2025 Cold Bore Challenge

[CM]

I am going for a MER of 800 yards, so I will be attempting to qualify at 600 yards.

Equipment: Semi-Custom 7 SAUM, nitrided Tikka Action, 24" Proof Barrel, Allterra Carbon Hunter Stock, built by Justin (@buckman300) at Wilderness Custom Rifles (https://wildernesscustomrifles.com/). Nightforce NX-8 4-32x50, Holland Level, Sportsmatch Rings, Hatch bipod. Shooting 180 grain ELD-Ms with 63.8 grains of H1000 in ADG brass at 2940 FPS. Using an Outdoor Research zip sack with a jacket in it as a rear rest.


Day 1: There was a pretty consistent 5mph wind, right to left so I held 1 minute right.

Day 2: Pretty calm, I didn't hold any wind.

Day 3: The wind was shifty but not very strong, I didn't feel great about the shot when it broke so I'm not sure whether to blame myself or the shifty wind. Probably myself. I will be looking for redemption tomorrow.

Day 4: The wind felt about the same as day 3, so I held a little right, I missed bit right and a little high.

Conclusion: My cold bore MER is obviously not 800 yards right now. Dropping 2 shots hurts. Good thing it's only June and I've got a couple months to work on it!

 

[West2East]

MER: 500YDS
Rifle: Tikka 6.5 CM
Scooe: Maven RS 1 MOA
Box Ammo: 140 S&B FMJBT
Harris bipod, bag of game bags as rear rest.
Wind: called about .5MOA hold to left
Target at 497yds. It's a 12 in plate with 10" circle painted

6/14/25
Setup picture

Target picture


I hate to post a miss! After shooting a bunch the past few weeks, I moved my MER to 500 from 450. I am consistently making first round impacts at 500ish. I think this shot shows me that I need to slow down. I was jacked to be doing the challenge. Looked at the wind but didnt really consider the affects of the canyon. And it was more steady when I stood up than what I saw through the scope. Also could have used the mirage. I think it was closer to a 5mph full value. Tree branches moving slightly and occasionally on my side and the other. But the shot went right off the right side of the plate. Wind call should have been 1-1.5.
I'm glad I got to shoot right here, its actually where I elk hunt so pretty realistic to expect a shot here. I think the miss shows me a lot more shooting in the wind in different environments and (for now) slow down.



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Shot 2 (I came down with something for 2 weeks and then life happened so I wasn't confident going into this one.
MISS AGAIN! I suck...
Harris bipod, bino case as rear rest.
Wind: called 2.5 mph from left to right about under 1 MOA hold to right
Target at 525yds. It's a 12 in plate with 10" circle painted . I dialed 10.75 MOA.

Clean plate. I was probably .5 off of my wind call and I can't explain the miss high.

This shows me 500 is too far at this point. I went ahead and shot about 25 and my elevation was good and wind ended up being 2.5 MOA as the wind picked up to about 5mph and I was grouping center of the plate a little low.
A lot more practice needed.

 

[huntnful]

I’m in for an MER of 600 yards. I just have too many guns to shoot and load for right now to burn up 3 consecutive range days trying for a longer MER. Just shooting across a levee system out here on the delta. Nothing scenic .

High Voltage Armory 7-300 NMI
180 Berger Hybrid
3215 FPS

Day 2

 

[Silver Wings]

MER 600
Tikka T3X 6.5 CM
Rokstok
Maven RS 1.2
UM rings
High Desert BM
Tricer RP bipod
140 ELDM hand loads @2732
My plan was to keep my MER @500 again this year, but take my shots in a decent wind to add an element of difficulty. This spot doesn’t get windy until mid afternoon and it’s too dry and hot now which would make me a little nervous. So I opted to shoot without much wind early morning and stretch it out in the spirit of the challenge.
Shot #1
610 yards
Wind 4 mph from 3:00
Dialed 3.8 up and held .4 right
Prone off backpack with bino case and jellyfish rear bag
Missed high
Forgot to take photos of the set up. Will get them on the next shot.

Shot #2
610 yards
Wind variable 2-8 mph from 3:00
Dialed 3.8 up held .5 right
Prone with bipod and jellyfish rear bag
Hit

 

[Harvey_NW]

MER 800 yards (in perfect conditions)
Tikka 6.5 PRC assembled and torqued per Forms specs
AG Composites Alpine Hunter
143 ELD-X hand loads
Trijicon Credo HX 4-16×50 in UM rings
Dead Air Nomad Ti
Spartan Pro Hunter bipod
Black Ovis game bag kit for rear bag

Day 1 - HIT. 575 yards, wind - left to right (West to East), I guessed 5-7mph with gusts of 10mph. Revic calculator has 1.1 (MOA, I knoww..) for 5mph, and 1.9 for 8mph so I held about 1.7 to keep both 1-2 hashes in the white. Impact was just a bit low and right, probably an actual 8mph wind. In for day 1!

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Day 2 - HIT. 575 yards, 50°, no detectable wind, which is disturbing in this canyon.. After throwing dirt off the hillside trying to see if there was even a thermal drift, I got nothing. Decided on a dead hold, and it was the right decision.

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Day 3 - MISS. 804 yards, 45°, sprinkling rain, variable winds gusting 5-10mph. I guessed the wind at 5-8mph but it was gusty and switchy from being a straight up in my face headwind, to a 270° crosswind. At 270° 5mph was L2, 8mph was L3. I waited until everything was fairly consistent and decided on 1.5 because the grass on the other side wasn't really dancing. Clipped the right edge of the plate exactly where my 2 MOA hash was. On the bright side, the vertical dispersion this rifle and load has produced leading up to this has been fantastic and I really trust it and the solver now, just need to shoot more in wind!

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Day 4 - HIT. 804 yards, 55°, 2-3mph 270° wind. Wind was consistent, pretty much just a typical thermal breeze. Revic app showed 2mph L1.2, 3mph L1.6, so I held 1.5 and sent it.

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Glad to participate in this challenge, it's a 64 mile round trip for me to get to this spot, so there's definitely dedication! Thanks to the mods and sponsors for putting this on!!

 

[Jstumbaugh]

MER goal 750

Day 1 592 yards minimal wind right to left at 1 o’clock.
7mm Sherman Short built from components picked up from here and longrangehunting forum.
168 Nosler Ablr over 60gr h4831 at 2810fps from the 20” proof. Beast brake takes darn near all of the recoil away. Really fun gun to shoot.
Day 2 2/2 solid hit today at 592. Wind 4-7mph full value left to right. Held 2moa on the reticle and connected. Ready to go to 700. This rifle has been so much fun to shoot and it’s awesome that I’m able to spot impacts. Really building confidence for my elk hunt this fall.

Day 3. 3/3 Farmer worked the fields and planted the field I shoot from. Had to change shooting position a bit and it took my range to 750 yards. Minimal wind today. Meter didn’t pick up any but you can see the leaves in the video barely moving. Shot broke clean and connected.

Day 4 4/4. Swirling winds today at my shooting position but very little down the valley by the target. Dialed elevation and held center of the plate. Good hit to end the challenge.

 

[ARK_Ginger]

MER: 500yards
16” Tikka 223 shooting 75gr ELDs @2700 with griffin explorer 224 can.

First shot. 485yards 2460 DA. Miss left
Seated with hiking sticks and backpack
Video

My brother same position



Day 2 6/15/25 shot two. 510yards 4200ft DA
Shot 2 miss

Shot setup


After two misses I’ve served myself some humble pie again this year. The first shot I kinda expected since I never practice off of trekking poles. The second shot was the same distance and location as last year with the exact same miss to the right, so it seems I didn’t learn my lesson from last year.

 

[NickyD]

MER goal of 500 yards this year.

Tikka CTR 20” 6.5 Creedmoor
Zeiss V4 6-24x50 with Spuhr Mount
Banish 30 9”
147 ELDM factory ammo
Rokslide Molinator Shooting bag attached to the pack

Day 1:
410 yards
Minimal Wind

Day 2:
409 yards
Minimal wind blowing away from me
Same shooting position

 

[WiscoHoundsman]

MER goal of 500 yards.

Tikka t3x 7mm rem mag
162 ELDX
NF SHV 4-14 F1
Sycthe TI

Shooting off a pack prone using my game bags for a rear support.

Wind was minimal.
80 degrees out

Missed way right by the looks of it. Need some more practice this summer by the
looks of it.

Shot 2

Missed in what appears to be the same spot as yesterday. Weather was 72 degrees and a light sprinkle.

Shot 4 more rounds after and was consistent right. Took one shot after looking at video of those and held 2 moa left and hit. I am wondering if my zero shifted some with swapping my suppressor around or if I nocked something around on that gun last fall/winter. Lots to figure out before October.

 

[Brontosaurus]

Tikka t3x 223. Chopped and suppressed with the AB A10. Swfa 10x42 with low tikka rings. Shooting 69 TMK at 2700 fps.
Day 1
Shot was at 512 yds and a 12 dg angle. 3000 ft DA. Wind was swirling at me left to right but was right to left at target. Gusts went from 7 to 10 mph. Shooter gave me 3.1 mil up. The wind was the weird part I ended up holding a tenth right. Impact was left i believe. I will know for sure tomorrow when I hike back up to get the target. I'll highlight the spot I think I hit. Either way happy to be doing it for my first year!!
Also my wife held the binos in the wrong spot lol. But she's such a champ for pulling up!! In the video the target is in the low left corner.
Day 2
Had some difficulties today. Pulled up to the range and environmentals were basically the same as yesterday. Dialed elevation and held .4 mil in wind. Got up to the target and no hits for me i was pretty lost. Went back down and shot some rocks at various distances along the hillside. All were great hits and the gun was shooting great. So now I'm really scratching my head. Then one shot hits wildly high. Dig through my spent brass and find out that some Lapua brass made it's way in to my reloads. So obviously we were seeing some WILD pressure spikes. I go back and check my video and sure enough the trace can be seen sailing over that target lol. Overall I learned that I probably need to be more picky with sorting my brass. Failures in the system don't always come from loose screws, bad scopes or poor zeros. Failures have the potential to spring up anywhere. Can't wait to do it next year!

 

[Ramem7mm]

Maximum Effective Range is 650 yards(conditions need to be favorable with lighter winds, heavy winds would be a deal breaker and require to get closer)
Gun - 7mm Rem Mag 175 Berger EOL @ 3,000 FPS
Setup is bipods and lightweight rear bag




Shot 1 585 yards
Wind light and variable from 10 oclock at 2mph with some trees blocking the wind.

Shot 2 575 yards
Winds variable 2-5 mph from 10 o’clock again.

Shot 3 650 yards
Wind constant 4 mph from 10 o’clock at shooting spot but gusts were a little more in breaks of trees and coming down the roadway. Held 1.3 MOA left

Shot 4 650 yards
Wind went from 2-5 in the trees but gusty above the trees and through the shooting lane. Held 1 moa left. Must not have held enough shoulder pressure or the best rear support because I hit a little high but still in the zone.

 

[jdvangeystel]

I am hoping to shoot at 800 for my MER this is my first shot at 620 yards. 3 to 4mph full value wind. Shooting a 25 SAUM on a Mountain Forged Action in a Mountain Forged HNT26 chassis- Leupold Mark 4 6-24 PR3 Reticle in Mils. I am shooting a 122 Grain McGuire Ballistics Copper Rose at 3,116 fps out of a 20” preferred carbon fiber barrel with a silencerco harvester evo. My shot was 2” low of center and about 1” right, but still within the white 10” circle. Shot with my cousin this evening.

Day two shooting from the same position, earlier in the day today and the mirage was horrible. I will now move out to 800 yards for shots 3-4 from a different shooting area

Day 3- Stretched out to 803 Yards, moved locations and also switched to a heavier hitting rifle- wind was shifty and the grass has gotten too tall to shoot prone so I was shooting seated off a bipod. Didn’t miss by much but it was still a miss. Mountain Forged long action 7SAUM shooting 168 McGuire ballistics copper rose.

Day 4- Same spot at 803 Yards- 4th and final shot, using the 7 SAUM again- This is a 10” plate, I might of only hit the T post, it’s so hard to tell but I think I was a couple tenths low and hit the post. I will have to run out this week to verify that

 

[UncleLou]

My MER is 800 yards. Shooting a Savage 6.5PRC with a 125gr McGuire Ballistics copper rose (3084fps) at 620 yards for my first shot. 3-4MPH wind from 9:00.

Day 2: Minimal wind coming from 3:00.

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[pbroski]

MER is 700 yards. At least I'm going to try for it. The rifle is a custom Kimber.22arc with Ks Arms barrel, NXS 2.5-10 Mil-R scope in Talley rings, shooting 80 gr. eld-m handloads at 2820 fps. Shooting position is seated with sticks and a pack.

First qualifying shot June 14.

First shot is at 599 yards. Wind was 2 to 4 mph from 6:00. Dialed 3.7 mils, never held for wind. Wobble zone was about 12" side-to- side and about 6" up-and-down. Managed to touch it off on the left 1/3rd of the plate. Filmed with a Longshot Ranger+.

Hit it right at the top.






Second qualifying shot June 17.

Calm conditions. 580 yards. DA 2688 ft, 54° F. Dialed 3.5. Shot seated with sticks and pack again.

Miss to the right.




I'd like to tank the folks who put this challenge on. It was super fun. I'm looking forward to trying again next year. And good luck to the guys out there still shooting.

 

[ztc92]

MER 600 yards (really pushing my comfort level in the spirit of the challenge).
Tikka 6.5 Creedmore
SiCo Scythe Ti with 6mm endcap
Rokstok
SWFA 3-9
Handloads: 130 ELDM with H4350

Day 1:

Conditions:
- Shooting in eastern Wyoming, fairly windy with gusts ranging 7-12 MPH.
- Temp around 80 degrees, DA of 7500.
- Wind direction shifting a bit from 10 o clock to head on. Looked to be more L to R at the target compared to where we were set up.

Miss high. Pretty good on windage, held left 0.5 mils. Felt like I broke a good shot, saw the impact and had good follow through. Elevation dialed was correct, double checked with shooter app after the shot.

Not sure why I shot so high. Interestingly, the two other shooters I was with also both missed high on their CBC in same location/conditions. Makes us wonder if there was a bit of an updraft in the canyon we didn’t appreciate?

We will be trying a different location for day 2 tomorrow, hoping for some redemption.

Day 2:

Conditions:
- Similar to day 1, wind ranging from 8-12 MPH and moving L to R, almost exactly 90
degrees.
- Temp around 70 degrees.

Miss very low. Hard to hit the target when you forget to dial your elevation. Embarrassing and unacceptable. Glad it was just practice rather than on a hunt, but still frustrated at forgetting such a crucial step in the shot process.

I think the combination of being filmed and trying to be the only one in our group to successfully hit the target was more pressure than I appreciated and I got so hung up on holding wind correctly I forgot to dial the elevation. We also broke our usual shooter/spotter dialogue to avoid giving wind calls to the shooter and that also messed with the normal shot process.

For what it’s worth, I took a few practice shots afterwards and I still missed once I dialed the correct elevation. I held 1 mil for a 10 MPH wind but my wind call was not enough as I actually needed 1.5 mil to hit the center.

Lots of good learning and a good reminder that 600 yards is a very long shot. I wouldn’t have taken either of these shots on animals due to the distance and wind/terrain, but still fun to push it a bit in the spirit of the challenge.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

MER 600 yards
Tikka 22 CM 18” w/ 80 ELD-X @ 3225
Maven RS 1.2, UM Rings
Scythe Ti
HNT 26 w/ adjustable butt pad and front SRS weights in preparation of the NRL Hunter Match.



Day 1
3,200 ft. Wind @ 3mph from 270.
585 yards. 10” circle on box.
Hit.

Dialed 2.6 mil.
Impact 4” higher than point of aim but within circle. Pass through on box and uphill angle makes it appear as a high miss. Will show photo of box.

Day 2: Friday 20th.
Driving to NRL Hunter Match in Cantwell. Found a large, empty, gravel pit alongside the Parks Hwy.
587 yards. 72f, 15 mph headwind at 12, veering to 10 o’clock.
Wind felt straight on at shot. Held .2 left.
Miss off of right edge. As I was walking back across the pit, It was apparent that the wind had veered to 10 further down range where there were no wind indicators, being a wide open pit.

 

[TheCougar]

MER 650 yards
Tikka T3X 7mm Mag
Rokstok
162 ELD-X Precision Hunter Factory Ammo
Bushy LRHS 4.5-18 with UM rings
Scythe with DIY wrap
Atlas bipod
LS Wild 2.5 rear bag (half)-stuff

Qualifying: 2/2 (hit, hit)
MER 650: 2/2 (hit, hit)

I am qualifying for the +600 club with a MER of 650. I failed on last years CBC to go 100% at 600. I am doing the CBC with my kids, @BunnyThumper and @MissScarlett.



Qualifying shot #1: HIT 590 yards, light gusting wind, estimated 3:00@4G8. Slight R wind hold. Temps in the mid 70s, pretty nice day for this time of year. I’m happy with the result - looked like 2” high and 1” left of POA.

Qualifying shot #2: HIT 575 yards, no wind hold. Swampy… warm and humid. The bouncing camera is my daughter kicking the tripod…. Looked like a couple of inches right of POA. I hope I keep shooting like this for the last two.

Qualified 2/2, moving on to the MER shooting.

Shot #1: HIT 646 yards. I got out there before it got stupid hot. A little variable wind. No wind hold. Just snuck it in on the right side of the target. A hit is a hit…

Shot #2: HaiT 645 yards. The “heat dome” broke yesterday, and today it was 75 degrees and… FOGGY. Weird. It took me 20 minutes behind the rifle before we could break out the target in the fog. I didn’t know if it was going to get better or worse, so I took the shot when I had it. I should have held about .2L and forgot to because I was so focused on trying to time the shot between fog patches. As a result I hit the right side of the plate.

 

[BunnyThumper]

MER 650 yards
Tikka T3X 7mm Mag
Rokstok
162 ELD-X Precision Hunter Factory Ammo
Bushy LRHS 4.5-18 with UM rings
Scythe with DIY wrap
Atlas bipod
LS Wild 2.5 rear bag (half)-stuff

Total : 1/2 (Miss, Hit)

I am trying to qualify for the +600 club with a MER of 650. I am doing the CBC with my dad, @TheCougar and my sister @MissScarlett.



Qualifying shot #1: 590 yards, light wind right to left. It was pretty windy where I was shooting from, not not very windy at the target. I didn’t wind hold and missed, so I guess I’m not joining the 600 club this year. Again.

Shot #2: I didn’t make the first qualifying shot but I wanted to see if I could hit my planned target, so I tried that. It’s at 645 yards. Sunny, 80 degrees. Not much wind. I didn’t do a wind hold this time on purpose. It was a hit, We think it hit the right side. I am glad to get a hit on the target, but disappointed to end early again.

 

[MissScarlett]

MER 425 yards
Tikka T3X 7mm Mag
Rokstok
162 ELD-X Precision Hunter Factory Ammo
Bushy LRHS 4.5-18 with UM rings
Scythe with DIY wrap
Atlas bipod
LS Wild 2.5 rear bag (half)-stuff

Final score: 2/2 at 425. Hit/Hit.



This is my first year I am doing this. I am a new shooter and hunter. I went on my first hunt last year in Wyoming. I am doing the CBC with my dad, @TheCougar and my brother @BunnyThumper
My dad has me shoot smaller rifles normally, but for this he has me shooting his bigger rifle that he shoots. This is my first time shooting this his elk rifle. I was really excited to make a good shot. The shot didn’t hurt and it wasn’t much worse than the other rifles I normally shoot. There was no wind where we were shooting from and my dad told me to aim for the center. It was actually windy at the target. .

The second shot was really good. There was no wind wehere we were shooting and there wasn’t much wind at the target. I aimed for the center again. I hit at the bottom of the plate.

 

[sargent]

MER is 410yards
Tikka T3X .223
AAC 77 grain TMK
Sportsmatch rings
SWFA 3-9
Leofoto tripod with Spartan adapter front rest
Hand on bino harness for rear rest


The target is by the group of trees on the left.

Weather was 59 degrees, light mist, wind <5MPH

Shot #2 was taken under similar conditions in the same location.

Thank you to Rokslide and all the sponsors for putting this on.