I've been shooting most of my life and in the past year I've gotten interested in long range shooting. I'm getting ready to try some 1000yd. I can hold 1/2" or a little less at 100 and around 1" at 200 no problem. I've shot a good bit at 450 and can usually hold around 6". My rifle is a 700 SPS Varmint in .308, restocked with an H-S Varmnit stock. I have a Bushnell Elite 4200 Tactical 6-24x50 with a 30mm tube. It's mounted in Ken Farrell rings on a Ken Farrell 20moa base. My load is a 168 Matchking in Gold Medal brass with 43.6gr of 4064 and CCI benchrest primers. I'll be shooting off of a Caldwell Rock rest or a Harris bi-pod. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
need help with 1000yd shooting
- Thread starter km71107
- Start date
Go to a 1,000 yd. Match and talk to as many as you can. Go to the range the afternoon before the match and ask for help getting sighted in.
Bryan Litz Ballistics
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Your equipment all looks good to go except the bullet. Those 168's will shoot great at short/medium range, but they will fail miserably at 1000 yards at the velocities you can achieve with your rifle.
Much better is a 175 grain class projectile. Many shooters do well at 1000 yards with rifles like yours, but not with the 168 SMK.
To be clear, it's not the weight that's a problem, it's the unique design of the 168 SMK that causes a dynamic instability, and poor performance at long range. Ballistic programs are not able to predict the problem, but it's there. The 168 Berger VLD doesn't have this problem, so it may be worth a try. The Nosler 168 CC is a carbon copy of the Sierra bullet, so I recommend against that one at long range as well.
I'm sure you'll get more good advice on here, but I'd suggest loading up some different bullets and giving it a go.
One item of importance at long range that's not so much of an issue at short range is velocity variation. A chronograph is an important tool for long range load development. You want your muzzle velocity variation to be as low as possible to minimize vertical dispersion at long range.
Good luck and welcome to a challenging and rewarding branch of shooting!
-Bryan
Much better is a 175 grain class projectile. Many shooters do well at 1000 yards with rifles like yours, but not with the 168 SMK.
To be clear, it's not the weight that's a problem, it's the unique design of the 168 SMK that causes a dynamic instability, and poor performance at long range. Ballistic programs are not able to predict the problem, but it's there. The 168 Berger VLD doesn't have this problem, so it may be worth a try. The Nosler 168 CC is a carbon copy of the Sierra bullet, so I recommend against that one at long range as well.
I'm sure you'll get more good advice on here, but I'd suggest loading up some different bullets and giving it a go.
One item of importance at long range that's not so much of an issue at short range is velocity variation. A chronograph is an important tool for long range load development. You want your muzzle velocity variation to be as low as possible to minimize vertical dispersion at long range.
Good luck and welcome to a challenging and rewarding branch of shooting!
-Bryan
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