Thanks for sharing Greg...that looks like a lot of fun.
We all have to have our "thing" and you seem like myself that when you find your "thing" you do it right. It's been years since I've shot anything but have always been around guns and shooting and maybe some day I'll pick it back up again. Super cool that you have a place to do it at so convenient, like racing, a lot of us are NOT that lucky in that regard.
YOU have three of the largest ranges -- best run as well I might add -- right there!!! Mesa has a fantastic range!! I was going there every other day last Feb / March....
I enjoy the long range stuff myself. With my hunting rifle that's 500 yards with off the shelf ammo. Fairly consistent on a 12" gong. That's really the lethal range of my 30-06 on a deer anyway. I have the Leupold CDS system and it works great on a hunting rifle.
I have a friend up North that kills Elk and Deer at 750 yards dead, but that's with a 300 WSM and a break. I had no desire to carry around a gun in the field with a muzzle break and I don't enjoy the kick of a 300 mag so I stuck with a 30-06 with no break. I can shoot it on the range and it's still enjoyable. Muzzle breaks are really hard on your hearing and I'm not wearing ear protection in the field.
When I moved to Chicago and lived in an apartment, I had to suspend my car hobby. I had to tinker with something, and since I worked at Gat Guns, I started modifying rifles in my spare time. It is so similar to cars, in the sense that you start with a "stock" gun, add a few pieces here and there, and the gun becomes better and better. You can also go all out with the aftermarket action, custom from the get-go build. Like cars, you can keep it relatively inexpensive, or you can get into guns that cost 10's of thousands of dollar.
Now I'm back in South Dakota, and I can drive 5 minutes to shoot up to 1000 yards. Great place to be if you appreciate guns, whether it be for hunting or long range practice. There is a few well known manufactures of ammunition, rifles, and stocks here.
I, sadly, don't have time to shoot like I used to. I do love rimfires the most, it's cheaper and shrinks down the necessary yardage. A 200-300 yard shot with a .22 is like shooting 700-1000 with a high caliber, except at a fraction of the cost and time to retrieve targets.
When I moved to Chicago and lived in an apartment, I had to suspend my car hobby. I had to tinker with something, and since I worked at Gat Guns, I started modifying rifles in my spare time. It is so similar to cars, in the sense that you start with a "stock" gun, add a few pieces here and there, and the gun becomes better and better. You can also go all out with the aftermarket action, custom from the get-go build. Like cars, you can keep it relatively inexpensive, or you can get into guns that cost 10's of thousands of dollar.
Now I'm back in South Dakota, and I can drive 5 minutes to shoot up to 1000 yards. Great place to be if you appreciate guns, whether it be for hunting or long range practice. There is a few well known manufactures of ammunition, rifles, and stocks here.
I, sadly, don't have time to shoot like I used to. I do love rimfires the most, it's cheaper and shrinks down the necessary yardage. A 200-300 yard shot with a .22 is like shooting 700-1000 with a high caliber, except at a fraction of the cost and time to retrieve targets.
It's a blast!
I have a Tactical Solutions .22 with a Hogue stock - NightForce NXS 2.5 X 10 and a GemTech GM-22 Suppressor...... That is one of the most fun guns to shoot in my entire lineup!!! I absolutely love that little rifle!!
I like to group it (best you can with .22 ammo) at 100 yds - then we have steel silhouettes at 175 and 225 up the hill behind the 100 yard flat line stuff..... I love plinking those two guys! And then ---- there's clay remnants laying on the hill -- and I take aim at a piece and keep shooting the smaller and smaller piece until it's gone - then choose another one! LOL
This was at the McMillan Firearms Long Range course I took (Near Phoenix) -- this pic shows our position and the 12" by 12" (one MOA) target we were shooting at. Surprisingly -- many of the shooters - even after a 4 day class - just couldn't ring it. I didn't find it hard at all..... but it does take some trigger control and some breathing and getting behind the gun etc.
This was at the McMillan Firearms Long Range course I took (Near Phoenix) -- this pic shows our position and the 12" by 12" (one MOA) target we were shooting at. Surprisingly -- many of the shooters - even after a 4 day class - just couldn't ring it. I didn't find it hard at all..... but it does take some trigger control and some breathing and getting behind the gun etc.
1200 yards uphill in the mountains is pretty impressive.
I have a Ruger precision rifle in 6.5 creedmoor
that I have a Vortex Razor gen 2 5-25 that shoots sub MOA at the Sacramento Valley gun range on their 1000 yard range.
My favorite to shoot is my AR-15 with a 6.5 Grendel 20" Bear Creek Armory upper with a Primary Arms 4-14x44 ACSS scope. Shooting factory ammo at or below MOA at 1000 yards with an $800 rifle is pretty fun.
1200 yards uphill in the mountains is pretty impressive.
I have a Ruger precision rifle in 6.5 creedmoor
that I have a Vortex Razor gen 2 5-25 that shoots sub MOA at the Sacramento Valley gun range on their 1000 yard range.
My favorite to shoot is my AR-15 with a 6.5 Grendel 20" Bear Creek Armory upper with a Primary Arms 4-14x44 ACSS scope. Shooting factory ammo at or below MOA at 1000 yards with an $800 rifle is pretty fun.
Ruger and Savage have both put out great bolt action rifles that are amazing. I had a Savage 10 BA Stealth.... and that rifle could shoot! I had put my NightForce B.E.A.S.T. scope on it (5 X 25).
What I notice the most from switching to the HEAVY Surgeon/McMillan built rifle is the follow up. This rifle weighs so much that the recoil is really minimized - and at long range, I can see my own hits. Makes it nice when I'm at the range without a spotter. I couldn't do that with the Savage.... it just jumped too much.
I have a NEMO ARMS XO (6.5 Creedmoor) with the steel barrel - and while it shoots great - I can't reach out there and spot for myself.
I have switched to the heavier Hornady 147gr ELD Match rounds from the 140gr. Where I shoot - it's really fluky winds - and the heavier the round - the better. And while 7gr doesn't sound like a lot - I'll still always choose the heaviest round I can get.
I can't claim that I can shoot "sub MOA" groups -- because we're shooting steel - and nobody is hiking up these hills to put fresh paint on them. LOL ---- but I have found that I can choose an "area" on the target and shoot it repeatedly. Lets say -- I decide to call out "bottom left" -- I can nail that call. Our steel is 24" X 24" for the most part -- so at 1000 yards -- that's 2.4 MOA
Great thread, I am enjoying the reading. I am not a great shot, i had to learn while in the military. I taught my daughters to shoot while they were teens, they can out-shoot me.
From back in the day, Mt Fuji, Japan, qualifying.
As you can see by the rifle, and the olive drab I am pretty old
We did actually have M16's in training. I guess this base was just so far out in the sticks they didn't have a budget
When I moved to Chicago and lived in an apartment, I had to suspend my car hobby. I had to tinker with something, and since I worked at Gat Guns, I started modifying rifles in my spare time. It is so similar to cars, in the sense that you start with a "stock" gun, add a few pieces here and there, and the gun becomes better and better. You can also go all out with the aftermarket action, custom from the get-go build. Like cars, you can keep it relatively inexpensive, or you can get into guns that cost 10's of thousands of dollar.
Now I'm back in South Dakota, and I can drive 5 minutes to shoot up to 1000 yards. Great place to be if you appreciate guns, whether it be for hunting or long range practice. There is a few well known manufactures of ammunition, rifles, and stocks here.
I, sadly, don't have time to shoot like I used to. I do love rimfires the most, it's cheaper and shrinks down the necessary yardage. A 200-300 yard shot with a .22 is like shooting 700-1000 with a high caliber, except at a fraction of the cost and time to retrieve targets.
It's a blast!
The sweet little (and locally made in Boise) Tactical Solutions .22...... This is so accurate - and never fails to feed -- just a wonderful piece!
Even the girls can get in to it !! Here's Adrienne's birthday gift -- a Black Rain Ordnance in "Muddy Girl" camo... popping the 525 yarder with first round hit. That rifle had a Vortex 1 X 6 Razor colored to match -- but I just pulled that off and put on a Vortex Viper 6 X 24 - it's better for the longer stuff.
I love Basher's comment in the background (he was taking video)
That was a great weekend and I had a blast with the pee shooters, perfect way to spend an afternoon.
I imagine the real talent comes when you can ring a target at 1500, 1000 and 7-800yds in one sitting. Like the pistol competition you do, do they have long range events as well?
Lucky for someone, I can’t seem to find the good picture of Adrienne’s Black Rain Ordnance...
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
Hybrid Mode
