A team of long-range shooting experts in Wyoming set what appears to be the new world record for the longest rifle shot ever completed: 7,774 yards or 4.4 miles.
Scott Austin and Shepard Humphries led the team from Nomad Rifleman, a shooting range and instruction center based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The custom bolt-action rifle was chambered in .416 Barrett, and the hand-lathed 422-grain bullet took 24.5 seconds to reach the target.
Humphries described feeling “elated and relieved” when he heard through the radios that the bullet had hit the target. “We all contributed so much time, effort, and money into this project, and as with anything that has not been done before, the chances are slim that you will succeed,” he told MeatEater. The team took 69 shots the day they set the record, and their final shot miraculously hit the eight-inch center circle. The white rectangular target measured 10 feet wide and seven feet, eight inches tall–or about 1.7 MOA. Hitting the center circle was equivalent to putting a bullet on an area the size of a pinhead at 100 yards, Humphries explained.
Wind was their biggest enemy on the day of the shoot, Humphries said. They shot in the morning when it was relatively calm, but every time the wind velocity changed even a single mile-per-hour, the team had to adjust their point of aim to 26 feet.
To complicate matters even further, they had no way of judging the wind at every point along the bullet’s flight path. At a microscopic level, wind, pressure, and humidity can change from one cubic foot to the next and at every moment within the same cubic foot. “Even if we could know with 100% accuracy the ‘environmentals’ at the moment the trigger was pressed, we could not predict what that cubic foot would be 20-something seconds later as the bullet passed through,” Humphries explained. “There were over 23,000 of those cubic feet.”
Making an accurate wind call was virtually impossible, and spotting the bullet impact also presented a challenge. By the time the bullet reached the target, it had slowed down to 689 feet-per-second and didn’t produce a consistent dust signature.
So, Austin and Humphries developed what they call “audio spotting.” They constructed bulletproof bunkers at various points around the target, and team members sat in them listening and watching for the impact of the bullet. They communicated with one another to triangulate the hit and relayed that information to the team at the gun.
Using this system, they walked the shooter (whose name is being kept private at his request) into the target. The final wind and elevation call was 1,092 MOA up and 17 MOA left.
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. -Ernest Hemingway The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.-- Edward John Phelps
I have done my share of the ultra long range shooting and one thing they never mention in articles like this is when your bullet goes from supersonic through trans sonic to sub sonic most accuracy is lost and you are just pissing in the wind.............they just had enough people down range to spot where a drop of piss landed, hence the 69 shots.
btw: When I was doing it I would have never considered using a bipod, thought that was odd
...when your bullet goes from supersonic through trans sonic to sub sonic most accuracy is lost ....
I have seen that dramatically with 22LR shooting at a 50 yard target 1/2" groups and 100 yard target 4" groups.
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. -Ernest Hemingway The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.-- Edward John Phelps
I am glad they did it and accomplished their goal. They hit the target at an extreme distance. I don’t care if it would’ve taken 20 shots or 103, they accomplished the goal of stretching the limits. There was a lot of time and money and energy expended to make it happen. Things will be learned, challenges have been laid down, and improvements will be made. Does this kind of shooting compared to Ko2M, and matches like that? Obviously, the answer is no. How many here remember when shooting at 2 miles was a feat or unrealistic? How many here have shot beyond 2000 yards on any kind of regular basis? I sure don’t shoot beyond 2000 yards on a regular basis, but the shooters and the gear just keeps getting better and better. I’ve never shot the over 2000 yards with a rifle, but I have a couple of times with several different specialty pistols. I wonder how many shots it took for them to get close to the target? Then, I wonder how many shots were just off an edge, before they ever had it? I applaud anyone who attempts these kinds of things. I don’t think I know anyone who is involved with it, but I would like to shake their hand.
But it would be a big task to calculate the accuracy needed on the scope level bubble.
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. -Ernest Hemingway The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.-- Edward John Phelps
Ping pong balls for the win. Once you've wrestled everything else in life is easy. Dan Gable I keep my circle small, I’d rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies.
Nice oddity impressive technological accomplishment but hardly marksmanship. Hard to get an elk or enemy combatant to stand still for 69 shots so hard to imagine a practical use.
Nice oddity impressive technological accomplishment but hardly marksmanship. Hard to get an elk or enemy combatant to stand still for 69 shots so hard to imagine a practical use.
For sure, but I'd bet they learned alot from the shoot and could begin cutting down the number of rounds needed for next time.
I know F-Class and 1K BR make first shot hits inside 5" on a regular basis, but I doubt there is many LR games set-up for cold bore shot at a 8" plate.
Nice oddity impressive technological accomplishment but hardly marksmanship. Hard to get an elk or enemy combatant to stand still for 69 shots so hard to imagine a practical use.
For sure, but I'd bet they learned alot from the shoot and could begin cutting down the number of rounds needed for next time.
I wonder if they took another shot shortly after the hit? I mean, it would be impressive if once they dialed in that they then fired another round and landed it in tight with the lucky shot. If it were me I'd of been wanting to see if I could do it again, right then and there. Otherwise, it's just luck. Another shot would've proven otherwise.
Laws aren't preventative measures. In other words, more laws won't prevent gun crime from happening.
I know F-Class and 1K BR make first shot hits inside 5" on a regular basis, but I doubt there is many LR games set-up for cold bore shot at a 8" plate.
Depends on what you consider "LR"
Precision and Practical Rifle Matches routinely have a cold bore stage
Originally Posted by Bristoe
The people wringing their hands over Trump's rhetoric don't know what time it is in America.
I didn’t know any of the long range steel matches, PRS type matches, ever had at the very first stage for everyone (1st shot for everyone that day) was one cold bore shot at a smaller target (say 8”) at or beyond 1000 yards. I imagine there would be a fairly good number of hits if it was at 1K, but once you start getting into the 1300 and 1400 yard distances, I would expect that hit ratio to go quite a bit lower. I think it would be cool, but I would not expect the first attempt, completely cold bore for everyone would not have a high hit ratio.
I didn’t know any of the long range steel matches, PRS type matches, ever had at the very first stage for everyone (1st shot for everyone that day) was one cold bore shot at a smaller target (say 8”) at or beyond 1000 yards. I imagine there would be a fairly good number of hits if it was at 1K, but once you start getting into the 1300 and 1400 yard distances, I would expect that hit ratio to go quite a bit lower. I think it would be cool, but I would not expect the first attempt, completely cold bore for everyone would not have a high hit ratio.
I’ve not encountered one at 1000, but 500-700 regularly
Originally Posted by Bristoe
The people wringing their hands over Trump's rhetoric don't know what time it is in America.
I didn’t know any of the long range steel matches, PRS type matches, ever had at the very first stage for everyone (1st shot for everyone that day) was one cold bore shot at a smaller target (say 8”) at or beyond 1000 yards. I imagine there would be a fairly good number of hits if it was at 1K, but once you start getting into the 1300 and 1400 yard distances, I would expect that hit ratio to go quite a bit lower. I think it would be cool, but I would not expect the first attempt, completely cold bore for everyone would not have a high hit ratio.
Also,
Anyone who kills an animal at long range is usually firing a cold bore shot.
If your rifle doesn’t put the cold bore shot in the group you fire, your barrel sucks
JMHO
😁
Originally Posted by Bristoe
The people wringing their hands over Trump's rhetoric don't know what time it is in America.
i kinda feel only the 1st shot should count as a record , Carlos Hathcock set records with his 1st shot against the enemy when he made the kill shot. really his records have not been beat when you count the 1st shot. > 69 shots that`s ridiculous !
i kinda feel only the 1st shot should count as a record , Carlos Hathcock set records with his 1st shot against the enemy when he made the kill shot. really his records have not been beat when you count the 1st shot. > 69 shots that`s ridiculous !
69 shots. Kind of a meaningless record. Any one of us could have done it with a good spotter.
I didn’t know any of the long range steel matches, PRS type matches, ever had at the very first stage for everyone (1st shot for everyone that day) was one cold bore shot at a smaller target (say 8”) at or beyond 1000 yards. I imagine there would be a fairly good number of hits if it was at 1K, but once you start getting into the 1300 and 1400 yard distances, I would expect that hit ratio to go quite a bit lower. I think it would be cool, but I would not expect the first attempt, completely cold bore for everyone would not have a high hit ratio.
Also,
Anyone who kills an animal at long range is usually firing a cold bore shot.
If your rifle doesn’t put the cold bore shot in the group you fire, your barrel sucks
JMHO
😁
Warming the barrel for hunting shots makes for more of a challenge..... generally speaking if your first shot when hunting isn't true , the rest of your shots are worse.
Count me in the group of people who aren't that impressed. I'm sure this is monumentally difficult but it doesn't feel that on purpose if you take 69 tries to get it.
i kinda feel only the 1st shot should count as a record , Carlos Hathcock set records with his 1st shot against the enemy when he made the kill shot. really his records have not been beat when you count the 1st shot. > 69 shots that`s ridiculous !
Carlos Hathcock and his rifle were a really good man/machine combination where the ranges were unknown and there was always the possibility he was being targeted too. BUT he wasn’t shooting at over 4 miles.
I imagine Hathcock could pull off the 4+ mile shot too with a few tries.
NRA Life,Endowment,Patron or Benefactor since '72.
Don't miss the forest for the trees fellas. While that many shots doesn't sound great, I'd imagine the shooter is back on the bench trying to figure out how to cut it down. Gotta start somewhere.
Don't miss the forest for the trees fellas. While that many shots doesn't sound great, I'd imagine the shooter is back on the bench trying to figure out how to cut it down. Gotta start somewhere.
The fact that he even hit the target is amazing. Many bullets totally loose accuracy when transitioning from supersonic to subsonic
I got banned on another web site for a debate that happened on this site. That's a first
Clarkm: I am sure that NONE of the MANY Rifles I currently own could have ever done that! Good for those Rifle enthusiasts. And like "the gman" contended "whats the point"? And like others have intimated I think their efforts would have been better rewarded with other endeavors. Hold into the wind VarmintGuy
Don't miss the forest for the trees fellas. While that many shots doesn't sound great, I'd imagine the shooter is back on the bench trying to figure out how to cut it down. Gotta start somewhere.
The fact that he even hit the target is amazing. Many bullets totally loose accuracy when transitioning from supersonic to subsonic
Pretty cool stuff on how they’re pushing the limits.
And they stopped on shot number 69. It may have taken another 100 or maybe 200 before they made another hit. Unless it can be done intentionally, and repeatedly, it's nothing more than mortar fire.
Ever wonder the same thing about top fuel racing? Easy, because you can. If the military thinks they can swat a turd just a little further out, they'll show up with their check book
I was in SE Oregon and was able to Hit Idaho with one shot from my CZ 452 chambered in 22 LR... using a 4 x 16 Tasco Scope on top...
In fact shooting the same rig, I was able to be shooting off the hood of my 4 Runner, and not only was able to hit Idaho, I even was able to shoot a couple of Ground Squirrels in Idaho while my shooting position was in Oregon...
Amazing stuff... I probably wouldn't haven't been able to do it tho, without the help of that 4 x 16 Tasco on top.
"Minus the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the Country" Marion Barry, Mayor of Wash DC
“Owning guns is not a right. If it were a right, it would be in the Constitution.” ~Alexandria Ocasio Cortez
69 shoots ? big deal should be the 1st shot for a record ,same thing with the longest sniper shot ever made 1st shot should still be the record Carlos Hathcock did that , the sniper from Canada took a few shots before he made the hit/kill. or most sniper kills that should be 2 records one for kills and one for shooting officers with 1 shot and again Carlos Hathcock did the one and only shot on each officers.
I didn’t know any of the long range steel matches, PRS type matches, ever had at the very first stage for everyone (1st shot for everyone that day) was one cold bore shot at a smaller target (say 8”) at or beyond 1000 yards. I imagine there would be a fairly good number of hits if it was at 1K, but once you start getting into the 1300 and 1400 yard distances, I would expect that hit ratio to go quite a bit lower. I think it would be cool, but I would not expect the first attempt, completely cold bore for everyone would not have a high hit ratio.
Also,
Anyone who kills an animal at long range is usually firing a cold bore shot.
If your rifle doesn’t put the cold bore shot in the group you fire, your barrel sucks
JMHO
😁
Well, isnt a first round miss actually used as a sighter shot? If not, it should be. Fact is that for shots under about 1000 yds. most hunters will go for it on the first shot. And the fact also is that in many cases an Elk or a whitetail buck will stand there and allow numerous shots to be fired at them without running off.
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