# Shooting over a mile tonight.



## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

My good friend and Kodiak brown bear guide, Mike Fairbanks and I went up to our lake this evening to shoot a target he had set up across Big Kitoi Lake at 1825 yards. That's one mile plus an extra 65 yards for good measure! I've shot a mile on several occasions and Mike has done really well on our 1230 yard target and he wanted to step up his game. He set the target on the lake shore so we could get a visual verification of my misses as I walked the shot in.
It took me 12 shots to get my drops but...the wind, wow! It's amazing how much a little wind can make at that distance. It was a relatively calm day but looking out over the water was an education. We sat and patterned the wind for about 45 minutes. While shooting benchrest, I'll watch the flags for a while and try to determine a window where the flags are blowing in the same direction for the longest time. (I don't know if that makes sense?) I'll sight in and shoot during those windows.
We found a window we liked and I jumped behind the gun. 12 shots later, and just as many turret adjustments, I hit the target. I hurried and shot while the conditions were the same and got another hit. I told Mike to hurry and take over my gun. He missed the first shot but hit the second. The wind changed so we waited for another window. After about 20 minutes we got another one. After another 10(?) shots we both hit one more time each. In the end, I was 36 moa up and 2.75 moa into the wind.
It was a great day. :mrgreen:


----------



## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Edge?


----------



## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Bax* said:


> Edge?


Yup. It's a Canyon Rifle made by Shawn Carlock at Defensive Edge.
http://defensiveedge.net/index.php/custom-rifle-packages/81-canyon-rifle


----------



## 7mm Reloaded (Aug 25, 2015)

looks like fun what Caliber? Grain bullet ? :tea:


----------



## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

7MM RELOADED said:


> looks like fun what Caliber? Grain bullet ? :tea:


.338 Edge. It's basically a 300RUM case opened up to .338 and fireformed. I use 91grs of H1000 with 300gr Berger OTMT, (Open Tipped Match Tactical)


----------



## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

Pretty cool8)


----------



## Springville Shooter (Oct 15, 2010)

Nice round spots on the plate too. That's always a good sign! Looks like fun......especially for the long-ranger.------SS


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Shooting over a lake to walk the shots in is brilliant!

-DallanC


----------



## Springville Shooter (Oct 15, 2010)

I wonder what shooting over a large body of water does to the 'cornyholus effect'?:mrgreen:----SS


----------



## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

DallanC said:


> Shooting over a lake to walk the shots in is brilliant!
> 
> -DallanC


The last time I did this we used a spotter down range with a cell phone. The terrain around this lake is blanketed with a thick mat of moss so spotting your misses is nearly impossible. I've taken a bag of flour and broadcasted it all over behind the target and that worked surprisingly well, until it rains.
Shooting over a lake helps A LOT when it comes to doping the wind.


----------



## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Springville Shooter said:


> Nice round spots on the plate too. That's always a good sign! Looks like fun......especially for the long-ranger.------SS


I haven't figured my velocity at that range but I'm surprised at how the bullets still splattered when they hit. Amazing power even at that range.


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Do you ever record shots via digiscope or camcorder to watch bullet trails?

-DallanC


----------



## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

DallanC said:


> Do you ever record shots via digiscope or camcorder to watch bullet trails?
> 
> -DallanC


No I don't. I know they make them for spotting scopes but do they make one for rifle scopes? 
Most of the time I can recover quickly enough from the recoil to see my own vapor trail with this gun. And nearly 100% of the time with my 6.5x284 comp gun. But I can't tell if I'm hitting high or low if I'm watching the vapor trail through my rifle scope. When the bullet starts dropping past the apex of my trajectory, I can't see it anymore because it's being blocked by the vapor of the first half of my trail. If a spotter is sitting just a few yards to my side, he can see the whole arch of the vapor trail and can accurately call my shots. I would like to set up a digiscope/spotting scope slightly to the side and record the vapor trail.
Good idea.


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

I made my own digiscope mount... cost me less than $10 total. It would be easy enough to make one that fits a specific side scope bell. If you are curious I can take pictures of the one I made up (uses a cheap phone case I bought off ebay).


-DallanC


----------



## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

ya, post a picture. Do you have it on your website?


----------



## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

longbow - have you ever used that gun on an animal up there? Are you and that cannon the reason the mammoths went extinct??:mrgreen:


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

longbow said:


> ya, post a picture. Do you have it on your website?


No, oddly I havent put together a guide on it. Lemme take some picts and post something later.

-DallanC


----------



## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

CPAjeff said:


> longbow - have you ever used that gun on an animal up there? Are you and that cannon the reason the mammoths went extinct??:mrgreen:


Yes. But first, I have to say that lately I'm starting to discourage hunting past someone's point blank range. ( I had a big long write up about it but I deleted it. However, if anyone wants me to go into it I'd be happy to.)

I shot a Sitka blacktail at 826 yards last year. It was a well-planned out and practiced shot though.


----------



## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

longbow said:


> Yes. *But first, I have to say that lately I'm starting to discourage hunting past someone's point blank range*. ( I had a big long write up about it but I deleted it. However, if anyone wants me to go into it I'd be happy to.)
> 
> I shot a Sitka blacktail at 826 yards last year. *It was a well-planned out and practiced shot though.*


Very important statements!


----------



## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

longbow said:


> Yes. But first, I have to say that lately I'm starting to discourage hunting past someone's point blank range. ( I had a big long write up about it but I deleted it. However, if anyone wants me to go into it I'd be happy to.)
> 
> I shot a Sitka blacktail at 826 yards last year. It was a well-planned out and practiced shot though.


I wouldn't mind an explanation

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


----------



## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

The biggest reason I recommend staying within your point-blank range is it's a safe, nearly 100% shot for most people. Any farther than that, the wind and bullet drop starts to play a bigger role in shot placement. To most, raising or holding into the wind is just a guessing game at best. A 325 yard point-blank shot is quite a long shot if you think about it. Plenty for most hunting anyway. Think about this. We all hear about someone missing game with a gun. We've all done it. Sometimes I cringe when I hear about a longranger missing an animal. Why? Mostly because I'm protective of my own kind. I don't want longrange hunters getting a bad name because they "wound more" animals. and think about this, what's between a miss and a kill shot? A wounded animal. I wish they would have the discipline to only take high percentive shots whether it's at 100 or 1000 yards. I was fortunate to be in a training class in the Airforce. Two sniper instructors from Cheyenne came to our base and held a week-long training class in long range shooting, (not a sniper class, just longrange shooting instruction). One thing that one of them kept saying that I'll never forget is "You should be so sure of your shot that you would be absolutely shocked if you miss, not shocked if you hit your target."

I hate to oppose my own kind, but the biggest reason I'm getting disgusted with the whole long range hunting is the industry hoopla about how easy it is to buy their gun/system and you too can take ungodly shots at game. You can buy a fancy scope and a rifle all set up with drop charts and finely tuned ammo for a price. They've done all the work for you. They make it sound easy. If you can read and follow written instructions you can buy one of these systems and start hitting targets at 1000 yards. Their videos only show the successful hits and never the misses or the many hours of practice it took to prepare for that one successful shot. Then there's guys like me who get on here and start popping off about long range kills, goats at 525, antelope at 660, Sitkas at 826....etc. I'll admit, I've added to the hoopla.

Exact trigger control and precise aiming with a dead-ass rest is SO much more important than most realize. I still struggle with it. Especially when I change rifles.

One thing they can't sell you, and easily your biggest foe, is experience doping the wind. I'm fortunate/unfortunate to live and shoot in one of the very worst places on this planet to shoot in the wind. Every time I go to our range I get an education on how the wind can play into your shots. It's never, ever the same. Fortunately most of our targets are across water so we can see what the wind is doing. If we didn't, we would be even more confused when we mysteriously missed. We could have a 4:00, an 8:00, a swirl and an up/down draft along our bullet path at the same time. But how fast is it going out there? How does it effect your bullet compared to the wind at your shooting position? I've watched vapor trails change directions as it goes through a funnel between two knolls. It's crazy sometimes. I've been humbled many times.

One thing I hear from the long range nay-sayers all the time is long range hunting isn't hunting compared to sneaking in close. To me it's a very satisfying accomplishment to thunder-dick an animal at extreme ranges. However, I've hunted a lot with a longbow and done fairly well with it. NOTHING is more satisfying than sneaking in on an unsuspecting animal and killing it with a longbow.

Will I continue to shoot and hunt with a longrange gun? Yup! I'm just going to try to be more careful about gathering guys up in my wake when it comes to hunting with one.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

longbow said:


> The biggest reason I recommend staying within your point-blank range is it's a safe, nearly 100% shot for most people. Any farther than that, the wind and bullet drop starts to play a bigger role in shot placement. To most, raising or holding into the wind is just a guessing game at best. A 325 yard point-blank shot is quite a long shot if you think about it. Plenty for most hunting anyway. Think about this. We all hear about someone missing game with a gun. We've all done it. Sometimes I cringe when I hear about a longranger missing an animal. Why? Mostly because I'm protective of my own kind. I don't want longrange hunters getting a bad name because they "wound more" animals. and think about this, what's between a miss and a kill shot? A wounded animal. I wish they would have the discipline to only take high percentive shots whether it's at 100 or 1000 yards.
> 
> .................................................................................
> 
> ...


What a great write-up Chuck! I admire, and I'm envious of, your long range prowess.

uh...I vote for sneaking up close though.


----------



## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

I've watched several long range videos on youtube. The milk jug challenge done here in in northern utah shows a reality of what shouldnt be attempted on game. I don't think I've ever seen them do a first shot hit and these guys are shooting guns made for long range. I also don't think people understand that bullet performance is often compromised past maximum point blank range as well. 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


----------



## Springville Shooter (Oct 15, 2010)

Post #21 is right on the money. I was once a long ranger but now I operate in the realm of MPBR for one simple reason.....practice. Life has gotten busy and I just don't get the trigger time needed to keep my skills sharp. ------SS


----------



## Packout (Nov 20, 2007)

This is a neat thread on shooting. Thanks for posting. I think shooting long range gongs/tragets can be fun. And I like the posts about guys shooting gongs/targets to see what they can do. I also know that--

*Animals Aren't Gongs*

.......


----------



## Springville Shooter (Oct 15, 2010)

*Animals Aren't Gongs*

.......[/QUOTE]

Goob has an excellent recipe for Gong.:sad:

Those who shoot the most amount of bullets at targets shoot the least amount of bullets at game. That's a fact.------SS


----------



## APD (Nov 16, 2008)

Springville Shooter said:


> Those who shoot the most amount of bullets at targets shoot the least amount of bullets at game. That's a fact.------SS


Unfortunately, the inverse is also very true.:?


----------



## Packout (Nov 20, 2007)

I completely agree, SS. And with Longbow. I just like to say Animals Aren't Gongs because of the stories I hear about people backing up to have a longer shot and then how they blew legs off or gut shot it and how many took hours it took to hike and finish off the animal. I think shooting long range gongs/targets is a fun time. Of course this is purely my opinion.....


----------



## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Packout said:


> I completely agree, SS. And with Longbow. I just like to say Animals Aren't Gongs because of the stories I hear about people backing up to have a longer shot and then how they blew legs off or gut shot it and how many took hours it took to hike and finish off the animal. I think shooting long range gongs/targets is a fun time. Of course this is purely my opinion.....


I had no problem with your opinion about animals not being gongs. They're not something to shoot at to "see if you can hit it". Your statement about blowing legs off and gut shooting animals is one of the reasons I've bowed out of promoting longrange hunting.

Hopefully the stories you've heard a just stories, but I'm sure it's happened just the same as with bow and muzzy hunting. Honestly, I haven't shot many animals at extended ranges. I've passed up many shots because I'm pretty picky about shooting in any kind wind. I've backed up a few yards on one occasion and that was to get a clear, solid, prone rest on a gravely beach. It had nothing to do with extending my range.


----------



## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

All this talk about shooting long range Chuck... You need to come down and shoot the Huskemaw challenge with me next year.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

This is my favorite thread.

.


----------



## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

I'm building my 300 ultra mag out for my 1 mile WY turkey gun.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

gdog said:


> I'm building my 300 ultra mag out for my 1 mile WY turkey gun.


yer a funny guy

Kinda pricey turkey ammo isn't it?

.


----------



## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Longgun said:


> All this talk about shooting long range Chuck... You need to come down and shoot the Huskemaw challenge with me next year.


Heck ya! Are you bringing that 30 caliber laser up with you this November?


----------



## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

Laser? DANG I wish!! Dope would be cake! ;-)

Yes, if I can get things tuned to my liking it will be along for the ride. Honestly tho, the 30 Nosler is a near carbon copy of a 300 Weatherby. If it doesn't shoot like I want it to, ill probably sell the barrel off and build it into another 300 WM.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Hey, how did the mile shoot go?

.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

wyogoob said:


> Hey, how did the mile shoot go?
> 
> .


bump

.


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Shooting a mile isn't all that hard, hold the rifle at a 45degree angle and pull the trigger, it will eventually hit the ground somewhere off in the distance, or Wyoming. 

Hitting a target, the one you were actually aiming at, at a mile is mighty impressive.

-DallanC


----------

