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Range Report 3000+ FPS factory Horandy ammo???

stello1001

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  • Feb 20, 2017
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    3,523
    Corpus Christi TX
    Hello all,

    So obviously the name of the thread is probably inaccurate info. I've been trying to get into long range shooting just for fun but work and life have always gotten in the way. I finally got the chance to try it out. Max distance I got to shoot was 445 yards. I used an app called Ballistic ARC to see if it could calculate drops for me. I got to 445 by shooting and doing trial and error. Little by little I made corrections and dialed until I got hits. It took me 1.8 mils to get hits but they were not dead center hits. I was hitting bottom right corner of 12x12 inch plate. I input my 1.8 mil adjustment and 445 yard range into the Ballistic ARC app to true my MV. Below is a screenshot of the app. It gave me a MV reading of 3005 FPS. In the pic of the plate, bottom 5 right corner shots are my hits with 1.8 mils of dialed elevation from a 100 yard zero.

    Facts:

    Range - 445 yards
    Zero - 100 yards
    Ammo - factory hornady black 140 grain BTHP
    Chamber - 6.5 CM
    Rifle - Howa 1500 HCR
    Barrel length - 24 inches

    No blown primers and no sticky bolt
    20180825_092609.jpg
    Screenshot_20180911-231829.png


    1.8 mils of elevation adjustment got me hits ON BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER

    Disregard other hits on target as those were made by 2 different shooters. Only hits in question are the 5 on bottom right.

    If I am missing any crucial info please let me know.
    But... What do you all think is off? Clearly factory ammo can't be shooting 3000+ FPS out of my rifle can it? Does 1.8 mils sound reasonable for a 140 grain bullet out to 445 yards? Could my range distance be off? Is the app probably just not very good and not accurate at all? I'm very new to this and will buy gear slowly if I notice I can find time to go out shooting if I have access to land where I can actually do this. For now, I don't have money to drop on a kestrel, rangefinder, magnetospeed, etc. Heck, I don't even know if I'll have access to that land again so I can go shooting. Any help I would appreciate. Sorry for long post!
     
    I was getting around 2750 with my factory hornady black loads. A few things I would check:
    How good is your 100yd zero? (i'm 2.3 mils to 445)
    Is your scope tracking?
    Is your yardage correct?
     
    That^^^, I would expect around 2.3 based on similar set ups Ive been around and its what my calculator is saying it should be as well.

    Did you verify that your zero was good that range trip? Or was it from a previous trip. Do you have a good natural set up when youre shooting at distance or are you having to influence the rifle to get on target?

    1.8 was to the bottom right on the target, what did you dial for the center hits? You needed to dial up a bit more for those. Thats what you should be working off of anyways. At 450 yards .5 mils is about 8". 1.8+.5=2.3 Youre not quite 8" away, more like 5" so .3 mils more.

    Also, do you have your angle and bearing and all that correct? Or is it thinking that youre shooting 20 degrees downward?
    1536763411368.png
     
    Last edited:
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    I did confirm on that same day that my 100 yard zero was good.

    As soon as I got those hits, I let the owner of the land where we were shooting give it a try. He simply held a bit high and to the left so he can get closer to the center. Bottom left hit was a third person's try.
     
    In that case you were still a bit low with 1.8 so using that to calculate your velocity would be wrong. You need the correct value dialed to run that correction accurately. Its only as good as the data you feed it. Thats why you need to make sure your bearing and angle of your shot are correct as well. Every little factor plays a factor.

    The slower the bullet the more you need to dial up to compensate. Since you still need to dial up you know that the bullet would actually be going slower than that 3005.
    Also, 450 yards is still pretty close for those corrections but if you dont have a chrono you need to make sure everything else is in check. The pressure from the nearest weather station in your geoballistics weather, the temp and humidity can be 50% and be good enough, especially for only 450 yards.



    Also, depending on your cell covereage the range could be off. If you dropped the pin based on your blue dot then you will have a bit of error, I always try to drop my target pin based on the imagery and where Im at between bushes and trees and rocks on the satellite. If you watch the blue dot beacon for where youre actually it it will shift and roam around a bit. I wouldnt expect it to be half a mil in error though.
     
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    Have you checked the other inputs yet? The weather, angle and bearing?

    Even correcting those still wont help if youre only using the 1.8 number that just got you on the bottom corner of the plate though.
     
    like spife mentioned above, center is what matters when truing these things...just a hit isnt good enough unless the targets are really small (moa and smaller preferably)

    the difference between 3000 fps and 2750 fps @ 445 yds with that 140 bthp is .46mils

    .46 mils @ 445 yds is ~7"

    if 1.8 had you on the bottom edge of a 12" plate, i say 2.1-2.2 would put you real close to center, which would also put your velocity in the 2750-2800 range
     
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    The only reason I didn't correct or dial more in order to get center hits was because I was invited to that ranch as a guest. The person who invited me also took two other guests and as soon as I got hits I let them try shooting as well. Once every one had their turn, they decided we needed to leave so we can go see the rest of the land. It was a 15,000 acre ranch and to see that much land requires a lot of time haha.

    Next time I get a shot at this, I'll be sure to make corrections and gather info accurately!