Above is the Mossberg 4x4
Long Range On A Budget
I have always
been into guns and shooting, but really started to enjoy long range shooting
when I purchased a Mossberg 4x4, 300 Win. Mag. This was a cheap feeling
gun, and the bolt was a little rough, but with the fluted barrel, and muzzle
break from the factory. This was a great starter gun, or a great truck gun for most
hunting applications. This gun also shot an incredible group at 100
yards. Just for fun I took a couple shots at a 500 yard target at our
range, and hit it after a couple tries. I was hooked.
Above is the Mossberg 4x4
Since I have gun store this gun eventually went down the road, and I started trying some other guns. I had a Marlin .308 with a long bull barrel. This was a great gun with an Accu Trigger, Heavy Barrel, and Marlin for the price makes great Actions. The down fall the .308 at 500 yards or more really starts loosing it's zip (bullet drop). I tried a .270, and I just didn't like the recoil. It kept scope eyeing me. Then there is a 30-06 a great all around old school round, but similar to the .308.
Smaller light rounds (220 Swift, 22-250, ect) are good, but can be greatly effected by wind. Also, even if a bullet zips out there at almost 4000 feet per second. That doesn't mean it will carry well at longer distances. Meaning it is very effective at 400, 500, even 600 yards, but after that it looses its inertia.
I know, I know, by now you are asking why doesn't this guy go with a 300 Rem. Ultra Mag, 338 Lapu, ect? Here's the answer plain and simple. I started watching these long range shooting programs, and they are using special calibers, custom rifles, outrageously priced optics, ammo that the price per box costs more than most people make in a day, ect. I didn't want that. I wanted to do something feasible for a person that really likes to shoot, and is on a working man's budget. This brings me back to a 300 Win. Mag. This is a very affordable, versatile round. You can get rounds from $25 a box on up. There are bullets at 150 grains or less that have great muzzle velocity, or get heavier rounds from 200 grains or more for larger North American Game. This is a very versatile affordable round.
After I decided on the 300 Win. Mag. I decided to take a Browning X-Bolt 300 Win. Mag. I already owned for hunting, and try to make it my long range shooter. This is a higher end gun with a retail of $800 to $1000, but I got a deal on this gun when I bought it, and to keep with a budget theme. This is a recycled gun. I am not going out and buying a $3000.00 gun just especially for this task. This still is my hunting rifle with a 26 inch barrel which is a plus. It had a 3x9x40 Leupold which is an awesome entry level Leupold scope. The optics are great up to 500 yards in calm weather. It is mounted with DNZ one piece rings. This is a great hunting setup, but not so great for longer ranges. I started to realize I need a mil dot scope, 30mm tube, very fine cross hairs, and adjustable windage and elevation.
Time to search for a scope. I wanted over a 15 power, and under $500 in price. This through out all the big names. After research I found an Osprey International 6x24x50 scope with a range finding reticle. This is a cheaper scope with a price up to $300. It has a lifetime warranty so I thought what the heck. I mounted the scope on a new set of high DNZ 30mm rings.
Next, I already had a NcStar bi-pod I already used off and on for this gun and other guns. This is a great little bipod for an affordable price ($45 retail). I am ready, and out to the range. It sited in great at 100 yards, and the scope held true. I put about two boxes ammo through it. I started to realize that if I am going to really start experimenting allot with this gun, and shooting allot of ammo I need a muzzle break. Off to the gun smith. I had a muzzle break put on, and my 300 Win. Mag now kicks like a .243. What a difference.
The total to date is an already owned gun, a $65 set of rings, a $300 scope, and $160 invested in a muzzle break. This is not to bad for a gun that is consistently hitting a 6 inch plate at just over 500 yards, with hand loaded 168 grain boat tail Speer bullets. I stepped it out to 700 yards later that day and the bullet drop is not bad, and we were holding pretty good considering the gusty winds that started picking up, and eventually ended the day of shooting.
Back again, I have been able to get out a couple times to play with the Browning. Most of the time it was very windy, but I was able to get out to 900 yards and test elevations. It was a windy couple days, but I didn't care about the wind as much as I did about the drop. I found I could easily adjust for the elevation in my scope without using the mil dot. Still windy, so I will have to wait for another day to stretch it out further.
O.K., I finally got a nice day to get out and shoot. We found a nice hill side that has silty top soil so we can spot the misses, and walk it in. I welded a 2'X2' target out of 1/8 inch plate. We set it up, put the Jeep in 4X4 and took of across the flats. We drove until we hit another hill side which would have appeared to be a miles, but turned out to only be .7 of a mile. This is 1200 yards +/-. I took eleven shots, and though I only hit it once with probably 40 feet of elevation. We drove up and checked the target after I knocked it over, and found out I hit it twice. The 168 grain Speer Hollow Point Boat Tails were penetrating the targets.
We then searched for a place to reach further, and found by re-angling the target we could drive out further. We reached a little over one mile on the odometer, so we were +/- one mile away from a two foot target. I had to turn my scope down to 8 power to get the elevation out of my rifle, which was about 90 feet. I took 13 shots total at it, and towards the last I hit just inches below it judging from the dust, so I recalculated. I shot and didn't see any dust, but the target didn't fall over. I was frustrated, and tried a couple more shots until I found out I'm not the best re-loader, and a casing got stuck in the chamber and I couldn't get it out. That ended the shooting. We drove back to the target, and come to find out I hit the one time I didn't see any dust.
So long story short. With a tricked out hunting rifle, shitty hand loaded bullets, and a spotter with 40 year old binoculars. You can hit a target at around a mile if you aren't afraid to try. We didn't use any bullet drop calculators, wind measuring devices, ect. Just good old redneck trial and error. This was a great way to spend a morning, and find out that money doesn't always buy you accuracy.
