I finally got my backyard shooting range built up just right. The backstop is perfect, and I have shooting stations set up at 50-yard distances out to 350 yards. The only problem is that when I’m shooting from the longer ranges, I still need to walk or drive up to the backstop to see where I hit. I have a pretty good spotting scope, but I can’t quite see the target as well as I’d like from 250 or 300 yards.
But then I was checking out all the goods on display at Wyoming Outdoor Company in Lander, and I ran across a device called the Long Shot Target Camera. This thing’s pretty cool. It has a camera you mount up near the target, pointing at what you’re shooting at, and a receiver you take with you back to your shooting spot. The receiver beams an up-close image of the target to your iPad or other mobile device, where you can see exactly where on the target you’re hitting.
There are several different options, including the LR-3 system, which is billed as being able to give you that close-up look at the target all the way out to two miles. That’s way longer than I would probably ever need, and I might have trouble justifying its $900 price tag. But they make a 300-yard version, too, and it’s a little less expensive, at $450. That one might not be enough for my 350-yard range, though, and I’ve got plans to add some stations at 400 and 450 yards, if I get good enough to make it worthwhile from the distances I already have.
I got to researching the Long Shot online when I got home, and it turns out there are some other remote target camera systems that are a little less expensive, too. Caldwell, Midway, and others make similar systems, but it looks like the Long Shot is the only one you can get a guarantee that will cover it if you accidentally shoot the camera (for an extra cost).
For now, though, I’ll keep driving up to check my targets.
