“When ‘favorable outcomes’ occur mostly due to pure luck, the prudent abstain from congratulating themselves”
Carr
At an Urban Rifle Class last weekend, we (as always) conducted nearly all our training scenarios within 75m. In fact, the majority were within 25m!
Students asked about shooting at greater ranges, and I like to give students the opportunity to do so (when the facility permits), just so students understand the full capability/limitations of their equipment.
Yet, we have limited range-time, and we need to use it as wisely as we can.
High-BC (ballistic coefficient) “Creedmore Calibers,” now superceded by the “PRC Calibers” (a Hornady project), are designed to appeal to competition shooters, who want to compete at distances as far as 1k meters, even further. These calibers are all relatively new, so rifles designed for them are very precise, and chamber dimensions are tight, all for the sake of long-range (purely academic) accuracy.
The trajectory of rifle bullets is fairly predictable, so long as they remain supersonic (in excess of 1125 f/s, at sea level). When rifle bullets drop below the speed of sound, they destabilize. High BC, sleek/skinny bullets stay supersonic longer than lower BC bullets, and that is their appeal.
Within 300m, the foregoing is mostly irrelevant. Within 200m it is utterly irrelevant, at least with regard to any practical purpose!
Ballistic drop is surely calculable, as gravity is pretty consistent most places one goes on Earth. And, with modern, laser range-finders, distances can be precisely measured, to within a meter or two. However, what is nearly impossible to measure, with any kind of precision, is the effect of wind, and the longer the distance to the target, the longer time wind has to work on a bullet during its flight.
Long-range, military snipers do have a legitimate interest in predictably making lethal shots on human targets at ranges out to 1k meters, even beyond, but as noted, at these extended ranges it’s more art than science, particularly with regard to wind.
Big-game hunters do not, in my opinion. For one, I’m not comfortable shooting big game beyond 300m, and that represents an absolute maximum. In fact, any shot at a big-game animal beyond 200m I’m probably going to decline, because I don’t want to chase wounded animals the rest of the day!
And, with regard to domestic self-defense, 75m is about the maximum any of us can positively identify a threat, via only the naked eye. At greater ranges, shooting at threatening people may be reasonably arguable under some esoteric circumstances, but at those distances “disengage and separate” usually represents a better strategic option.
Of course, catastrophic political upheaval could radically alter the foregoing, no doubt!
But until then, it is my opinion that we should spend most of our training time on domestic self-defense scenarios which are (at least for now) most likely.
/John
