I have done just about everything with guns. Pistol matches of every kind. Carbine courses. Skeet/trap sporting clays. Machine guns.  But in my life I had never shot a rifle past 200 yards. I live and grew up near DC and ranges over 200 yards are hours away. I rarely get to shoot past 50 yards.

I got to take an intro to long range shooting course Saturday and it was great fun.

I set up first with my home built 308 AR. 20" Lilja barrel, Sig Tango 4 6-24x50 scope, CMC 3.5# trigger.
After making sure I was on at 100, we zeroed my turrets and headed up to the mountain range.

Steel was set up all over ranging from 320-1300 yards. The instructor had me set up at a 427 yard target. I was using Federal gold metal match 175gr. He input it in his Kestral and told me how many clicks to turn.
KLANG! First try hit. After a few more at 427 I set up and hit at 560, 670, 710 and 790 with the .308. The longer ones were not first round hits, but I got there.

Then I pulled out my Remington Long Range 26" barreled 300 Win Mag and discovered one of my scope rings had come loose. We tightened everything down and took 3 shots to get on the 427 plate. Damn does that thing smack steel with authority!

Then I pulled out my SEAL RECCE rifle clone. .223 Wylde, 16" Lilja, CMC 3.5# and Leupold MK4 2.5-8. Second round had me dead center of the 320 plate using PPU 75 grain math ammo. I had a blast ringing that bell over and over.

We were about to wrap up when he asked the furthest I had shot and I said 790, so he told me to shoot something further. I took aim at a 995 yard target with the 308. My turret has settable stops and would not go far enough around for what I needed, and I have not played with the scope enough to know how to change the stops, so I just used the Christmas tree and walked rounds onto the target and hit it with my 8th round.

It was amazing fun. I know a lot of people who thing 995 yards is only modestly "long range". But for me it was huge.

Lessons learned:
I CAN do it.
Check your equipment before you go to the range, and know how to use it properly.
Magnification is not as important. I thought oh man, 1000 yards with ONLY 24x?? I hope it is enough.
Hitting a 12" plate at 320 yards is easier than hitting a 1/2" circle at 50 yards. It makes sense, but I was scared of it because I had never done it.

Dan makes nice barrels.

LR shooting is my favorite type of shooting. Unfortunately, here it's a hassle to get to a range with 1000 yard targets unless you drive a couple hours or spend several hundred a year on a range membership.

I found out early on that practice and reloading are the key to proficiency in long range precision.

Enjoy your new sickNeSs.

So...whats on the to buy list now OP?...

It is huge fun getting long range hits...

I built a 6.5 Creedmoor AR. 24" Lilja barrel, CMC 3.5#. and topped it with the Sig scope I used on the 308. But it was not grouping at 50 yards as tight as the .308, which is why I used the .308.

I want to work on the 6.5 and figure out how to make it the rifle it should be. If I had the 6.5 running right, I could have made some attempts on the 1200 and 1300 targets.

I would have tried with the 300 Win mag, But because of my scope rings, the 427 yard hit was not hitting where the chart said. I also only had PPU soft point ammo. So I did not have the right ammo for really stretching its legs. I want to fix that and get that going. I'm not sure what new rifle I would get to outclass my 300 Win Mag. Except the Savage BA Stealth in .338 Lapua looks damn sexy.

But due to my distance from any range that I can stretch the legs of my rifles on, it may be next year before I get out there again.

I own a 50 BMG, that I’ve only shot at 50 yards. but the range I took the course at does not allow them.
Why the hell do I own a 50 BMG when I usually only shoot 50 yards? Because I wanted one damnit!

Get ready to burn more ammo distance is addictive.

Knowing your collection its won't be long and you will have dozens of nice precision rifles...

Where did you shoot? I have the NOVA issue when it comes to long range.

I like that range. Glad ya had fun.

Peacemakers in West Virginia

That sounds awesome. I didn’t realize a .308 actually made it much past 600 yards anymore. Heard ya need a Creed if you want to shoot further than 600!

As I understand. .308 is not "effective" past 700ish. Meaning it has slowed down enough to not have as much rifle punch and be more like shooting someone with a 9mm.

But in terms of steel, you could probably hit something two miles away if you arch it.

A 185g Berger from my 20inch barrel is still going 1638fps and has 1100ft lbs of energy at 700yards.

We have a 550 yard range at my private club.
The owner is putting in a 1000 yard range as we speak. Clearing land next to the 550 range.
Problem is, I’ll need to get a 300 win mag now. LOL.

Problem? I don’t see a problem.

Are you in Midland? If so shoot me a PM. I’ve got access to 1100 in Midland, and 2500+ if you’re willing to drive.