This decades old method for shooting at longer distances is preached as gospel — but it’s not very reliable
Before laser rangefinders and FFP MRAD-turreted riflescopes maximum-point-blank-range, or MPBR, was the best way that you could set up for success while shooting at longer distances. It’s still got a strong following today. Essentially, MPBR is a calculation of the maximum distance at which you can hold dead center and still hit a target of a given size. It takes into account your rifle’s velocity, trajectory, and both distances at which your bullet will impact exactly where you aim during its parabolic flight. Within this MPBR distance, it gives the hunter a simple point-and-shoot solution and is the darling of flat-shooting aficionados. There’s just one problem. The dispersion of your rifle radically degrades the benefit to using MBPR for distances beyond 300 yards.
Max-Point-Blank-Range In Theory
Leveraging MBPR, in its time, was a best practice. Working with the tools available, it did allow hunters to more effectively place shots at longer distances than they otherwise may have. However, hunters were likely subjected to even more sabotage of their max-point-blank dreams by their equipment and shooting styles, and lots of animals were missed and wounded in those days. Still, it was a good idea.
A bullet’s path is parabolic. Knowing the muzzle velocity, sight height, and drag coefficient of the bullet, one can calculate the trajectory. Hunters figured out that if they chose an appropriately-sized target to mimic the vital zone — an 8-inch circle for instance, for a deer — they could also calculate the maximum distance at which they could hit the target without changing their aiming point or favoring high. MPBR gives a distance which brackets this flight path. The bullet will arch from low to high, then back below line of sight. This is appealing to anyone who isn’t using a scope with holdover subtensions or adjustable turrets — especially at unknown distances.
