sniper rifles are based on. You have not accounted for the barrel, the stock, and the work done to true them all and mate them into an accurate system.
The minimum accuracy you will want to look for is 1MOA. This will be approximately 1" at 100 yrds. Many makers these days guarantee 1/2 MOA for the rifle. This does not take into account the skill, or lack of, of the shooter. That minimum accuracy I was talking about is not benched. You need to fire that from position, prone supported at least.
Try to use Match ammunition. Those bought at Wally World for hunting will not be loaded consistently enough to use for these purposes.
A good way to practice judging unknown distance is take some standard measurements in your area. How far apart are the telephone poles, what is the average distance block to block on the streets. Start judging how things look at these distances, like a person walking, a car, etc. Learn how to take the way that distance looks, then fold it over a couple of times. For example, something that appears to be two or three football fields away, thus around three hundred yards. Then learn how to use the mildots for judging distance. A rangefinder is just a handy tool to use. If they break or the batteries die, they are useless and you need to be able to do it the old fashioned way.