Debating on putting together a 1000 yard rifle.

Don’t you have a jar of Sonny’s to stick your head in…..??

The one’s in Blue/White, the Devil Rays (Garza, Bartlett)

big G

Oh, not just them. Romero was on the other side. Of course you forgot Belfour. Lots of twins playing in this series.

For some reason I want to put together a 1000 yard rifle. My question, should I use the .243 or .280 platform I currently have? Thoughts?

Are we talking AR platform here?

Grouse

Duplicate post.

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Are we talking AR platform here?

Grouse

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No, bolt action.

Option #1. Remington 700 in .243 (synthetic stock).

Option #2. Ruger M77 in .280 with bull barrel (wood stock).

Both rifles have been glass bedded. Both have Timney Triggers. It is basically a matter of which one gets new glass and get extra special attention paid to the hand loads for extreme long range.

When I move to Hibbing, MN. There is a 600 yard range just down the road. I am looking forward to buring some powder.

QUESTION: I have never built loads for these ranges. How does one go about it? Do they start with making a tight 500 yard load and then try to stretch that out to 1000 yards? Advice please.

Jeff heeg is who i would talk to about it. Havent seen him post on here for a while or i might of missed it. But he helped me out a lot, knows his stuff!

I will try to reply later tonight when I get home. My lap top is more cooperative then my phone for replying

I am all ears

The guys that amaze me is shooting 600 yards with open sights. H-ll I can`t even see that far with out some type of glass.

Your Remington 700 — what twist do you have? 1 / 9.125?

Something you may want to try

Hornady 87 gr. V-max bullets
Good quality Brass
CCI Bench Rest Primers
43.5 grains of IMR4350
Try at .20 ths off the lands

This load has done very well, but every rifle is different I would run a ladder test at a distance that you can shoot fairly accurate. Everyone’s different so if its 300, 400 or out to 700 be honest with yourself so that the feedback is information that is worth the effort.

I would load 2 of each
42.3
42.6
42.9
43.2
43.5
43.8

While loading these I would take a Sharpie marker and write the load weight on the side of the brass in order to keep all records and test in order.

Then head off to the range as stated earlier, use a target that has a precise yet comfortable aiming point to further increase accuracy of this test. Now start with the lowest weight load – 42.3 make a good shot then go mark your target face next to the hole with the load weight and scotch tape the bullet hole and info with clear scotch tape. Next shoot and mark your next load being 42.6 . Pace yourself to allow a few minutes at a minimum for your barrel to cool some between rounds

Continue this order using only one of each load weight, that way you have another set to reconfirm if needed. As you shoot your test rounds watch for any pressure signs, sticky bolt lift after the shot, ejector marks on the case head of the brass. If you see pressure marks starting then don’t continue running heavier or hotter loads.

Even factory loads will show ejector marks once in a while but if you’re getting a bolt lift that is hard after the shot and ejector marks you are on the heavy pressure hot side of things which is not good. As I stated every gun is different even if they are the same manufacture and model.

When you get your test rounds shot and marked bring the target in and take a look for the bullet impacts at the same height, your lefts and rights – windage are not an issue at this time you are only looking at the vertical dispersion when you have two or three different load powder weights hitting the same area or at least the narrowest spread you can then work with one in the middle of the batch.

Normally they will group in order for expl. 43.2, 43.5 and 43.8 thus working with the 43.5 for your accuracy load allows for forgiveness in a small powder variance or seating depth difference yet still should yield a good impact with the others.
If you do the test at a distance where you can fairly steady and accurate versus close up you will open the spread of the bullets on paper making it easier to see the trends and groups forming.

For folks that don’t have a 300 to 700 yard range to test on

If you want to shoot close up say at 100 yards then shoot three bullets each of the same powder weight per target. MAKE sure all the targets are identical by size and where you put the 1” orange 100 yard target dot. After shooting three rounds of each on their own target stack all the targets up and look for three target faces where the impact holes overlap with each other. Expl. Say if you have the targets stacked up like a pile of papers you can look through a hole and see completely through three targets at the same time here again you can then pick the middle powder weight target and further test this one as you accuracy load.

A person can go on and on breaking it down farther by taking that accuracy load and playing with seating depth of the bullet, here in order to save ammo and time do a test at .10, .20 and .30ths and see what your gun likes versus trying to do this in small increments. There are a lot of High accuracy rifles running 20 to 30 ths off the lands even though you hear so much about being jammed in the lands or 3 to 5 ths off so don’t assume just because of all the talk, some BS to their advantage

Hang onto your test targets they make good reference material to look at later on.
Also log as much info that you can it comes in very handy at times. When you find that sweet spot take a measurement of the C.O.A.L. using a comparator (Hornady has a nice kit) on a caliper, record this info as well as what your overall length is in your chamber with the same bullet type when you find your overall length then record the COAL as well. This gives you a record of what that bullet is maxed to the lands and what your sweet spot is. So later on after say 500 rounds you can use the same bullet and re-measure your chamber to see how much the distance has gained (throat erosion) at that point if you gained another 5 ths of erosion you could then move your bullet out at a certain point to get back into a sweet spot when the accuracy drops off in age. With measurements recorded it is really easy to see what’s happening and what’s not to eliminate paranoia.

Some of this may seem boring, but when trying to explain reloading there is a wide spread differences in the people reading as far as what their experience level is.

I hope some of this helps

Ask away if anyone has any questions

Do you know off hand what twist you have, I’m thinking it may be the 1 to 9.125 but if it is a little faster one could try some loads with the 105s

Didn’t mean to stall out your thread question.

Realistically what can a person expect when shooting 1,000 yard ranges? Or should I say an average Joe Blow.

Tom

I have witnessed a 60+ year old man try it. He and his wife stopped by a range in Coshocton, Ohio do to curiosity after hearing about it and its layout.

I offered him a chance to take a shot at a 12″x12″ steel plate at 800 yards. He never has taken a shot past 200 yards in his life. Yet he ended up with a first round hit with my rifle while his wife was watching through our spotting scope, both where hugging and in awe for having the unexpected opportunity to take a shot and to actually hit the target.

Another as well, with a local spectator here at home that was watching us shoot. The only thing he ever shot as a kid was a 22, do the same with our equipment on a small 6×9″ reactive steel target at 600, totally in awe that he could accomplish hitting such a small target at that distance.

Both cases yes we were in the middle of shooting and knew the wind by then but you see the point.

All it takes is good equipment and “someone to keep them relaxed and talk them though the shot”.

Maybe some of the F-class bench rest shooters could voice their opinions, I thought there were a few folks from MN. on here that are into 600 and 1000 yard bench rest shooting.

98% of my shooting is prone and using a bag in the back with a bi-pod up front, the only time I shoot from a bench is at certain events that require all scored rounds shot bench style only.

I can shoot very well at small targets and at some crazy extreme ranges to some. Yes I still miss at times but I have a good track record of hitting as well. The more a person shoots a given rifle or two and with a respectable load the more one learns the affects of wind, density altitude, and temp with that given rifle and the end result, all the little things that don’t have much effect when considered alone make a big difference when used as a group.

When the weather sucks outside and everyone is hanging around inside doing nothing and bored grab your gun look at what’s happening outside, test yourself and calculate the effects, adjust your scope, step outside and take the shot at a steel target down range 300 to 700 yards, listen for a hit or witness the hit on steel or the splash from a miss and try to understand what effects and results of your game plan ended up at.

Take notes including weather, scope setting, distance, where you’re shooting at, and the results of your settings. Many times you will go back and read your old notes.

As far as the original question, the 87 gr. V-max will give you a good load that will carry very well and yet may hinder a little while at the 1000 yard mark but stabilizes well if you have the stated twist in your Rem. Barrel. You can try the 105s which will serves better if you can settle them down but with all that stated try to find the most consistent and accurate choice for the distance you will shoot the most at – 300 to 800 with some out to 1000 or a lot at 1000 and yes a bunch closer you get the idea.

As stated before, sometimes I sense that my replies tend to shut down threads so I tend to read and not reply much. There’s a good group of folks on here that hang together and with good knowledge.

Good luck I hope you come up with a good game plan on what caliber and a safe accurate load.

When changing target range do you change loads or all loads the same at all distances?