to the range. set a target standard up at 600 yards.
to the bench. 3 shots from a cold bore. though i've filled the holes in w/ silicon putty, it was a group in the form of an equilateral triangle, roughly 5" center to center of the two farthest apart holes. just in the middle of the target, about 3" below the "heart."
update, 10.14.2013. to the range, target at 600 yards. "sorta" cold bore.
shooting up old loads to make brass, specifically a load chronographed at 2520 using imr-4895. shot the 300 yard gong, to make sure the bds dial hadn't been left in the wrong position, put two additional clicks in to make up for the fact that the bds dial is calibrated on a 2600 fps muzzle velocity. whack, whack, whack, ... , dead on.
go visit. chat with the friends.
sit down to shoot at the 600 yard target, and dial up 600 yards on the scope, and add some clicks just like before. only now, i am shooting "store bought" black hills ammo w/ 168 grain sierra bthp, and forget all about the velocity differential, the black hills stuff being a bit "hotter."
shoot. down to the target, expecting to see holes in the target at appropriate points of aim. no holes. damn. an onlooker says, "too high." well, yes, he's right, it occurs to me, as i remember/realize i've added in the clicks, somewhat sheepishly: it's not as though i did it four days earlier.
take four clicks out, about 6" at that distance, maybe a bit more.
shoot three shots. a very satisfying group of 4.512" at 600 yards. ordinarily, i would be quite happy with that group. but, it points out a cold hard reality of "cold bore" shooting. at long range, you want to be on at the first shot. your quarry, if sentient, will not share your frustration at having missed him/it, and will in fact be quite happy as he/she/it scampers for safety, and a place to hide and/or shoot back.
you must be on, on the first shot, out of a cold bore. errors in dialing in the range at not forgiven.
live and learn. or, maybe don't live long enough to learn after an error this fundamental. end update.
caption: the "target" is right at 22" in height, and about 8.5" wide. 1/2 of a "person," as it were. it makes for a good aiming exercise, to have a scaled target like this, in my estimation.
well pleased. back to the bench, to see if i can repeat it.
3 more shots, w/ no particular preparation. sit down, aim and shoot. pretty quickly, no agonizing over the shots.
this time an 8" group, still not too bad at 600 yards. two shots are 2" apart, and right smack dab in the middle of the little cardboard "heart" on the silhouette. the third shot spread the group another 6" in dimension, and was low, and slightly left.
caption: reference the tape, provided for scale, and you will see that the "heart" shots are very close together. the "hip shot" is a bit errant, and i cannot tell you why?
does this mean that i could hit a man-sized target with ease at 1200 yards? nope, it doesn't. it means that aiming at one at that distance would present little problem, but "guiding" the bullet to twice the distance is quite another matter, entirely.
there are the little problems of trajectory and wind drift to account for, and hitting such a long distance target is a quantum leap in difficulty with the .308 winchester. as a practical (and practicable) matter, the .308 winchester is a dependable 800 yard rifle in skilled hands, more so in extremely skilled hands. the american military has decided that if you want to go out farther, it is best to have a .300 winchester magnum shooting 220 grain sierra's to do it.
that's a big quantum jump, in shooter skills, and in ballistic requirements.
as harry callahan is noted for saying, "a man's gotta know his limitations." and, respect them. i am about at the end of my reach, as the observation goes. another 100 yards or so, and that will do it for me, (and my equipment), i am thinking.
what happened? i don't know. when i can tell you why something happens, and i know while it happens, then i will be well on my way to some real competency in this long range shooting stuff. right now, that is a bit out of my league, beyond my reach. but, i am working on it.
john jay @ 09.12.2013
p.s. update. for some perspective on the size of the target i was shooting, the following picture.
caption: in the first picture, the "silhouette" target is shown with the tape open to about 22." in this picture above, the tape is again open as in the first picture, and you can see that the 22" spans the distance between my chin to just below my belt buckle. i am in the neighborhood of 5'8" tall, ... , not very tall, and not very short. sort of average.
thus, it will be seen that my little silhouette target is about as deep as an average man's chest and abdomen, though not so wide. my little target is about 8.5" wide, while i am right at 15" armpit to armpit.
this gives you some idea of the size of the area which may be reliably targeted by a .308 winchester rifle wielded by a relatively competent shot. well, then, why do soldiers miss adversaries shot at over these sorts of distances, or even less? i suppose it has something to do with the fact, if we consider my shooting today, that no one was shooting at me, and that my "exposure" at the shooting bench did not comprehend the risk of anyone shooting at me. that could have something to do with it, eh? end update.
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