Hats off to the consistent long range shooters

[LarryBud]

Shooting long range is hard to do. At least for me it is. My hats off to those who can do it consistently with production rifles.

Short story is I’m trying to prepare for a shot up to 300 yards for a NM Elk Hunt. Finding a place to shoot beyond 200 is a challenge. Today, I went up to a CRP field in NW MO. It’s been a really wet year and the CRP is up over the hood of the truck. I had to set up my table in the back of the truck to have any chance of seeing a down range target.

I wanted to mimic what I may encounter in the Field. I somewhat randomly placed the target going further each time. My shots were at 106, 152, 197, 272 and 301.

The top target was the Super Disc, 545 grain Conical. 85 3F of Swiss. I was good to 272. The bottom target was a Disc Elite 50, 300 SST and 120 of BH 209. I’ll call it good to 200.

I had a 5-10 mile per hour left to right breeze. I’ll blame it for the drift at long range. The journey continues.

 

[45-70]

change to 2ff swiss 85 or 90 , not that bad considering wind

 

[sdporter]

Your 152 shot on the bottom target is really the only questionable shot for shooting out of the back of a truck in a crosswind. Trucks move quite a bit in even a light breeze. Relax, and go kill your bull!

 

[52Bore]

If that’s your 1st attempt at those ranges - you did better than you think in those conditions.
The top target - 4/5 in a 4” square, only the wind seemed to get you at 300 - elevation perfect.
Judging the wind afield is the hardest variable.
Our rule-if-thumb is 1moa/10mph/100yd with those heavy’s.
We’ve appreciated and enjoyed your efforts.

 

[LarryBud]

Looking deeper at the impact of a cross wind. Since most of my hunting shots in the past have been around 50 yards, doping the cross wind has not been a priority.

At 10 MPH Cross Wind will move the SST 22" at 310 yards and move the 545 12" at 244 yards.

I had a inconsistent 5-10 mph. Based on this, my shots where about what one would expect depending on what breeze hit when I pulled the trigger. Just one more thing to think about.

 

[mnoland30]

Unless you're planning on shooting out of a truck (illegal in NM) then you should get shooting sticks and practice from sitting position. or shooting off your pack. I hunt NM every year, and I find I can consistently get within 200 yards of elk. Shooting across a canyon, you might need to go to 300. I seldom can shoot over the grass from prone, I can think of 3 shots in 30 years. I can always shoot over the grass with a bipod. With practice, I can shoot almost as well off the bipod as the bench. I scrunch up with my riight knee perpendicular to the rifle. and put the butt of the rifle on my knee. Sometimes I have to hold my shoelace to keep my knee high enough. The perpendicular leg stops the side to side motion. Very nice shooting!

 

[LarryBud]

Unless you're planning on shooting out of a truck (illegal in NM) then you should get shooting sticks and practice from sitting position. or shooting off your pack. I hunt NM every year, and I find I can consistently get within 200 yards of elk. Shooting across a canyon, you might need to go to 300. I seldom can shoot over the grass from prone, I can think of 3 shots in 30 years. I can always shoot over the grass with a bipod. With practice, I can shoot almost as well off the bipod as the bench. I scrunch up with my riight knee perpendicular to the rifle. and put the butt of the rifle on my knee. Sometimes I have to hold my shoelace to keep my knee high enough. The perpendicular leg stops the side to side motion. Very nice shooting!

I've been working on this some as well. I like your right knee trick. I tried it in the backyard and know it will be helpful.

I have the shooting stix ( just light a weight, foldable X ), the Primos Trigger Stick. I've shot quite a few deer with both of these over the years. However, I usually set up in an ambush spot and have plenty of time to plan out my set up and get things just right. Just dropping to the ground and touching one off will no doubt be much more challenging.

I'm preparing for a challenging, long range shot but I'm hoping for a close encounter.