Long distance target shooting

[DR Ray]

My friend Ron (inexperienced) wants to start target shooting.
He is looking 2.5km (one long.long way out).
He has a great rig in 308 but wants something suitable for the 2-2.5k
Any suggestions?
Rifle
Caliber
Bullet design
Bullet weight
Scope
Would appreciate some assistance. I suggested the 300 Winchester although Ron did try mine recently.
Then he asked about the 3:8 which suggested would belt the hell out of him lying prone especially

 

[waveslayer]

33xc 37xc or 375 cheytac. You need mono's . 300 wm won't get you even close

 

[Kansaswoodguy]

I'd re-list this in the Extreme long range forum probably get more responses your going to need some pretty specialize equipment for those ranges.

 

[ATH]

The big 338s are going to be your minimum...338 Lapua, 338 Edge.

 

[brian11]

The way the OP is worded, it sounds like the friend is inexperienced at target shooting, not super long range shooting. If in fact the OP meant the former, not the latter, trying to learn to shoot at such distances is a poor introduction to target shooting. It's like getting a 50 BMG as your first rifle. Crawl, walk, run, marathon.

Someone else just asked a similar question in another thread within the last week or maybe two. See that thread too. The answers were all pretty much what ATH said.

 

[DR Ray]

The way the OP is worded, it sounds like the friend is inexperienced at target shooting, not super long range shooting. If in fact the OP meant the former, not the latter, trying to learn to shoot at such distances is a poor introduction to target shooting. It's like getting a 50 BMG as your first rifle. Crawl, walk, run, marathon.

Someone else just asked a similar question in another thread within the last week or maybe two. See that thread too. The answers were all pretty much what ATH said.

He's experienced using 308 for the 400 m range
I'll suggest he gets more skills and gradually work out to 1 k

 

[Veteran]

He needs a .338 LM or something bigger that is capable of shooting bullets that are 250 to 300 gr and bigger that have a very high ballistic coefficient.

Heavy bullets with high ballistic coefficients are inherently going to act better out past 1000 yards to a mile or more because of wind influence on smaller low BC bullets.

Get him a heavy rifle weighing at least 15 to 20 lbs. with a very good muzzle brake to minimize recoil so he can shoot the right rifle calibers
required and withstand it.

Not saying it cant be done with 300 WM but just trying to make it easier
by design.

 

[Kansaswoodguy]

He will need a 40moa rail if he can find one and a scope with 100-140 moa of elevation adjustment. Preferably 140

 

[rsbhunter]

Go to you tube, watch "king of 2mile".... this I a comp that STARTS at 1800 yards, and goes, you guessed it, to 2 miles.....if he is serious, te!l him to put $8-$10k in his hand, go to a top notch gun smith, and talk about 408 CheyTac, 416 Barret, And some of the other " serious" long range cartridges.....The guys shooting (and being competitive) that far won't even consider A .338 caliber. This is a serious money pit to jump into....let us know what he decides on, please...rsbhunter

 

[skipglo]

If a person is going to Dream...why not Dream Big! As stated above by RSBHUNTER...if he isn't going to spend 10,000.00 to start the process...he will spend 25,000.00 soon enough replacing what isn't capable of coming close. And he should budget another 400.00 for Kool-aid ! Not saying it can't be done...just saying...a one time hit in 3000 rounds means nothing to this shooter! Oh and he'd better budget another 2500.00 - 5000.00 for a spotting scope capable of seeing any impact at that range and find a spotter that can call accurate corrections!

 

[rsbhunter]

skipglo, im not sure of the intended point of your post ?. Are you saying $10k isn't enough to get a capable 2k rig, or that trying to shoot that far, and the resulting % of hits isn't worth the investment? And to to shot/hit ratio, that is determined by the equipment and shooter capability....I always thought??? rsbhunter

 

[Reelamin]

I would have a very frank conversation and finish it with how you will help. I start newbies if willing to really listen with a 22 and iron sights. If you get one tiny amount of push back and he is committed to his plan.
Then I would take him to a 8-1000yd target with my rig and ring it a few times. Give him the rifle and happily tell him to let her loose and have fun.
Call his shots clearly and exactly. Never a little right and a little low. 15 feet right and 20 feet low with nothing else said. When his frustration shows and it will clearly and quickly offer immediate encouragement and you can help him do what you did.
Some may think it's harsh and I think it would be if you didn't help after.

 

[skipglo]

skipglo, im not sure of the intended point of your post ?. Are you saying $10k isn't enough to get a capable 2k rig, or that trying to shoot that far, and the resulting % of hits isn't worth the investment? And to to shot/hit ratio, that is determined by the equipment and shooter capability....I always thought??? rsbhunter

No Sir....I whole heartedly agreed with you! Sorry if that wasn't clear. It was a great starting point for the RIG! But we both left out the 10,000 + rounds we fired to consistently hit the 1000 yard ( or maybe it was just me...) EDIT....and I 100 % agree with your questions enclosed equipment and capabilities always!

 

[rsbhunter]

Agreed, it's like they say about boxing " everyone has a plan , til they get punched in the face". My only advice is that he's aware that shooting 2 thousand yards is possible with a great range of weapons and cartridge's......It's the probability of making a hit, or hits consistently, that the quality of all components make the cost go up exponentially..... But, it's still more fun missing at any range , than a root canal....rsbhunter