1000m on a "budget"

Hi all

I'm sure 1000m with been done more times than I can count with less than i ended up with, but im new to the longer range malarkey so I decided to go into it naive to experience more of what is in the sport, and how little you can get away with.

Here's what I ended up with

A tikka t3 30-06 of all things. However obsolete a 30-06 apparently is in 2020 it seemed to me that it shoots a .30 cal pill a little faster than a .308, ok by me. Traded a .303 and an old lever action .44mag, for it, so it cost me around $1200 incl a bipod and all the brass ever fired in the rifle, approximately 140 bits of the finest federal.

20MOA rail, I may have gotten away without it, but 40moa up is on the limit of many scopes. $120.

Warne rings, $140, i liked how they have a decent insert that bumps hard against the peaks of the rail.

T2 muzzle brake, makes a .30cal shoot able for a softy like me $300 plus $75 fitting from a fella down the road. To be fair the muzzle brake cost me a set of electronic earmuffs, I wear muffs and plugs when I shoot a brake now, from shot #2 onwards anyhow.

Rangefinder, leupold 1300??? I think, couldn't get it to range 1000m, do I parked my wagon in the middle and ranged each side of it. $500.

Scope, second hand strike eagle, 4-24x50. Im not sure where they sit on the value for $ scale but im satisfied. $750.

Strelok $21

So the rifle ready to shoot with tools to range and get me on target cost me $3066, so not cheap, I accumulated it over 6 months so the total surprised me a bit.

I ordered some projectiles in from the local, and sent the boss lady in to grab them and some powder, and she somehow got me 500gr of ar2209 for $65!!! I'm slightly concerned as the shop we lease is 2 doors up from them, another story hopefully not.

So 7700grains per 500g 55grains per load =46cents.
178eldx 89cents each.
Federal match primers went all out for 14cents each.

1 loaded round came out at $1.49

No "load development"

Loaded 70 on Friday nite.

This morning up near Matauri Bay was miserable, rain and wind, the rain left but the wind stayed, but i didn't drive 2 hours to just have beers with a mate so 1000m had to be tried.

Sighted at 200 with 5 bullets (at $1.49 I could have splashed out)
Calculated speed by hunting a rock at 400m, verified on a rock at 300. Near enough.


Out to 1000m. Put 25kmph at 168° with 3° downward angle, strelok spat out adjustments. Dialed up the scope and let the first one go.

Target was a 550mm square of mild steel, cost me a box of the lords finest lion red. Works out yo be near enough 2MOA at 1000m.

Where the f&%$ did that go? Sent another, nope. Another, nope. After 5 I was able to see a ploughed patch so made adjustments from there, halved the windage, almost no wind farther down the valley and 2 minutes high.

After that got a 3/5 hits and called it a day with a big shit eating grin from ear to ear. Conditions and lack of experience considered, I call it a win.

What would I do differently? Bugger all, am I a great shot, nah, did I learn a sholtload being a tight arse, I think so.

Thanks all.

Oh, I bought a big bag of rice for a rear bag, worked great.

Down the rabbit hole you go.

great writeup...thankyou for the honesty of what things cost...it MAY help others trying this rabbit hole.

I think a big takeaway from this experience is that you should just do whatever you want with what you have, you dont need all the flash stuff to play in most things, have fun doing it.

And straight after that you will be down the rabbit hole, no saving you.

good write up its good to see guys putting up what they build and do on a budget ive done the same but even 500 is far enough for me at the moment. Always more interesting reading about what guys are doing with the more old school calibers as well

To begin with when I was putting this rifle together I thaught similar, 5 maybe 6 hundred meters. But then big brain larry thought "what is the difference between 600m and 1000m?"

The answer is not 400m, (it is but isn't) it is "distance" and distance is just another variable, so long as your variables are known, you can do more than you realize. But, I did cheat with a big target.

*not a big time shooter so take the above as opinion only

T

The 3006 is a great choice, muchover looked these days, but was still the main sniper rifle used by yanks in Vietnam. Another suggestion for long range gear, especially if you don’t have a spotter and mate, is a super zoom camera, like SX60 - set it up on tripod next to you and run video mode. Real easy to see trajectory and poi in the play back.
Aye, you only make the mistake of not wearing ear protection with a brake once.

You can do a lot of stuff with a bog standard 30-06, after all they throw a 30 cal projectile pretty much like any other 30 cal cartridge, maybe a little slower, maybe a little faster. Excellent write up.

My guess is it all comes down to the skill of the operator in the end. Would you do better with a dedicated LR setup? At least you can take your 3006 hunting without needing a team of bearers.��

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x021s_Pjnp4

Great write up, you must've learned a lot because I learnt from reading it :D

Missed one cost though, how much was the car? :ORLY:

When your car is 27 years old the value is negligible, but i should have included petrol costs driving to and from the target ��