in ection, so I began to pull immediately. I’d learned that
when a professional spotter reads the wind and makes
a decisive call, you’d better press the trigger before the
window closes. But this complicates things. I’ve always
let the trigger surprise me when target shooting. It’s easy
to do when ring at my leisure, but it’s tougher when the
wind dictates and the ri e must go off within about four
seconds. The challenge is pressing the trigger—not willing
it—yet staying stone-steady while doing so. And believe
me, it’s easy to see any disturbance when you’ve got top-
notch glass cranked to 25X.
Boom! The ri e lurched, but thanks to its weight and
the 6.5 mm Creedmoor’s mellow recoil, not enough to pull
my eye fully off target. I counted a second, then part of
another and ... splash! Through the sideways-undulating
heat mirage I saw a disturbance on the steel 1,500 yds.
distant and then a streak of silvery lead where formerly all
had been white. At that range and in that wind, hearing
the satisfying gong of steel is impossible—in fact even
determining a hit at all can be dif cult without a spotter
who’s dialed in on the bullet’s trail.
“Hit,” said Beaman calmly, and just like that, a couple
days’ instruction had all come together.
Mind you, I’m not suggesting anyone couldn’t have hit
the target with ample bullets, a great ri e and some basic
shooting fundamentals, but I’m also not going to pretend
I wasn’t satis ed knowing I aimed at a target farther than
my naked eye can see and dinged it three times in a row.
I rolled onto my back, away from the gun and nally
breathed freely again.
The quest for a 1,500-yd. group started the morn-
ing prior when we’d mounted Trijicon’s behemoth new
AccuPower 4.5-30X 56 mm tactical scopes atop Sabatti STR
ri es and opened our notebooks to study the nuances of
ballistics, long-range-shooting fundamentals and practical
tips from Beaman, a former SEAL sniper.
Shooting at this range and beyond, any variable in
the equation—a reticle that doesn’t track corrections
absolutely perfectly; inconsistent light through the
scope; a rifle that won’t hold a half-minute-of-angle
(m.o.a.) or better; inconsistent cheekweld; or an unob-
served 3-m.p.h. wind gust three-quarters of the way to
the target—can ruin all chances. The key to long-range
shooting, then, is to control all variables possible, like
the rest, the rifle, ammunition, optics and your shoot-
ing form, so you can concentrate on reading the wind,
applying the right dope and accomplishing the perfect
trigger press.
But to obtain near perfection in optics, you must
pay for it. And after using Trijicon’s AccuPower 4.5-30X
56 mm tactical rifle scope, I believe it comes close.A Brief History Of Trijicon’s Innovation
Trijicon, Inc., was founded in 1981 by an optical
visionary named Glyn Bindon (1937-2003). Bindon was an
advocate of using both eyes to aim a rearm. He ada-
mantly believed that doing so would allow full advantage
of humans’ peripheral vision that, if left unencumbered,
combines with its acute distant focusing to produce the
most amazing optical system the world has ever known.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG SEPTEMBER (^201963)
Mounted on a heavy-barrel Ruger
American Hunter in 6.5 mm Creedmoor
with a Badger Ordnance alloy
Unimount, the Trijicon AccuPower
4.5-30X 56 mm scope is well-suited for
extended-range pursuits, from hunting
to competition.