first attempt at long-range shooting

S

skizzums

New member
not sure if this is really the apprpriate section for this thread, but i was using different hand-loaded bullets

i have nevertried to shoot anything over 100 yards, and only did one hundred yards a couple of times, my excuse? never wanting to pony up for a decent scope

everytime i have tried 100yard shoots it looked lke i hit the target from 10feet away with 00 buck, but hey, im a pistol guy

so i got invited o a 600yard shoot last week,NO FREAKING WAY!!! not gonna happen, so i got invited to a 200 shoot for tomorrow, okay, ill give it a whirl

so i go out yesterday to several LGS to look at scopes,walmart, adventure outdoors, academy, small shops etc, armed with a smartphone to make sure i dont get totally jipped; i was ready to drop upwards of 200$ on a 3-9x40 scope, was thinking possibly Nikon, meuller, leo etc

i was pretty much settled on the nikon, but i saw this lonely Bushnell siting there with a 129$ tag on it, i looked andwent back and forth, obviously the nikon was clearer, but the relief and focus seemed identical on both, and i liked the illumination on the bushnell better, it had tight clicking adjustment knobs and a nice quality feel to it

i say i want this one!!! sorry bud, thats out of stock
can i buy the display please?(it was scratched and had a big gash on the mag knob), well, you see, i cant find the nox or any info on the scope, not sure i can sell it
after bantering back and forth, and complaining about ht escrathces and how could he possibly have a scope displayed w/o knowing ANYTHING about it

he grabs a box of pre-packages scopes of the rack, scans it, and hands me my scope, FOR 69$!!!!!!!!!!!!

i saved so much i was able to pony up for the 60$ nikon scope mount

so off to the range, started at 50yards using 62gr tracers, just to sight in, finally got it somewhat acceptable

so off to 100yards with 52 sierra target

some pasters fell off, not cheating!!

so, now for my lifetime acheivement, 175yards, i know to most of you guys this anit nuthin, but this was new and exciting to me, i started with the sieraa 52gr match target and they were all over the place, i was a little discouraged, but i think the 52 gr was probably just not appropriate for my 1:7 twist, because i switched to the hornadatflat-base 55gr SP and finally hit my groove

 


so here we are, 55gr hornaday(the round pictured is just a privi), as much as i despised seating flat based 223s on a ss lee press, lookks likke this is my new goto round

the kool-aid bottles were also easy targets at 175, sorry for the sugar covered target

 
Sweet!

You sound like me when I got ready to just jump into shooting F-Class 600yd. I went back and forth back and forth. I had only shot out to 200yds before that.

I finally said daggum it, I'm just going to do it. I ordered me a Truglo 8-32x44 from Natchez. It's actually quite clear. I just recently replaced it but the Truglo was actually a really good scope for the price.

I showed up to my first 600yd shoot and did horribly the first string, BUT I learned A LOT! Something you just can't learn shooting 200. Since then my scores have just gone up.

I had set myself a goal each match. First match was a 5 point avg and so on and so on. Now I'm shooting in the 180's per string avg out of a possible 200 points. I've only done 4 matches so far but if I keep doing what I have been, I'll be playing near the top with the big boys soon. Hopefully updated scope will help get me there.

Good luck, and jump into that 600yd matches. You may just surprise yourself. If anything, you'll learn something and gain experience.

Btw, after shooting 600yds, the deer I shot at this year that were around the 100yd mark, looked so freaking close it was ridiculous. I actually neck shot them at 100yds which is something I never would have done prior to shooting 600. It just does something to build your confidence at closer ranges.
 
funny you say tru-glo, thats what i had on here before this, the 3-9x50, which i actually liked, but couldnt get it zreos right :(, could be user error, but i have a brand new one ill sell ya for 20$;), think i paid like 45-50$ maybe more
 
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All I can tell you is it is fun and frustrating at times. Once you start doing it, You will find you don't want to shoot close anymore. It gets addicting fast. As jwroland say's, 100 yards will be a cakewalk after that. Wind will be your biggest factor to over come. I have my first of the year 1000 yard Match on Labor Day this year, Can't wait to go. There are 3 of us on April 13th & 14th that are going to a wind training class put on by 2 of the F Class Palma instructors about 200 miles from here. One day classroom and one day shooting. The one thing you will want to do for long range shooting is-Never skip a step in case prep. If you have a bunch of brass,sort headstamp,and weight. Try get about 100 that are within 2 gn's of each other or less. Most ( non military ) 223 brass un primed,sized and trimmed will come in about 93 to 95 gn's. Or get some Lapua brass for just such shooting. Also remember that what holds tight at 100 yards might just fall apart at 300 or 600 yards. All my load work is done at 300 yards or farther. Welcome to the fun of long range shooting.

FYI-- Is your rifle canted or is your scope not level?.
 
its level, it looks funny in the pic for whatever reason, going wth some seasoned shooters i met on this forum, so i hope to learn alot(like making my heart stop beating for the shot)
today i am going to my first 200yd event at riverbend gun club in dawson county ga
 
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Skizzums, I found out that even though the glass was clear on my Truglo, I had to make adjustments slow for them to be correct.

I have a Weaver 8-32x50 Classic Extreme on mine now.

4runnerman, I'm hoping to compete in a 1000yd match this summer here close by to Little Rock this year. It'll be my first one. I just hope I read the wind good enough. I'm loading 175gr bullet humming around 2750-2760fps for my 1000yd load. Hopefully it'll help
 
Man, I WISH I even had a range near me that goes beyond 300 yards. There used to be a range about an hour from me that went to 600 yards but I've been told they closed up a couple of years back. I rely strictly on ballistics tables to judge my hold over when elk and mule deer hunting in Wyoming but I would love to be able to verify the information on those tables for my 7mm Rem. Mag. and my .30-06. I've taken game at extended distances with a single shot but actual rounds on a target are better for verification.

BTW, nice shooting there and a nice looking AR you have there! I have ARs chambered in .223 Wylde, 300 BLK, 6.8 SPC, and .308 (Remington R-25). Other than the R-25 I've built the ARs myself from off the shelf components.
 
I'd be looking at 69gr Sierra MKs.
Click to expand...

This. Definitely for anything beyond 200 yards.

One of the guys I shoot with launches 80Gr .223 slugs at 1000 yard steel and does well with them.

He's not using an auto loader of course.

That Bushnell looks remarkably clear and bright for what I assume was a bargain price.

Good Luck and shoot straight.
 
Skizzum-- Just remember that you are compeating against yourself,No one else.Takes a lot of stress off you. Do the best you can and learn from each shot. You will find ( as I did ) most if not all target shooters are the most helpfull people you will ever find. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

Jrowland- That was pretty much my load for FTR Class.Should hold in there real good
 
I'd like to reiterate what 4runnerman has said. They will give you tips, advice. Main thing is just be friendly and ask questions. I've been upfront with everyone and I've let them know I haven't shot in many matches. They shooting community is an extremely helpful one and will give advice.
 
What Brian said, you are shooting too light a bullet. I wouldn't go under a 62 grain bullet for a 1:7 twist. I shoot the Hornady 75 grain A-Max's with a 1:9 twist and have no issues with accuracy.

Jim
 
About 8 years ago I did a 600 yd shoot. With a Garand. I really want to do it again, but the shooting club that held it, appears that was the last one.

skizzums, just keep in mind that those who invited you, at one point, had never shot that distance either. They will likely give you advice and help you out.
 
well i went to the 600 yard range todaay where they hold the matches, after seeing the size of the targets, itactually seems do-able, i traded 100 52gr sierra match target for 100 69gr sierra match king, going to do the 600 yard maych the last week of april looks like, thanks everyone



ill be spending the next few weeks practing at 300 yards with larger targets thn ive been using


spent alot of time at 100yards today, it was graaavy, lke eveeryone said, seems easy now, i didnt do any five shot groups, but put about 80 rounds in the center 4x4 square of the target, just praacticing on when to pull the trigger and realiizing that i may be in the market for a two-stage trigger in the coming weeks, and a stock with the rear mono-pod, sot one today and it was really nice to have
 
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btw, if anyone lives in georgia, the riverbend gun club was truly a sight, it was six flags for gun-nuts, you can drive around that place all day and still not see all the attractions

they had awesome silluoette arears, little breacing houses all filled with knockdown steel targets, it was the coolest place, i was very foryunate to be invited
 
dirty harry, using a omni gen2 poly lower(works great and fits tight btw, and a head down upper, head is loacted loacally, so got a good deal, the whole set-up cost me a tad under 500$ not including optics and flashlight of course
 
Looks like your working you way down the right path.

I know your looking at those 600 and further targets, thinking hey those aren't that small, but trust me, if you practice small you will hit small.

The old club I used to shoot at had plenty of BR shooters that shot every Sat and Sun morning until things started to pick up. Most of them used the little round stickers that some use for price tags and such about 3/4" in diameter. They would usually keep 10 shots per sticker at 100, and most if not all on them at 200 pretty easily.

Myself out there with off the shelf hunting rifles, well to start off I was a bit intimidated even though I can shoot pretty well. It wasn't however until I started to use some of their tactics, that I got MUCH better, in not a lot of time. I learned up front that you CAN throw a load that WILL shoot under an inch, IF you are up to it. After about a month or two of shooting with some of those folks it was pretty easy to knock out those little stickers at 100, then I started on them at 200. I freely admit that they aren't nearly as easy to shoot away at 200 but the practice is what was counting more than anything.

A number of years later my friend and I had a couple of LR rifles built. Our goal was shooting feral hogs out to 5-800yds. We had found by sheer coincidence that they didn't seem to shy away from the blast of a rifle at that distance, and just kept on happily plowing up the pastures. So while we were learning to reach out and touch something we kept things small. Our 500yd target was a 16" blind flange with a 2.5" spot painted in the middle.
As you can see when we started it was a bit more than we expected,
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However as the weekends trickled by it got to be fairly easy to dial in for the wind and put a decent group together,
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I guess what I am saying is that when you practice at the longer ranges don't get overly caught up in shooting the bigger sized targets. Use some smaller pasters to concentrate some of your practice with, and then when you ARE shooting at the bigger ones, it will be like going from the 2-300yd ranges back to 100 with relation to your sighting. You will still have to dope the wind and counter the mirage, but after doing so to shoot a tight group on a small target, it is MUCH easier to do so on a bigger one where you can use the size to your advantage.
 

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