4 That 100 yard “sniper shot”? Piece. Of. Cake. Unless you’re using a pistol.
Range is a funny thing. Barrel length, bullet-shape, -size, and -weight, wind direction and speed all alter this number. Hell, even the grain count between two types of rounds in the same gun can change the maximum range. And, at certain distances, the round isn’t traveling with enough energy to do damage. To cut out the ambiguity, shooters tend to focus more on the “maximum effective range” – the largest theoretical distance at which damage can be inflicted upon a target with a specific firearm under the broadest conditions.
Besides maximum effective range, there are other things to consider – like the vision of the shooter, the lighting conditions, attached optics, and how exposed the target is. The equations can get complicated but here are a few rules of thumb – for a snub nose revolver you’re working in feet, ten or fifteen at most for an accurate shot. For a full-sized pistol, a man-sized target twenty-five to fifty meters away is a two-handed reality with practice. And with a rifle? Even without optics, a 300 meter shot is fairly easy with minimal training.
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