how much time and money is enough?

[Steve Donlon]

You make a good point to have a mentor,
At least someone who can answer every question correctly and possibly even analyze and point out flaws to improve upon or correct.
I was lucky to have 2 good people like that when I first started all this stuff over 30 yrs ago.
One being my Dad, which every rifle of his was a custom wildcat.
When I first began to get into long range...it was with pistol
practicing for Sillhouette shooting, Which our Gunsmith frtiend was involved with pretty regularly.
Cast his own 250 gr & 300 gr Keiths, and sold me all I wanted.
When I got more into reloading and become more curious about Long Range Rifle's
My Dad, did not "work me up to"...... shooting a mile
He STARTED ME OFF, at 1700 yards, that was my into to ELR.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I did not appreciate nor know all the intricacies that were involved in getting a rifle to consitently shoot at the kind of range.
I was too young and dumb, and thought "ok cool, I'm gonna go back to shooting my .44 at 200 now."
I thought all rifles should be able to do that, because theirs did.
A few years later when the accuracy bug bit hard, I had my first custom rifle built just for doing that very thing for myself. I could shoot at my work, after work, I could shoot at another long range place on the way home so I had unlimited areas to shoot from.
And again there, The Smith and my dad came into play teaching me every little aspect of making accurate ammo, keeping log books and documenting every session, wind reading etc etc etc.
His best friend, who was our Gunsmith only lived 20 mins. away.
So any time we needed a fix it job, or rebarreling, wait time was minimal in between his main contracts.
We shot, A LOT
And one of my most memorable learning experinces was a Trip to Wyoming to the Prairie Dog fields
Where we would test out our long rangers on P'dogs at 1 mile.
They were much better than I at the time, usually scoring a hit within 3 shots.
Growing up with that kind of influence and various caliber availability was priceless.
--------------------------
I know without them, I would have been on a slow and long learning curve
Instead I could just grab a rifle that already had all the load development done
Go Practice
then try to copy the load

You are lucky to have your mentors but it's not so bad learning on your own. I Iearned from guys like Ken Waters and his information on the 30-06 loads that won at the Air Force Cup back in the day, the Sierra 190 MK bullet. 52.5 grs. IMR 4350. I started with a BAR 30-06 with open sights and shot it every where and learned how to reload. Then I was hooked. It does take longer but it has been fun and satisfying to learn from mistakes.

 

[Kittitas George]

It is YOUR decision on when fun turns to work. Do all your shots need to be in one hole? What is small enough? What is the target long range prairie dogs or 50 yard Cape Buffalo? It is YOUR HOBBY, your wallet, your ability and equipment. You my friend are in charge!! I have a lot of nice equipment for reloading, shooting, wood working tools and mechanics tools. It is time to pass them on for someone else to enjoy. It is saddening to see them go, BUT, I hope the next guy finds as much enjoyment in them as I did and the money will go to a scholarship fund, to give a youngster a start.

 

[Sandstorm]

to give a youngster a start.

Good on you George ...my plan also when the time is at hand.

 

[jelenko]

learn from mistakes

Yeah. But it often feels like trapped in a maze.

 

[Steve Donlon]

Yeah. But it often feels like trapped in a maze.

I can see that but I look at it as just another test to see if we want it bad enough. No one forced us to be doing this and we are better off for dealing with it. Just part of our decision to be the best we can.

 

[Tangent]

Some voices of experience here, I agree with most. The first thing to remember is you are the weakest link. I see a huge amount of talk about gear on the internet and virtually nothing about the skills required to get the most out of it. As someone mentioned, find the best person you can to mentor you, copy what they do and when you can consistently beat them start looking for things to change. That will save you years of work and thousands wasted down rabbit holes that don't matter.

I was lucky and was taught by a very good shooter and also shoot with some other very competitive people. I have to be at my best to beat them but I'm less about beating others and more about beating my best score. Once you have the gear and your skills are good those last few points are all a mind game. I shoot .22 OH at 20yd, 50yd scaled target. I was on for a 100 and last shot I put it slightly high in the 9 for a 99. That was all in my mind as I haven't shot a 100 yet on that target. Once you do crack a maximum score it becomes a lot easier to do it again.

Reloading is another skill that takes time. I've loaded thousands of pistol rounds but bottleneck cartridges were a totally different game. I'm about 1,500 rounds in and still learning. I'll reiterate what others have said, start with good components, reduce the variables, and get lots of practice.

If it was easy and there was a magic formula to make every shot an X none of us would be here discussing this stuff. We'd have got bored with it long ago!

 

[std7mag]

Lots of good advice on here!

My question would be, what are your goals with it, and is that goal realistic for your budget?

Let's face it, everybody likes winning.
But not everyone can.
I greatly enjoy the matches that I shoot!
Not because I win. Heck, at best I'm usually mid pack at local events.
But it is something that I enjoy doing.
Along with some good people that I have met!

My budget will not allow me the top tier equipment needed for national shooting. Or even top spots at local matches.
And I accept that.
But it doesn't mean that I can't have fun trying.

 

[JFrank]

sad fact, "having the best equipment won't make you the best, but without the best equipment you'll never be the best"

This isn’t exactly accurate, yes you need good equipment but in long range Benchrest, knowing how to tune and when to send a round and when not to shoot is just as important.
Stay tuned ..
J

 

[jelenko]

I can see that but I look at it as just another test to see if we want it bad enough. No one forced us to be doing this and we are better off for dealing with it. Just part of our decision to be the best we can.

Absolutely.

What I meant by being trapped in a maze is I find I have to relearn the same lesson over [like finding yourself back at the same point in a maze] and some/many things I try to improve my results lead no where [like in a maze when you go down deadends].

 

[Darkside]

Howdy, don't want to derail this thread.
But where can you buy the electronic target system. Thanks

 

[Homerange]

Howdy, don't want to derail this thread.
But where can you buy the electronic target system. Thanks

Look for a Shot Marker which seem to be the most popular.

 

[Sandstorm]

adam

But where can you buy the electronic target system

adamjmac@gmail.com
Contact Adam and he will take care of you.

 

[newbieshooter]

Howdy, don't want to derail this thread.
But where can you buy the electronic target system. Thanks

ShotMarker

The electronic target for everyone. by Adam MacDonald Order Now ShotMarker changes the way we shoot at long range. Attach the sensors to your frame and receive instant feedback on your mobile device, at any range, as long as the bullet is supersonic at the target. Using 8 high precision MEMS...

autotrickler.com

 

[Steve Donlon]

You are lucky to have your mentors but it's not so bad learning on your own. I Iearned from guys like Ken Waters and his information on the 30-06 loads that won at the Air Force Cup back in the day, the Sierra 190 MK bullet. 52.5 grs. IMR 4350. I started with a BAR 30-06 with open sights and shot it every where and learned how to reload. Then I was hooked. It does take longer but it has been fun and satisfying to learn from mistakes.

FYI Ken Waters wrote VOL.1 and VOL.2 for Handloader Magazine. Vol.1 with load data and history for 218 Bee to .30-40 Krag and VOL.2 goes from the 30-06 to the 50-70 government and pistols from 32 acp to 45 Colt. I left out the in 1966 at Camp Perry the 30-06 won with Lake City Army ammo using a 174 gr FMJ bullet with 47.2 grs. of IMR 4895. If you have never read these volumes, they have a lot of information on the old cartridges and reloading tips for them. They are called PET LOADS. vol.1 and 2 https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Loads-Complete-Ken-Waters/dp/1879356643 this shows all it covers

 

[Codyway]

Bass boats
Harleys
Airplanes
Horses
Even Golf when you include a few out of town trips with the buddies
Priced a fully outfitted big game hunt lately?
The list goes on
All cost just as much as precision shooting. It's just a matter of what you enjoy and want to spend your disposable income on

 

[ebb]

owl eating tootsie pop - Search Videos

www.bing.com

 

[cwebster]

Bass boats
Harleys
Airplanes
Horses
Even Golf when you include a few out of town trips with the buddies
Priced a fully outfitted big game hunt lately?
The list goes on
All cost just as much as precision shooting. It's just a matter of what you enjoy and want to spend your disposable income on

If it's got tits or tires, flies or floats, it's gonna cost you.