1,000 Yard Range Photos 4/21/2012

[Dave Doehrman]

I took my new 1500 yard WiFi range camera up to Young's Longshot Range at Woodruff today and got some nice screen captures. The wind was howling from the NNE and blowing from right to left. Both of us shooting .308s were dialing in 5 1/2 MOAs right windage, but the strings were spread horizontally depending on the gusting winds.

I set the camera up 10 yards back and 10 yards to the right of the targets. The first photo shows the 1,000 yard targets with the zoom all the way back.

The photo below is a close up of the 3 right hand plates.

When the guys went down to paint the plates, I stayed back and used the camera to get a couple pics of them at the 1,000 yard line. The handsome fellow on the left is INGOer teddy12b.

And the last photo shows the plates after being painted.

Despite the windy conditions and 39 degree weather early this morning we still had a good day of shooting. The mirage got so bad at noon that we couldn't see the bullet impacts with our rifle scopes or spotting scopes. The range camera worked flawlessly and we didn't have to drive back and forth to check our bullet impacts.

 

[gunman41mag]

That's some great shooting DAVE

 

[nipprdog]

Rifles, scopes, ammo, etc???????????

 

[indyjohn]

Rifles, scopes, ammo, etc???????????

Ya Dave! I need a new .308 recipe...

 

[Dave Doehrman]

Rifles, scopes, ammo, etc???????????

The rifle started out as a Rem 700 SPS Varmint in .308
I added the AI 1.5 stock
A NightForce Direct Mount 20 MOA base
A NightForce 8-32 x 56 NSX scope with mil-dot reticle
Atlas bi-pod and Accu-Shot mono-pod
Replaced the factory trigger with a Jewel trigger set to 1 pound pull

I'm shooting Prvi Partizan brass
168 gr A-Max bullets
Federal GM Match Primers
46.0 grains of Varget (This is max load - do not use this as a starting point)

The round is coming out at 2800 fps. I sighted in 1" high at 100 yards. I dial 9.5 MOA at 500 yards and 34 MOA at 1,000 yards. My best 5 shot group at 1,000 yards measured 4 1/2 inches,

 

[45fan]

That is the same rifle I am starting out with. I went with a Millett 4-16x50 TRS, and am thinking about the McMillan A-2 stock, but its encouraging to know that I am at least starting from a foundation that shouldnt hinder my learning curve.

 

[Wild Deuce]

Awww, that's nothing. Anyone with that equipment could do that any time. (sits back and waits for the "Oh yeah? Come out and show us" invite to shoot.)

Seriously, I felt the wind yesterday ...good shootin!

 

[indyjohn]

That's a really nice rig Dave. In 2003 I built one almost exactly like that:
Remy 700 PSS in .308
AI 1.5
Ken Farrell 1 piece 20 MOA Base & Leuopold Mark IV rings
Leuopold Vari-X III 6.5-20 x 50 Long Range Target
Also had an Iron Sight setup with Anshutz front & rear

The recipe I was using at that time was
FC x1 fired brass
SMK 175 gr
WLR Primers
44.5 gr Varget

This gun produced 2750 fps MV and signs of high pressure with this load, so I stopped there. It worked ok out to 1k yds but if the wind was blowing ~at all~ it would keyhole.

Too bad I sold it 3 years later. I actually saw the same gun pop up for a short time last year on Gunsamerica.

 

[Dave Doehrman]

That is the same rifle I am starting out with. I went with a Millett 4-16x50 TRS, and am thinking about the McMillan A-2 stock, but its encouraging to know that I am at least starting from a foundation that shouldnt hinder my learning curve.

I planned on shooting the factory barrel out and then having a custom barrel installed. I've got about 4,000 rounds through it and there are no signs of wear or erosion. I think the performance is great for a factory bolt and barrel.

Savage also makes some impressive long range rifles. I just went with the Remington because it was easy to find parts and accessories..

I've had a lot of folks tell me you can't shoot 168 grain bullets out at 1,000 yards, but I think that is based on the performance of the Sierra Match King 168 gr. bullets. The A-Max seems to do well for me in the 26" barrel with the 1 to 12 twist. I have a box of 100 of the 208 gr. A-Max bullets and some Reloader 17 for fuel. I'll wait until the temperature warms up a little and when we get some calmer days I'll test out the heavy bullets.

 

[Wormhauler]

1000 yards

Would love to have room to have a thousand yard range. Some day I will get to one and see what I can really do. I live where it is pretty flat. I have a big puile of dirt that is 75 yards out that I could move to about 150. May have to do this sometime

 

[Fullmag]

Rem 700 actions are really good platforms. In process of getting new/used rifle now, thanks for post. Oh yeah...that's some good shooting!

 

[LPPOsecurity]

I need to start getting into some long range shooting, I think I'll start by practicing with my 10/22 with a scope on it, any good low priced bolt rifles out there worth looking into?

 

[42769vette]

I need to start getting into some long range shooting, I think I'll start by practicing with my 10/22 with a scope on it, any good low priced bolt rifles out there worth looking into?

define low priced. starting with the 10-22 at 200+yards is great pratice

 

[Dave Doehrman]

define low priced. starting with the 10-22 at 200+yards is great pratice

Now stretch that 10-22 out to three hundred yards and you'll soon learn why they make 20 MOA bases for scopes. You'll learn a lot about cross winds and learn to shoot when the wind is stable or drops.

I take my Savage MKII up to Young's and enjoy shooting the .22 just as much as the bigger bore rifles. It's a lot cheaper to fire and you can really learn a lot when you stretch the .22s out there to 200 or 300 yards.

 

[IndyGunworks]

Now stretch that 10-22 out to three hundred yards and you'll soon learn why they make 20 MOA bases for scopes. You'll learn a lot about cross winds and learn to shoot when the wind is stable or drops.

I take my Savage MKII up to Young's and enjoy shooting the .22 just as much as the bigger bore rifles. It's a lot cheaper to fire and you can really learn a lot when you stretch the .22s out there to 200 or 300 yards.

YEP. a 22 at 200 yards will teach you more about wind than anything else i know. It is also a very frustrating experinence. I missed my cold bore shot yesterday because I held 2moa of wind, and it was actually 0. second shot (after i called the shot by watching vapor trail) was a hit.

I shoot my cz452 at EVERY range session bar none.

That being said, i did have a cold bore head shot on a torso target at 725 yards with my .308, then proceded to shoot a 5 inch 5 shot group at the same distance. all in the head even though they congregated a bit closer to the neck than i would have prefered, but my dope was got on a MUCH wamer day.

 

[45fan]

I planned on shooting the factory barrel out and then having a custom barrel installed. I've got about 4,000 rounds through it and there are no signs of wear or erosion. I think the performance is great for a factory bolt and barrel.

Savage also makes some impressive long range rifles. I just went with the Remington because it was easy to find parts and accessories..

I've had a lot of folks tell me you can't shoot 168 grain bullets out at 1,000 yards, but I think that is based on the performance of the Sierra Match King 168 gr. bullets. The A-Max seems to do well for me in the 26" barrel with the 1 to 12 twist. I have a box of 100 of the 208 gr. A-Max bullets and some Reloader 17 for fuel. I'll wait until the temperature warms up a little and when we get some calmer days I'll test out the heavy bullets.

Thanks for the good info on the combination you are using. Currently I am shooting a load I worked up with the 168 gr SMK using IMR 4064 pushing right at 2650 fps. I have yet to step out past 300 yards with this combination, but its proven as accurate as I can expect from any factory rifle(along the lines of 2" groups reliably) I only recently picked up the rifle, and I figured starting out with a load that emulated the federal GMM load was a good place to start, but I have considered, and now will certainly try the A-Max when my current stock of SMKs are depleted. With a little luck I will get things in order to be able to stretch the range a bit more to see what this rifle (and I) am truly capable of.

 

[indyjohn]

Thanks for the good info on the combination you are using. Currently I am shooting a load I worked up with the 168 gr SMK using IMR 4064 pushing right at 2650 fps. I have yet to step out past 300 yards with this combination, but its proven as accurate as I can expect from any factory rifle(along the lines of 2" groups reliably) I only recently picked up the rifle, and I figured starting out with a load that emulated the federal GMM load was a good place to start, but I have considered, and now will certainly try the A-Max when my current stock of SMKs are depleted. With a little luck I will get things in order to be able to stretch the range a bit more to see what this rifle (and I) am truly capable of.

In the recipe I posted earlier, I substituted IMR 4064 for Varget for 1000 yds. I loaded 44.5 grains with the 175 gr SMK & got better results than with the Varget. All about the burn rate...

 

[sardo67]

WOW, nice shooting man

 

[Bruizer13]

Wow, awesome. Nothing better than practicing the ole, "One shot one kill" at a 1000 yards +! I'd like you on my side when SHTF.

 

[45fan]

Since everyone else has shared, my current load I am shooting is 43.8 gr IMR 4064, 168 gr SMK, with standard CCI LR primers in Winchester cases. Velocity over my chronograph has run within 5-6 FPS+/- of 2650.
My intent was to match the FGMM load velocity, to keep things fairly simple getting started. So far I cannot complain with the results, though when I am a bit more practiced with the setup, I will experiment a bit more to find the optimal load for this rifle.