Long Range Redemption

tt35

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2010
Messages
659
Location
Oregon
Ben and I went out to scout some deer hunting areas and look for some rockchucks today. The scouting was pretty slow but we did come upon a pretty good rockchuck colony late in the morning. We had several spotted between 550 and 575 yards. After our difficulty with our long range stuff a couple of weeks ago, we weren't sure what to expect. But, we were game to give it a try.

Ben set up first with his .243AI. I got the spotting scope out. Ben asked what I was doing with the spotting scope and I tongue-in-cheek told him that I was doing what dads do--telling him what he was doing wrong. He dialed in his drops for the biggest rockchuck in view, held some windage and made an incredible first shot hit at 575 yards! He then sarcastically asked what he had done wrong. :rolleyes: I told him that it appeared that he'd done nothing wrong. :)

First-round 575 yarder.
LRRockchucks009.jpg


We traded places as I pulled out my .243 Ackley. I again tongue-in-cheek told him I had brought 150 rounds of ammo so I hoped I could get one killed before it was over. I dialed my drops for another 'chuck at the end of the rim and proceeded to surprise both of us with another solid first-round hit at 550. This was a little more like it! Trading places again, I watched as Ben put another first-round 550 yard hit on the next 'chuck. Why is this LR stuff so unpredictable?

My next turn let us down with a third-round hit and Ben struggled about the same on his next attempt. But, hey, when you're batting around 50% at that range, I can deal with that! Our furthest miss was probably four inches off target. We had a couple more first-round hits and a couple more misses. We ended up at close to 50% overall according to our spotter calls. There were quite a few deep cracks in the rocks so even though we found some blood, we were only able to retrieve four of the eight or nine rockchucks.

Shots were taken from where the pickup is parked.
LRRockchucks005.jpg


We checked a few other places that normally hold 'chucks but only found singles or doubles so we left them alone. It felt like sweet redemption after our poorer showing last week. I guess that's what keeps us going in this long range varmint hunting game.

The hero shot.
LRRockchucks007.jpg


Thanks for reading.
Tim
 
Last edited:
Hey Congratulations, glad you're "back in the groove":)

I miss shootin chucks sometimes. I've gotta drive a couple hours at least to find any good chuck shootin, but at least I've got prarie dogs right near by.
 
Thanks, SBruce. I'd drive a couple of hours for a good rockchuck shoot. Of course, I've driven 800 miles for a good prairie dog shoot also! Having them right out your door like you have would be a kick but I'd get even less work done than I do now.... :)
 
We traded places as I pulled out my .243 Ackley. I again toungue-in-cheek told him I had brought 150 rounds of ammo so I hoped I could get one killed before it was over. I dialed my drops for another 'chuck at the end of the rim and proceded to surprise both of us with another solid first-round hit at 550. This was a little more like it! Trading places again, I watched as Ben put another first-round 550 yard hit on the next 'chuck. Why is this LR stuff so unpredictable?

My next turn let us down with a third-round hit and Ben struggled about the same on his next attempt. But, hey, when you're batting around 50% at that range, I can deal with that! Our furthest miss was probably four inches off target. We had a couple more first-round hits and a couple more misses. We ended up at close to 50% overall according to our spotter calls. There were quite a few deep cracks in the rocks so even though we found some blood, we were only able to retreive four of the eight or nine rockchucks.

What kind of groups are you getting @ the range, at the same yardages? Of course, wind does play a big part :rolleyes:.
 
Thanks, T3.

Bowhunt: I haven't checked at 500 but at 600 my rifle was holding 2 1/2" three shot groups average when I was checking my drops. And, you're right, then the wind comes in. I think our set-up was just bad last week. We were on a private ranch and we were shooting off the bipods on the top of the truck. It just didn't allow us to get really comfortable behind the rifle. More lessons learned. At longer ranges, you just have to have things right. Twisted bodies and tension just doesn't cut it.
 
Thanks, T3.

Bowhunt: I haven't checked at 500 but at 600 my rifle was holding 2 1/2" three shot groups average when I was checking my drops. And, you're right, then the wind comes in. I think our set-up was just bad last week. We were on a private ranch and we were shooting off the bipods on the top of the truck. It just didn't allow us to get really comfortable behind the rifle. More lessons learned. At longer ranges, you just have to have things right. Twisted bodies and tension just doesn't cut it.

Yeah, being comfortable relates to being steadier. Not that I'm a super expert :D, but I was curious. Temp, humidity, etc. also can take effect on the bullet drop @ extended ranges. I guess that's what makes this whole deal so fun...

Great groups by the way.
 
Thanks for sharing, nice story. Nice rigs also.
I guess the best part is being out there with your son, enjoying our loved sport together.:)
 
Gotta love a happy ending! Great shooting and bonding time! When my son(currently serving in Afghanistan) and I shoot together similar bantering exists. With younger eyes he always seems to beat me, not by much I feel compelled to add. :) They say he is a sniper with the 60mm mortar, think thats too much gun for varmints?
 
Warning! This thread is more than 13 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.
Top