The Last Shot (CLICK HERE FOR PDF WITH PHOTOS)
J. R. Boles and S. Boles (July 1, 2024)
On Monday, June 3 my wife Stacey and I left Goleta for what would turn out to be our final long-range shooting exercise in central Nevada. Starting in the fall of 2017, we have been going twice a year to a remote area in the high desert of Nevada for long-range shooting. The area is so remote that we never saw a car or person in the area during 15 trips, except for two gold prospecting geologists passing through for a few minutes in spring 2023.
Looking northeast from the target to Raven’s Revenge. Longshot camera and 0.5” steel camera shield in foreground.
Originally, the goal was to shoot 1000 yards with my 6.5 Creedmoor rifle. Over the years, this quickly evolved to shooting 1200 yards, 1500 yards and then a 2 mile (1760 yards). The target was a square steel plate two feet by two feet. Initially, we shot at a 60 lb. 3/8” AR500 steel plate but it barely moved when struck from one mile and greater distances. We then replaced it with a 1/8” mild steel plate that the 153 grain bullets cannot quite penetrate at the mile plus distances.
All the shooting was done in the early morning hours before the wind becomes strong. In the early years, we shot uphill at the plate positioned on a hill slope. But this was always a problem while shooting as the sun coming up over the ridge was in our eyes. In September of 2020, we moved the target down into a dry wash and shot from the ridge down into the valley. In the past three years, I was shooting only at 1850 yards, the furthest we had attempted, whereas the family (Stacey, Luke, Grace, Colby, and brother Dave) were shooting from a mile (1760 yds). Shooting a mile and further required a down range camera system (Longshot) to spot the shots and misses. The camera is connected via Bluetooth to a cell phone. We purchased off road e-bikes to speed up getting to the target camera controls. I also welded plates of ½” steel in a “v” shape to protect the camera system at the target. That turned out to be unnecessary.
On this June trip of 2024, I resolved to shoot out past 2000 yards if possible. Stacey thought the distance was definitely too far based on her extensive experience as the spotter. We carefully groomed the target area in the valley, knowing the importance of being able to spot the missed shots in the dirt. The area around the target was raked and sage brush was removed. We installed and verified the camera system for imaging the target. We also bolted aluminum plates that were covered in reflective tape to a post. These were to accurately determine the shot distance to the target. The laser range finder is set to determine the true horizontal component of distance to the target as this is data needed for the ballistic program. An aircraft runway windsock was erected to indicate wind direction and speed (when the wind cone is horizontal the wind is 15 knots or greater).
Groomed target area with 24” square steel plate. Note reflective signs on left.
The weather forecast based out of Tonopah (60 miles to the west, but closest data source) indicated the weather would be windy on Tuesday but relatively calm on Wednesday. We took the opportunity on Tuesday to scout the hillside for a place to make a 2000 yard shot down to our target area. We found an area high on the slope we called Raven’s Revenge because of the young squawking ravens nesting in the nearby cliff. So, we were set.
Wednesday June 5 dawned clear and calm, just as predicted. At about 6:30 AM I rode the e-bike down the rough sandy and cobbly road to the target, turned on the camera system and returned to camp. We loaded up the 22 lb. rifle, ammo, camera receiver, shooting mats, spotter’s chair and proceeded to climb several hundred feet up to Ravens Revenge at about 6900’. The white target showed up nicely in the unusually clear air at 2005 yard distance. The scope is mounted with a total of 50 mil vertical cant built in. The maximum vertical scope adjustment is 25.5 mil up plus the holdover on the vertical reticle of +6 mil at 37X magnification. For this shot, I cranked the vertical adjustment up 24.7 mil from the 100 yard zero. I took two shots and we saw nothing.
Suspecting that I had miscounted the scope turret revolutions, I cranked it back to zero and carefully readjusted to +24.7 mil. I fired and had nearly a direct HIT! Firing the second time also resulted in a hit on the plate. Out of 8 shots I managed to hit it five times. This was amazing to us considering the distance. With our confidence rising I encouraged Stacey to shoot (her prior maximum distance was a mile). After several misses she was able to hit the target twice at the 2005 yards distance and inside the 18” circle after a total of 10 shots.
I then decided to move our hide (i.e. shooting position) up further away from the target. We found a bit of somewhat flat ground further up the hill side in which I had to be at an angle to the axis of the rifle. It wasn’t ideal but it was the best we could find. The distance lasered at 2104 yards.
Looking northeast up at Raven’s Revenge.
Raven’s Revenge at 2104 yards to target. The rifle is lined up on the target. Do you see it?
Raven’s Revenge hide.
At this distance, even though only 100 yards further from the target, the scope had to be dialed up +25 mil with the cross wire held an additional 2.5 mil above the target. I shot 10 times. In the initial five shots, I managed to hit the target three times. Then the wind came up and shots were off as far as five feet from the target in subsequent shots. The wind sock was mostly horizontal and indicated highly variable wind directions. I decided to stop at this point. We agreed that overall, the rifle and loads we had developed were amazingly accurate.
Combined shots from 2005 and 2104 yards. Note the horizontal wind sock indicating winds exceeding 15 knots.
Stacey’s notes of shooting at 2105 and 2104 yards. Note how close some of the misses are.
We were using the Hornady 4DOF ballistic program, 2700 fps MV for the Berger 153.5 grain VLD bullet. According to the program the time of flight for the 2104 yard shot is about 3.7 sec and the bullet trajectory is 267 feet above the target. At these distances the solution for the calculation is very sensitive to input parameters. For example, decreasing the air temperature by 10 degree F changes the bullet drop by 2 feet at the target (i.e. the width of the target). Input muzzle velocity is also critical, but these rounds were especially good with a MV of 2700 fps +/- 6 fps.
Overall, we felt this was the best we have ever shot with this setup. Sitting in camp in the evening we agreed we had exceeded our original shooting goal and that this trip represented the culmination of our long-distance shooting at this location in Nevada.
Final plate with 10 hits. Jim had 5 hits (out of 8) at 2005 yards. Stacey had 2 hits (out of 10) at 2005 yards. Jim also had 3 hits (out of 5) at 2104 yards before wind came up.
The Rifle
The rifle is a Tikka Tac A1 chambered in 6.5 mm Creedmoor. The original 24” barrel was replaced with a custom 26” heavy M24 profile Bartlein barrel that has a left-hand progressive twist going from 1 turn in 8.25” to 1 turn in 7.5”. The barrel chamber was cut with an extra-long throat using a custom PT&G reamer. The barrel chambering and barrel installation was done by Spartan Precision Rifles. The trigger is stock except for a lighter trigger spring (16 oz. pull Mountain Spring). The scope is a Leopold 5 HD 7-35X56 FFP. The scope mounts have 50 MOA of built in cant for long-range shots. The rifle with scope, bipod, and bag rider weighs 22 lb. Because the original rifle was flat black it became too hot in the high desert sun of Nevada, thus the entire rifle and bipod were painted with desert tan Rustoleum and then camouflage accents of olive drab, black, and rust colors were added with an air brush.
The front bipod is mounted on an aluminum extension that places the bipod at the front of the muzzle. The bipod is attached to a sliding mount made from a 3-D printer slide that has linear bearings. The bipod is an Accu-Tac F class bipod with 9” to 11.5” of vertical adjustment that is adjustable for cant and tilt. The leather rear bag is made by Long Range Precision and is filled with heavy minerals and covered with a slick nylon material. An Adjustable Bag Rider (ABR) with a precision vertical screw adjustment slides on the leather bag. When the rifle fires the whole assembly recoils back in a linear motion.
The Tikka Tac A1 6.5 mm Creedmoor.
The Load
Optimal loads for the Tikka were developed shooting groups at 100 yards. Lapua cases with small CCI magnum primers (#450) were loaded with 41.3 grains of RL-16 powder. Berger 153.5 grain long-range hybrid bullets were inserted .010” off the lands. These loaded rounds are longer than the Tikka magazine and have to be hand inserted into the chamber. This load yielded very accurate results (sub half MOA) with good muzzle velocity (2700 fps) and low variance (SD = 6). It should be noted that these aerodynamic heavy for caliper bullets are suited for the high altitude shooting in Nevada, but less so for shooting at lower altitudes.
Special 6.5 Creedmoor loads for long range shooting.
Final Thoughts
Long range shooting can be very rewarding but requires a lot of effort to be successful. Every detail from the equipment used to the selection of the shooting terrain to the conditions at the time of shooting should be optimized to improve the chances of success. In addition, the further you want to shoot the more expensive it becomes. There is no question that a bit of luck comes into play in really long-range shots. In our case of the “final shot,” although we had honed our set up over the years, ideal weather conditions played a major role in our success.
The van setup at the camp.
The shooters.
