Long range shooting - 1,000 yards

[Goodcat]

You don’t need $3k optics to shoot 1k yards. I’ve often shot competition in 1k and 1 mile competitions with a Vortex Strike Eagle 6-24. I prefer better glass, and usually shoot a Razor Gen 2 4.5-27. However, 1000 yards, and a low BC cartridge, there is barely any dial up needed. 1k yard is not that far with a modern rig. 1-mile is a different story, and you can still use cheaper optics, full dial up, some hold over, + 20 or 40 moa riser or rings.

Your friend needs some serious training and trigger time to learn he should not be taking a 1k yard cold bore shot on a live animal though. Some of the best wind readers in the world would still hesitate to shoot at animal at 1k. Bring it down to 750-800 yards, and low wind conditions, a very experience shooter would be just fine. A very experienced shooter. I can hit a target at a mile. I would not want to wound an animal at 1k.

 

[rb288]

I, too, bought a 6.5 creedmoor a few years back to shoot at "long range".
I knew it was going to be a piece of cake.
Well, turns out, 600 is about as far as I ever got.
I suggest you have him shoot at 500 yds and see how he does.
I am pretty sure he till find that "long range" shooting is NOT for the inexperienced.
I would never hunt past 4 or 500 yds, either.
I am of the belief that "long range" shooting, 1000yds is meant for targets, not game.
As far as a scope, I use a 6-24x50 Arken sh4 that just works great for me.

 

[Michigan Slim]

I've ran to 400 yards with these as that's as far as my range goes. I did NOT hit the first shot.

 

[DadSmith]

 

[Twangbanger]

You don’t need $3k optics to shoot 1k yards. I’ve often shot competition in 1k and 1 mile competitions with a Vortex Strike Eagle 6-24. I prefer better glass, and usually shoot a Razor Gen 2 4.5-27. However, 1000 yards, and a low BC cartridge, there is barely any dial up needed. 1k yard is not that far with a modern rig. 1-mile is a different story, and you can still use cheaper optics, full dial up, some hold over, + 20 or 40 moa riser or rings.

Your friend needs some serious training and trigger time to learn he should not be taking a 1k yard cold bore shot on a live animal though. Some of the best wind readers in the world would still hesitate to shoot at animal at 1k. Bring it down to 750-800 yards, and low wind conditions, a very experience shooter would be just fine. A very experienced shooter. I can hit a target at a mile. I would not want to wound an animal at 1k.

You make a good point, that 800 yards is not 1,000 yards. That extra 200 yards of distance makes a heckuva lot more difference than going from 100 to 300 yards.

 

[jrh84]

OP, here's the deal. You're doing the right thing by helping a buddy out, but he needs some real world experience at distance to guage his abilities.

I've had a decent amount of success shooting a service rifle and .223 Palma rifle like some of the other guys in this thread. A big part of CMP service rifle matches is NO SIGHTERS, similar to a hunting scenario. I'm a fair to middlin' wind reader and I do as good or better than most when it comes to shooting a 10 or an X on that first shot for record. All that being said, there's no way I'd take a shot at 1000 yards on an animal. I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be taking a shot on a whitetail past 300-400 yards with a .308 or Creedmoor, especially if there's more than 5 mph of wind or so.

I shoot with some of the best long range shooters in the country at Atterbury. Several national record holders, a few on the US rifle team. I'd bet a Coke that none of them would be super confident about a 1000 yard shot on a big game animal.

All that being said, he needs to build a rifle and come out and play at Atterbury with CIHPRS. We've got a midrange match on March 12th, and a 3x1000 yard match the following day. We're trying to put together a "new shooter/wind reading" clinic in April that would be ideal for him. I'd be interested to see his confidence after actually shooting his setup at 1000 yards. That target at that distance is pretty humbling.

In terms of scopes....yeah, much past 24X isn't all that useful for a deer-sized target. People get way too wound up about scopes for 1000 yards in my opinion. If the tracking is solid and glass is useable, there's nothing keeping you from using it successfully at 1000 yards. I’ve had good luck shooting irons, my 4.5X service rifle scope, and my Vortex 6-24 Viper PST at 1000. It wasn't the scopes fault that I misses a 2 mph pickup and shot an 8. A nicer scope wouldnt have helped one bit in those instances. A scope is important, but pales in comparison to the importance of adjusting for wind at that distance.

 

[Goodcat]

You make a good point, that 800 yards is not 1,000 yards. That extra 200 yards of distance makes a heckuva lot more difference than going from 100 to 300 yards.

I would almost say 800-1000 yards is similar to the difference between 100-800 yards. In the same vein, 1,400 yards to 1,760, is the same as 100 yards to 1,400 yards. BC and round dependent, the last 25% of your ammo’s leg is 75% of the battle. Cartridge is basic. Load development is advanced. Wind reading is everything.

 

[Hawkeye7br]

I suggest you have your friend buy a quality 22LR and zero it at 50 y. Then try to hit a 5" target at 250 (2 MOA) or 6" target at 300. Go back and forth at different distances. We do this all the time at RCC, but our range is largely protected from crosswinds. Nonetheless, our targets at 240 are much harder than those at 200. Something your friend will need to experience and become proficient at. Cheaper to learn the basics with a rimfire.