Hi everybody! I'm new to snipershide, and long range shooting as well! This past weekend, I went out with a buddy who has shot long range rifles ands hunted out west for quite some time to shoot my new rifle - a Remington 700 ADL .30-06 with a Vortex Crossfire II 4-12 BDC. Now, I knew going into things this wasn't going to be a tack driver, or long range machine for a number of reasons, but I thought I would just shoot the hell out of it and see how it did. So, using my hand loads of 45.0gr of IMR 4895 with a 175gr SMK, I set my zero at 200 yards, and we went to work. Next, we hiked up the mountains to the 400 yard plates to see how I could do for my first time. So, I got my rifle locked in, used JBM to estimates my drop, and sent the first show down range! HIT! It was a huge confidence booster, especially with my skills and rifle. Now, I don't blame my tools, or say I'm the best shot ever, but I have the fundamentals down! I sent another 10 rounds at the 12" plate without cooling, and surprisingly, it made all the hits! They were roughly in a 5-5.5" group, shooting from the prone position in field conditions. That sporter tapered barrel impressed me, although it was steering when I finished, haha! I now think its time to upgrade to a better rifle/optics combination to step out a little bit farther, but for now, I'll rock the stock ADL. Anyways, I just wanted to share my first experience shooting what I think is "long range" and get some feedback about my next steps. Would you suggest I get a better optic first to see if I can outshoot my current rifle, or just drop the ADL and move onto something better? Thanks for your help in advance.
Range Report First time Long Range - Addicted!
- Thread starter wk05
- Start date
I am running a barrel nut on both my 700s. No isues.
the bug bites hard brother!!
First, fun innit?
Second, that's not bad shooting. I think a lot of folks here get the idea hat they should be shooting 1/4 MOA groups. That just isn't the case. Especially with a stock gun.
Finally, if you think you're addicted now, back up another couple hundred yards. The difference between 100 and 400 yards is not as big as it is between 400 and 600.
Edit: As far as upgrades go: 1) Trigger 2) Barrel/true action/stock (it kind of makes sense to do those three at the same time)
Second, that's not bad shooting. I think a lot of folks here get the idea hat they should be shooting 1/4 MOA groups. That just isn't the case. Especially with a stock gun.
Finally, if you think you're addicted now, back up another couple hundred yards. The difference between 100 and 400 yards is not as big as it is between 400 and 600.
Edit: As far as upgrades go: 1) Trigger 2) Barrel/true action/stock (it kind of makes sense to do those three at the same time)
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Once you shoot 500 and past, anything under 300 is just for sighting in. Or showing your other buddies up at the range. lol Its an addictive sport my friend!
get a chronograph, since you didn't mention velocities I assume you don't own one. Start looking at ES/SD , then get something to measure baro pressure. a station pressure meter.
start shooting in the wind ,look at your ballisitics tables to get your drift. Lets say you go shooting , you notice wind speeds of between 5-12 mph , shoot rounds at 5mph , and 12mph (and not into wind speeds between) , you should end up with a group with allot of horizontal. If your calling the wind well you'll end up with two groups on a similar horizontal plane, several inches apart. ( versus if your not good , you'll end up with one large horizontal group with no distinct groups within the larger group)
start shooting in the wind ,look at your ballisitics tables to get your drift. Lets say you go shooting , you notice wind speeds of between 5-12 mph , shoot rounds at 5mph , and 12mph (and not into wind speeds between) , you should end up with a group with allot of horizontal. If your calling the wind well you'll end up with two groups on a similar horizontal plane, several inches apart. ( versus if your not good , you'll end up with one large horizontal group with no distinct groups within the larger group)
My buddies 1000yd range! Plate @ 1160yds and putting another at 1200yd and 1300yd.
1200yd is a hell of a poke for a 308. I dialed up 53moa on my Mk4 and hit 3 outa 6 on a 16"x16" plate.
Ther 243 at 1k shot great too, 99 3x. Only had 75 rounds down the new barrel at that time.
Long range is a shit ton of fun.
What is really nice is having a guy with a set of Steiner's spotting and calling you impacts at 1160yd.
However, you can see the plate swing when hit in my mark 4.
Terry
