A Sniper’s Guide to Long Range Shooting is a collection of knowledge and skills that have taken Glen Roberts, the Author, 32 years of his life. From the start, he learned the long-range variables with a custom .243Win using DOS Matrix Computer technology and handwritten range cards at the age of 18, then entered the secret realm of Police Special Operations Sniping from the age of 29 to 47.
During the later years of this time, the Author owned and ran a training company for Snipers and Civilians in Australia and New Zealand for science and the art of Long-Range Shooting. Many things were discovered during this time, uncovering and busting myths commonly taught in Military and Police Doctrine.
Over the years, equipment has improved in all categories, especially optics and laser technology. This, including the inception of personal digital assistants (PDAs) containing essential trajectory mapping software, uncovered many issues and questions of what worked and what didn’t. The range of target engagements by first-rate Military Snipers worldwide doubled, and the effective range of Police Special Operations Snipers quadrupled.
YouTube became a place where people could learn about long-range shooting that they had never heard about. With the advancement of computer programming and mobile phone technology, progress was made in portable ballistics applications. Books emerged from great scientists and long-range shooters such as Bryan Litz. Competitions were being created for civilians from the flow-on effect of hunters and snipers, like the National Rifle League (NRL) Hunter, Precision Rifle Series, and the Extreme Long ranges of the King of 1 Mile and the King of 2 Mile competitions.
The sport of Long-Range Shooting in any of the categories is gratifying, and with the knowledge that is out there today, distances are just getting longer. So why has the Author written this book? He wanted to find a book that covered everything he went through from start to finish. Currently, there is no such book. Plenty of information covers everything to do with exterior ballistics, rifles, telescopic sight, projectiles, laser range finders, terminal ballistic gel tests, etc. Most of this information is separated, with some in the form of online advertising, which can be biased. Other information is very isolated in books written 40 years ago, which you need a degree in Aeroballistics Engineering to understand.
Until now, there hasn’t been one book containing everything you need to know, written in plain language, in a way that sounds like an instructor is sitting beside you. This book is aimed at the novice up to the current professional. It contains images and carefully illustrated diagrams designed to make what seems to be a complex subject easy for anyone to understand and appreciate.
It contains 12 Chapters. Starting at the Fundamentals of Shooting, it works its way through shooting positions and styles, into wind effects and reading the wind, projectile designs, how telescopic sights work, a comprehensive study of projectile flight, cartridge and rifle selection, environmental effects, the tools used in long-range shooting, equipment calibration, and then, in the final chapter, putting it all together in “Shooting at Long-Range.”
This book contains detailed tables that took many hours to make it easy and fast to understand the varying conditions you will encounter. It includes questions and answers you will ask during your endeavor. Each chapter is referenced at the end with where and when some information came from. Not all the information contained within is referenced, as this knowledge was personally gained and proven during the years of shooting the Author has undertaken. Anything that cannot be proven scientifically is either not contained in this book, or it is mentioned within this book to be just an observation and to draw your conclusions.
This book does not contain subjects on Internal Ballistics, Reloading, or Terminal Ballistics. The author is well versed on these subjects; however, he did not deem it essential to include them in this book. The object of this book was to enable novice shooters to know what needs to be understood for success in starting this skill and to enhance the knowledge of skilled shooters in this area. If the reader requests, these three subjects may be written later in Volume 2. This book also does not contain the practical application of rifle shooting fundamentals, as the Author believes numerous videos from professional channels on YouTube teach this very well. However, to learn and apply these fundamentals correctly, they must be taught in person by an experienced Instructor at the range.
The Author left his Sniping career in the Police Special Operations in Australia; however, he continues to be a consultant in this area to Police and Military Special Operations abroad. It is hoped that you, the reader and long-range shooter enthusiast, competitor, or seasoned operational Sniper, get something out of this book. It was written in the best interests of all people in this field, and it is hoped that this book could make a difference in your competition shoots, reduce the suffering of animals you wish to hunt or increase your chance of making your buddies safer in conflict. Last but by no means least, a big thank you to my wife, Mia, for her unconditional support and understanding on this journey.
