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Cold Bore Challenge

clayne_b

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 18, 2009
1,158
1
40
Saratoga Springs, Utah
This was posted on another hunting forum

"With your best field rifle, known range & favorable conditions (good visibility, light to no wind, prone on bi-pods, time on your side); how far do you feel you can hit a 6" circle with your coldbore shot (no sighters) with a 90%+ confidence (you'd be willing to put up a $100 bill on hitting it)"


I have taken a challenge upon my self to try this no matter the conditions. 20 shots on 20 different days!

I will be doing a video documentary on my progress


Today I shot from 587 yards, In very windy conditions.

Cold Bore Challenge #1 - YouTube
 
My problem is not the cold bore shot, but reading the wind. Cold clean bore vs fouled cold vs fouled warm there is "less" than 1/2MOA difference on my last hunting rifle I had built.
My problem is me......................Went out with a buddy today killing rocks, picked out an 8"x 6" beauty at 775, wind directly in my face unfortunately one canyon over it wasn't and took me more than one shot to figure I needed a 3moa hold left..
 
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600 in calm conditions for me but i have seen a buddy head shot steel at 780 yards first shot fired on the day with a .260. Wish I could shoot more.
 
I just started doing this at 400 yds. I would KILL to have a place to shoot like that anytime. You guys out west have no idea how hard it is to find areas to shoot past 500 yards here in the midwest.
 
We do have some very open areas out west. My buddy and I would have shot further today buy my range finder would't read much past 800 in the dry grass conditions, good thing I ordered a better one last week.
Nice shooting
 
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Not easy to find places in south Texas either. Most ranges only go to about 200 around here, luckily I have friends with private place to shoot out to almost a mile.
 
I have to gloat a bit...

As far as having access to anything over 500, 1000+ yards is a 15 minute drive for me :D Don't mind the rattlesnakes :p
 
I had a 1000yd+ until my neighbor bought these FUCK'N Pomeranian dogs that go ape shit nuts when I shoot. Now I'm back to 400yd max! :(
 
Where in AZ are you?

I'm north of metro Phx, there's lots of wide open desert up here;)
I'm not yet shooting out that far; I'm relatively new to this discipline. 1k+ is my goal however :)

Ben Avery's High Power range is 1000 yards, but that's a 'club' range. They rent it out to groups, and one must belong to the club/group to participate.
 
My 284 has a Krieger on it that just doesn't care if it's clean, fouled, hot or cold.

I KNOW my first shot will be inside a 6" circle at 600 yards at my local square range, which is an alleyway that is well shielded from the wind.

In calm and nice conditions, I'd be confident to ~750 yards with this rifle.

However, in *real* conditions with open topography, I'd only be confident to ~450-500 yards.
 
I have to gloat a bit...

As far as having access to anything over 500, 1000+ yards is a 15 minute drive for me :D Don't mind the rattlesnakes :p

Where about in AZ? I'm in Tucson.
Cold bore accuracy has always been a struggle for me. I intend to make it a goal to conquer with my 260 I'm having built. My factory savage rifles have always been erratic for the first 5-10 shots. At least I'm hoping its been them and not me!
Anyway, to the OP, this is a great idea/challenge! Looking forward to trying it.
 
I've done similar cold-bore testing. Results with match bullets are far better than with game bullets. My assumption is that increased copper fouling from game bullets can cause erratic shots as round count grows. YMMV
 
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I'm north of metro Phx, there's lots of wide open desert up here;)
I'm not yet shooting out that far; I'm relatively new to this discipline. 1k+ is my goal however :)

Ben Avery's High Power range is 1000 yards, but that's a 'club' range. They rent it out to groups, and one must belong to the club/group to participate.

We shoot 600 yard practices there every once in a while. I'm out in the east valley so I'm usually at Rio doing my load work.
 
You are just outside of the 6" circle, about 4-5 inches from the center and in wind, that ain't bad in my book. I would take it and it would be a dead animal at that distance.
 
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This is just an awesome thread, and very challenging to boot. Impressive wind reading skills, mine are nowhere near there yet, but this inspired me to take a little more time to practice those cold bore shots. Keep the videos coming!
 
Man you have got it going on! I think our interest in shooting is very similar. I don't like going to a range and seeing how tight I can shoot a group at even yardages. I like this kind of shooting! No wind flags at the target other than grass, bushes and maybe trees. Not a simple and even yardage but better yet not just a typical 5 shot group with a nice warm barrel.

Your doing pretty dang good with the kind of wind you are shooting in for sure! We have a lot more trees here in the south so we usually don't have wind like that. It's just hard to find a place to shoot very far.

My best "cold bore" or really best shot ever was at 615yrds. I was helping a good friend get started shooting long range. He was learning pretty good and was amazed at what I could do and the things I know. I'm no expert at ALL but in his eyes I am Carlos hathcock! Hahaha

We sat my 12"x12" steel target up, there were 2 glass bid light beer bottles laying beside where we sat the target. He grabbed them and put them on top of the target frame and spray painted them white so we could see them better. Then he said I bet you can't hit em! Haha

I didn't think I would even be close! Luck was on my side and I busted both bottles. Those were the only 2 shots I fired that day! Haha figured I'd stop while I was ahead! Nice shooting man and maybe someday ill be able to read wind a little better. You are a windologist compared to me! Lol

Jay
 
One of my friends on here, cansniper, just had this very thing happen to him about a month ago. At 1200 meters with a 12 inch plate in shall we say less that favorable conditions and he walked with the money. While teaching last year I did the cold bore at 1400 on day two of class on a one foot plate also with just over full valve winds. We do practice more than most. Oh and meters that is.
 
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good shooting Cmonroe and Surgeon_Shooter

Get after it Bruno.

demolitionman Do a bigger target than you want and paint the size that your goal is. That way if and when you do miss you can still see where you missed.
 
I plan to take on this challenge as soon as i get my 260 back from pcr. Give me a month or so...excellent thread!
 
Just watched your first video. Nice shooting. Just wondering... Are you doing any follow up shots to see if you have a cold bore variation or your dope is off? Just a thought...
I'd love to do this if I could get to a range more often then every couple of weeks.

Keep it up!
 
One of my friends on here, cansniper, just had this very thing happen to him about a month ago. At 1200 meters with a 12 inch plate in shall we say less that favorable conditions and he walked with the money. While teaching last year I did the cold bore at 1400 on day two of class on a one foot plate also with just over full valve winds. We do practice more than most. Oh and meters that is.

what does "just over full value winds" mean?

I think our interest in shooting is very similar. I don't like going to a range and seeing how tight I can shoot a group at even yardages. I like this kind of shooting! No wind flags at the target other than grass, bushes and maybe trees. Not a simple and even yardage but better yet not just a typical 5 shot group with a nice warm barrel.

totally agree. that's what i enjoy