Shot a nice steel target at 872 yards today...

[44Blam]

I've generally only shot under 500 yards and a lot of my shooting is within 100 yards.
I went to a range where the furthest target from the line is 872 yards.

So my day started like this:
Attachment 239522

I shot my Henry (44 mag Big Boy) at 100 and 220 yards...

Then I got my .308 out and started at around 500 yards and sure enough it hit and hit shot after shot. I was shooting the middle Ram under the 2... Anyway, I worked my way through targets until I got to the last target. I had to hold the bottom line of my scope just above the target to hit it, but I got it 4 shots in a row from a bench and I hit it a bout 10 times total.
Attachment 239523

Oh - after that, I was hitting targets at 200 and 300 yards with that Henry. I always knew that gun was accurate (and my load was accurate) but I didn't realize how reliably I can pop targets at 300 yards with that gun... I told my buddy "the circle under the 6 at 300 yards" and he said "send it" and the RO walked by just as this was happening and I popped it and the RO gave out a solid "HIT" before my buddy could say anything.

It was a good day.

[44Blam]

The thing that I relized today was that my process and my loading has given me ammunition that I can hit a 10" target at 300 yards relatively consistently with a pistol cartridge (44 mag). And that I can hit targets greater than 1/2 a mile with my .308 loads....

I truly do not know how factory rounds stack up to that, BUT MY boolits shoot pretty **** well. And I am super happy.

[JBinMN]

Congrats! It is nice when your work pays off.


Now ya got those loads down, time to try working another so ya have a "backup" if components used for the first become scarce, for some reason.


Well, ya don't "have to", but it might be a good idea & likely fun too!

[Thumbcocker]

Nice! Load details and boolits please.

[marek313]

I like your range layout. Most ranges around here only have 100 and the one I belong to is one of the few that has 300 but nothing more then that.

[44Blam]

Nice! Load details and boolits please.

Sure.
44 Mag is the accurate 43-240-AG mold PC and GC'd and the load on that is 23.5 grain W296 with WLP primers. Brass is mixed. Clocked these in my Redhawk at 1450 not sure about the henry, I am guessing 1700?
.308 was Hornady ELD 178 grain j-words and the load on that is 41.5 grain Varget with WLR primers. Brass was once fired Federal. These were clocked at 2450.

[Larry Gibson]

44Blam

Nice shooting! Shooting steel is a lot of fun. I've a place just north of town here were I shoot LR on steel. I have 2 steel targets I use. It's easy to drive a couple steel fence posts in the ground and hang the steel targets with chains. I also shoot a lot of rocks out in the desert with cast out of my revolvers and rifles with cast. I've been known to stretch the range a bit with my Ruger BHFT 44 Magnum and Ruger Bisley 41 Magnum. Lots of fun for sure........excellent post!

I shoot Sierra 175 MKs, Hornady 178 Match BTHP and Hornady ELD 178 Match bullets over 44.5 gr Varget out of my M70 suppressed and M70 Target .308Ws. I use LC Match cases (I use 45 gr Varget in Winchester cases) with WLR primers. Velocity is 2650 fps out of the 22" barrel and 2725 out of the 26" barrel. I also shoot steel with that load at 600, 1000 and 1200 yards just north of town. Here is 10 shots (99-5X) at 1000 yards with the 175 MK out of the M70 suppressed (my SIL shooting it over at Ben Avery Range in Phoenix). The score rings are for the NRA 1000 yard HP target.

Attachment 239572
Attachment 239575

[Taterhead]

Nice shooting. Great report.

I am blessed to belong to a range that hosts matches out to 2200 yards, so I've had several occasions to stretch out a bit. Ringing steel at a mile is fun. My personal best with my own rig is 7/8 mile with a heavy barrel 25-06 (Speer jword bullet). That's really stretching that peewee cartridge, although 3/4 mile is pretty repeatable on an 2' square.

It is also educational for me to shoot at small gongs at 200 meters freehand. Learn much about my loads, and poor trigger technique is immediately evident. Also learned that a Ruger LCR can give surprising good accuracy at 200 meters with an RCBS 38-150-SWC! Who knew?!

[RED BEAR]

Darn fine shooting. I can't see that far.

[44Blam]

Well, now I am really thinking of what Larry Gibson was talking about a couple months ago about RPM... So, I'm going to start thinking about how to take a cast lead .308 and ding that 872 yard target.
Sadly, I have some stuff going on, so I cannot shoot for a couple weeks... But I do have time to research and I think I need to do some math/thinking and see if I can't get a load that puts my lead boolit into a more optimal RPM range. My previous loads were in the 40 grain of Varget range with a 174 grain cast boolit and I was getting 2400+ fps, but at 100 yards my shots were within about 2" of POA. Which, at 100 yards is fine - you can bust clays for days. BUT 2" at 100 yards is NOT going to work at 800 yards. My Jword round, on the other hand, I could get 5 shots within an inch at 100 yards without issue and I believe now that the limiting factor in accuracy there is me holding the gun and pulling the trigger -- not so much the equipment.

[Larry Gibson]

I've shot 30 XCB cast bullets quite well out to 600 yards out of my HV cast bullet 30x60 XCB rifle. Haven't tried them any farther......yet. I also have a 2525 fps load in my 10" twist .308W that gives "useable" 2 1/2 moa accuracy to 200 yards.......if I ignore the 1st 2 shots (even if previously fouled) but it falls apart past 300 yards. Another load at just under 2400 fps using the 30 XCB holds 2 moa out to 500 yards. Might have to try pushing a 311299 upwards of 22-2300 fps out of my 12" twist M70 target rifle and try that "out there".......

I also have poked a few 400 and 500 gr 45-70 bullets out at 1000 yards out of my trapdoors but that's another story.......

Shooting steel or even rocks at longer ranges is a lot more fun than just poking holes holes in paper at 50 -100 yards.......