1 Mile Club!

Tim

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No, not THAT 1 mile club...

I joined the 1 Mile Club today! I took Mike Sexton's basic Precision Rifle class today and had an absolute blast! Great class.

I have never taken a gun training class of any sort (outside of the Navy) and saw this one pop up earlier in the week. I know Mike has a good rep as a trainer, and I had an open day, so I decided to jump in.

Classroom time of about 2.5 hours covered the basics (it's an intro class after all), but I learned quite a bit about weather meters, bag selection, bi-pod setups, etc. that I hadn't considered before.

We hit the range right at noon and immediately started banging steel. The host range was Clinton House Plantation in Clinton, SC. They have a KD range with a ton of 1-3MOA steel from 300-1,000 yards. We got a bunch of practice calling the wind and watching the trace as we each (5 students) took turns walking out to the 1,000 line. One of the most important things I learned was how to 'true' my load in Strelok. After I trued at 500 yards, I didn't miss the 3MOA targets all the way out to 1,000. My first shots ever at 1,000 went 3/3.

Once we had that dialed in, we pulled back to the 1MOA targets and really got good at watching trace and practicing the fundamentals. Challenging, but I was able to make consistent hits on the 1MOA stuff out to distance.

Normally, that range only offers 1,000, but Mike had set up a 24x48 fixed with a Magneto Flasher out to 1,760 yards. I took me 9 shots, but I ended up being the only one to hit it! To say I was pumped is an understatement. To be fair, all of the credit goes to Mark Link, co-instructor, for calling the windage correction.

Rifle:
Savage FCP-SR 6.5 Creedmoor - bone stock barrel, trigger, action
Omega suppressor
MDT HS3 chassis
Burris XTR II 5-25 with SCR Mil reticle
20MOA base
200yd zero
Hand loaded Hornady 140gr ELD-M over 41.2gr RL-17 and a base-to0ogive of 1.9"

For the 1 mile shot, I had to add 24.7 MIL to the 200yd zero and hold 2MIL windage. I ran out of adjustment on the reticle and had to hold 8Mil.

That's Mark in the picture.

1mileshot.jpg

83E43018-425F-41A6-8725-02E83278181D.jpeg
 
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Awesome!

Congrats, it's a giddy feeling ain't it. Lol
 
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OH...I forget in my write up the best part of the day. After wrapping up at the KD range, we went over the the unknown distance range. We were given about 15 minutes to range and calc our adjustments for 8 or 9 targets from 150 to 940 yards. We were given the target size (10x15, 20x30, etc.) and nothing else. From there we had to use our reticles and the info we learned in class to figure out our solutions.

After the 15 minutes, we engaged across the hood of an old truck to see how close we were. Most got very close on the yardage. I was able to hit the 940 (20x30 IDPA style silhouette) after 2 adjustments for wind calls.

This was by far my favorite part of the class. If I get into match shooting, being able to calc ranges will be critical.
 
What does watching trace mean?
 
What does watching trace mean?

Using a quality spotting scope or binoculars steadied on a tripod, you can actually WATCH the bullet as it travels down range. So, you have a shooter on the rifle and a spotter on the binos/spotting scope. The spotter can actually see the disturbance in the air as the bullet travels down range. It's pretty cool. By watching trace, you can actually see the correction that's needed without relying on seeing the impact in dirt/woods.


 
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Using a quality spotting scope or binoculars steadied on a tripod, you can actually WATCH the bullet as it travels down range. So, you have a shooter on the rifle and a spotter on the binos/spotting scope. The spotter can actually see the disturbance in the air as the bullet travels down range. It's pretty cool. By watching trace, you can actually see the correction that's needed without relying on seeing the impact in dirt/woods.
I've done that with a 22LR with a 36X scope.
At first I didn't know what I was seeing.
Cool when I figured out it was the bullet.
I was shooting at 50 yards, after I figured it out I started shooting at 100 which was the longest range they had.
 
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Using a quality spotting scope or binoculars steadied on a tripod, you can actually WATCH the bullet as it travels down range. So, you have a shooter on the rifle and a spotter on the binos/spotting scope. The spotter can actually see the disturbance in the air as the bullet travels down range. It's pretty cool. By watching trace, you can actually see the correction that's needed without relying on seeing the impact in dirt/woods.



That was so cool!!!
 
First time I watched bullet disturbance I had to go to the bathroom
 
Sounded like a great day.

Congrats on the accomplishment!
 
Great range plus great instruction does not always guarantee great results. The single variable is also a great student. You were that. Great results equal Big Fun. Ima betcha you Really had a good time.
 
I used to pot shot swamp rats back home that big with my T1. No biggie.

Good deal Tim. Nothing like hitting a target from a distance.
 
OH...I forget in my write up the best part of the day. After wrapping up at the KD range, we went over the the unknown distance range. We were given about 15 minutes to range and calc our adjustments for 8 or 9 targets from 150 to 940 yards. We were given the target size (10x15, 20x30, etc.) and nothing else. From there we had to use our reticles and the info we learned in class to figure out our solutions.

After the 15 minutes, we engaged across the hood of an old truck to see how close we were. Most got very close on the yardage. I was able to hit the 940 (20x30 IDPA style silhouette) after 2 adjustments for wind calls.

This was by far my favorite part of the class. If I get into match shooting, being able to calc ranges will be critical.

You know, anyone can kit a known-size, static target at a known range, with the right training and equipment. You got both, and you did it! Excellent!! But hitting different size targets at different ranges, quickly, that takes skill and knowing how to rapidly adjust your brain and scope. Good for you!
 
Very cool. One of my old shooting buds moved to Greer and belongs to that range. He should hav taken that class.
 
.338 and .50 are no bueno. Y'all put too many holes in the steel!
I'm sure all of ya'll know this, but I'm always amazed at the folks who don't. A .338 Lapua is inferior ballistically in every bullet weight to a .338 RUM. Rum doesn't Sound as cool as Lapua.
 
I'm sure all of ya'll know this, but I'm always amazed at the folks who don't. A .338 Lapua is inferior ballistically in every bullet weight to a .338 RUM. Rum doesn't Sound as cool as Lapua.


I dunno, "Lapua" kinda sounds like what one might do after to much "RUM".
 
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