For example, Federal’s 165-grain Barnes TSX load leaves the muzzle at 3130 fps and generates 3589 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. The 180-grain TSX load has a muzzle velocity of 2989 fps and 3549 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. At 500 yards, the 180-grain bullet has a significant advantage in muzzle energy--1638 ft-lbs for the 180-grain bullet versus 1425 ft-lbs for the 165-grainer--and it has 2.9 inches less of wind drift than the 165-grain bullet. The 180-grain TSX will drop 1.3 inches more, but drop is a lot easier to dope than wind, so the 180-grain TSX gets my vote every day.

The difference in drop and wind drift is much more compelling if we drop down to 150-grain bullets of similar construction, but the advantages of heavy bullets are plain to see, even with a slight, 15-grain difference in bullet weight.

The optic is the final piece of the long-range rifle puzzle. Bright, clear glass and a rugged design that won’t lose its zero are absolutely essential. An adjustable objective is also necessary for eliminating parallax, which can mean the difference between a clean kill and a missed or wounded animal at long range.

A quality ranging reticle or target turrets take a lot of the guesswork out of shooting beyond 300 yards. Long-range reticles from makers like Burris, Leupold, Nightforce, Nikon, Shepherd, Swarovski, and Zeiss have aiming points designed to hit within a circle of a given size at a given range. What each of those reticles’ lines or circles means varies according to caliber and the power setting of the scope. On the other hand, custom reticles like those from Premier Reticles and Leupold’s Custom Shop are designed to be spot-on at specific ranges with a given rifle and load.

Target turrets are excellent for long-range shooting, provided you use a quality scope with adjustments that track properly and return to zero. You can zero out the factory turrets after sighting-in and figure out your own clicks, or you can go with a custom BDC turret from Leupold. I’ve used both with great success, but I am a fan of Leupold’s custom BDC turret for hunting.

I have several dedicated long-range rigs. For pronghorns, I rely on my .257 Weatherby. Though it’s a fairly lightweight rifle, it has a 26-inch barrel and shoots well under a half-inch at 100 yards with 115-grain Barnes X-Bullets. Its Leupold scope has a custom dot reticle calibrated for dead-on holds from 200 to 600 yards. Last year, I used it to smoke a fine Dall ram at 488 yards.

For the majority of my hunting in wide-open spaces, I rely on a trio of .300 Magnums. The first, a custom number in .300 WSM, has a 23-inch barrel and a Swarovski scope with the TDS reticle, which is, sadly, no longer in production. With 180-grain AccuBonds and a 200-yard zero, its progressively wider bars offer a dead-on hold and 10-mile-per-hour crosswind hold-offs from 200 to 600 yards.

I also use a 24-inch-barreled .300 Winchester Magnum and a .300 Weatherby with a 26-inch tube. One wears a Nikon Monarch scope with Nikon’s BDC reticle, and the .300 Weatherby has a target turret-equipped Leupold scope. With my favorite 180-grain loads, I can easily ring a 10-inch gong at 600 yards with either rifle. Like my .300 WSM, they are capable of cleanly taking everything from whitetails to wildebeest as far as I feel comfortable shooting.

Going long on game should not be undertaken lightly. But in the hands of a skilled shooter, the right gear can help minimize mistakes, which is the key to every hunter’s goal--a clean, humane kill.