Long range gear survey

[taliv]

I'm kinda curious what other people use outside the southeast, as I've noticed shooters in different regions in the country favor different gear. For those of you who shoot long range (say, 600+ yrds) in any discipline (sport, competition, hunting, work, whatever) what do you take to the range?

More specifically, two lists:

What gear do you take with you? (i.e. to the line, or hump around) and do you use a backpack, cart, range bag, stroller, trashcan lashed to a dolly, etc?


What gear do you bring, but leave in your vehicle?

 

[USSR]

What gear do you take with you? (i.e. to the line...

taliv,

Shooting F Class involves bringing what you need to the line. My gear: shooting mat, ammo, rear sand bag, ear muffs, spotting scope, oh yeah, and my rifle.

Don

 

[MCMXI]

taliv, I don't leave any gear in my vehicle. I shoot F-Class matches at 200, 300 and 600 yards (soon to be 800, 900 and 1000 yards too). I carry my rifle and all necessary equipment in a Badlands backpack and a drag bag since I have to walk from the 100 yard line to the 600 yard line and back again ... a number of times since I pull targets too. Here's what I have with me for F-Class matches.

.308 Win bolt action rifle with scope and bipod attached.
Shooting mat, safety glasses and hearing protection
Rear bag
3 or 4 10-round magazines
60 or 90 rounds in plastic ammo boxes (# depends on match)
Spotting scope (TM reticle) and tripod
Notebook (with ballistic data), pen(s), MilDot Master
Kestrel 4500 NV weather meter
Water and snack

 

[taliv]

heh, maybe i'm just hauling too much crap around

 

[MCMXI]

heh, maybe i'm just hauling too much crap around

What do you have with you?

The only two items I'd add to the list above is a range finder and a pair of binoculars but I don't need either for F-Class matches. For hunting or practical matches, I'd lose the shooting mat, rear bag and possibly the spotting scope but everything else would stay. Naturally, the number of rounds would be dictated by the match or hunt.

 

[WNTFW]

Nobody listed ECI.

Cell phone, defensive weapon, and location map of nearest hospitals are always a good idea. Another good idea is to have contact info of your co-shooters family. Stuff happens and it may be non shooting related medical emergency.

I have a tool bag with a rubberized bottom that is my range bag. It stays dry on damp grass.

For competition
The F-Class/Mid Range Prone is all from the 600yd line and the parking is right there. We are shuttled to the targets via pickup. XTC means more walking.

My shooting buddy & I usually just use the same equipment so the mat, scope & rear bag not being moved every time helps.
Rifle, ammo, ECI, Eyes & ears. Add mags if AR.
Clipboard, pens, notebook, calculator & Timer
Hat, water & food, towel, soap, paper towels & at least 1 bag for trash. I keep a few plastic grocery bags as they don't take up much room.
I have a very light shooting mat - it is a ground cover is all but if folds up really nicely.

I don't have jacket, mitt, smoker, squib rod or range cart. Range cart makes sense as an organizational tool at matches.

Pistol matches are less equipment intensive.

For a non-competition trip the gear goes up. Target gear, radios, several firearms etc. I like to keep some items grouped together in a modular format. For example I have a target bag that has everything I need when I go down range to check/swap targets The bag has staple gun & extra staples, tape, pasters, ink pens, staple removal tools. It has a carrying neck strap so I can let it hang in front of me and work from it. Some of the target carriers need to be waded to = rubber boots. At the indoor range I have my own backer I bring. The targets are in a portfolio so the wind won't take them. The fan at the indoor range will do the same. The dividers keep them separated by type. For a match the target bag/portfolio just stay home. I also have specialized gear for certain guns that stay with the gun, IE sight adjustment tools, allen wrench, screwdriver that fits the sights or spare parts.

The particular range may affect the list a little.

I'm always ready to haul off whatever brass I can pick up! That is why I sometimes have kneepads in the list along with a bucket that has 1 flat side on it.

 

[RhinoDefense]

Don't hunt or compete. I shoot for fun.

Besides the essentials (gun, ammo, etc) I bring a shooting mat for prone shooting. I have a log book to chart my performance. Spotting scope, wind meter, first aid kit,

Have a small (2.5gal) bucket for brass. Have a sign on it stating "brass bucket". Be surprised how many people walk up, dump their brass in, and leave.

Pretty much about it. I'm there to shoot, take record of performance, and deal with minor situations (minor cuts, etc).

 

[sscoyote]

I'm a hunter and just went to the range yesterday to verify trajectory vs. ballistic program profile, and it was dead nuts on to 425 with my Sav. Super Striker 22-250/8 twist McGowen/3.5-15 NF



For this testing i just brought about 20 loads, ballistics profile printout, burlap covered soft-sided stadium seat,. Holland's rear bag, and Harris bipod. Already knew the gun was shooting accurate, just wanted to verify my dope. Consequently the minimal gear--



If it looks like the 3-shot 3" gp. is a little low (wind caught me too), it is. That's because i was using my 400-yd. dope for 425...DUMB!!

When developing loads though i reload at the range portably.
Usually i take a computer too to fine tune the trajectory profile of my load at long-range.

 

[browningguy]

I carry my rifle in a large standard type gun case, all the other kit goes in a rolling soft sided tool bag from home depot. Ammo, knife, pencil and paper pad, 20-50x spotting scope, tool kit, cleaning kit, and roll of 100mph duct tape, 'cause you never know. I aso put water and snacks in a small insulated bag that goes in the rolling bag.

 

[taliv]

What do you have with you?

my list looks a lot more like wntfw's

i use one of those creedmoor carts for xtc and mid-range/long-range/f-class HP, so it's usually full of stuff for both, including eyes/ears, jacket, glove, smoker, carbide, mags, ammo, pens, paper, databook, cleaning stuff, sweat band, spotting scope, shooting mat, water, food, towels, etc. plus i keep tools, targets, and lots of spare gun parts in the truck. and i keep a lot of extra stuff for the random new shooters i often drag along.

i mostly blame LA Police Supply for this... they just HAD to send me a free 5.11 gear bag when i ordered one of those light for lifes last week! analysis paralysis led to a complete disaster... gear spread all over several backpacks, gear bags and my cart and vehicle. no idea where anything was. hard to believe i normally keep 2 sets of custom plugs in my car and a set of earmuffs, but somehow managed to show up to the range today with no hearing protection. and only hot water. geez

 

[Zak Smith]

taliv,

The 2008-2010 Steel Safari match reports each include an equipment survey of around 30 competitors at that match. You might find that interesting.

When I shoot a LR match like that, I take my AI .260/SB/TBAC with AI bipod; in the Kifaru Express pack I have ammo, Swaro LRF, rear bag "sock", approx 100 oz water, a couple power bars, extra data card, one or two little tools, shooting sticks.

 

[blackops]

"Kifaru Express pack" haha Zak where the heck do you find this stuff?? That pack is bad azz.
Anyways, I'm a rookie compared to the others posting in this thread, but I regulary shoot over 600yds (mostly alone because none of my friends share the same interest), but I try an keep it simple. Most other gear here is top end compared to mine, but tides will change when I finish school and I will be the one with the 6k rifle, 3k scope, 1k rangefinder, and 400 wind meter.

I'll put them in order.

1. Rifle(R700)/Hard Case
2. Rangefinder (Loopy RX II)
3. Wind Meter (Caldwell)
4. Shooting Mat (Midway)
5. Data Binder (MOA chart, ballistic software data, note paper)

Water and food can wait.

I notice a lot of guys utilize a rear bag. Looks like that is something I need to look into. Seems like it takes a little of the challenge away (even though I'm not the greatest shot to begin with). Any suggestions for a solid rear bag with a little height to it?

 

[Zak Smith]

If we're going to be near the truck, shooting a "KD" style range, even if it's out away from a square range, I'll just haul some stuff in my Eagle drag bag, and I bring my super-nice, large, thick shooting pad, and have a cooler in the back of the truck.

But a lot of our shooting involves a considerable amount of hiking through arid environments and bringing enough water is a safety issue.

 

[sscoyote]

We just finished a roving field course with UKD tgts. at this shoot-- www.moaguns.com using specialty pistols, and when i go on these kinda' shoots i hydrate at the vehicle and then just carry a small amount of water with me. I don't want to use a pack if i can get away with it, and can walk 1/2 a day in the prairie country i hunt for coyotes and antelope comfortably using this system. I attached an additional snap at the end of the side straps on the stadium seat seen above to carry around my waist hands-free. This is one of the best pieces of gear i have these days, as it doubles as a 3/4 shooting mat and unbeatable for sitting shots with a bipod (portable back support). I actually killed a coyote once at 906 yds. with one of these XP-100handguns from the sit using this system.

I also now only carry a Bushnell 2.5 doubler that press fits on the oculars of my Leica Geovids for the most portable spotting scope system i've ever seen. Works great for my uses.