7 Accessories That Will Improve Your Long-Range Shooting

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Even with the wide range of accessories on the market that are geared towards long-range shooting, nothing can replace the shooter's skill. There are some things that will help you in your pursuit of becoming a proficient long-range shooter. In this article I will outline some categories of accessories that you should focus on, along with some specific products that I have used and recommend.

I will approach this article from a new shooter perspective that is just getting into long-range shooting. Review my previous article on rifle and optics setup for long-range shooting. Those articles will cover what I believe to be the necessary upgrades for your rifle setup for a long-range shooting system. For now, we will assume that you are at that minimum point. The accessories that I will list below are applicable for both hunting and range use. These accessories are not listed by order of price or importance. I will make a case for all of them, and you can decide what you want to spend your money on.

Binoculars

Even with a solid rifle setup, you need to be able to find what you want to shoot at. This is where the binoculars come in. Whether you are competing in NRL Hunter, hunting or just enjoying a day at the range, binoculars are a must-have accessory. While you can skimp on your rifle scope glass quality (because it is not an observation piece per se), you will notice poor glass in binoculars. Hours of glassing while hunting or even spotting for a buddy at the range, your eye will feel it.

While I’m not a glass snob, I do like to have good glass in my binoculars. Some people will say that you must buy Swarovski, Zeiss, Leica, or other top-tier glass, but I don’t. While top-of-the-line glass is great to look through, it comes at a heavy cost. A cost that most people cannot afford, especially if they are just starting out. If you can afford it, sure, buy them, and you will be very happy. Getting a mid-tier level of glass will do you just fine for most situations.

For rifle applications, I prefer binoculars with a built-in rangefinder. There are a lot of quality binoculars on the market that have decent glass, a rangefinder, and will not break the bank. The GPO Rangeguide 2800, Leupold BX-4 Range and Athlon Cronus UHD, Meopta 10x42 MeoPro Optika LRF and Burris Signature LRF Binoculars are all great places to start.

I have been using the GPO Rangeguides for years now and they are an impressive package for the price. I have had a couple issues with them over the years, but GPO has done a good job of supporting their product. The several binoculars listed above do not have onboard ballistics. I will be upgrading my GPO’s in the future to a rangefinding binocular with onboard ballistics. I will likely purchase a pair of Revic BLR10B. I have used that binocular in the past and out of all the ones I have tested, that binocular is the best overall setup for glass, solve and laser.

As you go from binoculars without a rangefinder to LRF (laser rangefinder) binoculars and LRF binoculars with ballistics, you will get on target faster and increase efficiency. I saw this firsthand hunting and shooting NRL Hunter matches.

Rangefinder

Now let’s say that you already have a set of binoculars that you don’t want to replace. Adding a dedicated rangefinder would be a solid option. While not as fast as having a rangefinder in your binoculars, if you have a quality set of glass already, you can get into a good handheld rangefinder cheaper than getting a rangefinding binocular. For about $700 you can get a capable rangefinder that has onboard ballistics.

Even with getting data from the handheld rangefinder, it is still slower than having a rangefinding binocular and then referring to a data card. While being a Range Officer (R/O) this season for a couple NRL Hunter Matches, I watched this play out. I watch people have to locate targets with their binoculars, put their binoculars away, grab their rangefinder, have to locate the target again, and get an accurate range on the target.

A big problem I noticed was people would glass with binoculars on a tripod, and then when they switched to their rangefinder, they would not stabilize the rangefinder on the tripod and struggled getting an accurate range. When we are talking about long-range shooting, getting an accurate range to the target is crucial to making good hits on target. It can be done with a handheld rangefinder, but just make sure you clip it into a tripod or stabilize it somehow.

Whether you are using a rangefinding binocular or a dedicated handheld rangefinder, an often-overlooked step is finding out where your laser is hitting with the reticle. People take for granted that the laser is in the middle of the rangefinder’s reticle. This is often not the case, unfortunately. I’ve witnessed that cause ranging errors that made people miss targets. I won’t go into how to do this in this article, but do your research and check your rangefinder.

Spotting Scope

One vital piece of gear that should be in your kit is a spotting scope. They come in all shapes, sizes, and quality. The bottom line is, you will get a better view of your targets downrange with a spotting scope. Being able to tell where exactly you impacted on a long-range target is critical for truing up your ballistic data. It is not enough to just see that you hit the target, but where on the target is what matters most. This will help you better gauge your wind calls and fine-tune your ballistic solution.

It also should go without saying, but a spotting scope in the field (while hunting) will give you a big advantage over people who do not have one. It will allow you to pick apart the shadows during midday and find the bedded animal. It will give you the ability to field judge animals and spot them from a long way away.

Some spotting scopes will also have a reticle inside of them. I have used a spotter with a reticle before, and it was nice to use for field judging animals (using the reticle as a ruler). It served me more at the range, though. While spotting for other shooters, I can give them accurate, real-time correction.

Tripod

A tripod is a piece of gear that I never thought much of for the shooting side of things. I had previously had lighter-weight tripods that I just used for glassing off. While they worked for glassing, they were not strong enough nor set up properly for shooting off. It wasn’t until I missed an opportunity at a spring bear that I started prioritizing stability over weight.

When I am looking at a tripod to purchase, I make sure and look at a few things. I look for the number of leg sections as this will determine how compact the tripod can be when not deployed and how tall it will be when fully deployed. The more leg sections also can mean less stability because the legs will get smaller as you add sections. To get a deployed height that is usable for shooting and glassing while standing, if you have fewer leg sections, those sections will be longer. This means even when collapsed, the tripod will be very long.

I look at the load capacity of both the tripod and the head. This will determine if the tripod and head can support the weight of your rifle and be stable enough to shoot from accurately. The head type is also a big factor. I tend to gravitate towards a ball head or inverted ball head. This will give you the freedom of movement that most pan heads will not. A ball head allows you to level your rifle which is a must for long range shots.

The last thing I look at is the total weight of the tripod. This is a give and take though. I have a tripod that is great for my competitions, but it is overkill to take into the mountains. Finding a balance between the features listed above and weight is achievable. I will not sacrifice stability for weight, though.

Shooting Bag

With long-range shooting, stability is the name of the game. Picking the proper shooting bag can help you be as stable as possible. I personally use an Armageddon Gear Shmedium Game Changer bag with heavy fill for NRL Hunter Competitions. The heavy fill bags will give you the most stability, but they are heavy. With those competitions, I am not worried about the overall weight of my system because I am not hiking them far. I can use that bag as both a rear support for shooting prone and a front bag for shooting from objects.

I have the same Shmedium bag but with a lighter fill that I will take into the mountains with me. As a front bag, you can tell the difference in stability from the light fill to the heavy fill. That is another give and take type situation. There are a lot of great bags out there but choose one that has multiple purposes to save yourself some money.

Digiscoping Adapter

A digiscoping adapter that hooks to your binoculars and/or spotting scope can be an invaluable accessory. I will forget my tags before I forget my digiscoping adapter. I have used a lot of adapters over the years. There are a lot of them on the market, but I use the On Glass Adapter. Since switching to that adapter, I have been able to get a lot more kill shots recorded.

Having the shots on video is fun to show others, but when hunting solo, it can be a game changer. Without someone to spot your impacts, it can be tough to tell where on the animal your shot impacted. Being able to record the shot through your binoculars or spotting scope will give you a lot of information.

I go to the range solo most of the time and used in conjunction with a spotting scope, it saves me a lot of time and shots. I spoke earlier in the spotting scope section about how important observing exactly where on the plate you impacted. With my On Glass Adapter on my spotting scope, I can record slow-motion video on my phone and be able to play it back to see where I impacted on a steel target that has been shot up. For as light and inexpensive as this adapter is, I highly recommend it to everyone.

Radar/Chronograph

Finally, a good radar or chronograph can be critical for long-range shooting. There are several great options on the market for radars. Anymore, a photosensor chronograph like the Shooting Chrony Beta Master Chronograph that I started with is a bad choice. With products like the MagnetoSpeed, Labradar, Garmin Xero C1, Athlon Rangecraft, and Caldwell Velociradar, there is no need to use the old photo-sensor chronographs. The ones I listed will give you better data and will be easier to use.

Having a device that is reliable and gives you accurate data is important. If you are a hand loader, the data that you can collect from a unit like a radar is invaluable. To be able to get velocity data for every shot you shoot that reveals a true story about your average velocity, standard deviation, and extreme spread. I used to use a MagnetoSpeed, and while it gives you accurate data, you cannot check your zero with the bayonet on the end of your barrel. Sure, some companies make attachments so you can have the MagnetoSpeed off your barrel. By the time you purchase that product, you could have just bought a Garmin or Athlon Rangecraft.

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