First trip to the 1000 yd range

[MuleyFever]

Never been much of a rifle hunter, let alone a long range shooter. Growing up in WI I always bow hunted and rifle hunting in the woods never opened up much for long shots. I have never even shot past 400ish yards so today it was time to test out my 7 SAUM I built on a Tikka for a great AZ elk opportunity I drew. I figured if there was a time to extend my range this was it.

I settled on a load that was shooting really well at 100. Last week I shot at 100, 200, 300 and 420 (this was my first time shooting a rifle this far) on the same target to get real drops. Put that info in the ballistics calculator and headed out today to shoot farther. My range has targets at about 420, 725, 835 and 1000. I shot at 420, 725 and 835. My load runs low on velocity with the 175 ELDX at 1000 so I didnt shoot it. I was able to get in the kill zone at all distances with minimal adjustment. I set up my phone scope on my spotter and recorded each shot so I could watch it and make adjustments. I have to say it sure was fun to watch the rounds drop into the target right where I needed them to be. I have never been this confident shooting before and it feels good. Ill be practicing more over the next couple of weeks. Cant wait for my late season elk hunt now.

 

[wind gypsy]

Fun stuff isn't it?

If the conditions are different the next time you go back, pay attention to where you hit on your first shot at each distance. When I first started shooting longer range I got a little cocky because once you get a solid dope and wind hold on a target it becomes easy to tag your POA. The confidence from tight groups near POA (once adjusted) stuck in my memory more than where the first round landed and I went into the field overconfident in my abilities.

 

[Northpark]

Yup that’s good stuff. I got into the long range game awhile ago. Make sure you go shoot in the wind would be my biggest suggestion. Have fun with it.

 

[drra]

Nothing like range time to clear the mind and long for opportunities to put the practice to the test.

 

[MuleyFever]

Nothing like range time to clear the mind....

I work about 10 minutes from the range so I often go at lunch and shoot. It is a great way to clear the mind mid day.

 

[MuleyFever]

Yup that’s good stuff. I got into the long range game awhile ago. Make sure you go shoot in the wind would be my biggest suggestion. Have fun with it.

I do need to get some practice in the wind. We have prevailing winds out of the south and the range shoots to the north so it can take some planning to get a cross wind to shoot in.

When you guys print out a DOPE what wind speed do you use for a baseline for your adjustments? I had printed out one with a 5MPH wind but it was minimal adjustment so I thought maybe I should do 10MPH. Or does it not really matter as I can just double the 5MPH value if the wind is blowing closer to 10MPH and so on.

 

[PantherCity]

It’s a great feeling when you have a good hunt coming up and everything is coming together. Most likely you’ll be confident at you max range and then you’ll get a shot at a bull up close.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[svivian]

I do need to get some practice in the wind. We have prevailing winds out of the south and the range shoots to the north so it can take some planning to get a cross wind to shoot in.

When you guys print out a DOPE what wind speed do you use for a baseline for your adjustments? I had printed out one with a 5MPH wind but it was minimal adjustment so I thought maybe I should do 10MPH. Or does it not really matter as I can just double the 5MPH value if the wind is blowing closer to 10MPH and so on.

Is your scope in MOA or MIL? Also depends on the bullet on how much wind can move it.

Mil is much easier for wind but for MOA I try to find a consistent speed and adjustment as a baseline thats easy to do in my head.

 

[drra]

Once sighted in, my shooting is done with shooting sticks or resting on my backpack - as close as possible to how I plan to shoot in the field (also used to practice from a tree stand for bear season, but no longer pack in tree stands and just use ground blinds).

 

[wind gypsy]

I do need to get some practice in the wind. We have prevailing winds out of the south and the range shoots to the north so it can take some planning to get a cross wind to shoot in.

When you guys print out a DOPE what wind speed do you use for a baseline for your adjustments? I had printed out one with a 5MPH wind but it was minimal adjustment so I thought maybe I should do 10MPH. Or does it not really matter as I can just double the 5MPH value if the wind is blowing closer to 10MPH and so on.

Calculating mph rifle

At a recent match, many on my squad were describing their wind calls in terms of mph, by saying eg: I used a 5mph wind( rather than describing it in terms of mils). These were good shooters doing this. (I just got on their squad by accident). Where can I learn about this technique, and...

www.snipershide.com

I'd assume you have a "7 MPH Gun" with 175 eldx @ common western hunting elevations. I.E. with a 7mph 90 degree wind you'd have roughly the following corrections:

100 yards : 0.1 mil
200 yards : 0.2 mil
300 yards : 0.3 mil
400 yards : 0.4 mil
500 yards : 0.5 mil
600 yards : 0.6 mil

14 MPH would be double that. Quartering winds would have less bullet deflection.

 

[Harvey_NW]

When you guys print out a DOPE what wind speed do you use for a baseline for your adjustments? I had printed out one with a 5MPH wind but it was minimal adjustment so I thought maybe I should do 10MPH. Or does it not really matter as I can just double the 5MPH value if the wind is blowing closer to 10MPH and so on.

Congrats on the elk tag, hope you find a nasty one! That value does just double as the input does, the tricky part with wind is if you have values for a 90° crosswind at 5 and 10mph, the values for a 45° crosswind are not half. My personal preference is to input all the stable environmentals in the morning so my calculator is ready, and input each individual variable at the time of the shot so it's as accurate as possible. If the wind is blowing hard enough that I would need a Kestrel to measure and calculate a correct wind hold that would be off hair at that distance, I don't need to be shooting that far. And if I don't have enough time to input range, wind speed, and direction into a ballistic calculator for a true calculated holdover, I didn't have a very good shot opportunity for that distance anyways.

Calculating mph rifle

At a recent match, many on my squad were describing their wind calls in terms of mph, by saying eg: I used a 5mph wind( rather than describing it in terms of mils). These were good shooters doing this. (I just got on their squad by accident). Where can I learn about this technique, and...

www.snipershide.com

*Me being an MOA guy*

 

[Reburn]

Never been much of a rifle hunter, let alone a long range shooter. Growing up in WI I always bow hunted and rifle hunting in the woods never opened up much for long shots. I have never even shot past 400ish yards so today it was time to test out my 7 SAUM I built on a Tikka for a great AZ elk opportunity I drew. I figured if there was a time to extend my range this was it.

I settled on a load that was shooting really well at 100. Last week I shot at 100, 200, 300 and 420 (this was my first time shooting a rifle this far) on the same target to get real drops. Put that info in the ballistics calculator and headed out today to shoot farther. My range has targets at about 420, 725, 835 and 1000. I shot at 420, 725 and 835. My load runs low on velocity with the 175 ELDX at 1000 so I didnt shoot it. I was able to get in the kill zone at all distances with minimal adjustment. I set up my phone scope on my spotter and recorded each shot so I could watch it and make adjustments. I have to say it sure was fun to watch the rounds drop into the target right where I needed them to be. I have never been this confident shooting before and it feels good. Ill be practicing more over the next couple of weeks. Cant wait for my late season elk hunt now.

Welcome to the fold. Like @wind gypsy said watch those first round hits. its fairly easy to walk it in on steel and get over confident and head out to the field and make bad decisions. Ive been there and done that as well. I think its a phase most long range hunters go through.

 

[MuleyFever]

Welcome to the fold. Like @wind gypsy said watch those first round hits. its fairly easy to walk it in on steel and get over confident and head out to the field and make bad decisions. Ive been there and done that as well. I think its a phase most long range hunters go through.

Went back yesterday. Started with one shot at each range again, 420, 725 and then 835. All first round hits within the kill zone. Felt awesome. Fired one at 1000 and missed the POI by about 7-8". Then I just went back and forth on the targets and I feel my DOPE is right on at those distances. Plan to hit it again at lunch a few times this week. Hopefully get some cross wind.

I have never enjoyed just going and shooting 100 yds. Shooting long range is fun and may just keep me into reloading. I was really considering getting out of it.

 

[Reburn]

Went back yesterday. Started with one shot at each range again, 420, 725 and then 835. All first round hits within the kill zone. Felt awesome. Fired one at 1000 and missed the POI by about 7-8". Then I just went back and forth on the targets and I feel my DOPE is right on at those distances. Plan to hit it again at lunch a few times this week. Hopefully get some cross wind.

I have never enjoyed just going and shooting 100 yds. Shooting long range is fun and may just keep me into reloading. I was really considering getting out of it.

Good job.

Watch for a east or west wind and hit the range on those days for sure to get some experience shooting in a cross wind.