2023 Cold Bore Challenge

[Graves14]

MER - 650yds

Sig Cross 6.5 CM
Hornady Precision Hunter 143g ELDX

——1st shot——
615yd Cross bowl shot
Wind 8-10mph from 8 O'clock
Shot seated with my gun on my tripod.

Missed just high (screen grab from video)
When I grabbed the target I ranged back to where I shot from and got 585yds. I must have initially ranged the hill behind the target. Easy to mess up even with all the time in the world!

 

[Chad E]

I'm calling my MER 700

Tikka 7 saum built by Echelon rifles. 20 inch barrel shooting 180 berger hybrids. Shooting off modular evolution bipod and Phoenix rear bag.

Day 1 Hit
61 degrees no wind to speak of. Qualifying target ended up at 622 after changing shooting positions to see it over the grass


Shot 2 Miss
55 degrees. Target at 624 Light wind 6 to 8 mph left to right. I held just a touch for wind as it was gusting and dieing. Obviously should of held a bit more.

 

[Thee_rt]

First shot today at 600 yards.
Gun- 6.5x.284 custom stock built with a savage action.
Scope- vortex viper 6.5-20x44
Ammo- hand loaded ABLR 142 gr. RL-17 powder

Took my second shot @600 yards yesterday. A little better than my first one but not by much.

 

[DangerRanger]

I sold my main hunting rifle(300prc) and built this tikka last month and rushed to dope it for this challenge. It felt like a decade ago when I started hunting out west and wasn’t ready for season, the anxiety and unsettling feeling of a rig not totally trusted and proofed is unpleasant.

Last week In my excitement I forgot to dial for elevation and sent a round into the dirt on a beautiful day. I was told I could start over on the QA thread.

Today, as it turns out I’m on a different lot of ammo(bonehead move) and it is either high(zero/velocity) or I just sent one abnormally high for me. I should have checked and drops all over again to confirm the different lot dope. I had fired 3 previously and was sure it was .1 mrad low of my previous lot. It looks like that was possibly false, or I just really botched this round high. I decided to jog the 600 and back to simulate some blood pumping especially since I’m on a flat range.

Either way, I took the shot so here we are.

600 yard qualifier miss high


4mph at the shooter wind at ~11 held .1 mrad left. Beautiful day 72 degrees.

Rifle is a tikka 6.5 stainless light, chopped to 16.25” and suppressed. Manners eh1tk with a trijicon 2.5-15 SFP.



Norma 143 going ~2430 from drops. impact velocity 1694. I would not take this shot at my farm at home and sea level, I have a heavy rifle for that as my long range down here is all hay and bean fields I can easily tote a big rifle into. This rifle was built for general 0-400 around here but altitude on western trips gets me over velocity threshold to push it past 600, so I’m practicing with it as far as I can. It looks like I need to get to know this rifle a lot better and get more trigger time before I’m comfortable doing that.

In my head at this point I’m mostly high due to a dope change on this ammo lot, so I will likely drop my adjustment down for shot #2.


2nd shot
5.0 mrad adjustment today instead of 5.2 wind head on/ occasional right to left 10-20* estimated. 4 gusting to 7.

Miss. Can’t tell low or high but it was extremely close, dirt flying behind plate. Moved to ipsc to figure out what the issue is.


Stacked 3 into ~3.5 inches at 600 yards. Dope of 5.0 looks good, but they are .4 mil right of aim point. With no perceived left right wind.. shot 5 more at a different hold point and group looks about .1mil high and .4 mil right of sim point. Added a wind flat at target and do not see any left to right wind. Looks like I’ve got zero work to do?

I Should not have messed with dope on the first shot from shooting steel on that lot number, but even still first would have been high. Must have been part me as well. I don’t understand the left to right. Perhaps there was a swirl I couldn’t see as I have so little wind indicators at target, but it’s woods left of target. I think I need to track down from the start and go back to 100 yards and re zero. Spin drift shouldn’t be tossing a bullet .3 mrad right at 600. So, time to recheck zero with the new lot, and I think I need to go up to 20-30 rounds this time.

The gun appears to be shooting well enough at 600 to take game, it’s my inputs we have to solve now. Did I mess up with identifying my zero, am I messing up with not noticing a wind indicator at the target, am I tilting the reticle at shot break, am I flinching? I’m unsure.

This challenge has been a lot of fun and stress. I think it’s important and I’m glad I did it. I have a lot more work to do with this rifle before I’m comfy shooting this far at an animal. I will try my big gun next.

 

[nphunter]

MER 600, really wanted the extra 2 points

Remington 700 custom, 280AI,

280 Ack imp (40 degree) on a blueprinted 700 with 25 inch Walther #4 match barrel 1/9 twist. Action and barrel ceracoated in titanium gray. Barrel has been threaded 5/8x24 with knurled thread protector. Action is bedded in a HS precision gray speckled stock with Right hand palm swell. Check weld is built up under the slip on shell holder. Scope is a Vortex 5-15 HST, MIL/MIL. The gun comes in right at 10ths scoped, it’s 8lbs-14oz with no scope.

168gr VLD
63gr Retumbo
Norma Brass

I built the gun about 8 years ago and had it dialed in to 1K at the time. I’ve shot a couple cows with the gun when I didn’t fill my bow tag. My wife and kids have killed a pile of deer, elk and antelope with it. Someday I might hunt with it again, I normally shot it a couple times each year to make sure it’s still zeroed for the family.

It was fun to dig it out to shoot tonight, after talking to my buddy I think I adjusted my windage incorrectly. It called for an .25 MIL left hold and I dialed, .25 MIL to the right? Tomorrow I’m just going to hold off with the reticle if it’s windy again.

25mph wind
10” plate

I think those were the first two shots I’ve taken with a rifle since sighting for deer for my sons season in 2021. I may have shot last year to verify zero for my kid but don’t recall. Defiantly the first two shots in a year. I’m pleased with how the rifle is shooting!!

The wind was blowing a steady 25mph.


The view, overlooking a lonely alfalfa field. I ran off a bunch of speed goats setting up the target.


Shot laying in the sage, Kifaru pack as a rest and my glassing butt pad from Bi-Mart as a rear bag. The shot felt great.


Impacted just barely right, it almost looks like it nicked the plate in the video. I won’t know until tomorrow.

The quality isn’t as good as I would have liked now that it’s uploaded. Spotter is a Meostar S2 82 HD.

Pretty annoyed with myself for yesterdays miscorrection.

Day 2 my shot felt good as well, added some B roll to show how windy it’s been. Held for wind today instead of dialing.

 

[Antares]

My personal MER for hunting is 450 yards. Pushed myself a touch past that for this challenge (465 yards).

Rifle setup – .223 Rem Tikka T3x w/ factory barrel cut to 18", NF NXS 2.5-10x42, GEMTECH Tracker, Atlas CAL bipod w/ leg extensions, SAP lightweight rear bag

Ammo – Factory Hornady Frontier 68gr BTHP at 2695 fps. Doesn't make awesome groups, but good enough for cheap practice ammo.



Target – 10" plate at 465 yards, 12 degrees uphill (shoot-to distance is 457 yards), through some trees and across a little draw.



Day 1 - 6/14/23, 6:40 a.m., high overcast, estimated 44F, 29.90 inHg, 70% RH (standard conditions for me), estimated wind 2-3 mph at 10 o'clock, dialed up 10.75 MOA and held left 1 MOA.

HIT!



Day 2 - 6/23/23, 3:50 p.m., high overcast, estimated 54F, 29.90 inHg, 70% RH, estimated wind 4 mph at 11 o'clock, a little gusty and swirly, dialed up 10.75 MOA and held left 1 MOA.

Miss.

Missed just off right edge of plate. Disappointing. Wind was more like 8-10 mph, but trees at shooting position were blocking it. Held 2 MOA for the follow up shot and got on the plate. I have so much to learn with wind. Thanks again to the Rokslide staff for putting this on. It was a great learning experience for me.

 

[Fatcamp]

What a fiasco. We did find a great place to shoot out to 600 yards, but have some fine tuning to do. I wanted to bring a big sheet of cardboard but forgot, and forgot to get white paint for our steel so used tan. The tan blended into the hillside and you couldn't see it, just the white on the saw horse. And the grass was deeper than I thought. We had fun, but a bit frustrating because we can't tell for sure where we missed.

Weather conditions were perfect. 0 wind. which never happens here.

Tikka T3X 6.5CM
SWFA 3-9X42
Handload 143g ELDX
Prone
595 yards

Unscathed target.



Shot #2:

Better experience though we both missed. From the video we think we know who hit where, but the holes in the cardboard tell a different story. Odd.

Such a cool thing to do. We are hooked!

 

[FatCampzWife]

Cold bore MER on an average day, with MY rifle (Savage 300 WinMag), is around 450-475 yds. Due to some health issues, I need to shoot something with less "kick" (aka. NOT my rifle ).

Tikka 6.5 Creed (see Fatcamp's post)
595 yds
No wind
Prone
Hand loads (again, see FC's post)

I think I missed just to the right, even with the bottom of the target, by about 8 inches. Slo mo reply was inconclusive.

Second try at 590'ish yards. July 3rd.
Shooting due North, 10'ish mph NNE wind.
Hot, humid, cloudy (storm rolling in)
Tikka 6.5 creedmoore, handloads, complements of Fatcamp
Was able to watch vapor trail & drop...pretty cool. Hit just below & to left of plate.

Setup & range (target's WAY out there) attached

 

[eod.mickelson]

Getting in on this awesome challenge!
I'm going to set my MER as 600 and may push it out if I have time after these first shots.

6/29: Got some time to get out and shoot further now that I completed my first MER. I shot at 698 today, which I'm calling my as my MER. I'll get out tomorrow and get a second shot at that distance!

My setup:
300 Norma Magnum
Lone peak razor
Bartlein 26" medium Palma
Piercision titanium 5 port brake
Manners lrh
Trigger tech special
Gen 3 razor
Atlas bipod
Lightweight LRO spacer bag
She weighs in at 14lbs, but it shoots so well I just keep my other gear as light as I can l.

245 Berger EOL/Lapua brass/N570/Federal 215M @2850


Cold Bore Challenge Day 1:
Today's weather was 68° in southwest Idaho and I had a 17-23 mph wind at 10:30.
Ended up dialing 3 mil for elevation and helt just over a mil of wind.
For funsies, remaining velocity was 2262 fps and remaining energy was 2784 ft/lbs
First shot at 600 was an inch high and about a half inch left.

Day/shot 2 provided some real challenges that day/shot 1 didn't. The wind was lower at 13mph average, but it was going from 8-16 off and on. But it was also from closer to an 11 o'clock at my shooting point. Down range, the mirage was awful and the target kept dancing around on me and it would go from a boil to a left to right wind. I added a tenth of a mil for the boil and averaged the wind, then tried to time the shot with a downward trend in the wind. When I drove down and saw my hit, I thought it would be just outside of the 10" circle, but it barely squeeked in, measuring 3.8 inches off of center, low (mirage really plays trick on you) and right (didn't hold enough wind).

Another big challenge...... getting a target set up, getting behind the rifle, boom, pick up rifle, check target, go home. Normally I bring a few rifles and put some work in, it's mentally challenging not to shoot more.


Day 3:
Got out quickly before work and got a shot off at 698! Excited with the results and can't wait to try and repeat it tomorrow.


Cold bore challenge is in the books! Hit my shot at 700 today, making my MER 700. It was 78 degrees out, but luckily not much wind (2-8mph from the 11). This has been an awesome challenge, but I'm ready to get back out and start shooting more and also do some testing of new gear!

 

[TheCougar]

I didn’t think I would be able to get this started, but here we are. I may not be able to finish, but I’ll try. Finding this spot and getting it set up has been a huge PITA. Bike rides, closed FS roads, ticks, and I got attacked by ants at some point during the set up. Worth it!

Final Results at 600 yards: HIT/HIT/HIT/MISS





Also… watch your BOAL!



My setup:
Tikka T3 7mm REM Mag
162gr ELDX
B&C stock,bedded
APR side brake
Harris Bipod
Kydex riser
Bushy LRHS
Shooting “field prone”, half on a rock, half off. Like I would hunt.
Sig Kilo paired with a Kestrel


Qualifying shot #1: 603 yards HIT.
This is a best guess. I was low, and it was super tough to get a range. I dialed for 2.8. It kept giving me 616 and 591. I split the difference. Conditions were off the Kestrel, with the exception of wind. At my shooting location, winds were 2@12. I manually changed it to 5@12. Upon further review, the wind was really strong down at the last 1/3 of the range. You can see the brush really moving. I almost missed the entire plate to the right, so my wind call was off by a bit and I think i under ranged the target, so I was low. I’m lucky I was on steel.

Qualifying shot #2, 608 yards: HIT
I got to use a long distance range today, which was nice. Temps in mid 70s. Wind was tough: 2:30 at 5 gust 15 at the time I shot. My son shot a little while after me and it got stronger. 608 yards. Impact was at the 2 o’clock position at approx 4 inches from center. I’ll take that. The wind call was a .65 right hold and I went with .75R.

CBC Shot #1, 603 yards: HIT
Today was hot and humid. 78%RH to be precise. I was sweating like a whore in church. Luckily, I remembered to cover myself in DEET after all the bug bites and chiggers from last time I shot from the ridge. I also got tired of lugging the steel and the pipes and whole set up through the woods, so I used a paper plate this time around. I’ll use this again tomorrow for the final shot for Riley and me.

Environmentals were 82F, 78%RH, 3712 Density Alt. I dialed 3.1 with no wind hold for 602 yards and calm winds. I forgot to do a .1L hold, although I wasn’t that steady and I doubt I could manage to be that precise anyway. I saw my dirt impact and it looked right to me. I thought I had missed the target to the right, but after looking through the spotter, I indeed had a hit 3 inches at 5 o’clock. Honestly, I wasn’t that stable given my shooting position of half on/half off the rock ledge, sweat in my eyes, etc. It felt like hunting to be sure. This was a better result than I had anticipated. Something I found really interesting is that my last shot, the second qualifying CBC shot, was 2.92 mils at 608yards. Today was 3.07 mils at 692 yards. I’m not sure why the 1.5 mil change.

CBC Shot #2: 602 yards MISS.
84 degrees, 60%RH, 4200’ Density Alt. Dope was 3.07mils and .18L hold. I adjusted the wind hold to .05L…. And I missed right.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Day 1: 613 Yards

Does it still count as a cold bore challenge when it’s already 93 degrees at 10:00 am? Luckily it was dead calm in the desert today, maybe a trickle of a 1-2 mph 11 o clock wind. My backyard is 20,000 acres of beautiful BLM desert land, and it was another gorgeous morning.

I started making these homemade targets about 10 years ago. They are a 10” circle with a triangle in the center. I’ve found that in shooting ( A LOT of shooting) my eye is drawn to bring my cross hair to the top of a triangle. I do not know why, I’ve tried all kinds of different aim shapes etc. and the top of a triangle aim point just works for me. This bright construction paper works great and are .99 cents at my local dollar tree.



Took the ATV to a nice clearing I’ve used in the past for some long range shooting. It shoots downhill with targets being able to be setup as far as 2,500 yards. Meopta Optika LRs ranged the target at 613 yards from my shooting position this morning. This is a field simulated shot and is a common shot I will take on big game. Using as much of the pack as possible to stabilize the rifle, with a lightweight backpacking rear rest and puffy. It’s incredible how stable you can get like this with practice.


Rifle is a Tikka 7 SAUM
McGowen 20” Barrel
SWFA SS HD 3-9x42
TIPro3 Brake
Altitude Stock
High Desert Bottom Metal
Hornady 175 Grain ELDX Hand Loads

First qualifying shot at 613 yards was a success! What a fun challenge and cannot wait for tomorrow after church! Will be hot as heck, but at least my bore won’t be ice cold ;-)


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Day 2: 614 Yards

Had a great time at church celebrating Father’s Day. It warmed up and quick and is actually the hottest day of the year so far today. Our 4 year old, Scuttle (in front) got the call today over the ATV. Our 3 year old, DJ, was pretty upset I didn’t pony her along. Busted out the oversized flat brimmed sun hat as it was going to be 102 degrees during shot time. My wife and 6 year old son say I look like a retired life guard, but this thing just works for riding and shooting in the bright sun. Also, my 3 year old son says I look “really cool” so I’ll take it.


I set up in the exact same spot as yesterday, shooting off my pack again. I left my target out there in the same spot and luckily the cattle didn’t come through and tear it up. My binos said I was at 614 yards today even though the target never moved, and I laid down in the exact same spot. I guess the 100 degree heat added an extra yard to the shot today?

I got out there just before the wind started picking up. When I took the shot it was dead calm. By the time I got home the wind was gusting 15-20 mph which the young horses weren’t too happy about. Lucky timing for sure and feels a bit like cheating with not having any wind call/hold or dial.

The mirage was really bad today, something I’m very used to shooting/hunting in Arizona over the years. Takes a lot of practice dealing with mirage and trusting your fundamentals/muscle memory. When I took the shot it honestly felt amazing, but I could not see a hit in the scope. I pulled out the Meopta 15’s and put them on a tripod, and I still could not see a hit in the circle anywhere. Thought somehow I had missed due to the mirage and began the ride of shame down to the target. I was blaming the mirage, blaming my stupid sun hat, thinking of all the excuses I could make up.

To my surprise, I ended up having an amazing hit! Bottom right side of the triangle!!! I actually laughed out loud and gave Scuttle a big pat on the neck. I’ll be back out early tomorrow morning and will be stepping back a couple hundred yards further up the wash.


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Day 3: 743 Yards
Same target was still in place this morning, the cattle have been rarely kind and left the tripod alone again last night. A little bit of overcast rolling in this morning with winds 4-6 mph at the targets.

I moved further up the wash until I guessed that I was around 800 yards from the targets. I have confirmed hits out to 800 yards with this rifle, and haven't gone out any further out with it yet. I found a good spot to set up with a clear line through the brush/cactus, pulled out the RF binos and ranged the top right 10" circle target at 743 yards.

This is the field position that I have killed the most big and small game animals with by far, and is usually my go to for quick field kills (well over 10,000 squirrels, rabbits, coyotes, etc). Spartan Javelin quick attach long leg bipod gets strapped to the outside of my pack and can be deployed in seconds.


Wind was 4-6 mph from 1 o-clock at the targets but we got a reading of steady 3 mph from 2 o-clock from the shooting position. Come up 4.3 mils, and my hunting partner made a call of come right .4 mil. Aiming for top right target this time... It's another dead animal!

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Day 4: 768 Yards
Couldn't make it out for my 4th shot yesterday as work had me tied up. Weather called for zero wind this morning so I woke up at sunrise to head out. My 6 year old son JJ was already up on the couch eating a granola bar and asked him if he wanted to come along; he was excited to say the least.

We got out to the target I've been using and the cattle were not as kind over the last couple days. They used my tripod as a scratching post, knocking the board over and tearing up the target. We got a new target in place and made the trek up towards the same spot as Day 3.

JJ's been glassing for me since he was about 2 and half years old. While he's still not very proficient, he practices as often as he can. We ended up with a range of 768 yards from the target today.



Setup prone on my pack today, same as days 1 and 2. Wind was just starting to get a 2-3 mph reading from the anemometer from 7 o-clock. Temp was 85 degrees, 3% humidity, 1,600 feet of elevation. Come up 4.5 mils and held .15 mil left.



JJ said he didn't see an impact, but once we got to the target he found the shot placement. This was an unbelievably fun challenge and great excuse to get outside 4 out of the last 5 days. Looking forward to working more with this rifle and seeing what its capabilities are.

Right now I'm thinking it's a 850-900 yard MER gun with the max 9 power scope. If I put a 5-15 on this gun, I'd be more confident stretching it out even further as the 7 SAUM has plenty of juice left. Need more time and practice and I've already started that today (more info in the Q&A thread).

 

[Juan_ID]

MER 650
That’s about 100 yards further than I’ve ever shot anything to this point so we’ll see how this goes.
Tikka CTR 24” 6.5 creedmoor
KRG Bravo
Nightforce nx8 4-32
Sportsmatch to73’s
147 eld-m handloads at about 2725fps.

DAY 1:
I no longer hunt with a bipod so I opted to shoot off my pack and may try my tripod for one of the other shots.
Day 1: 625 yards, dialed 3.9mils, there was a very very slight breeze at the target R—-L maybe 2mph (sorry I am not a great wind reader ) no wind at the shooting position. 12” gong with a 10” circle painted on it.




DAY 2:
I hope I read the rules right. I was in a hurry today and setup at 577. Dialed 3.4mil, wind was a slight breeze L—-R, held .3 left off center and impacted just above my first shot from the other day. Hoping to get this wrapped up Saturday as we are headed out of town for several days.


DAY 3:
Setup at 630 yards, wind seemed significantly stronger than the last 2 shooting days R—-L. Seemed to be a straight 90* wind so I dialed 4.0 mils and held .6mil right. Shoulda gone with a .3-.4 hold. Impact outside the circle on the high right side barely catching the plate.



DAY 4:
My truck is in the shop and I forgot to take my gong out so I needed to make do with what I had available. I couldn’t find a 10” template so I traced an 8” circle on a piece of cardboard and headed to the range. Set it up and didn’t feel any wind worth noting. Setup at 651 yards, dialed 4.2mil over my pack and felt a very slight breeze L—->R. Decided to hold .1 left off center and shot. There was more wind than I figured apparently but it still fell well within the circle.

 

[Moccasin]

MER 500 yds from field positions.

6.5 PRC, Defiance Anti-X, carbon6 20”, NF 1-8, Dominus, factory Hornady 147 ELDM.

Both days shot in sitting position off sticks in front and daypack in lap. Sand burrs are healthy this year.




Day 1: 512 yards, 96 deg, wind 5-7mph


Day 2: 534 yards, 106 deg, wind 10mph


Juuuust a bit outside; tried the corner and missed. I need to keep working on building solid positions within a short time window. Thanks for putting this exercise together!

 

[kkristenelise]

First shot today at 600 yards around 6:30 pm.
I’m shooting a Savage 110 Ultralite 28 nosler with nosler trophy grade accubond long range 175 grain.



Beautiful night to shoot but my shooting wasn’t too beautiful. 600 yard shot and missed high! @realunlucky couldnt get this in the right spo

 

[SpicyIrish]

Two days ago

450 yard target , first time shooting past 300 yards.

Sunny day 75 degrees light winds.

Tikka 6.5 Creedmoor

1st shot, hard to see, but hit 2 inches to the right of the paper plate, or whats left of it.

Today

450 yards

Slightly more windy than 1st day

Dead center!!


Admin, I couldn't edit my last post so I deleted and reposted with day 2.

 

[BunnyThumper]

Better late than never. I got Riley out today for the CBC. I was thinking we might try 500 yards with him, but the wind was really whipping today and that made me realize that maybe his MER is a little less in the real world.

Final Results and 416-429 yards - HIT and a MISS



His setup is the same as mine:
Tikka T3 7mm REM Mag
162gr ELDX
B&C stock,bedded
APR side brake
Harris Bipod
Kydex riser
Bushy LRHS
Shooting prone
Sig Kilo paired with a Kestrel

CBC shot 1: 416 yards HIT. Temps were mid 70s. Wind was from 2-3 o’clock gusting 5-17.

CBC Shot #2: 429 yards MISS.
I wasn’t with Riley when he shot and I don’t have video. All I know is that he missed. I made him range and take care of his own dope. It called for 1.76mils and when I checked the rifle, he had 1.6 dialed, so I suspect he missed low.

 

[CRR]

Hi I'm Cole. I shot with my dad @mcr-85 tonight at 400 yards. I shot a Howa .223 Ackley with a SWFA 6x scope. Watch my video.

Day 2 shot was right by the shot from day 1.

 

[stonewall]

I’ve always done more bow hunting than rifle, but have been getting more interested in the last year or two. Last season I kept my mer at 300

I ran out of time a little for this, but in anticipation of participation. I moved my backstop back 30 yards. And started building up a hill from which I could shoot 400 (needed clearance). Didn’t get that completely done. Thought I’d try shooting off a tripod since I’m always carrying one anyway



Will try to finish my dirt pile before tomorrow so can do shot 2 prone. That’s the rise I’m needing to clear. Can clear standing. But will need to build up that dirt pile quite a bit if prone


Cva cascade. 6.5 creedmoor suppressed
Scope is vortex razor lht 3-15x 42mm
Suppressor is dead air nomad titanium
400 yards


Day 1. Early morning. Sun almost directly in my eyes. Humidity putting moisture on the scope glass. No wind. Missed way left. Used tripod shot from standing position.


Day 2
Built up my dirt pile to shoot from. And cut some of that rise down.
4pm full Sun. 100 degrees no wind
Missed a touch low



This is the first I’ve ever shot out to 400. Ideally I would have been better prepared. But much as the cold bow challenge has forced me to get my bow out in the past. This forced me to extend my range here to 400. I’ll work on it more and by season I should know whether I can actually shoot this far

 

[EdgeFan]

First shot (video) at 583yds I couldnt make it to the target to paint it, we got so much rain the trail was flooded. The plate is 18''x18'' so I was aiming for top left quadrant. Conditions we're 79F,3mph wind from 10 O'clock. Rifle on soft rifle case to simulate pack but that was a mistake....case was way too soft.

Second day different location at 533yds, painted a circle, the hit blew all the paint off but the outline is still visible. Posted before and after pics.

Third day I took a shot at 712yds, 85F, sun in my face, in thick grass, hardly any wind....or so I thought. Impact just left. Used my Spartan lightweight bipod which I carry at all times.

 

[abbrown]

Late entry, best effort.

450yds, open country 10500’ Colorado 4th if July camping.

Tikka T3X .223 with SWFA 3-9 scope. Backpack rest.
(Honest truth it’s my friends gun, he and his wife both nailed the target. Trigger is light for my liking. Ok enough excuses…)

Good exercise for why I want my own gun all the time. Also good exercise in how awesome .223 is to shoot, dang comfy.

I missed both days. I’d nail it next time.