Do you shoot 1000 yards?

[Captcurt]

I can't get over the number of people who are obsessed with shooting at 1000 yard's. How many of you have tried it and how successful were you?

I worked with a youngster who had his heart set on killing a deer at 1k. That was until I got a book down and showed him the bullet drop. With his sightin he would be 37 feet low and that doesn't take wind into consideration.

 

[W.E.G.]

I used to shoot NRA matches with service rifle (M14) and .300 Win. Mag. (custom bolt gun).

While I could make shots "on call" with the M14 at 600, a number of shots just landed in weird places at 1000. I had to work hard to break 180 (out of 200) with the M14.

With the .300, and a 24x scope, the game was fairly boring. I almost NEVER shot outside the 8 ring, and it was always easy to break 190 with the magnum. Problem is, if all you can shoot is a 190 in the open/optics class, you'll be in about last place. I lost interest in shooting that rifle when the competition was shooting lots of 200's, and the match being decided by X-count. I felt a lot of sympathy for a fella who shot a 199-14x one day, who lost to a guy who shot a 200-8x.

Yeah. I've done it.

I'd rather shoot service rifle across the course these days.
If my eyes keep "going," I may have to relent, and switch to a match rifle or a tactical rifle.
No plans at this point to shoot 1000 any more.

 

[Balrog]

I cant see 1000 yds. Therefore, I do not shoot 1000 yds.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Deer at 1K

Take out a bag, fill with 120# of stuff
have him walk 1K pick up the bag, then bring it back...

Yeah it's cool, but not something I'm set on, I have guns that could do it, but with bad eyes and lacking the want/money to get the scopes and setup to make sure I'm on paper, I think 300- 500 is just fine by me.

 

[meanmrmustard]

Nope. I find no satisfaction in luckily hitting anything at that distance. I can't do it reliably, don't care to waste the ammo, and won't shoot at animals that far. Finding spots to shoot at that distance in Northern MO are scarce.

 

[aubie515]

I like it...I'm hoping to shoot a mile this spring.

 

[browningguy]

I would never hunt at 1000 yards!

I do shoot at 1000 yards on occasion but more normally at 300 and 600 yards.

My primary long range gun, which is also my PD gun, in .243 Winchester. It shoots pretty decent with 107 gr. SMK's. Savage model 12 with Lothar Walther 8 twist 28" barrel. I used to use the 6.5-20 scope shown but have recently switched it to an 8-32 but no new pics yet.

 

[chaser_2332]

i shoot 1000yds quite often, but i dont think laying down on a deer is a great idea at that distance.

 

[627PCFan]

I worked at 1000 with my 7mm and my 6.5x55 for a while. I couldn't take the recoil of the 7for extended range work, and never got through load development with the Swede. I found it easier to shoot 600 plus because I could spot my own shots. I put a lot of rounds down range between both guns ans still limit myself to 300 yards from hunting-within max pbr. Steel is one thing. Accurate, humane, Clean kills are another.

 

[taliv]

i don't advocate hunting any large game beyond around 600. i've won a couple 1000 yard NRA matches, but i mostly enjoy shooting from unknown distance targets between 400-1400 yards.

more particularly, i like doing it at night.

good hits beyond 200 yds are pure luck

lots of people practice shooting movers. several matches feature relatively small (5-8") targets between 400-600 yards moving 2-5 mph. i've seen people get 9 or 10 hits on it in a minute.

 

[Fat_46]

On prairie dogs I've had lots of success recently. At 500 I'm hitting 95%, at 750 I miss 30% of the time. At 1000 I miss every time. I took a few years to get up to 500, as I just don't have a range readily available to practice that distance. While I do reload 100% of the rounds I shoot, even using a chronometer I was inconsistent at longer ranges.

I really think its experience. My wind reading, dope, and shooting has got me to the point I am. In another few years I believe 750 will be a high probability shot for me.

1000? Without more than once or twice yearly practice it's really nothing more than a dream for me.

 

[PapaG]

Get real. Probably less than 50 percent of the states have a thousand yard range. Less than 5 percent of the shooters can even deal with the idea of shooting where the drop and windage issues are beyond most engineer's abilities to compute. I wish we all had access to a thousand yard range so that the writers who espouse long range shooting could be held to task. I've shot up to 200 yards in competition (civil war musket) and that was plenty challenging.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

There is a forum dedicated to it... http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/

With enough gun, at least 300 WM, it is entirely possible and is done quite often...

I've taken deer at a bit over 800 a couple of times, but these days I tend to agree with taliv...most folks should stick to 600 yards, which can be done with much more affordable setups (pretty much any rifle that can shoot at least 1 MOA...30-06, 280, 7mm Mags, etc.)...but it takes range time and a good bit of it.

It is NOT point and shoot like 200 yards...but it really is not as hard to shoot at 1,000 yards as most make it seem...all it takes is a good rifle, a good scope, the right bullets...and some practice...37 feet of drop is NOTHING, that is easy to calculate because it is pretty much constant unless you change altitude...wind on the other hand can be, and is, enough to make a person lose their religion at times.

P.S. I have hit a few coyotes at over 1K...and some of them were moving (<<< yeah, those hits had a lot of luck involved).

 

[meanmrmustard]

I find it (hunting) at that distance unethical. It's one thing to bring enough gun for long range, but the variables that factor in that can miff a shot at that distance are disproportionate to the value of felling an animal at that range. Wound it, and good luck finding it with over a half mile head start.:banghead:

 

[Howard Roark]

I have and do shoot 1K. I'm an NRA Highmaster in LR, MR and XTC. A few years ago I coached and shot on a team at Camp Perry that won 2nd place Master class.

There are plenty of opportunities out there to compete at long range and especially mid range (600 yards). Unfortunately too few people actually show up to shoot these matches.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I've got a nice chunk of iron at 1000 that's fun to go after with Garands, 0-3s and such with iron sights from time to time. And I'd pop the .50 off at 1000 and over when I was shooting it but really gave up target shooting at that range as much out of not wanting to service paper targets at that range anymore. as for any of a number of other reasons.

 

[allaroundhunter]

No animal or man is going to just stand there while you take "spotter" shots on him. He is going to be running, and on such moving targets, good hits beyond 200 yds are pure luck. It doesn't matter who you are or what gear you use, either, cause the animal, is bouncing up and down with each step, and the man is dodging, and you can't calculate the required "leade" enough to get reliable hits.

It really is not "luck", it is practice. This past weekend I shot two feral dogs, one as it walking at 250 yards, and then his buddy that was running away at about 325. Only took one shot at each. If you are able to practice on moving targets, hitting real life moving targets isn't much different.

Now, I would never shoot at a larger game animal that was moving at those distances, and would never take a shot at one that was stationary past about 400 yards.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

No animal or man is going to just stand there while you take "spotter" shots on him. He is going to be running,

Not always...I've seen a few misses...not all of them long range, where the deer just looked up and tried to figure out what happened.

One time, I saw a spike as I was climbing down out of a tree stand...had to stop with all my weight on a not so good part of the ladder...just as I shot the rung broke, the shot just barely, and I mean BARELY, cut the hide on the deers front leg...now I was busy for a second trying not to fall (I succeeded) but my buddy was only about 70 yards away.

He said the deer "flicked" its leg like a fly had bitten him, I didn't see that part, but there was a fresh "mark" on the deers leg...not even enough to bleed, just took the hair off more or less...but what I did see was him go back to browsing for acorns like nothing happened.

I got him with the 2nd shot...the rifle was a 25-06...the deer was within 100 feet through the whole ordeal.

A couple of years back...the scope on my sons 308 went bad, he shot at a deer that was appx. 275 yards away 5 times...hitting within 3-5 feet of it every time...the deer never ran, just looked around trying to figure out what all the noise was about...my son got him with my rifle after he emptied his.

I missed one (yeah, it happens) at just over 300 yards 2 years ago...only missed him by about 12" (I think it was a bad reload)...it startled him a bit, but he just looked when the bullet kicked up dirt, then went back to browsing.


They have a hard time associating the bullet with the gunshot when it comes from a distance...they don't generally run, and if they do...it ain't far because they aren't sure which way they need to go.

 

[USSR]

I shot in 1,000 yard F Class competition for 6 years. IMHO, the hardest part of shooting LR is learning to read flags and make the correct W&E adjustments. With just the slightest change in atmospheric conditions, POI can change by up to 18". Attempting to make shots at live game at this distance can easily result in wounded and lost animals. Despite my experience at shooting at this distance, out of respect for the animals, I would never attempt it. Just MHO.

Don

 

[Tempest 455]

My son has been practicing to shoot his 1st F class next spring. We have been out to 800 so far. Yes it's a lot of fun but more than just elavation on windage as the others have stated.

 

[Driftertank]

I have a place available where me and a friend have ranged and staked a 900yd range. Shooting semiauto .308's, it's more than sufficient. The lane extends back enough to stake that last 100, but we haven't bothered yet. Still working on load workups now, then we plan to start stretching out. So, no, i don't shoot at 1k yet, but it's not out of the question.

As for hitting a target on the move, i once tagged a coyote at about 350yd (reticle ranged) quartering away right-left at a fast lope. It's not easy, and it wasn't the first shot, but it's not plain luck, either. Appropriate optics make judging lead and holdover much easier.

 

[BullfrogKen]

Steel is one thing. Accurate, humane, Clean kills are another.

Yup.

37 feet of drop is NOTHING, that is easy to calculate because it is pretty much constant unless you change altitude...wind on the other hand can be, and is, enough to make a person lose their religion at times.

Isn't that the truth!

I have and do shoot 1K. I'm an NRA Highmaster in LR, MR and XTC. A few years ago I coached and shot on a team at Camp Perry that won 2nd place Master class.

There are plenty of opportunities out there to compete at long range and especially mid range (600 yards). Unfortunately too few people actually show up to shoot these matches.

Rock on dude! That's quite an accomplishment!!!

But that's quite true. We've got tens of thousands of deer hunters in Pennsylvania and more tens of thousands who own rifles but don't hunt. I see the same 60 or 70 faces show up to shoot Across the Course matches throughout the year. And another group of the same 60 or 70 out at my local range actually practicing some form of rifle shooting at all.


I've played around at 1,000 yards. I wouldn't attempt it on game that far out. The risk of a bad shot or a bad wind call is too much for me. I'd feel horrible wounding an animal and causing it to suffer.

Want to shoot 1,000 yards? Go shoot steel at an organized range - or even unorganized but safe location. Enter an NRA match.

Leave the live critters alone until you know how hard it really is.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

I shoot a 50bmg at 800+yards. I wish people knew how difficult it is to hit steel at 1400-1500 yards.. Most think you just pick up a rifle and compensate for bullet drop...

 

[Detritus]

I've fired a lifetime total of 20rds at 1,000 out of those 20 I was able to put 15 within the 9-ring (with a metric ton of coaching by a more experienced shooter)

i want to do work back out to 1K and eventually start shooting the F-class match held locally (within a reasonable drive that is). But for now i'm goign to stick to 600 or less till i feel comfortable with that distance then strech out a bit.


and like so many others, i fully back this statement

Leave the live critters alone until you know how hard it really is.

in fact i'll go so far as to say that most shooters don't have a clear idea of just how far 1,000yrds is. and most will cringe at the idea of shooting at something that is invisible (Game animal sized) without optics

I feel safe saying that most shooters and hunters in the US would be unwilling to walk a Kilometer (yes i know 1K yards isn't same as 1K meters, but close enough), and if you won't step it out the odds are you're not going to be aware of all the factors that can come into play (such as wind changes) over that distance.

 

[drsfmd]

I belong to a club that has a 1000 yard range, but I've never shot at that distance. Maybe someday I'll start learning about the long distance stuff... for now I'm content at 300.