Whats the deal with long range shooting...

[P7M13]

Head out near Havre Montana around Easter time with a several rifle.
Spend about 4 days shooting squeaky pigs at all distances imaginable. To the tune of around 3000 rounds a day.

It helps in so many ways.

Is there a program or you just visiting family/friends?

 

[Medic!]

My friend has hunting rights on a large ranch over there. [Something like 20,000 acres]
I've been going over there for 15 years or so. But missed some years.

Word has spread. And other ranches have invited us over to shoot there rodents.
We tried another ranch once. They put us up, and fed us well.

At that ranch a couple of vehicles stopped as we hunted in a field near the road. They asked us to ''Please'' come shoot on there places.

The place is polluted with rodents. And they want help.

You can spend two hours shooting as fast as you can reload your magazines, in a single squeaky pig colony.
And the colonies go on as far as you want to walk.

My friend Mike ran out of ammo before noon on one trip. He'd only brought 3,000 rounds.
Had to drive 30 miles one way, to buy more.
Now we all bring at least 15,000 rounds for our four day trips. [One evening hunt. Two whole days hunting. And a morning hunt. Then on the road home.]

When the weather is nice. We lay on the hills and try to connect with rats at ungodly distances.
It's unbelievable, some of the shot's we've made.

Good times.

 

[P7M13]

Right rifle, good ammo (most likely roll your own), good glass, and lots of ammo - because practice is everything.

Farthest I've tried with offhand iron sights is 400 yards at a gong (old SCBA air tank). Took me >15 shots to learn how to tag it.
Just got new glasses, and oh my Lord, what a difference it has made. I can actually see the target while focusing on the front post.
800 yards to that same gong was a piece of cake using a Mark IV scope or a VX-7L. Good glass makes a world of difference.
I bought a Primary Arms FFP ACSS used from a member here for my latest build. The reticle was blurry and I wasn't doing very well with it when I learned last week, It wasn't my eyes - the scope had a diopter focus that I wasn't using. Made the crosshairs razor sharp and had a bunch of 1 hole groups that day.
I have rolls of bright white vinyl that I use as backing, and just put garage sale dots on it. Works great plus doesn't cost me >$1.00 per target.
If you're eyes won't let you, even with glasses, then I would suggest one of those digital vision systems with a HD display.
practice, practice, practice.

 

[etrain16]

Next DRRC service Rifle Match is a 100 yard reduced March 24 class, March 25 match.
Good time. M-1 rifles, shooting mats and spotting scopes they loan. Also ammo for the match.
Douglas Ridge Rifle Club - Service Rifle Program

And BTW, @ron is one of those fine folks you'll see at the DRRC service rifle events (maybe not every single one) that is a good source of info on long range shooting, and very willing to help us newbs.

 

[11Charlie]

My friend has hunting rights on a large ranch over there. [Something like 20,000 acres]
I've been going over there for 15 years or so. But missed some years.

Word has spread. And other ranches have invited us over to shoot there rodents.
We tried another ranch once. They put us up, and fed us well.

At that ranch a couple of vehicles stopped as we hunted in a field near the road. They asked us to ''Please'' come shoot on there places.

The place is polluted with rodents. And they want help.

You can spend two hours shooting as fast as you can reload your magazines, in a single squeaky pig colony.
And the colonies go on as far as you want to walk.

My friend Mike ran out of ammo before noon on one trip. He'd only brought 3,000 rounds.
Had to drive 30 miles one way, to buy more.
Now we all bring at least 15,000 rounds for our four day trips. [One evening hunt. Two whole days hunting. And a morning hunt. Then on the road home.]

When the weather is nice. We lay on the hills and try to connect with rats at ungodly distances.
It's unbelievable, some of the shot's we've made.

Good times.

Sounds to me like you need more shooters and a lot of fun!

 

[74bronco]

I'm 52 , in 1996 i had a drill bit shatter/explode, sending a fragment into my right eye, got a tramatic cateract, and had to have a lens replacement done on that eye , its my shooting eye , im right handed, I was 20/15 vision in that eye before the injury and could hit 6" targets at 300 yards ez on open peep sights , after surgery they got the lense somewhat wrong 45/20 , open sights became useless . they claimed it would get better as I aged and be on par with my left eye as i got into my 40's or 50's. it didnt . So I only shoot scoped now with quality glass and most importantly glass with adjustable objective focus, I can shoot moa ez out to 1000 if i do my part ranging, wind call and ballistic data, setting dope for said conditions, get any of those wrong your off target. but atleast good glass with focus makes it possible. my 2 cents

 

[shibbershabber]

my boss is a member at DRRC & invited me out...

I've got a nice Garand that I've never put past 100yd, nor have I had a place to shoot beyond that distance.

I'm hoping to get out there in a couple months maybe. In the meantime I've worked up a few loads that group well @ 100, eager to see they do farther out.

I'll have to check out those service matches too.

thanks all for the replies

 

[P7M13]

my boss is a member at DRRC & invited me out...

I've got a nice Garand that I've never put past 100yd, nor have I had a place to shoot beyond that distance.

I'm hoping to get out there in a couple months maybe. In the meantime I've worked up a few loads that group well @ 100, eager to see they do farther out.

I'll have to check out those service matches too.

thanks all for the replies

<broken link removed> has 50, 100, 200 & 300 yard ranges, all from the same bench. IIRC it costs $12 to go shoot. Get there early and you have all day.

 

[Mistman]

3k rnds by noon? You start shooting @ 1st light, maybe 6am? 500 rnds per hour is some pretty fast shooting, just under 10 shots per minute. I've shot P-dogs in Wyo quite a bit, best morning was 440 confirmed before an early lunch. That's all center fire shooting. I must have been going to the wrong places.

We used to shoot on a ranch near Vale Or., as mentioned, they would love to see us coming and put us up in an older ranch house in the middle of the squirrel fields. We would set-up on a small rise above the fields, after a while we wouldn't shoot anything under 100 yds as it was just too easy. I had a .223 and 22-250 side by side on bi-pods and would shoot until one got hot and switch over. The .223 was out to 200, the 22-250 anything beyond. I had 16x optics on the .223 and 24x on the 22-250. When all you see is a little head poking up above the alfalfa good optics are a must. In fact optics are probably the most important part of the package for long range. It's not hard to spend 2-3X the cost of the rifle for optics, even close to 10X for some guys (not me). You should almost decide on the optics before the rifle for a dedicated LR set-up.

 

[Goosebrown]

3k rnds by noon? You start shooting @ 1st light, maybe 6am? 500 rnds per hour is some pretty fast shooting, just under 10 shots per minute. I've shot P-dogs in Wyo quite a bit, best morning was 440 confirmed before an early lunch. That's all center fire shooting. I must have been going to the wrong places.

We used to shoot on a ranch near Vale Or., as mentioned, they would love to see us coming and put us up in an older ranch house in the middle of the squirrel fields. We would set-up on a small rise above the fields, after a while we wouldn't shoot anything under 100 yds as it was just too easy. I had a .223 and 22-250 side by side on bi-pods and would shoot until one got hot and switch over. The .223 was out to 200, the 22-250 anything beyond. I had 16x optics on the .223 and 24x on the 22-250. When all you see is a little head poking up above the alfalfa good optics are a must. In fact optics are probably the most important part of the package for long range. It's not hard to spend 2-3X the cost of the rifle for optics, even close to 10X for some guys (not me). You should almost decide on the optics before the rifle for a dedicated LR set-up.

Plan $1000 - $2000 for a good entry level optic. I have a Burris XTR II f class and I love it.

 

[Medic!]

You walk up over a hill with your trusty 10/22 and there they are Hundred of them!

You start rapid fringing from the dozens of pre loaded 25 round magazines you have on hand.
As fast as you can pick a target and pull the trigger.
Sometimes you will see a group of six or so young squeaky pigs at the opening of a borough.
So you dump as many rounds into them as fast as you can pull the trigger! Hoping to gun them down before they understand what's going on!

In a few minutes, all your magazines are empty. But the rodents are still running everywhere!
So you stuff five rounds into your last empty magazine, but cant take the time to fill it because rats are popping up now 20 feet away!

You blast the best targets then your out again! So you stop and load five more rounds.
Now your shooting at a rat running straight towards you! You nick him, because he's so close your just aiming down the side of the barrel. But he makes it into his hole! The hole behind your right heal!

That's right. The littlie SOB just ran between your feet!

This goes on for more than an hour! And your thumbs are killing you from loading rounds.
Slowly over time your able to keep one 25 round magazine mostly topped off. and you just work the place over.

Your two hours in now. And shooting slows down to a shot every 20 seconds or so. So you just stop.
Load up all your 25 round magazines. And walk over the next hill to take a look.

Crap! Here we go again!
And you spend another couple hours doing the same thing all over again!

That's what it's like.

The bulk of the shooting is from 22 rim fire.
I only shoot a few hundred .223 rounds at the bigger prairie dogs.
Still we walk the little .22 out there a long way. It's great practice.

 

[Mistman]

I shot squirrels around Calispell that were probably that 'hot' but we weren't prepared for close shooting having only center fire rifles and ranches off in the distance. It was a friends relatives place that put us up for a night on the way to Wyo. They said to stop over, they had lots of shooting. They did but there were too many barns and outbuildings around, we got uncomfortable shooting there and only stayed a couple hours. If we had had .22's with us we could have shot all day.

Out in Vale we'd walk the fields early morning w/handguns. When the babies are out there can be a dozen sitting on one hole. So you sluice a few w/the 1st shot, the rest dive into the hole. You just wait a minute or 2 until the brothers and sisters come out to start eating the ones that just got dusted then shoot some more. We'd go all aggro on them, 'cannibals!' was the war cry. Good times!

 

[Medic!]

I shot squirrels around Calispell that were probably that 'hot' but we weren't prepared for close shooting having only center fire rifles and ranches off in the distance. It was a friends relatives place that put us up for a night on the way to Wyo. They said to stop over, they had lots of shooting. They did but there were too many barns and outbuildings around, we got uncomfortable shooting there and only stayed a couple hours. If we had had .22's with us we could have shot all day.

Out in Vale we'd walk the fields early morning w/handguns. When the babies are out there can be a dozen sitting on one hole. So you sluice a few w/the 1st shot, the rest dive into the hole. You just wait a minute or 2 until the brothers and sisters come out to start eating the ones that just got dusted then shoot some more. We'd go all aggro on them, 'cannibals!' was the war cry. Good times!

Some years are hotter than others. But it's always good fun.

We all bring a mix of rifles. .22 RF both scoped and with Iron sights. Plus .223's, 22-250's and the like.
Shooting takes place from as close as the hole next to your foot. Out to many hundreds of yards. So you need to be prepared for whatever works best in a given area, in a given trip.

I like it. It's very diverse practice.
No better target than a small fast moving rodent that runs 20 feed forward. Abruptly stops and runs three feed backwards in reverse! Then 40 feet forward. only to reverse run again for five feet. Then forward again, off to the high grass.

I don't know why they do that? But it's funnier than HeII! And makes for great shooting reflexes.

 

[Boboclown]

Plan $1000 - $2000 for a good entry level optic. I have a Burris XTR II f class and I love it.

Don't really need to go that high for an entry level optic. Some optics in the $400-$1000 are pretty good also (some above average for optics in that range).

 

[mjbskwim]

Don't really need to go that high for an entry level optic. Some optics in the $400-$1000 are pretty good also (some above average for optics in that range).

That t-rex guy on YouTube that's a distance shooter is a self proclaimed glass snob,but has found some great finds at bargain prices. SWFA? I think that's one of the makers he likes
Primary arms? is another
Here's his channel
TiborasaurusRex

 

[Boboclown]

That t-rex guy on YouTube that's a distance shooter is a self proclaimed glass snob,but has found some great finds at bargain prices. SWFA? I think that's one of the makers he likes
Primary arms? is another
Here's his channel
TiborasaurusRex

SWFA is definitely above average in its price range. Primary Arms is above average for its price range and other Chinese scopes. I also found that the Steiner M332 is sort of above its price (good glass, rugged, but the reticle NEEDS the illumination which is a huge negative for me). The factory scopes for the AUG are also above average in the $500-$1000 range (despite being $425).

 

[jsparks747]

A good, accurate gun and a at least decent quality scope with MOA turrets. I got a Barska 4-16x50 sight with 60 or so clicks and 1/8th MOA clicks at 100 yards. My longest shot with that (not hunting) was an 850 yard shot with a .30-06. You need to have a good rifle AND a good scope. If one member doesn't perform, neither does the whole set up.

 

[parallax]

good trigger, accurate rifle, floating barrel, match ammo, that is proven for your rifle twist and lenght of barrel, lap in your scope rings, torque scope screws, make sure caps on rings are even, use feeler gauges, Scope is really important, I have run across many scopes that cannot hold zero, due to internal cams, that allow minute movement inside your scope reticle.. do alot of dry fire training,,,DO ALOT OF DRY FIRE TRAINING. get your breathing right, either hold your breath or shoot as you are finished breathing out.. shoot in between heart beats,, ( look thru your scope while laying on the ground at a target 1000 yards out,, you can physically see your heart beat moving your zero..), dont rest your barrel( free float). on anything, make sure your rifle is not canted when shooting.

(if i forgot. DO ALOT OF DRY FIRE TRAINING..).

 

[Boboclown]

Free floating and good triggers are not necessary, they just make it a lot easier to get there. Worth the investment, but if none of that is available it won't keep the you from being able to get good results.

 

[jsparks747]

I would agree with @parallax. Practice dry firming or with snap caps to gain trigger control, work on your flinch, and practice your breathing.