one mile club - I'd like to join! How?

[gun'sRgood]

I've got an acquaintance who just shot a one mile enough times in a row to get a "patch" or some kind of recognition. I'm thinking I'd like to join that club! I recently got to shoot on an NRA sanctioned 1k yd range. I got 5x and 5 10's. No contest going on, just during a day of range practice. But I've been wanting to do that for years. I doubt that my custom 6.5CM is up to the one mile. But I don't know what I should consider. .338 Lapua? .300 of some sort? I've got a really nice piece of Vortex glass on the 6.5cm and think[?] that a NF would be a good choice for the one mile shot's? SO, If you were going to build a gun to go after a one mile shot, what parts would you choose?

 

[C-grunt]

I've shot a mile with my 6.5 CM. Definitely not the best tool for the job, but it made it there. 140 ELD-M at 2750 FPS muzzle velocity took 24.5 mils of drop at the range.

My friends with custom 300 Winmags shooting 220-230 grain bullets have a much easier time at a mile. They were under 18 mills of drop.

 

[Varminterror]

If you can’t get to 1mile with a 6.5 creed, then jumping to a 338 won’t help you. More horsepower does make things easier, but 1 mile with a 6.5 creed isn’t terribly difficult. You could spend far, far less on a little extra ammo to work that 6.5 creed to a mile than you could even begin to pay towards a 338.

 

[GBExpat]

Never mind ... your @SUBJ immediately brought to my mind another, and completely different, "One Mile Club".

 

[Varminterror]

Never mind ... your @SUBJ immediately brought to my mind another, and completely different, "One Mile Club".

One mile, mile high, you know, it all comes out in the wash…

 

[GBExpat]

Aaahhhhh ... Mile High Club, that's it ... OOPS!

 

[bfoosh006]

I've shot a mile with my 6.5 CM. Definitely not the best tool for the job, but it made it there. 140 ELD-M at 2750 FPS muzzle velocity took 24.5 mils of drop at the range.

My friends with custom 300 Winmags shooting 220-230 grain bullets have a much easier time at a mile. They were under 18 mills of drop.

This.
Does the OP have a 1 Mile Range he can use ?

Building the rifle can be done handily.... finding a mile range might be tough. Where do you live ?

To get to my 1 mile+ range I have to travel 5hrs one way. ( It is worth it though )

While a .338 Lapua would be fun... but, IMHO is more horsepower then needed.

 

[AzShooter1]

First buy an airplane ticket...

 

[David Hoback]

Your CM will do it if you reload. Lots & lots of people have done it with the Short Action 6.5mm’s. What one man can do, another can do!

Everytime this comes up I must also point out. Remember: it doesn’t matter what you’re using. When shooting extended long range, 1 mile+, there is a certain amount of sheer luck with hitting the target. Even guys using the magnums don’t hit the target everytime. It’s super difficult regardless of what ya got! I agree the Short Action 6.5’s aren’t the best, but they’ve proven capable time & time again.

 

[wiscoaster]

Aaahhhhh ... Mile High Club, that's it ... OOPS!

Ha!! That's the first thing that came to my mind as well.

 

[gun'sRgood]

If you can’t get to 1mile with a 6.5 creed, then jumping to a 338 won’t help you. More horsepower does make things easier, but 1 mile with a 6.5 creed isn’t terribly difficult. You could spend far, far less on a little extra ammo to work that 6.5 creed to a mile than you could even begin to pay towards a 338.

I get that. But to me that reminds me of the guys who say the 5.56 gets the job done at 1K. Yeah but I'd like to say that I had some terminal performance. My belief is that a fly swatter knocks the 5.56 out of the running at 1K. Very well may be my vast amount of ignorance talking.

This.
Does the OP have a 1 Mile Range he can use ?

Building the rifle can be done handily.... finding a mile range might be tough. Where do you live ?

To get to my 1 mile+ range I have to travel 5hrs one way. ( It is worth it though )

While a .338 Lapua would be fun... but, IMHO is more horsepower then needed.

The range would be ~2hr. The .338 is used as an exemplar and only as an exemplar. That and I have 3 - 6.5cm's and would enjoy another caliber. It's like the .308 can make the 1K and often has. Now I believe the .308 to be a bit arcane for the job. The last long range shoot out I saw was a mix of various 6's. Not a .308 in sight. Who knows? I might need to shoot a zombie yeti in a post apocalyptic future and need the extra HP!

Aaahhhhh ... Mile High Club, that's it ... OOPS!

I think the direction your taking this may be far more interesting than my post suggests. Thx for the laugh!

 

[gun'sRgood]

I've shot a mile with my 6.5 CM. Definitely not the best tool for the job, but it made it there. 140 ELD-M at 2750 FPS muzzle velocity took 24.5 mils of drop at the range.

My friends with custom 300 Winmags shooting 220-230 grain bullets have a much easier time at a mile. They were under 18 mills of drop.

140 Berger's go into my 6.5cm's. It's a matter of how many X over 10's. Never thought I'd ever be able to say that.

 

[Varminterror]

But to me that reminds me of the guys who say the 5.56 gets the job done at 1K.

I’ll reiterate what I stated above, hoping it will sink in.

Whatever money you would spend on buying and feeding a 338 Lapua would be grossly wasted, rather than simply doing a bit of extra shooting with a rifle you already have in 6.5 Creed.

I walked a new shooter with a 6.5 Creed factory rifle out to 1400yrds Sunday afternoon, connecting on his 4th shot, and then 3 shots in a row - a guy who had only shot out to 1,000 yards once before, two years ago, also under my spotting. I walked his 10yr old son out to 1100yrds with a 6 Dasher on the same day, a kid who had never fired past 100yrds before. I ran out of ammo (only had 21 rounds for him to shoot, and he’d shot several other targets already) before he could catch up to his dad at 1400, and we ran out of daylight before his dad could approach the mile plate - but given a dozen or so more shots at 15 and 1600, he would have hit the mile plate that day as well, and I’d have bet on the son doing so as well behind my Dasher if I had more ammo and more daylight for him… it’s really not that challenging when the wind isn’t fighting you…

Yes, a 300wm or 338lap makes a mile a bit easier, but if you just want to run 3-4 shots in a row into a plate at a mile, you could do it TOMORROW with your 6.5 creed, and avoid spending $3000+ on a 338lap with relatively low utility.

 

[taliv]

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...warning-really-big-pics.808439/#post-10331271

Check that thread out

 

[David Hoback]

Well, as for a fly swatter, & terminal performance…Here’s a good video. It’s 260 and at 1950yds, further than a mile, but close enough. Watch to the end to see the bullets at the end. (I certainly wouldn’t want to get hit by that at that distance!)

 

[gun'sRgood]

I’ll reiterate what I stated above, hoping it will sink in.

Whatever money you would spend on buying and feeding a 338 Lapua would be grossly wasted, rather than simply doing a bit of extra shooting with a rifle you already have in 6.5 Creed.

I walked a new shooter with a 6.5 Creed factory rifle out to 1400yrds Sunday afternoon, connecting on his 4th shot, and then 3 shots in a row - a guy who had only shot out to 1,000 yards once before, two years ago, also under my spotting. I walked his 10yr old son out to 1100yrds with a 6 Dasher on the same day, a kid who had never fired past 100yrds before. I ran out of ammo (only had 21 rounds for him to shoot, and he’d shot several other targets already) before he could catch up to his dad at 1400, and we ran out of daylight before his dad could approach the mile plate - but given a dozen or so more shots at 15 and 1600, he would have hit the mile plate that day as well, and I’d have bet on the son doing so as well behind my Dasher if I had more ammo and more daylight for him… it’s really not that challenging when the wind isn’t fighting you…

Yes, a 300wm or 338lap makes a mile a bit easier, but if you just want to run 3-4 shots in a row into a plate at a mile, you could do it TOMORROW with your 6.5 creed, and avoid spending $3000+ on a 338lap with relatively low utility.

I fully understand and appreciate your comments. Often when I think I've posted something that is spot on, I find I've just made a mess of what my message is. This is another example. How about, I'f you did not have a rifle but had plenty of experience of shooting, what rifle/scope would you invest in to shoot a mile?

 

[gun'sRgood]

Well, as for a fly swatter, & terminal performance…Here’s a good video. It’s 260 and at 1950yds, further than a mile, but close enough. Watch to the end to see the bullets at the end. (I certainly wouldn’t want to get hit by that at that distance!)

Thx! Great vid!

 

[taliv]

How about, I'f you did not have a rifle but had plenty of experience of shooting, what rifle/scope would you invest in to shoot a mile?

if you want to kill something, the answer is 300Norma mag. but this is too expensive and has too much recoil for plinking.
if you just want to plink, 6.5cm or any of the 6.5 cheater calibers is fine. a 6.5 magnum like the 6.5SAUM or 6.5PRC would be good too.

 

[David Hoback]

I fully understand and appreciate your comments. Often when I think I've posted something that is spot on, I find I've just made a mess of what my message is. This is another example. How about, I'f you did not have a rifle but had plenty of experience of shooting, what rifle/scope would you invest in to shoot a mile?

For myself, I’m not a dedicated extreme long range shooter. Nor do I compete any longer. And I’m in a bit of rare nook as I love building, reloading & such. I think most people today are more turn key & go types. Obviously budget plays a role; I’m MY OWN gunsmith, so that does take a large chuck out of cost.

Now if it’s caliber, well, there are so many… but if I were to be after ELR specifically, I would choose a 30cal magnum. And again, because I enjoy the “doing” & I reload, Wildcats do it for me. So I would likely choose some hybrid 30cal based on the Remington Ultra mag case, using 220-230gr solid pills. But then, this would be outfitted for 2000yds+. For someone in the turn key group, I think the 300 WinMag, 30 Nosler, 300 PRS & 300 RUM are all good choices.

I’m not big on the whole ELR thing though, as I said, because there is simply too much pure chance involved (and the big magnums are TEETH RATTLING!) And anyone who says a mile or more is “not that difficult”, is lying! Go watch videos on it. Seldom will you find someone that can hit a target even two times consecutively, let alone 5, 10.. Oh, and I’m not referring to the 5ft wide Gongs you see so often. I mean a standard man size target. ELR is a whole other beast entirely.

 

[Varminterror]

I'f you did not have a rifle but had plenty of experience of shooting, what rifle/scope would you invest in to shoot a mile?

Honestly, if I didn’t have a rifle, I’d borrow one from a buddy or go to a class which offered rental or usage.

A “one mile rifle” is kinda like building a mini van for Funny Car Drag Racing. Guys do it, but it’s wasted money, because it can’t do anything else, and there isn’t really much use for that ONE thing it does pretty well. One mile falls into a category where typical LR rifles are “capable, but not ideal,” but it’s not yet into the realm of ELR… so a lot of LR guys all shoot our LR rifles to 1 mile, but it’s really farther than our rifles are meant to shoot, and assuredly all ELR guys shoot 1 mile, but it’s really SHORTER than their rifles are built to shoot…

If I were building with the commitment to waste that money on a one trick pony, I’d build a 30-32” straight contour 300 PRC.

All you need is a rifle which gets a 225-250 class bullet up over 2800fps, and I’d consider that about “ideal” for 1 mile shooting.

You can go buy a Ruger Precision Rifle or Savage in 338 Lapua, stick a Viper PST on top, zero, chrony, and hit a mile within your first box or two of ammo… whoohoo, now what? You could do the same with a 6.5 creed or 300wsm, or really, the same with a 243win or 6 creed - just might need a few more shots since you’re falling transonic earlier. Building a custom rifle in a 30 cal magnum makes the most sense - I’d go 300 PRC, as it’s a bit cheaper and has more options than 300 Norma or Rum, or 30 Nosler, or even a long throated, long barreled 300wm will nip right behind them… these hang with a 338 Lap…

But in the end, you have a rifle ideally suited for 1 mile, which burns way too much powder, costs too much, and recoils too much for conventional LR shooting disciplines, and then doesn’t have the horsepower even in Light class to hang with conventional ELR cartridges…

So personally, despite the fact that I shoot to a mile a couple times per year, for the better part of the last 2 decades, I wouldn’t recommend building/buying a 1 mile rifle - especially just to earn a novelty patch.

 

[CopperClad]

One mile, mile high, you know, it all comes out in the wash…

Some things don't wash out.


Try 45-70 for 1K yards. I haven't but know it's doable.

 

[Jimbo80]

When you join the Mile High Club you get a shirt not a patch.

 

[sarduy]

If i was going to shoot at a mile the 6.5cm can get me there but I would grab the 7mm Rem Mag

 

[FL-NC]

About 13 years ago, me and some guys I worked with shot 1 mile at 20-40 inch steel silhouettes (iron maidens) with M24 SWS rifles, using 5-20x Horus Falcon scopes and M118 LR ammunition (308) in Texas. Not an easy feat, but the fact that we were all sniper instructors (which provided the experience level), and were using ballistic software that accounted for all of the factors in play (mostly environmental in nature) and were under the supervision of a world-class long range shooter made the trick a little easier.

 

[C-grunt]

About 13 years ago, me and some guys I worked with shot 1 mile at 20-40 inch steel silhouettes (iron maidens) with M24 SWS rifles, using 5-20x Horus Falcon scopes and M118 LR ammunition (308) in Texas. Not an easy feat, but the fact that we were all sniper instructors (which provided the experience level), and were using ballistic software that accounted for all of the factors in play (mostly environmental in nature) and were under the supervision of a world-class long range shooter made the trick a little easier.

Next time i go out with my buddies that have the mile range in going to try at it with my 20 inch 308.