Originally Posted by HuntnShoot
For me it was the widely available ballistic calculators, cheap LRF, cheap chronographs, somewhat accurate ballistic coefficient numbers, and bullets designed with relatively high BC that changed everything.

Agreed. Add to that list the availability and affordability of scopes that mechanically work correctly.

As a teenager and young adult I used to go out into the field several times a week after school and practice shooting milk jugs and balloons out to 650 yards (measured in increments) using a duplex reticle and Kentucky windage. I felt that 450-500 yards on game was a very long shot, even using flat shooters like the .243 or 7RM, considering we still had to estimate range visually and hold for the shot using the duplex aim points and/or Kentucky windage.

The availability of affordable ballistic calculators (Exbal on a Palm Pilot), decent and affordable scopes (first using BDC reticles like the BP or RZ-600, and then decent dialing scopes like the Burris FFII Tactical 3-9x40), chronographs (Shooting Chrony), LRFs (Bushnell Yardage Pro and later the Leica LRF 1200), on top of bullets with a decent BC (SMK), changed the game significantly. Before long, coyotes, gophers, and badgers were in serious danger out to 1000, and game was headed for the freezer if it was within about 600, as long as the wind wasn’t too crazy. Equipment and wind reading has only gotten exponentially better since then.