What made you interested in long range shooting?

I got into long range shooting naturally. I grew up hunting and shooting. I've been hunting since the mid 80's (had to be 12 in Idaho back then), but I was shooting earlier than that. The problem was my dad believed I needed to master open sights before I could use a scope. Because I missed a lot (I was pretty good but not perfect) I didn't pay attention to proper mechanics. Looking back I don't think my dad knew them well either. He was a good dude but when he was young they did deer drives and never shot over a 100 yards so long range never entered his mind.

I joined the military and learned to shoot an M16A1. I was impressed with longer shots and learned some mechanics. After separation and moving home I took up hunting again. The areas I hunt elk are cross canyon. Typically, I find the elk in the timber in areas that would require getting with about 40 yards for a rifle shot. I decided this wasn't effective so I learned to shoot. I started shoot 800 - 1000 yards on 10 inch gongs which made 600 - 709 yards on an average bull elk look like the side of a barn.

Back to the open sight thing I mentioned earlier. When my children were small I read that starting them out on a scope was better and moving them to open sights was the way to go. It had to do with making shooting easier and the begging and building confidence. I followed that motto. I had an old bolt action .22 and I put a scope on it. I taught them the proper mechanics for long range shooting. As the years have gone by I have become a proficient elk quart packer for my kids. It has been fantastic watching them surpass me with their marksmanship. Now they shoot soon sights (at the range) for fun and we compete in ballon challenges. What a great time.

I chose this forum years ago for two reasons. 1). The name says it all Long Range Hunting. I expected there to be a wealth of knowledge here and I was right. I rarely post, but I creep through many of the postings greening information from all of you. I also apply a lot of that information and determine what works best and what doesn't. 2). I feel safe to post here and not have people attack my opinions in an unprofessional way. What I mean is I feel many on this sight can have a healthy debate and I encourage that. It's how we grow, but to be contrary just because one can is not something I was looking for. Folks on this forum genus only seem to care.

That's my two cents and reasons I got into long range shooting. I love that I can settle behind my rifle and knock down an elk at 700 and not think twice about it. I love the time I have with my kids (all adults now) and know they will pass this on to their kids should they decide to procreate. All of you have a pleasure and thank you to everybody who posts on here. I keep learning everyday.
 
More for history buffs - this was the last of the Indian Wars -in the 1870's - caused in no small part by white settlers encrouching on treaty land - broken promises, Indians not adapting well to settled Village life, etc - and was quite similar to Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce in NW Oregon.

America was still fascinated by tales from the Wild West - and these last two wars received daily coverage in papers such as the NY Times.


 
I have been a shooter and hunter all my life. Started shooting a .22 Bearcat pistol when I was 4 with my dads assistance.
It wasn't until I saw Shawn Carlock's video back in 2008 or so that I had a burning desire to do what I saw in that video.
The farthest distance I ever shot at was 300 yards and I thought that was ridiculous (I missed the entire paper). Now I've been shooting distance and doing a match or two for the last 11-12 years.
Thank you Mr. Carlock for the addiction.
Although my bank account cusses you!
Haha
 
Why LR?

Several years ago I started working with vets wounded in our recent wars when Mossy Oak came to our ranch to film two of our events.
I was immediately addicted to this cause when I had the honor to guide Col. Larry Gerlach (google him) on a Rio Grand Turkey hunt in remembrance of the 30th anniversary of the Marines barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon. Larry has been in a wheelchair ever since, and is one of the most humble and thankful men I have ever known!

We did turkey hunts on the ranch for several years, but it seemed that these Afghan vets only wanted to "Play" with their toys after the morning hunt. (Toys = Long Range Rigs!) so we built them a range out to 1200 yards and they love it!

Now, I've been hunting for 60 years, and the farthest shot I had ever taken was a Kentucky windage hope and a prayer at 400 yards and my bull was DRT, but I was never comfortable shooting out past 200 yards.

Add to that the fact that I hate math, so I didn't figure I would enjoy this sport enough to justify spending the kind of money I thought it would take to get into this game.

But, I love working with these guys, and I had a 7RM that has always shot 3/4" groups at 100 with factory ammo, so I bought a good trigger and $600 glass and began load development. When I shot my first 3" group at 600 yards in less than favorable conditions I became a lifelong addict!

I've spent lots of money on this new hobby, but the learning and friendships Long Range Shooting has brought into my life are worth it all! Oh, my 1978 model 7RM still goes to 1200 yards easily!
Good on you for taking the time for our vets. Thank You.
 
I have been a shooter and hunter all my life. Started shooting a .22 Bearcat pistol when I was 4 with my dads assistance.
It wasn't until I saw Shawn Carlock's video back in 2008 or so that I had a burning desire to do what I saw in that video.
The farthest distance I ever shot at was 300 yards and I thought that was ridiculous (I missed the entire paper). Now I've been shooting distance and doing a match or two for the last 11-12 years.
Thank you Mr. Carlock for the addiction.
Although my bank account cusses you!
Haha
Ha Ha! Shawn has a penny or two of mine as well.
 
Here is a video of Captain Jack's Stronghold - lava tubes, etc. - with lots of natural cover. At the entrance - they have an entry from a Army Lt - who says " I have had two men shot - and we haven't even seen an Indian." Great place to explore - picnic, etc. About 30 miles south of Klamath Falls - just into Cal.

 
The wait for trophy tags has gotten longer and longer in AZ. Point creep makes these tags especially hard to come by. I got tired of all the money, preperation, sweat and tears only to find the real booners just out of my reach, across canyons or open plains. without any way of stalking closer. All I could do was watch them feed over the rise. Then in 2005, I stumbled across LRH while searching for hunting sites on the internet. A whole new world of possibilities opened up to me.
 
Initially a military experience got me started. Was part of a team that took a counter sniper course. Very intrigued by all that went into the process. That turned into application for hunting predators, mainly wolves, that always seemed to present shots beyond traditional hunting range. Also, since most predators are small bodied it needed to be precision. Down the rabbit hole of precision long range I went. Since I help a buddy outfitter we do tend to get a lot of want to be long range hunters so it helps me help them. A guide who understands long range shooting can be a valuable asset to a long range client.
 
16 years ago I was on a bow elk hunt in WY. A buddy shot a bull but impacted it too far back for a quick kill. We tracked it and a local friend brought along a 7mm Rem Mag just in case (our WY tag and district were not weapon dependent). We bumped the bull, but it stopped 720 yards away. A cool as cucumber, this local lays down prone, fires and drops the bull. I decided I HAD to learn how to do that.

Ten's of thousands of dollars in rifles and loading supplies later...I am still at it. Confident at 700 for hunting with good conditions and enjoy hitting steel at 1,200.
 
My wife would say I'm obsessed. Im probably more obsessed with the process of assembling a rifle and making the ammo for it. I'm a tinkerer at heart and a perfectionist, getting bullets to hit in the same hole is very satisfying for me! It probably started when I picked up archery several years ago. I would drive myself mad trying to group arrows, ruined a lot of arrows in the process. My mindset with archery hunting was practice the long shots 80-100yds, and the 30-40's will be easy. Never intended to shoot a deer at 100yds with a bow. A few years ago I was lucky enough to harvest a few mule deer at 400ish yds, with a rifle. Both times, I missed on the first shot but was able to make the 2nd shot count. I told myself, that can't happen anymore. Ever since then I have been "obsessed" with being more proficient with my rifle. With my kids consuming a lot of my time right now, my hunting opportunities are fewer and further apart so I have to make sure I make them count.
 
Used to bow hunt a lot for several years mostly due to the woods getting a little crowded during gun season. Dozen or so years ago was setting watching some other bow hunters on the other side of the canyon (6 or 7 hundred yards away). There was a nice heard of elk with a good bull about 200 yards below them, but they obviously had no idea the elk were there. Watched it all for a half hour or so until the elk finally wandered off into the woods and the two hunters were never the wiser. Watching all of this I thought it would be cool to be able to shoot that far cause I had a great view of those elk for quite a while.
So I checked into it. I was amazed when I found out that it was possible. I also found out that long range hunting was frowned upon by what seemed like everybody I talked too. Including 600 yards target shooters!
Started gearing up and finally found my home here on the LRH forum! I am glad that LRH has become more mainstream with all the new gear and such. I'm not so shy about discussing it with anyone now and love to practice long range shooting. Good therapy!
I understand for sure! Ran into the same problem concerning Turkey guns (shotguns—chokes—shells) I even put up some YouTube videos and got hammered with some of the proposed distances turkeys could be humanly taken! Not that I would regularly take any at the range (60 to maybe even 80 yrds with some the ammo. Home combos out there today. So yea we can get into some heated discussions or if your like myself I don't even argue! It's not worth my time! Same with taking game at distances over 500 yrds. We can get to all kinds of debates over that as well! Like I know you agree with, we don't need to take shots beyond our capabilities or with ammo not suitable for those distances . But you can find a friend here in this forum when we stretch the limits and we can get help here to do it right without being hammered! Great input!
 
Economics! I saw a 338 Lapua (Savage112) that was real cheap. Couldnt resist. When I got it I asked myself, "What are you going to do with this?" Then I found out that the 50BMG ammo was half the price of 338 Lapua so I bought a 50BMG. It was simply economics.
 
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