2 mile shooting -3500 yards

Jimmym40a2

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 6, 2008
687
3
Colorado
After reading about Craig Slack and Bruce Artus hitting gongs at 3125 yards with a 308 improved and a 338.
http://www.northfloridashooting.com/Misc/2MilePrarieDogs/2MilePrarieDogShooters.htm
I knew I had to do it. Skip Talbot and gang hitting a 13 foot rock at 2 miles also fed the flames for the 2 mile quest. I got a fifty and have shot it out to 2000 yards but when I got my Cheytac I knew it would do the distance.(as well as my 50) If a 240 grain Serria will do 3125 at 2400 fps (Bruce's 308 improved) My 408 (with Jamison solids) should reach 3500. This was the case yesterday. I left my house at 4 in the morning to be in place and ready to go before the sun heated things up and after the long drive and setting up my planning had paid off. My kestrel 4500 weather meter was reading 1 mph wind and 64 degrees. Conditions were perfect.(all my data was entered in my computer) My gun was zeroed at 1770 yards on the top of my ridicule of my night force NPr1 reticule. I have shot at this location before and had everything ranged with GPS, Google earth and my Barr an Stroud range finder. Within a few shots we were hitting at a mile on our target and after 8 in a row I decided to go straight to 2 miles. conditions were still perfect and I wanted to shoot before conditions changed. The target was a 6 foot rock so we could see impacts. I took my first shot and was low about 12 feet but lined up dead center. I knew if I could see impacts I could make corrections and get a hit. I have tried this before but I could not see impacts so I gave up. I tried to move my scope but I was out of elevation So I bagged down my rifle and loosened up my adjustable rings and gained some more elevation. Next shot I couldn't see any impact. This made me nervous. Next shot I saw a small dirt geyser! And after adjusting and taking a shoot I saw an impact on the top right of the boulder. Bam- I had hit at 2 miles. I was quite pumped.

You can see the target area where the red arrow is.
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We fired some more shots and got a few hits and some misses and decided to try it with my 50.(EDM conversion)
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Because I lost my zero we had to monkey around to reestablish it. Before long we were hitting at a mile. With my suppressor on (which ads 18 inches) shooting this far tilts the scope into my suppressor and there was allot of mirage. I thought out to 2 miles would not work with my can on and decided to not attempt it. We spent the next few hours shooting varying distances and having a blast. t was a day I won't forget.
I was surprised how well you can see at 2 miles with good optics. The 10 second or so flight time was pretty awesome. A few obligatory pictures.
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I took some video but you cant see anything because it's 2 miles away!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBtL2f64djE
 
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Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

Jamison in the 408. And amax in the fifty. Neither are supersonic at that range. I just shoot and dont worry about it going subsonic to much. Its better if it doesnt but I just shoot anyway!
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

Thanks for posting something interesting! that is awesome. Can't wait to do some shooting like that. I don't know what it is about those A-maxes but all of them seem to completely ignore the sound barrier transition. Oh yeah and thanks for reminding me that I need to watch the season premier, had to DVR that nonsense.... so addicting.
Looks like that bi-pod is working out good for you, is that a fixed or is it easily removable?
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

a good goal to have achieved... but in my search for ELR, I don't feel like I am accomplishing anything useful unless I am hitting a reasonable size target a reasonable percentage of the time. Without walking the rounds in from a mile. Not taking anything away from your accomplishment, but my max ELR will be range at which I can still hit 3 of 5 shots, for example, on a full size IPSC target, after say one or two sighters. Even that is not entirely too much utility, but it'd be a start.
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

It definitely revive my interest in my Windrunner 50 BMG. Thanks for posting. Still toying it the idea of getting 408CT barrel and bolt for my Windrunner
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

If you could, 'splain to me how you get extra elevation by "loosening up your adjustable rings"?


Oh, and BTW, thanks for making me feel like small potatoes for 'only' shooting to a mile
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....
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Seriously, that IS flat out awesome.
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

You put my 2300 yards with my windrunner to shame

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Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jimmy M40a2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Steve you should be able to do it easier with your 375. I was thinking of your gun when I was shooting. </div></div>

I was spotting when Trgrman put 3 rounds into a roughly 20" group, center mass, on a rock at 2950 yds. in a switching 15-20 mph wind with his 375CT. From cold bore.

I would think the 375 would be more than capable.

John
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jrob300</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jimmy M40a2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Steve you should be able to do it easier with your 375. I was thinking of your gun when I was shooting. </div></div>

I was spotting when Trgrman put 3 rounds into a roughly 20" group, center mass, on a rock at 2950 yds. in a switching 15-20 mph wind with his 375CT. From cold bore.

I would think the 375 would be more than capable.

John </div></div>

that's like 0.6MOA ... can he do that at 100 yards?
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

John,

I am the last guy to downplay what is possible at extreme range, but at 3K, and winds alternating direction at up to 20 mph (40 mph delta)... how many total shots were required to put 3 rounds into a .66 moa target?
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Noel Carlson</div><div class="ubbcode-body">John,

I am the last guy to downplay what is possible at extreme range, but at 3K, and winds alternating direction at up to 20 mph (40 mph delta)... how many total shots were required to put 3 rounds into a .66 moa target? </div></div>

exactly... if it took 20 hits to statistically land 3 within 0.6 grouping, well then... what's most important to me is the total shots at this distance, before sighting in, and the spread of the sum of those shots. We can throw out a couple outliers, but not all but three closest shots.
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: cali_tz</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Noel Carlson</div><div class="ubbcode-body">John,

I am the last guy to downplay what is possible at extreme range, but at 3K, and winds alternating direction at up to 20 mph (40 mph delta)... how many total shots were required to put 3 rounds into a .66 moa target? </div></div>

exactly... if it took 20 hits to statistically land 3 within 0.6 grouping, well then... what's most important to me is the total shots at this distance, before sighting in, and the spread of the sum of those shots. We can throw out a couple outliers, but not all but three closest shots. </div></div>

Noel, Cali, this is an unfortunate thread derail and that was never my intent. JimmyM40a2 had a great accomplishment to share and I was simply supporting his assertion that the 375CT was very capable, therefore this will be my last posting on the topic. If you want to know more please PM me.

I can understand the disbelief. If someone I did not know had told me that story, I'd call bullshit. But I, and probably 10 or 11 others, including some very credible Hide members, was eyewitness to exactly what I described and I'm sure of the conditions, because moments before he put me on steel at 1900 yds. with my 300wm in the same conditions. We then changed stations, he pointed out the rock, laid down and put three shots (OF THREE.... TOTAL!) in a small group center mass on the rock he called. I can't say for sure the group size, as we didn't go out and measure it, but he measured it with his reticle and guessed "about" 20". We're not talking about a novice shooter here, we're talking about someone that for two days made the most fantastic first shot wind calls in Eastern Montana wind for a variety of different calibers, all out of his head. Let's say for the sake of argument it was 40", I doubt that takes anything away. The salient point being, these rifles with the right ammo and driver are capable of a lot more than most people can imagine. If you guys can't imagine it, or can't do it, does NOT mean it's not possible.

John
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

It is hard for me to imagine, I also likely can't do it (yet, haven't tried), but I would not say it's impossible at all. I just scratch my head as someone whose done a fair amount of shooting, had formal training for LR out to 1000yds, but not ELR.

Anyway, it's a fantastic accomplishment and I don't wish to take anything away from it. My doubt only comes from lack of experience at that range, and less than those results at much less range lol.

For me, just my own personal goal, I will call my max useful range that which I can hit a 20" group, with five shots in a row, after cold bore/sighters/etc... then I am confident at that distance.
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jrob300</div><div class="ubbcode-body">a switching 15-20 mph wind </div></div>

At the behest of Noel by PM, I will clarify. Not switching as in "different from shot to shot", but "different at distance".

In other words FP, 1000, 2000 and 2950 had very different wind velocities and directions as one would expect. Especially if one grew up in Eastern Montana.
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(That person would not even think it was windy...)

Now, let's let the subject rest and get back to OP's thread.

John
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

Hi,
first i'm very impressed ,don't know it may be possible..
second,there is sometimes on the hide ,posts like this in which people shoot target in wild country,
this area are publics place where you can shoot or it is private properrty?
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

Great shot! You should push the bullet further and see what your limits really are!

Just out of curiosity, what ballistics calculator are you using to get data beyond 3000 yards? I use JBM mostly and cannot get data beyond 3000 yards. I have yet to find a ballistics calculator that can be accurate at that distance; the search has been really irritating, and if you could clear that up, I would be much obliged.

Once again, congratulations!

-Fernandez
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

That is truly awesome and amazing shooting Congrats to you guys. I would love to shoot that far and hit my target. Someday i will i hope
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. Its awesome to see things done that people say "no way in hell can anyone do that." when ya tell em
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

You cannot Advertise on this site... Not only are you stepping on this thread you are breaking the rules...

Next time you will be removed permanently -- read the rules !
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jimmy M40a2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The location is somewhere between Denver and Winslow Arizona.
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</div></div>
So does that mean the bullet starts out in Denver and hits the target in Arizona?
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Would love to really stretch my Windrunner out that far.
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

Just knowing that it's being done has got me wired! Now I'm going to have to try.
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I'm thinking I may have to get one of those adjustable Ivy bases for this sort of stuff. No problem getting up to 8,600 feet elevation here in Utah though.
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

That's some very cool shooting, with a very cool rifle. I just keep thinking to myself: "maybe I'll pick up a .408 Cheytac someday..." But, I might at least make that one wait until I have a car that is worth more than that rifle.
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Anyway, it's neat to see someone shoot past the two mile mark, even if it wasn't very "practical" shooting for the real world.

If you don't mind my asking, where in Colorado were you able to find those two shootable miles?
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

Thanks for sharing your achievements here- I can't imagine how jazzed you were! I am excited - and I only read your report.

I can hear the clock ticking on 4k yards! Maybe Jamison would do some tracers to "help" with the satisfied customer video? LOL.
 
Re: 2 mile shooting -3500 yards

wow jimmy thats some very cool shooting, but you know the best part was the shirt your wearing! Ill have to send you the new hawaii five-0 shirt. talk later bro!!!!