I recently had my first experience with shooting at distances longer than 200 yards. It was a thrill to do something I had never attempted before! With good coaching, I was able to make hits at 730 yards with both .223 and .308 rounds.
INGO has many capable shooters who routinely shoot at very long distances. I am not one of them. My rifle experience was limited to 200 yards and under. Although I shoot reduced-sized steel targets at 200 yards to imitate longer distances, it’s not the same. I don’t have as much drop and wind effects to deal with as the full-distance shooter does.
I have attended three Appleseed sessions (patched twice). The Appleseed program and instructors greatly improved my rifle shooting abilities. (Appleseed purists will note that I used a bag and later a bipod on the rifles I shot rather than a sling. The goal for this day was just to experience long distance shooting. I will try a sling if I have another opportunity in the future.)
INGO member Que invited me to join him at the home range of 42769vette (Allen) in east central Indiana. Allen is the owner of A&A Optics. He is an INGO advertiser and can be found at:
A&A Optics - INGunOwners
One of the main goals of the day was to shoot an introductory video on choosing rifle optics. It can be found here:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...-choosing_the_right_scope_for_your_rifle.html
We arrived at the farm and set up our gear by one of the barns. It has a concrete pad that overlooks gently rolling meadows.
Here is our view from the shooting area.
There are hanging steel targets at distances up to 250 yards. Several of the targets are from INGO advertiser Bobcat Steel.
Bobcat Steel - INGunOwners
Que took his turn with his Savage .308. Allen did the spotting for him giving him feedback on where each round was hitting the 8” target at 200 yards (3.8 MOA).
Que was having some difficulty with rounds sticking in the chamber of his Savage. Allen demonstrated that he not only knows scopes, but is proficient in troubleshooting firearm and cartridge issues.
The extractor wasn’t pulling the cases out properly. Allen and Que found that some of the reloads Que brought had loose primers. These rounds had black marks around about a quarter to a third of the primer where hot gas had jetted out from around the primer. We were guessing that sometimes the gasses were being blown into the extractor/ball/spring area and causing the extractor to bind up and not move properly. A quick extractor disassembly and some oil had the mighty Savage back in action.
You can see evidence of previous shooting sessions all around Allen as he takes some careful shots.
We took turns on the spotting scope. Here Que is calling the hits.
As I was preparing to shoot my Remington 700 in .223, I took a pause to hear what Allen had to say. It looks like I was offering a quick prayer before getting behind the rifle!
At this point, we went cold and Allen took is John Deere Gator out to the steel targets to paint them. He painted the 200 yard target orange. Notice how far just 200 yards is. The first picture is zoomed. The second picture is more accurate.
The prayer must have worked. I hit the 8” target at 200 yards on the first hit. Allen suggested a couple clicks of adjustment and had me dead center in no time. I was using some reloads I developed specifically for the Remington bolt gun. [For the reloaders among us: I used Lake City brass, fire-formed in this rifle, neck sized, CCI small rifle primers, 24.6 grains of Benchmark, and a 55 grain Hornady V-Max bullet. The cartridges were seated long, just a few thousandths off the lands at 2.270”.]
The rifle I was shooting was a bit more ‘old school’ than the Savages in attendance but I love shooting this gun. It’s got a wonderful trigger and is very easy to shoot. It also has sentimental value to me. I still like blue steel and walnut!
It was time to take a break (including some fabulous coffee cake!) and move gear to the long-distance range. The Gator was back in service shuttling us and our gear to the top of a gentle rise that will soon be farm field this Spring.
Here is the view from the shooting position toward the target. The target is a full-sized IPSC steel from Bobcat Steel. Standard dimensions are 18” wide and 24” tall (not including the ‘head’). At the distance we were at, that would be 2.4 MOA wide and 3.1 MOA tall.
I have three pictures to help get the sense of 730 yards (that’s .41 of a mile). The first picture is the full distances, then a picture at an intermediate distance, and finally a highly zoomed picture showing how the target is positioned.
Que made several hits at full range. He was really dialed in with his rifle. After having a minor problem with the rifle earlier, it was nice to see him confidently hitting the steel.
Allen was watching the hits with his spotting scope. At 730 yards, there was enough time delay that he could see the hit in the scope and call out the location of the hit before we heard the ‘ding’!
I fired 4 times with my Remington .223. Allen gave me holdover and windage directions. I was holding about 5’ high and about 12” right due to a crosswind. The second shot was a miss low. So I held about 6’ high and I hit the target on the third and fourth rounds! (The fourth round was to prove that the third round wasn’t an accident!)
Later, I shot Allen’s Savage .308 with the very nice scope. He had the elevation and windage adjustments already made. I laid down on the mat, took the rifle, and ‘ding’ hit the target on the first try. Great fun!
Here’s Allen taking his turn:
(With thanks to esrice for his video help!)
In the video clip with Que, you can hear the 'ding' as the .308 round hits the steel. Allen seems to call a miss. I don't recall if he missed hearing the hit or was starting to say the hit wasn't right at the point of aim. Either way, it's a nice shot.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLetZjIsJsE[/ame]
I took a shot with Allen's Savage. The Vortex scope had already been set for elevation and windage. First shot was on-target!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7dMPqJCa-0[/ame]
Things I Learned at Allen’s Range
-- An ATV or Gator is needed if you want to check your target at 730 yards!
-- The lower zoom specification on a scope is more critical than the upper zoom specification for most people.
-- Older eyes and glasses do funny things behind a rifle scope. Better glass is always helpful.
-- Cheap scopes look almost exactly like expensive scopes. But they certainly don’t perform or last like expensive scopes.
-- Allen’s wife makes great coffee cake!
-- .308 rounds make a nice ‘ding’ at 730 yards. .223 rounds are very hard to hear at all.
-- Allen is an excellent host and patient instructor.
-- Shooting stuff really really far away is fun!
My thanks to Allen for a wonderful day. Also to Allen’s family for letting us enjoy their farm for the day. It was beautiful, peaceful, and quiet (unless we were shooting!)
INGO has many capable shooters who routinely shoot at very long distances. I am not one of them. My rifle experience was limited to 200 yards and under. Although I shoot reduced-sized steel targets at 200 yards to imitate longer distances, it’s not the same. I don’t have as much drop and wind effects to deal with as the full-distance shooter does.
I have attended three Appleseed sessions (patched twice). The Appleseed program and instructors greatly improved my rifle shooting abilities. (Appleseed purists will note that I used a bag and later a bipod on the rifles I shot rather than a sling. The goal for this day was just to experience long distance shooting. I will try a sling if I have another opportunity in the future.)
INGO member Que invited me to join him at the home range of 42769vette (Allen) in east central Indiana. Allen is the owner of A&A Optics. He is an INGO advertiser and can be found at:
A&A Optics - INGunOwners
One of the main goals of the day was to shoot an introductory video on choosing rifle optics. It can be found here:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...-choosing_the_right_scope_for_your_rifle.html
We arrived at the farm and set up our gear by one of the barns. It has a concrete pad that overlooks gently rolling meadows.
Here is our view from the shooting area.
There are hanging steel targets at distances up to 250 yards. Several of the targets are from INGO advertiser Bobcat Steel.
Bobcat Steel - INGunOwners
Que took his turn with his Savage .308. Allen did the spotting for him giving him feedback on where each round was hitting the 8” target at 200 yards (3.8 MOA).
Que was having some difficulty with rounds sticking in the chamber of his Savage. Allen demonstrated that he not only knows scopes, but is proficient in troubleshooting firearm and cartridge issues.
The extractor wasn’t pulling the cases out properly. Allen and Que found that some of the reloads Que brought had loose primers. These rounds had black marks around about a quarter to a third of the primer where hot gas had jetted out from around the primer. We were guessing that sometimes the gasses were being blown into the extractor/ball/spring area and causing the extractor to bind up and not move properly. A quick extractor disassembly and some oil had the mighty Savage back in action.
You can see evidence of previous shooting sessions all around Allen as he takes some careful shots.
We took turns on the spotting scope. Here Que is calling the hits.
As I was preparing to shoot my Remington 700 in .223, I took a pause to hear what Allen had to say. It looks like I was offering a quick prayer before getting behind the rifle!
At this point, we went cold and Allen took is John Deere Gator out to the steel targets to paint them. He painted the 200 yard target orange. Notice how far just 200 yards is. The first picture is zoomed. The second picture is more accurate.
The prayer must have worked. I hit the 8” target at 200 yards on the first hit. Allen suggested a couple clicks of adjustment and had me dead center in no time. I was using some reloads I developed specifically for the Remington bolt gun. [For the reloaders among us: I used Lake City brass, fire-formed in this rifle, neck sized, CCI small rifle primers, 24.6 grains of Benchmark, and a 55 grain Hornady V-Max bullet. The cartridges were seated long, just a few thousandths off the lands at 2.270”.]
The rifle I was shooting was a bit more ‘old school’ than the Savages in attendance but I love shooting this gun. It’s got a wonderful trigger and is very easy to shoot. It also has sentimental value to me. I still like blue steel and walnut!
It was time to take a break (including some fabulous coffee cake!) and move gear to the long-distance range. The Gator was back in service shuttling us and our gear to the top of a gentle rise that will soon be farm field this Spring.
Here is the view from the shooting position toward the target. The target is a full-sized IPSC steel from Bobcat Steel. Standard dimensions are 18” wide and 24” tall (not including the ‘head’). At the distance we were at, that would be 2.4 MOA wide and 3.1 MOA tall.
I have three pictures to help get the sense of 730 yards (that’s .41 of a mile). The first picture is the full distances, then a picture at an intermediate distance, and finally a highly zoomed picture showing how the target is positioned.
Que made several hits at full range. He was really dialed in with his rifle. After having a minor problem with the rifle earlier, it was nice to see him confidently hitting the steel.
Allen was watching the hits with his spotting scope. At 730 yards, there was enough time delay that he could see the hit in the scope and call out the location of the hit before we heard the ‘ding’!
I fired 4 times with my Remington .223. Allen gave me holdover and windage directions. I was holding about 5’ high and about 12” right due to a crosswind. The second shot was a miss low. So I held about 6’ high and I hit the target on the third and fourth rounds! (The fourth round was to prove that the third round wasn’t an accident!)
Later, I shot Allen’s Savage .308 with the very nice scope. He had the elevation and windage adjustments already made. I laid down on the mat, took the rifle, and ‘ding’ hit the target on the first try. Great fun!
Here’s Allen taking his turn:
(With thanks to esrice for his video help!)
In the video clip with Que, you can hear the 'ding' as the .308 round hits the steel. Allen seems to call a miss. I don't recall if he missed hearing the hit or was starting to say the hit wasn't right at the point of aim. Either way, it's a nice shot.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLetZjIsJsE[/ame]
I took a shot with Allen's Savage. The Vortex scope had already been set for elevation and windage. First shot was on-target!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7dMPqJCa-0[/ame]
Things I Learned at Allen’s Range
-- An ATV or Gator is needed if you want to check your target at 730 yards!
-- The lower zoom specification on a scope is more critical than the upper zoom specification for most people.
-- Older eyes and glasses do funny things behind a rifle scope. Better glass is always helpful.
-- Cheap scopes look almost exactly like expensive scopes. But they certainly don’t perform or last like expensive scopes.
-- Allen’s wife makes great coffee cake!
-- .308 rounds make a nice ‘ding’ at 730 yards. .223 rounds are very hard to hear at all.
-- Allen is an excellent host and patient instructor.
-- Shooting stuff really really far away is fun!
My thanks to Allen for a wonderful day. Also to Allen’s family for letting us enjoy their farm for the day. It was beautiful, peaceful, and quiet (unless we were shooting!)
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