Though most of our shoots are at ranges of 25 and, occasionally, 100 yards, a number of our members take things a little further and shoot out to a range of 1,000 yards and even a mile. At those distances every aspect of equipment and technique begins to have a significant effect upon accuracy and the ability to judge wind and distance effectively becomes extremely important.
For shooting out to 1,000 yards a 6.5mm calibre rifle, be it Creedmoor or the older but equally effective 6.5×55 Swedish is quite capable of minute of angle accuracy. At a mile, most club members prefer a rifle chambered in .300 ” Winchester Magnum, .300″ Norma Magnum or .338″ Lapua Magnum. Many of them even resort to telescopic sights…
We shoot primarily at the Eskdalemuir range operated by Marc Gardner. It’s situated adjacent to the eponymous hamlet of Eskdalemuir in Scotland, about an hour north of the border with civilisation. We Long Rangers tend to travel up there the day before a shoot, staying overnight at the Eskdale Hotel in Langholm (other hotels exist, though few so shooter friendly, with as wide a range of good whiskies behind the bar and with such good food in the restaurant.)
If you’d like to join us, get in touch with Badger.