With long-range shooting, animals aren't usually spooked, giving the hunter time to make sure everything is just perfect.

Once you know where these stadia lines or marks will put you, having a firm aiming point on the crosswire--as opposed to holding over the animal--makes life much simpler. Coues deer and antelope outfitter Kirk Kelso, who uses Premier reticles calibrated to his 168-grain .300 Wby. Mag. load, has made me a believer in this. I've seen him make terrific shots and also coach other shooters (me included) into making some very long shots.

None of this matters if you don't know--really know--the range to the animal. At longer ranges, an error of just 10 percent, which is a darned close "by eye" estimate, is really too much. I carry a laser rangefinder, which greatly simplifies this part of the equation, but there are other methods that work, such as the bracketing method with any variable scope employing a plex-type reticle.

I've covered most of the variables over which you have control. Here are a few that you must take into account, even if you can't do anything about them.

No matter how much training and experience you have, it is almost impossible to get a precise reading on the wind. You can memorize (or carry with you) all the charts you want, but how can you know the precise wind velocity? Okay, you could carry a wind gauge. Fine. But how can you be sure the wind over there at the animal is the same velocity and angle as the wind where you are?

On dead-flat terrain you can be fairly certain, but in broken ground it's almost impossible to tell. I misjudged the wind on that Coues deer I mentioned at the start, but it wasn't strong enough to make a significant difference. At long range the wind doesn't have to be all that strong before it starts to have tremendous impact. If you can't get a really good idea of what the wind is doing, you probably don't have a shot.

The other thing that's almost impossible to know for certain is the effect of any angle from the horizontal. Whether you're shooting up or down, the effect is the same, and it takes a very steep angle and/or long range before the effect is enough to worry about. At long range you'd better worry about it. If you aren't quite certain you know what to do, you probably don't have a shot.

Last year I was hunting with Kelso in New Mexico. We didn't really set out to try his long-range theories, but there was this really nice buck 590 yards up the ridge.

There simply was no cover for a closer approach but plenty of time to get set up. I was shooting a lovely .300 Wby. Mag. made by D'Arcy Echols; it's a quarter-inch rifle, and the Premier reticle was calibrated for this load.

I knew the rifle, cartridge and Sierra bullet would do their jobs; the issue was really the wind. It was steady and straight right to left, but it had to be approaching 20 mph. Figuring the slight elevation counted for a bit, I put the 500-yard stadia line right over his back. He was standing with his head to the left, so I put just a bit of daylight between the vertical wire and his rump. The bullet drifted about 22 inches and dropped about seven inches from point of aim, perfectly centering the buck's shoulder. He dropped so fast I had no idea where he had gone.

Some of you will judge that shot irresponsible. It happens to be the longest shot I have ever attempted, and I have no desire to make a career of it. But I understood the rifle, I knew the range, I knew the hold, I had plenty of time to get steady (and I was steady), I figured the wind correctly, and I had a good, broadside presentation on a standing animal.

Was it a fluke? I don't think so. With modern rifles, good ammo and good optics the capability is there. The rub is that there's a difference between capability and ability. It takes a lot of time and effort to understand exactly what your equipment is truly capable of, and then it takes even more time and effort to become proficient enough and confident enough to increase your shooting distance in the field.