Ultra-Long Range — 0.44 MOA at 1,680 Yards with a .338
At Thunder Valley, Ohio, stockmaker Joel Russo recently shot an 0.44 MOA group at 1,680 yards (just 80 yards short of a mile), with four shots well under quarter-MOA (3.806″). Joel offers this report: “About two months ago, my good friend and custom rifle builder Bruce Baer, challenged me to shoot the Mile. I told him that if he builds the rifle, I’ll take him up on the challenge. I gave him a barrel that I had and then pestered him repeatedly for two months to chamber it. After he chambered the barreled action, I bedded it in the stock and completed load development under his guidance.
Rifle Specifications
The rifle is chambered as a .338 Big Baer, a .338-.408 Improved design by Baer. We load the 300gr .338 Sierra MatchKing bullet. The gun features a Lawton 8000 repeater action, Krieger barrel, Vais muzzle brake, Jewell trigger, Nightforce NXS 8-32×56 scope, NP1 reticle, and McMillan A-5 stock modified by Baer to accommodate the larger actions. The rifle weighs about 21 pounds.
Thunder Valley in Ohio
This weekend we made the trip to Thunder Valley in Kimbolton, Ohio. Thunder Valley is an IBS-sanctioned 1000-yard range. Range owner and rangemaster, Tom Sarver, also holds a ‘Mile Shoot’ in conjunction with the 1000-yard match. (The ‘Mile Shoot’ targets actually sit 80 yards shy of a mile, at 1680 yards.) Along for the trip was Bud Williams, Bruce Baer, and my father.
Bruce and Bud both shot the ‘Mile’ at Thunder Valley two years ago. In 2006, Baer won group with 22.5″ and Williams won for score. This year, we shot 5-shot groups with a spotter only for sighter shots. No communication would be allowed between spotter and shooter during record fire.
Four Shots in 3.806″ at 1680 Yards
I shot the first relay with Baer as my spotter. First shot on cold clean barrel was center mass on the white sighter steel plate. Second shot was approx 17″ high but center mass. I made a correction and the next three shots were in the center of the plate. I immediately went to the record target. I fired five shots with no correction for conditions between shots.
Sarver retrieved the target and told us that the fifth shot was 1.5″ right off the paper but in the group. He officially measured the 4-shot group at 3.806″. Estimate of the 5-shot group was 7.75″.
Oh well, I’ll settle for a 4-shot group like that.”
0.44 MOA at 1680 Yards — Mighty Impressive
One MOA at 1680 yards is 17.59″. Joel’s 4-shot cluster went into 0.216 MOA! Counting the fifth shot, the 5-shot group was 0.44 MOA — still remarkable shooting….
