Discover the top scope mounts and rings used by the elite shooters in the Precision Rifle Series. Learn why pros don't cut corners on this crucial component and see which brands dominate the field. Dive into exclusive insight from top-ranked shooters and find out which mounts offer the best value and performance. Get the inside scoop on what the pros use and why.
Read More »Wyoming ELR Scopes & Mounts – What The Pros Use
This article shows what scopes and scope mounts/rings the competitive rifle shooters were running at this year’s Nightforce ELR Steel Challenge in Casper, Wyoming. That is a one-of-a-kind, 2-day, flagship match with 20+ stages featuring targets from 720 to 2,091 yards. The average target distance is year was 1,180 yards, with 70% of the targets beyond 1,000 yards! When you’re reaching out to that kind of distance your scope and mount must be rock-solid! This article is based on a survey of 100+ competitors and shares what brands and models these guys trusted to make first-round hits.
Read More »Best Scope Mount – What The Pros Use
I’m currently publishing a series of posts that highlights the gear the top ranked shooters in both the Precision Rifle Series (PRS) and the National Rifle League (NRL) are running in long range rifle matches. (Learn about the PRS & NRL.) This group of over 150 competitors represent the best precision rifle shooters in the country. My last post focused on the rifle scopes this group of shooters was running, and I intended to also include what scope mount/rings they were using … and one of my astute readers noticed I forgot. My bad! This post will quickly cover scope ...
Read More »Custom Twin 6mm Match Rifles
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 ...
Read More »Extreme Long Range Tips 1: Optics & Mounts
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 ...
Read More »A Long-Range African Safari
I’d never paid for a hunt in my life, at least up until a few months ago. I’ve been a die-hard hunter since I was big enough to carry a firearm, but I’ve only hunted small parcels of land owned by family. Over the past 20 years, I’ve spent countless days in the field and have taken a couple nice mule deer and whitetail that were big for my area, but I’d never hunted outside of West Texas. A friend sold me on the idea of an African safari, and it turned out to be one of the greatest experiences ...
Read More »Scope Mounts – What The Pros Use
This post is covers the scope mounts and scope rings the best precision rifle shooters used in 2014. The data is based on a survey of the top 50 shooters in the Precision Rifle Series (PRS). The PRS tracks how top competitors place in major rifle matches across the country. These are the major leagues of sniper-style competitions, with targets typically in the 300-1000 yard range. For more info on the Precision Rifle Series and who these guys are scroll to the bottom of this article. Scope Rings or One-Piece Mount? This year we added a couple questions to the ...
Read More »Custom 6XC Precision Rifle Build
I recently had custom precision rifle built by Surgeon Rifles to use for tactical/practical rifle competitions. Those competitions typically include shots from 300 to 1,000 yards. As I walked through SHOT Show this year, I was on a hunt to find the best components for each part in a quest for the ultimate precision rifle build (or at least try out the latest and greatest to see how it stacked up to the hype). I’ve already put 600+ rounds through it, and ran it in 2 competitions. One of those was the 2014 Steel Safari, which is a grueling 3 ...
Read More »Rifle Screw Torque Settings Guidelines
I’ve had to reference back to these torque specifications a couple times, and thought it’d be helpful to post. It is a list of the recommended screw torque settings for most rifle parts, like action screw torque. These come from a lot of different sources (including manufacturers on the phone), but one great one is Brownell’s “Torque Specifications for Gunsmiths” Article. As that article explains, these specs are subject to change as companies change their manufacturing processes, materials, and design. However, many people believe consistent torque is at least as important as the actual number of inch/pounds (especially when talking about action screws). Here is an excerpt from that article that ...
Read More »Long-Range & Short-Range Hunting Scope Combo Setup
Note: This post is about scope setups that can provide both long & short range capabilities. I also wrote a buyer’s guide for long-range scopes, which includes what features to look for and specific recommendations by price point. You can find that here: Best Long-Range Scopes: Buyers Guide & Features To Look For. Lots of people have asked me about what the best scope setup is for a long-range rifle that they plan to take hunting. The problem with most long-range scopes is that it can be almost impossible to engage targets that pop-up at close ranges unexpectedly. Nothing is ...
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