600 yard question

[prologr]

Why is 600 the standard for competition and not 500 or another yardage?

 

[Mulligan]

Mid range F-Class is shot at 300, 500, and 600 yards. Many shooters do not like to move their gear for each yardage so many ranges just shoot 600 because it is the most challenging (in theory).
CW

Edit
I have no idea why benchrest is 600 and 1000?

 

[Dave Marshall]

I would imagine it began as the maximum range due to limitations of rifles and ammunition at the time. It became tradition while arms and ammo improved over the decades.

There’s also only so much open space left for rifle ranges.

 

[rardoin]

I would imagine it began as the maximum range due to limitations of rifles and ammunition at the time. It became tradition while arms and ammo improved over the decades.

There’s also only so much open space left for rifle ranges.

The original Creedmoor Cup was fired at 800, 900, 1000yds.........in 1874!

 

[Warren Dean]

The original Creedmoor Cup was fired at 800, 900, 1000yds.........in 1874!

On a beach, no less.

 

[OLeveraction]

600 yrd is closest to 500 meters like the rest of the world shoots.

I don't know that but maybe that is it/

 

[mongo chicago]

NRA High power Bullseye is 200, 300, & 600 yds. Why not ask them why they settled on 600 yards? It's been that way for as long as I can remember.

 

[kzin]

Shooting | History of Target Shooting, Guns & Competitive Events | Britannica

Shooting, the sport of firing at targets of various kinds with rifles, handguns (pistols and revolvers), and shotguns as an exercise in marksmanship. Shooting at a mark as a test of skill began with archery, long before the advent of firearms (c. 1300). Firearms were first used in warfare and later

www.britannica.com

This says the British army set 600 yards as a benchmark for arms research around 1800.
Doesn't say why. Probably about the max for getting a useful number of hits on man size targets.
Way too early for a metric standard.
As mentioned Palma long range was out to about 1000 yards in the 1800s
Maybe 600 survived as standard 'midrange' for more than two centuries now.

 

[INTJ]

Also, during WW-II, the US Military built a lot of firing ranges out to 600 yds so that is what was commonly available.

 

[Ned Ludd]

As compared to shooting at 500 yd, shooting at 600 yd is like having a guitar amplifier that goes to "11" (Spinal Tap).

 

[eric n]

Why is 600 yds harder then 500yds?
300 isn’t a whole lot harder then 2. 400isn’t that much harder then 300 and 500 isn’t that much harder then 400.
Why does it fall apart (relatively) at 600?

 

[Dub]

600 is a real test. It is what it is. Shoot it, enjoy it

 

[Devin Wiggett]

To say that 300 isn't a difficult target isn't necessary true, drop a point and your hosed. Putting 20 rounds into 1.5 inch x ring on a large open range like Raton or Phoenix is no easy task. Add to that shoot 2 to a mound and after 5 shots the X ring is blown out. Suffice to say I'm glad we only shoot 600 for mid range. You can't win a match at 300 but you sure can loose it.

 

[gme]

the targets and the course of fire has changed quite a bit over the years, 600 yards was and has always been only one yardage competitions have been shot at, some history;
http://www.odcmp.org/1102/inc_1904.asp

 

[chkunz]

Why is 600 yds harder then 500yds?
300 isn’t a whole lot harder then 2. 400isn’t that much harder then 300 and 500 isn’t that much harder then 400.
Why does it fall apart (relatively) at 600?

Look at the trajectory, vertical and win drift between 500 and 600. It seems like there is a lot going on between 500 and 600 yards.