My 1000yrd journey

Juano86

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Messages
75
Location
Queensland, Australia
G'day All,

Being a recreational rifle hunter here in Australia, i haven't had much of a need for shooting things at great distance. Regular hunting ranges from 0-200yrds for deer / pigs etc. After trying to occasionally test myself with my 7mm rem mag and .25-06 at the local range out to 300yrds i somewhat got bitten by the LR bug.
Through resources such as this very forum, youtube and articles etc i decided to "dabble" and put together a somewhat budget 1000yrd rig to see what was involved before going all out.

I wanted to keep everything pretty modest in price and quality, but also availability of components is important down here. After much deliberation between picking a caliber, deciding on a platform and stock etc. i went with a .243 in 24" 1:10 twist Howa varmint barreled action. Having seen a few reviews and shouldering one in a store, i chose the GRS Berserk stock.
Next task was the glass... Oh Boy, where does one start! countless hours of reviews and research, i settled on a Sightron Siii 6-24x50 with a nightforce 20MOA base and Vortex precision matched rings. I feel i did pretty well considering the "entry level" cost of the set up.

Finding a projectile to start with was pretty limited due to the 1:10 twist of the factory barrel. i do have plans in the near future to go .243AI or 6mm Super LR, however, i thought i could utilize the good ol' .243...
The load is the Berger 95gr VLD in Norma brass with 42.5gr of AR2209 was the sweet spot. getting 0.3" groups without playing with seating depth at all. I feel i have a bit more work here to do, but for now that's plenty. they were chrono'd at 2950fps average (30fps variance between each shot of the two 5 shot groups).
A shout out to the guys on this forum who helped me troubleshoot a few brass issues i incurred when working up a load for this project. - Again, this forum is such a valuable resource!

A couple of other little mods include a Wild dog detachable magazine and bottom metal kit, 1lb trigger spring swap, Harris swivel bipod, some butler creek caps and i was ready to give her a test run!
Before this weekend i had run approx. 20 factory loads and 50 hand loads (Berger VLD's) sighting in / developing a load.
My partner and i set off to a friends 6000 acre property about 4hrs drive south west of Brisbane to find a bit of real estate i could stretch it out to the magical 1000yrd milestone. I knocked up a target from some 11mm thick 20"x20" steel and a surplus roadwork sign frame.
I haven't had much to do with balistic apps, so i decided to give BalisticARC a try. Without having a kestrel or weatherflow (one of my next purchases) i ranged the shooting position to the target using the GPS map on the app (also verified with GPS assisted virtual measuring tape). then came the wind debacle i guessed a 10-12mph south easterly at the shooting position and about 5-10mph westerly at the target! with little to no experience in this what so ever i dialed my windage and elevation.

Fired shot one - No ding, sounded like it shot high as i herd it rumble up the valley. made correction...
Fired shot two - No ding, again, sounded high. made correction...
Fired shot three... DING!!! are you kidding me! i then strung a couple hits together in the next few shots.

To say i am happy is an understatement. We had some cattle move in to the area, so we headed back to camp to make some lunch and settle in for the arvo with a few cold ones.
Day two... different wind again, we set up, and it was hit after hit. I decided to let the Mrs. have a turn. Having little to no shooting experience, she did outstanding. first shot miss, shot two DING, shot 3 DING, She's over the moon and also now bitten by the LR bug (perhaps ill be able to build a second rig now!).

I thought id share my little journey with you guys, as the info and advice here has most certainly helped me get this project off the ground. iv attached a few pics and videos of the experience (sorry for the poor iphone quality and the wind, but you can hear the hits faintly).

I look forward to practicing and honing these skills and appreciate any comments or feedback.
Cheers for listening.

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Congrats and regrets. That first 1000yds hit is life changing, you've accomplished something not 1:1000 hunters/shooters will ever do.

The bad part is that it's horribly addictive and now you're hooked!
 
Pretty cool! It never gets old. We were out on Sat proving long range drops on a few rifles and it is still just as much fun as it was 10 years ago when we started shooting long range. Making the calcs and then watching the bullet drop into the spot never fails to make me laugh. Too much fun! WR is correct, you are all in now.

Steve
 
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