F
Field Ethos
Guest
By Terry Houin
Along with the reflections on my hunting adventures and the gear associated with those trips in the last year, I took some time to look back at my learned lessons from the range sessions that filled the calendar. Classes, personal reps, student guns, loaners, and plenty of problem-solving behind the gun—it all adds up fast. This list isn’t about what’s new or trendy. It’s about what earned its place by surviving thousands of rounds, students, and honest scrutiny.
Range time has a way of exposing weaknesses—both in shooters and in equipment. Gear that looks great on paper or online often falls apart once it’s subjected to repetition, weather, and human error. Everything listed here proved it could hold up when used and abused by the experienced and beginning shooters alike.
This is the Range Edition, focused on guns and glass, along with a few accoutrements.
I answer more questions about guns and optics than just about anything else, especially from shooters trying to build a system that actually works. Most problems on the range aren’t caused by lack of talent. I can teach just about anyone to shoot. Instead, they’re caused by poor equipment choices or mismatched systems. This gear wasn’t chosen as clickbait. It was chosen because it made shooters better and increased performance on the range.
The MRAD remains one of my favorite rifles for long-range precision shooting. It’s heavy, expensive, and completely unapologetic about it. That weight buys stability and consistency, and it rewards sound fundamentals with hits on target for novice shooters as well as salty old F’s like me.
For advanced shooters, long-range instruction, or the guy that wants a buy once, cry once rifle, look no further.
The LTT IMPACT lives in the sweet spot between refinement and practicality. It’s lighter and more forgiving over long training days while still delivering excellent precision. Balance matters when shooters are spending hours behind the rifle, and this platform gets it right. It does feature a loud brake, so get a can from Silencer Shop.
This rifle shines as a perfect middle-of-the-road rifle for those looking to get into the longer-range precision game. It comes ready to rock out of the box but also allows you room to upgrade if you want it to fit your personality.
The Solus Competition earns its place by being approachable without being watered down. It’s a rifle that makes sense for shooters building a serious precision setup without diving straight into the deep end and spending your child’s inheritance. The ergonomics are straightforward, the recoil impulse is predictable, and the rifle behaves exactly the way you expect it to.
What you’ll notice across the board that these rifles have in common is weight. The heavier gun is just easier to shoot with predictable feedback. That predictability is critical in a learning environment. When shooters understand what the rifle is going to do, they can focus on fundamentals instead of fighting the equipment.
2025 was not the year of carbines for me, as nothing jumped out as new or interesting. But I feel the REC7 should get an honorable mention after spending a few weeks with it this summer turning prairie dogs into liquid fertilizer. It’s reliable, surprisingly accurate, and easy to keep running with a variety of bullet weights in a hot, dusty environment.
The RADIKL was my first real foray into the “smart” scope world, as I prioritize quality glass and precision function over bells and whistles. Where others have failed trying to cut corners, the RS25b impressed me by delivering excellent glass and smart design at a level that makes sense for instruction. The turret layout and overall usability are intuitive without being simplistic, which matters when I’m yelling wind calls and fundamentals at the shooters.
The K540i is professional-grade glass in every sense. Massive field of view, excellent tracking, and a reticle designed for shooters who understand what they’re doing. This is the optic I reach for when distance stretches and precision matters most.
It’s big, heavy, and precise, which is exactly what I want when my shooters are engaging targets past a mile and precise adjustments and wind holds are critical to my mental health.
Where the 540i shines at distance, the 328i excels in speed and efficiency. It’s particularly well suited for positional work, practical shooting skills, and dynamic range scenarios where magnification management and rapid target acquisition matter more than extreme magnification. It’s about the same size and weight as the Nightforce ATACR and would be right at home on a long-range hunting rig.
Nightforce prism optics continue to prove that simple tools, done right, still matter. Durable, clear, and predictable, they’re my secret weapon when the targets stretch past the effective working range of most optics.
The CFS 6–36 spotting scope was the only new spotter I used this year, and honestly, I wasn’t sure where it was going to fit. At first glance it looks like a riflescope for Pete’s sake. How was this going to replace a traditional spotter? Once I got it on the range, I quickly became a fan, with the CFS 6-36 offering the clarity and resolution needed to spot impacts, diagnose misses with the reticle, and coach effectively. Good glass saves time, frustration, and unnecessary conversation on the firing line. I’d put this as a great lightweight option for PRS guys and mountain guides.
Range ammo is pretty straight forward—buy quality match ammo from a reliable source like Black Hills Ammunition, Barnes, Sierra, Federal, etc., and try to get it all from the same lot for consistency from box to box. Just remember, barrels have personalities and sometimes they just don’t like a bullet, so it might not be you. It probably is, but there’s a chance it’s not.
Most of my normal range gear was covered in my Uncle T’s Bag article from a couple of weeks ago, but I’ll add quality tripods to the list. I’ve been using the Spartan Precision Hercules Tripod with the CP Brace for a lot of my long-range work. The CP Brace makes it stupid simple. I was also pleased with Sig’s foray into the Tripod world, the Zulu-DMR—it’s solid and functional, which is all you really need.
Range time is valuable, and the gear should educate as well as entertain. Every rifle, optic, and piece of gear here earned its place by surviving volume, students, and my lack of babying equipment. If it didn’t make shooters better, or make teaching easier, it didn’t stay.
The right tools don’t replace skill, but they accelerate learning and remove distractions. That’s the standard everything on my range is held to.
The post Uncle T’s Range Classics for ‘25 appeared first on Field Ethos.
Continue reading...
Along with the reflections on my hunting adventures and the gear associated with those trips in the last year, I took some time to look back at my learned lessons from the range sessions that filled the calendar. Classes, personal reps, student guns, loaners, and plenty of problem-solving behind the gun—it all adds up fast. This list isn’t about what’s new or trendy. It’s about what earned its place by surviving thousands of rounds, students, and honest scrutiny.
Range time has a way of exposing weaknesses—both in shooters and in equipment. Gear that looks great on paper or online often falls apart once it’s subjected to repetition, weather, and human error. Everything listed here proved it could hold up when used and abused by the experienced and beginning shooters alike.
This is the Range Edition, focused on guns and glass, along with a few accoutrements.
The Big 3 — Guns, Glass, and Ammo
I answer more questions about guns and optics than just about anything else, especially from shooters trying to build a system that actually works. Most problems on the range aren’t caused by lack of talent. I can teach just about anyone to shoot. Instead, they’re caused by poor equipment choices or mismatched systems. This gear wasn’t chosen as clickbait. It was chosen because it made shooters better and increased performance on the range.
The Guns
Barrett MRAD Mk22
The MRAD remains one of my favorite rifles for long-range precision shooting. It’s heavy, expensive, and completely unapologetic about it. That weight buys stability and consistency, and it rewards sound fundamentals with hits on target for novice shooters as well as salty old F’s like me.
For advanced shooters, long-range instruction, or the guy that wants a buy once, cry once rifle, look no further.
Langdon Tactical LTT IMPACT Precision Rifle
The LTT IMPACT lives in the sweet spot between refinement and practicality. It’s lighter and more forgiving over long training days while still delivering excellent precision. Balance matters when shooters are spending hours behind the rifle, and this platform gets it right. It does feature a loud brake, so get a can from Silencer Shop.
This rifle shines as a perfect middle-of-the-road rifle for those looking to get into the longer-range precision game. It comes ready to rock out of the box but also allows you room to upgrade if you want it to fit your personality.
Aero Precision Solus Competition
The Solus Competition earns its place by being approachable without being watered down. It’s a rifle that makes sense for shooters building a serious precision setup without diving straight into the deep end and spending your child’s inheritance. The ergonomics are straightforward, the recoil impulse is predictable, and the rifle behaves exactly the way you expect it to.
What you’ll notice across the board that these rifles have in common is weight. The heavier gun is just easier to shoot with predictable feedback. That predictability is critical in a learning environment. When shooters understand what the rifle is going to do, they can focus on fundamentals instead of fighting the equipment.
Barrett REC7 DI
2025 was not the year of carbines for me, as nothing jumped out as new or interesting. But I feel the REC7 should get an honorable mention after spending a few weeks with it this summer turning prairie dogs into liquid fertilizer. It’s reliable, surprisingly accurate, and easy to keep running with a variety of bullet weights in a hot, dusty environment.
Glass
Revic RADIKL RS25b
The RADIKL was my first real foray into the “smart” scope world, as I prioritize quality glass and precision function over bells and whistles. Where others have failed trying to cut corners, the RS25b impressed me by delivering excellent glass and smart design at a level that makes sense for instruction. The turret layout and overall usability are intuitive without being simplistic, which matters when I’m yelling wind calls and fundamentals at the shooters.
Kahles K540i
The K540i is professional-grade glass in every sense. Massive field of view, excellent tracking, and a reticle designed for shooters who understand what they’re doing. This is the optic I reach for when distance stretches and precision matters most.
It’s big, heavy, and precise, which is exactly what I want when my shooters are engaging targets past a mile and precise adjustments and wind holds are critical to my mental health.
Kahles K328i
Where the 540i shines at distance, the 328i excels in speed and efficiency. It’s particularly well suited for positional work, practical shooting skills, and dynamic range scenarios where magnification management and rapid target acquisition matter more than extreme magnification. It’s about the same size and weight as the Nightforce ATACR and would be right at home on a long-range hunting rig.
Nightforce Prisms & CFS 6–36 Spotting Scope
Nightforce prism optics continue to prove that simple tools, done right, still matter. Durable, clear, and predictable, they’re my secret weapon when the targets stretch past the effective working range of most optics.
The CFS 6–36 spotting scope was the only new spotter I used this year, and honestly, I wasn’t sure where it was going to fit. At first glance it looks like a riflescope for Pete’s sake. How was this going to replace a traditional spotter? Once I got it on the range, I quickly became a fan, with the CFS 6-36 offering the clarity and resolution needed to spot impacts, diagnose misses with the reticle, and coach effectively. Good glass saves time, frustration, and unnecessary conversation on the firing line. I’d put this as a great lightweight option for PRS guys and mountain guides.
Ammo
Range ammo is pretty straight forward—buy quality match ammo from a reliable source like Black Hills Ammunition, Barnes, Sierra, Federal, etc., and try to get it all from the same lot for consistency from box to box. Just remember, barrels have personalities and sometimes they just don’t like a bullet, so it might not be you. It probably is, but there’s a chance it’s not.
Range Gear
Most of my normal range gear was covered in my Uncle T’s Bag article from a couple of weeks ago, but I’ll add quality tripods to the list. I’ve been using the Spartan Precision Hercules Tripod with the CP Brace for a lot of my long-range work. The CP Brace makes it stupid simple. I was also pleased with Sig’s foray into the Tripod world, the Zulu-DMR—it’s solid and functional, which is all you really need.
Uncle T’s Take
Range time is valuable, and the gear should educate as well as entertain. Every rifle, optic, and piece of gear here earned its place by surviving volume, students, and my lack of babying equipment. If it didn’t make shooters better, or make teaching easier, it didn’t stay.
The right tools don’t replace skill, but they accelerate learning and remove distractions. That’s the standard everything on my range is held to.
The post Uncle T’s Range Classics for ‘25 appeared first on Field Ethos.
Continue reading...