LIGHT BULLETS. LONGER RANGES

Here’s how speed can improve your long-range game.

- FRANK GALLI

Growing up, they always told me things would get smaller and lighter as we—as in society and technology— moved forward. Today, “we” see it in a variety of industries, but the shooting community has been slow to respond. There lacks a balance, and the shooting world is subject to wild swings of the pendulum in an effort to find and incorporate those modern advancements in technology.

One of the first areas we ventured into was barrels. We started wrapping steel in carbon fiber to save weight. Then, we questioned the technology to the point where people invented reasons not to use carbon-fiber barrels.

The modern carbon-fiber barrel is outstanding in every way. Yes, if you overheat it, the mirage directly in front of your magnified optic will shift the point-of-impact, but we knew this. Mirage shields aren’t new; we used mirage bands on stainless steel barrels, so when target shooting with a carbon-fiber one, it only makes sense to include it.

Packs are another area where we’re slow to follow. We like big, heavy, military-style packs; the most popular include a gun bearer feature to haul the rifle together with your gear. The problem is, they’re copying military gear from the ’80s. Modern packs weigh in the ounces versus the most popular shooting packs, which come in around 8 pounds empty. It’s that heavy Cordura we covet that adds pounds to our equipment. If you shaved 4 pounds from the pack and added 2 pounds to the rifle, the improvements made are highly noticeable. You gain performance across the board.