Florida Shooters Network

Went out this morning to do some long range shooting today with several friends.

One guy was a new rifle shooter but others were experienced long range shooters... I fit somewhere in between these extremes as I have shot before but mostly to 400 yards.

I took my Rem 700 VS in 308 with Nikon Monarch 4-16 scope. Other had mostly Rem 700 but also a Savage 110 and Winchester 70. All were 308 caliber except one Rem 700 in .223 and a Savage in 30-06. Scopes ranged from my lowly Nikon Monarch to couple of Leupold Mk 4 and three NF high power scopes. My ammo was Federal GM 175gr. but others all shot their handloads.

To warm up, we all shot at 200 yards to check our equipments and to check the sights. We all got to try other's rifle that interested us and talked a bit about how any why of each rifle. At this range most guys were shooting sub 1" groups without too much problem. Towards the end of our session at 200 yards the Savage rifle started to develop problems with the Accu-trigger. The solution was just to increase the trigger weight and there was no more problem.

At 400 yards shooting became more difficult but couple good shooters were consistantly shooting 2"-2.5" groups. I didn't do as well and got a 3" and 3.5" group. At 400 yards I learned about eye fatigue. My eyes were getting tired from looking through the scope for long period of time. I had to take my eye off the scope frequently to rest them. I looked though one of the NF scope for a while and could tell that the clearer image from the NF scope didn't fatigue my eye as much. The best group at 400 yards was shot with the lowest power scope. A Rem 700 with 10X Mk4 shot two groups of under 2". I guess high magnification is good but sharp and clear view is more important.

At 650 yards we decided to shoot steel plates as it was too far to go check targets. We had set up two 8" round plates, two 12" round plates, two 12"x18" plates and a 24"x24" plate. I didn't trust my shooting enough at such long range so I started on the 24x24" plate. It took me 3 shots to get on the plate... right in the center. I managed to get 2 more on the plate with next two rounds without problem (but not in the center). I moved down to 12" plate and managed to hit it on the second try. I made some adjustments and then managed to hit 3 out of 4 times. Just about this time the wind started blowing harder across the range. On the 8" plate I managed to hit it 3 out of 6 times. At 650 yards I can see that my scope was at the outer limits of it capability as the targets were not very clear. Again, my eye was getting fatigued frequently. With one of the other scope I could see the target much clearer and brighter… it made a big difference. With scopes, I guess you do get what you paid for. Couple of good shooters were hitting the 8” plate with every shot despite the cross wind.

We had planned on staying out for about 2 or 3 hours but ended up staying almost 5 hours. We each shot about 60 rounds all together. The weather was great and I got to learn a lot. Getting 6.5” groups at 650 yards was a lot more difficult than getting 1” groups at 100 yards.

We’ll go do it again soon.

Sounds like a fine day shooting.
Seems like everybody had the same idea. I went to the rifle range today and never got to get past the 75 yard line. The place was packed.
Nice weather brought everyone out today.

Where did you go to shoot? I'd love to stretch my .270 out farther than the 100 yards Markham has. Aside from the fact that range is a PITA.

Is there a range here close to us or a gravel pit where we can shoot?

Where was this? I am dying to shoot the PSL out past 100.

Where~!??

Wonderful day of practice. I do that often at the Manatee Co. Gun Club. There you can shoot to 1,000 yards but most of my practice "just" goes to 600.

Surprised your guys could shoot so well at those ranges. Most I see shoot are more"dufus" than shooter. You guys must have custom rifles, tuned ammo and a lot of bench experience to do that well.

That practice pays off. I just took an 8 pt, a 14 pt. and does to 360 yards in Georgia last week. Literally everyone else at my camp has almost no chance at longer ranges.

Didn't realize many even posted here so I have mostly ignored this area. Will have to watch more.

This "range" is an open field and not an official shooting range.
The property belongs to a good friend's employer and there are couple people who are authorized by the owner to shoot there. Nobody else is allowed to shoot there. We can shoot 440 yards max on one side and 650 yards diagonally and there is a 50' x 12' earth berm at the corner where we shoot into.

captainmal wrote:Surprised your guys could shoot so well at those ranges. Most I see shoot are more"dufus" than shooter. You guys must have custom rifles, tuned ammo and a lot of bench experience to do that well.

Most of us have some experience ranging from me, who has only shot long range (400+ yards) several times per year in last 5 years to several guys who have been doing it regularly for 10-25+ years. Our equipment range from my lowly factory stock Remington 700VS with Nikon Monarch scope to several custom built "long range tactial" rifles with scopes that are thousands of dollars. I was shooting Federal Gold Match ammo while another fellow shot Remington Match ammo but rest were shooting tuned handloads.