Back by popular demand: Welcome to What The Pros Use 2018 Edition! I recently surveyed the top ranked precision rifle shooters in the country to learn what gear they’re currently running in long range rifle matches. I’ll be publishing the results over the next several posts. I’ve done this for a few years, although I skipped last year. This year there will be a few new, exciting twists! Results for PRS & NRL First, I surveyed the best shooters in both the Precision Rifle Series (PRS) and the National Rifle League (NRL), so it’s based on an even larger, more widespread ...

A couple of years ago, I wrote about a custom 6XC precision rifle I had built that I used in PRS-style matches. Since that time more precision rifle products have been released than the previous 10 years combined! So last year I started from scratch and built two twin match rifles. I’ve been running this rifle setup for a year now, making small tweaks along the way, and I love how I have it configured. While I don’t believe in any one rifle being the “best” for all shooters and applications, this setup seems completely ideal for my use. I’m ...

This is the last post in a series highlighting the major challenges related to extreme long range (ELR) shooting. Along the way I’ve shared a few tips and products to help you overcome those challenges. I grouped topics into a few categories, and here is what we’ve covered so far: Optics & Mounts – Accounting for an extreme amount of bullet drop Spotting Shots & Ranging – Seeing your bullet impact and getting an accurate range Ballistics & Time of Flight – Advanced/unique things that happen when a bullet stays in the air for a long time In this post, ...

When you extend shots into extreme ranges (like 2000+ yards), you’ll face some new obstacles. A few factors that could be safely ignored inside of 1000 yards become critical to getting rounds on target. You’ll face new equipment challenges that may not be obvious. As your bullet’s time of flight extends up 3 seconds, and possibly even up to 6+ seconds, priorities shift. In this series of posts I’m trying to highlight a few things that make extreme long range (ELR) challenging, and pointing out a few products worth checking out that might help. In the first post in this ...

When shooting targets at extreme distances (like 2000+ yards), you’ll quickly uncover some new obstacles. A few factors that could be safely ignored inside of 1000 yards become critical to getting rounds on target. You’ll also be faced with new equipment challenges that may not be obvious. As your bullet’s time of flight extends up 3 seconds, and possibly even up to 6+ seconds, priorities shift. You could say everything is important, but to differing degrees. In the last post, I focused on two big issues related to optics, and highlighted several new products designed to help you overcome those ...

When shooting targets at extreme distances (like 2000+ yards), you’ll quickly uncover some new obstacles. A few factors that could be safely ignored inside of 1000 yards become critical to getting rounds on target. You’ll face new equipment challenges that may not be obvious at first glance. As your bullet’s time of flight extends up 3 seconds, and possibly even up to 6+ seconds, priorities shift. Everything is important, but to differing degrees. In this post, I’ll start by focusing issues you’ll face surrounding optics. That certainly isn’t the biggest challenge when it comes to ELR, but there are some ...

Earlier this week I traveled to watch the King of 2 Miles rifle competition (Ko2M) at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico. It’s one of the few matches where great shooters from across the country gather to push the limits of what is possible with small arms as they engage targets out to 2 miles (3,520 yards). It was interesting to see what the top shooters were using in terms of equipment and gear, and I’ll share a summary of that in this post. In subsequent posts, I’ll go into more detail on some of the issues these ...

I’m sharing a series of posts on ELR shooting, but I didn’t want to jump from the long-range rifles in mid-size 6mm and 6.5mm cartridges that I normally talk about straight into the extreme, super-high-performance 375+ caliber rifles used to engage targets at 2+ miles. Instead of just presenting the extremes, I thought it’d be helpful to first share a rifle setup that is somewhere in between. Then in later posts I’ll get into the more specialized setups used to push the boundaries of what is possible with shoulder-fired rifles. In this post, I’ll share the details of a rifle ...

There have always been a niche group of shooters pushing the limits when it comes to distance. But over the past few years, advancements in manufacturing combined with better understanding and tools around predictive ballistics have ushered Extreme Long Range (ELR) shooting into the mainstream. A decade ago, the few shooters who could hit targets at a mile or more were considered super-human. Today, distances once considered impossible with shoulder-fired rifles can now be hit on-demand by just about any shooter with the right equipment and desire to learn. I’ve been a long-range addict for several years now, but that ...

Have you ever wished you could practice with one of the top shooters in the country? Have you ever wondered what was going on in the head of veterans as they’re preparing for a stage? I have. At the 2017 Heatstroke rifle match I was fortunate to be squadded with Matthew Brousseau, Jon Pynch, and a couple other great shooters. For context, Matthew ended up being the 2017 Overall PRS Champion, and Jon is a top shooter who won the Extended Long Range PRS Match at Q Creek and a couple other majors last year. You wouldn’t believe how much ...