what is really the most challenging benchrest style to shoot?

I

ifldned

Guest
I've shot varmint rifles in 22-250 at 200 meters into one hole 5 shot groups at .75 inches. I've shot 22lr Anshutz rifles at 200 yards into 5 shot groups at 1.05 inches. I have shot in the zeroes at 50 yards with a custom 52 Winchester, I want a new challenge.
I would like your opinions on what is the most challenging benchrest distance and calibers to shoot. I have never shot at 1000 yards but I want to step up in the difficulty of the challenge. I am asking for opinions on what is next. I have fairly highly developed reloading experience as I was a AAA silhouette big bore pistol shooter when that was the highest ranking there was. I'm thinking that 22lr and 300 yards and out is the most challenging. Please give me your opinions and experience.
ifldned
 
try

shooting a registered match if you are seeking a challenge
 
50 yard bullseye shooting with a S&W model 41 or equivalent.
 
I would challenge you to shoot any registered match. Benchrest matches are won by the lowest aggregate. Plenty of challenge there. Most of us have shot a remarkable group here and there. doing it over and over, in competition is another matter.
 
The truth is, every shooting discipline has a certain "quirk" that ups the anti, whether you are shooting pistols, shotguns, or rifles. In other words, just about anybody can sign up and participate. Winning?? That's a different story.

Since I shoot 100-200 yard Benchrest, I can comment on that discipline.

100-200 yard Benchrest is one of those disciplines where the shooter is only as good as the equipment he using. It all starts with the Rifle. The very best Benchrest Shooter can only do as well as what the Rifle is locked into. A shooter who's Rifle is locked into a .260 category can only hope to do that, usually worse. When you add the multitude of things, such as such as wind, mirage, poor bench technique, infinite varibles, etc, to the equation, the game can become overwhelming in short order. In short, there are only a few things that will compell a bullet to take the exact same path as the one before, but about a million that will cause it not too.

This is not to say that 100-200 yard Benchrest is any more difficult to win at than any other discipline. One of the big things it has going for it is it requires no athletic ability. If you have a pulse, and can use your hands and arms, you can shoot Benchrest. But, since it is so equipment oriented, many shy away. Keep in mind, quite a bit of range time is not spent practicing reading conditions, it is spent figuing out how to keep the Rifle shooting at a competitive level.

Also, keepin mind, in 100-200 yard Benchrest, we sacrifice all other perameters that define "Rifle Performance" in the quest ofone thing, that being, the agging capability ofthe combination. Such things as BC, bullet performance after it hits the target, retained energy, etc take a back seat, or have no seat at all, in 100-200 yard Benchrest.

I like Benchrest mainly because it is a technical game. It is also a mental game. I am not really a "Rifleman". I am simply a person who likes to compete, and the Benchrest Rifle is simply the instrument that I use. The only other Rifle I own besides the ones I compete with is a low end Remington 700 in 30-06.

To me, Benchrest Shooting it is no different than racing boats, motorcycles, or showing a car, (other things I have done in my life).. You build a piece of equipment that satisfies the rules of the Sanctioning Body, and you test yourself, and your equipment, in a Competitive Arena against like Competitors.

I would encourage you to give Benchrest a try. Judging from your initial post, you might be a little ignorant of the entire concept, which in reality, is brutally simple. If you are shooting Group, you put a shot on the paper, and then every shot after on top of that one. If you are shooting score, all you have to do is hit that little dot in the middle.

The difficulty arrises when you come to grips with the amount of time and money an individule has to dedicate to the endevour in order to do this on a consistant basis.

But then, as I said before. Every discipline has something built into the concept that makes winning extremely difficult. If it didn't, it would not be worth pursuing........jackie
 
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I think that 100-200 group or score are the hardest disciplines. 600-1000 BR is too much about pure luck and most all the others have some sort of averaging factor built in.

100-200yd.......... EVERY SHOT not only counts but can be accounted for by conditions present.

al
 
Shooting BR is not a challenge.

Actually winning a BR match IS a challenge.

Which are you trying to do ?
 
Well said....getting & keeping yourself, the loads, the rifle ,the bench setup , wind reads ,and scope on track.. is no small task..and doing it consistly..is what makes winners..untill you've done all that..you haven't mastered anything..a few good groups..dodn't mean a s**t
 
competition

I'm just trying to have some fun. I'll leave the winning of competitions to you.
ifldned:):)
 
thanks Butch for standing up for us can shooters. I've always loved shooting beer cans full of water, after I have appropriately disposed of the beer first. It would be a consummate life experience for me to hit a beer can at 400 yards with a 22lr in three shots or less. I'm working my way up to it . You 22lr benchrest shooters that can't remember when the last time you didn't shoot a one hole group at 50 yards might want to give this a try.
ifldned
 
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FBecignuel

thats hardly the case. I have simply shot to a standard that the manufacturers of fine firearms have come to expect. I'm fortunate in that the winds of favor have been at my back in my life. I hope that the sail wind will be at your back soon. ifldned
 
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FBecigneul,
You are absolutely right. In any case "may the winds be with you".
ifldned
 
Jackie just did

One of the most difficult things in the shooting world, breaking an existing record handily. I have witnessed a number of records being broken and I am always in awe. Most of them I have seen broken have been done in conditions that weren't all that favorable
 
Frankly, I don't think that we will ever see Jackie's record broken. It is just that good.

I bet that has been said before.:)

I would like to have a penny for each bullet shot until Jackie's record falls.

Concho Bill
 
jackies record

Jackie Schmidt shoots 0.1118 inch 5- target aggregate at 100 yards, 25 rounds. RECORD SMASHING AND INCREDIBLE!
 
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But, always remember, the Records Committee is usually pretty conservative. Right now, we are talking about a range measured record. True, the targets were checked by the Region Director, and the official scorer was being extra careful, but it has been my experience that most targets submitted usually grow a tad.

Keep in mind, any target, or targets, can be submitted if the range measurement is within .009 of the existing record. Since mine are quite a bit under as range measured, I can only hope for the best from my perspective............jackie
 
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