Extremely new newbie!

[Kansaswoodguy]

I have a couple leupold mark AR 6-18's that I shoot to 1000 yards with, there around $500. My buddy just bought an Athlon scope FFP 8-34 it's clarity at 18 power was about the same as my leupold's but it did degrade at 34 but hey it's a $389 FFP scope with a very large power adjustment. Get yourself a good quality single piece cleaning rod no screw together crap, a nylon brush, no brass or completely evil stainless brushes, and a silver coated Tipton patch jag. The bore guide is a good idea also. For cleaning I use KG-1 and KG-12 carbon and copper removers. That said I only clean when accuracy takes a dive which takes hundreds of rounds in most of my guns so don't over clean the bore, after every trip to the range is not required or recommended. A buddy in the area with reloading equipment and a chronograph would be ideal. Your going to want your ammo to shoot in the single digit's or low teen SD's for 1000 yard shooting. With a chrony you could try alot of diffrent factory loads looking for the lowest SD to use until you start reloading. Just shooting to 400-500 yards is easy out to 1000 little things make big big diffrences in group size. Get a larger size AR500 target and a can of cheap white spray paint nothing is better for a new shooter than the instant sound and sight feedback of shooting steel it very quickly builds muscle memory of what a good shot should feel like.

 

[Birdoprey]

I have a couple leupold mark AR 6-18's that I shoot to 1000 yards with, there around $500. My buddy just bought an Athlon scope FFP 8-34 it's clarity at 18 power was about the same as my leupold's but it did degrade at 34 but hey it's a $389 FFP scope with a very large power adjustment. Get yourself a good quality single piece cleaning rod no screw together crap, a nylon brush, no brass or completely evil stainless brushes, and a silver coated Tipton patch jag. The bore guide is a good idea also. For cleaning I use KG-1 and KG-12 carbon and copper removers. That said I only clean when accuracy takes a dive which takes hundreds of rounds in most of my guns so don't over clean the bore, after every trip to the range is not required or recommended. A buddy in the area with reloading equipment and a chronograph would be ideal. Your going to want your ammo to shoot in the single digit's or low teen SD's for 1000 yard shooting. With a chrony you could try alot of diffrent factory loads looking for the lowest SD to use until you start reloading. Just shooting to 400-500 yards is easy out to 1000 little things make big big diffrences in group size. Get a larger size AR500 target and a can of cheap white spray paint nothing is better for a new shooter than the instant sound and sight feedback of shooting steel it very quickly builds muscle memory of what a good shot should feel like.

Would there be something wrong with cleaning the bore often? Also, do you know if it changes things since the barrel and action is nitrided?(SP?).
I'm learning many acronyms but i'm not familiar with "SD's"...can you elaborate?

Thank you very much for the info and advice! I really appreciate it!

 

[Kansaswoodguy]

SD is standard deviation measured with a chronograph it's more or less a measurement of how consistant your ammunitions muzzle vilosity is, if you have large swings in your shot to shot consistancy that's no big deal at 100 yards, but a 100fps diffrence from one shot to the next at 1000 yards is around 30" of vertical spread that's a big deal. For the cleaning I suggest getting the bore guide for sure and watching YouTube videos buy reputable people on cleaning so when you do clean it you do no harm to your bore. The bench rest guys clean fanatically but for shooting long range I suggest a fouled barrel that has repeatable accuracy from shot to shot without the need to fire fouler shots after cleaning is better for most people. As a side note my feeling is more barrels have been ruined by improper cleaning than by shooting. One more thing is to think of a rifle as a women your going to have to learn what it likes, what doesn't like and then there's still a lot of head scratching thinking to yourself ***.

 

[Birdoprey]

Well, after researching and reading LOTS of reviews, i've decided i want a Nightforce Benchrest scope. Either 8-32x56mm or 12-42x56mm. Its more than i really should spend but i think i'll be happy with it. Now to hunt one down at a good price....