Maddysdad -
Howdy !
After Shooting “Soyheanus Digestus “ for decades, I finally resolved to shoot one @ at least 500yd.
Killed one @ 510 on my first attempt, and was incredulous that I did not try that range; sooner. I resolved that I would try for a 1,000yd kill w/ a
dedicated 1,000yd - capable rifle/ chambering before I even had the chamber emptied of the fired case.
My 510yd kill was made shooting from a 24” Hart SS .224” cal 1-14,
chambered in my .22-35 Remington wildcat. That rifle has a straight
1.325” bull barrel.....same diam as my Wichita WBR1375 action; and Ken Burns converted 2oz trigger. The stock was originally a Bishop walnut/walnut lam. With 6.5 X 20 Leupold, the rifle weighed 17lb +.
The 510 yd shot was taken w/ the rifle after Fred Sinclair had the barrel
re-contoured to a benchrest taper, and placed the barreled action in a McMillan M-70 stock. The rifle still weighed 16lb scoped, if I recall.
The load was 41.6gr VV160 FED Magnum Rilfe Macth and prototype of Hornady’s ( then ) upcoming 55”V-Max”. Vel was an easy cruizin’
3,690fps, not max for the gun....but superbly accurate & deadly.
For my idea of a 1,000yd groundhog rifle, I chambered in my .22-35 Rem wildcat again, but using a 28” K&P SS 1-8 5-groove Palma. I went 28” thinking that was the max length I could go, and still have my 14.75” LOP
Wichita set-up fit in an “ Airglide “. Turns out, 29” woulda fit.
I shot 75”A-Max” in it exclusively, my chosen accuracy/field load being
40.5gr AA3100 FED LR Match; yielding 3,420fps. Again, not a max load;
but still one giving me great accuracy and useful terminal effects.
History repeated itself when I waited too long to try for a 1,000yd kill on a groundhog, and I moved from NE Indiana before ever taking that shot.
Now.... were I to try for that shot these days:
I have moved from using .224” cal for varmint shooting... now having gone to using 6mm. This was mostly driven by it being easier for my eyes to make out 6mm bullet holes on paper, at ranges like 300yd + .
My current go-to varmint/target rifle is the same Wichita single shot benchrest action, now w/ a Jewel 2oz; and sporting a 29” Broughton
SS 6mm 1-8 5C-rifled Palma. I made my own barrel-clamp style stock, using a thick walled extruded aluminum “I” beam... oriented as an “H” section. For end and butt stock are fashioned from composite deck board pieces. Ken Ferrel 20moa base and 4-screw rings along w/ 2X-boosted
T-36 bring gun wt up to 16lb.
The rifle is chambered in my “DEEP 6” wildcat, and would be the rifle I’d use for a 1,000yd + varmint kill; once the opportunity avails itself.
DEEP 6 has 51.2gr H2O capacity. Right now, I’d be going out the door
w/ a load of Sierra 95T-Mk over 43.7gr RL-22 and FED Large Magnum Rifle Match. I’m working on replacing RL-22 w/ either RL -23, -25; or -26.
Range trials to continue, once the range I use opens back up.
All-up, rifle wt is 16lb. Recoil w/ my chosen load is modest. I shoot the “beam” rifle w/o any recoil pad.
IMHO - a 1,000yd varmint rifle will be shot from a fixed position.
A spot likely driven-to, and not excessively hiked-to. In these circumstances.......gun wt can be rather hefty; if desired.
I think it more likely these days that my 1,000yd varmint kill will end up being made on a PD. I hope to retire this year, which would make a PD trip w/ my best friend at last plausible.
Comparing a notional .250 Savage chambered varmint rifle shooting Sierra’s .25 cal ELD-X. to one chambered in DEEP 6 shooting my load using their 95T-MK..... it’d take a rifle wt of around 25lb to keep recoil levels matched to those presented by the DEEP 6 @ 16lb ( when using rifle wt as the principal offset to recoil forces ). That would mean something like a 31” 1.375” straight bull barrel on the Wichita action, and a fairly hefty stock.
The long-ish .25 cal barrel would also be needed to give the .250-3000 chambering & bore enough Expansion Ratio to reach a velocity threshold that would give me 450 ft lb @ 1,000yd. That is an energy threshold level I use as a guide, for a groundhog rifle/ chambering applied @ any distance.
For me, shooting .300win Mag as a varmint rifle holds little appeal.
But hey....that’s just me.
YRMV.
With regards,
357Mag
357Mag
