What if you could see your 1,000-yard target like you were standing right in front of it? What if you could electronically calculate group size, group center, the elevation and windage adjustments necessary to go from group center to your point of aim, see your most recent impact flashing on the target, and more? Well, I’m here to tell you that Longshot Target Cameras makes it all possible.
Camera on the left, receiver on the right. The camera goes down near the target, the receiver stays near you and broadcasts live, HD video to your phone or tablet.
We got our hands on the $449 MSRP Ranger+ system, which works out to 1,000 yards. If you don’t need that sort of range capability, Longshot has models starting at $229. If you really like to stretch things out, their LR-3 system has a whopping 2-mile range.
It’s really quite simple in theory, and it was surprisingly and pleasantly simple in practice, too.
Within two minutes I had the Ranger+ system out of the box and streaming video to my phone via the Longshot app.
Both units have flip-down tripod legs that snap into the body when not in use. They also have threads in the base for a standard camera-style tripod mount, a battery status indicator, and a USB Type-C port for charging. Battery life with the units running is approximately six hours.
Setting up the camera is simpler than one might expect. Really anywhere between 10 and 25 feet from your target is perfectly fine. Set the thing down, look at your screen to see the image in real time, and adjust the camera lens position by hand until your target is centered in the video.
The Longshot cameras stream in high definition and you can zoom in on the target image by pinching your phone/tablet screen just as you’d expect, which is one reason why it’s so quick and easy to set up the camera. Doesn’t have to be perfect; just throw the camera down and get the target reasonably in-frame, then adjust on your phone back at the shooting position.
Obviously, yes, you’re going to want to put the camera somewhere that reduces the chances of you shooting it in the back. When I’ve used it I’ve generally placed it a few feet left or right of the line of fire as well as a few feet lower than the target. I’ve fired some bad shots in my life to be sure, but hitting a camera 20 feet short of the target and five feet to the right is at least highly unlikely in most cases.
That said, should you put a new hole through your Longshot camera they’ll charge you just a $99 deductible to have it repaired or replaced. The fee of shame.
In the app you can do all sorts of things like mark, measure, and track your groups. In the screenshot above I have four bullet holes marked and the app is telling me it’s a 0.98 MOA group. It also says I need to dial 5.26 MOA up and 0.69 MOA left to move the geographic center of this group (designated by the X in the white circle) to the point that I previously designated as my POA (point of aim, AKA where the bullets were supposed to go).
You can mark multiple groups, change the titles of the groups, change the sizes and colors of the bullet hole markers, edit anything you’ve already done, designate different aiming points for each group, and more.
One neat feature is the hit blinker, which you can see in action in the video embedded at top. It basically flashes back and forth between a pre- and post-shot photograph of your target so you can easily see your most recent impact. Even a small change (e.g. a bullet that went 90% through an existing hole) becomes readily apparent.
The Longshot app has some other functionality as well, such as saving photos and videos of your shooting sessions.
Quick, shockingly easy to use, and highly functional. Much clearer view of your target at nearly any range than with a spotting scope, but absolutely so past a couple hundred yards. Add in the electronic capabilities included in the app and the Longshot Ranger+ takes sight-in and target shooting to the next level. This system now lives in the DECKED drawer in my truck with the rest of the essential shooting range equipment.
Find out more on the Longshot website HERE, and don’t forget to subscribe to the Shooting News Weekly YouTube channel!