When we first ran this story a couple years ago, it proved immensely popular with our readers. In case you missed it the first time around, check out what can be done with a factory Savage 110 BA at extreme long range — 1760 yards (one mile). Shooter Mark Dalzell did a great job with the video, which features multiple camera views so you can see the shooter and the target at the same time. Enjoy!

This video by Mark Dalzell demonstrates the long-range capabilities of the Savage 110 BA chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum. Mark took his “BadAss” rig out to the southwest Nevada desert just north of Jean Dry Lakes. He placed a 2’x3′ target way, way out there — a full mile (1760 yards) away. At that range, flight time to target was 3.75 seconds! Sighting with a Nightforce 5-22x50mm NXS scope, Mark needed a few shots to get on target, but eventually made multiple hits, using 67 MOA of elevation and 2.25 MOA left windage. You can view the hits starting at 1:56 time-mark on the video. (Mark had a second camera set up closer to the target — this displays frame in frame in the video, and if you watch carefully you can see the strikes.) The ammo was HSM 250gr HPBT match with a 3.600″ COAL. The shooting was done at 8:13 in the morning, with clear conditions, very light winds. Temp was 57°, humidity 24.5, Density Altitude 3666. Video soundtrack is La Grange by ZZ Top.

Good Shooting Mark. That’s darn good for a factory rifle. You also had the elevation dialed in real close before the firing started! That shows a good knowledge of your ammo’s long-range ballistics. We also noticed how effective that muzzle brake was. Recoil looked about the same as an un-braked .308 Win.

If you thought Mark’s 1760-yard shooting was impressive, Mark has produced another video that shows a session at even greater distances — out to 2300 yards. Watch Mark Dalzell Shoot at 2300 Yards.

Our friend Darrell Buell has a new Beast — a monster 64-inch-long .375 CheyTac that weighs more than 70 pounds! Designed for ultra-long-range shooting (two miles and beyond), this beast represents the state-of-the-art in extreme long-range rifles.

Darrell reports: “This rifle is pretty much purpose-built to shoot 2+ miles extremely accurately. It is a .375 CheyTac (lengthened) built on a BAT 2.5″ action. The custom 35″, 1:10″-twist Brux barrel is a fat, 2″-diameter ‘straight taper’ with fluting. A custom 5″-long muzzle brake is fitted at the end. All barreled action work was done by R.W. Snyder Custom Rifles. The stock was created to fit the build by PDC Custom, and the massive muzzle brake as well.” The “bridge” at the end may look like a barrel block, but it’s not — the barrel completely free-floats. (The Picatinny rail on top of the bridge allows use of an overhanging bipod as an alternative to the JoyPod).

Darrell has lots of elevation on tap: “With 150 MOA in the Ivey rings, another 20 MOA in the scope rail, 55 MOA in the Nightforce Competition scope, and 10 MOA in the FCR-1 reticle, there’s an impressive +235 MOA available.”

The bipod Darrell will be using for his ELR sessions and the ‘King of 2 Miles’ match is a custom counter-weighted JoyPod crafted by Seb Lambang. With the counter-weight, Darrell says his monster 70-lb gun “adjusts as smoothly as an F-T/R rig”. The glass is a Nightforce 15-55x52mm Competition scope carried in Ivey +150 MOA rings, which in turn are mounted to a +20 MOA BAT scope rail. Darrell says: “It’s been a heck of a couple months, getting this monster built in time, thanks particularly to Southern Cerakote, which turned it around in less than 24 hours.”

Buell’s Beast runs 350gr solid bullets at approximately 3250 fps. Check out the massive .375 CheyTac cartridge compared to a .308 Winchester:

Click above image to view full-screen photo.

Want to see how this Beast shoots? Here’s your chance. Darrell will be running a 4000-yard Extreme Long Range (ELR) Training course in North Carolina, June 12-14, 2015. The class will be taught by Darrell, Maverick Stroud, and past High Power National Champion Sherri Gallagher. The closest target will be at one mile, with max distance 4400 yards. A few spots are still available (details below). For more info visit the LBI Precision Facebook page or email darrell.lbiprecision [at] yahoo.com.

4000-Yard ELR Training Course with Darrell Buell and Maverick Stroud
Dates: June 12, 13, 14, 2015
Location: New Bern, North Carolina.
Entries: A few course placements are still available.

Serious guns, serious distance. Anyone with a .338 Lapua Mag, .375 Cheytac, .408 Cheytac, .50 BMG, or variants thereof… do NOT miss this one. This North Carolina course is focused on Extreme Long-Range shooting. The closest target will be at one mile, and the furthest one will be past 4000 yards! The course will be a 2.5-day format. Friday afternoon will be spent on site, with ELR precision lectures by Pro ELR/PRS shooter/instructor Chase ‘Maverick’ Stroud, and long-range wind reading theory to practice lectures by Darrell Buell. Saturday and Sunday will be spent shooting out to a max range of 4400 yards. Throughout both live fire days, Chase, Darrell, Robert Vestal, and Christopher Sykes will be working with attendees on wind reading, position, and technique, with the goal of being able to put your first shot on steel at a mile or more, every time. Lunch and dinner is included, courtesy of our own shooter/chef Christopher!

Class size on this one will be extremely limited, to ensure maximum one-on-one instruction and coaching, so reserve your spots today. Price for this unique class is $1000. Send checks to Vestals Gunsmithing: 16230 Lee Hwy, Bristol, VA 24202. Credit cards accepted, call: (276) 669-9680. For more info, email darrell.lbiprecision [at] yahoo.com.

UPDATE — Sherri Gallagher Will Be Coaching
We are very happy to announce an addition to the NC ELR Course staff. Our good friend SSG Sherri Gallagher of Army Marksmanship Unit fame will be joining us. In addition to having won about everything possible to win in the High Power long-range world, Sherri is a wind coach and trainer par excellence. We’re happy to have her join us!

Here’s a report posted by long-range shooter Grizzman on the LiveLeak video hosting site. Grizzman engaged an 18″x24″ steel target at the distance of 2530 yards — 1.43 miles. Grizzman produced a great video that really gives you a sense of the distance (see the zoom footage at the 0:30 time mark). At this distance, the ballistics are remarkable. Grizzman’s .338-cal, 300gr Berger Hybrid bullets went transonic at 2400 yards and dropped 228 feet (69.5 meters) over their 2530-yard trajectory.

WATCH Video — Second camera at target records bullet impacts (see and hear the hits):

You can see more Long-Range Shooting Videos on Grizzman’s Live Leak Channel. Among the interesting videos is a 1K Cinder Block Shoot: .338 LM Shoot Cinder Blocks at 1000 Yards.

Shooting .338 Lapua Magnum at 2530 Yards
(1.43 miles, 2.3km)
Grizzman explains: “A few days ago I took out the [Savage 110 BA] .338 Lapua and attempted the 2500-yard shot. So I placed the target at 2530 yards or 1.43 miles away. At that distance the bullet flight time is almost 4.5 seconds!

I went out early in the morning to beat the mirage, luckily there was very little wind around 3-4 mph coming from the left, I dialed 2.6 mils Left. I had to dial the maximum elevation my [Nightforce NSX 5.5-22x56mm] scope had at 27.4 mils, then held over 2.5 mils… to get me to 29.9 mils [total].”

New .30-Cal Tactical Bullets
Next, we shot the LaRue 7.62 OBR rifle at 1200 yards. This rifle produced a 5-shot group of 9.7″ (.85 MOA) with off-the-shelf Applied Ballistics Tactical ammo loaded with .30-cal 175gr Berger Tactical bullets. These bullets only have a muzzle velocity of 2572 fps from this short barrel, which means that in our conditions they were subsonic past 1000 yards, running 1080 fps at 1200 yard. Going subsonic didn’t prevent the 175gr bullets from shooting a sub-MOA group.

However, I was a little disappointed that the group center was 9″ high (0.8 MOA) compared to the predicted trajectory (657″ drop from a 100-yard zero). Note this 9″ error in predicted drop could be produced by small variances. The 9″ shift could be explained by a 14 fps error in muzzle velocity, or a 2% error in bullet BC, or a 5-yard error in range measurement.

For our final test, I shot Berger’s newest Tactical bullet; the .30-caliber 230gr OTM projectile. This bullet has a tested G7 BC of .368, and a G1 BC of .719. Now this isn’t my most accurate rifle and I haven’t had an opportunity to really work up a good load. As a result, I shot an unimpressive 20″ group (1.8 MOA). But the predicted drop was only off by 2″ (less than 1 click) based on the BC’s listed above.

Shooting .338 Lapua Magnums at One Mile
After shooting at 1200, we lobbed some bullets on an 8’x8′ target at 1760 yards (1 mile). At this range, the TRG-42 put the 300gr Bergers on target with four of five shots in 1/2 MOA with a flyer to make the total group 21″. At this range my group center was 18.5″ (1.1 MOA) higher than predicted. Paul Philips* shot his custom .338 Lapua Magnum rifle. This is a Dave Tooley-built Tac-338 with 30″ Brux barrel, Stiller action, McMillan A-5 stock, and Nightforce NXS 12-42×56. Paul shot at the same target and was able to hold between 1/2 and 1 MOA groups with the same 300gr Berger Hybrid bullets. Paul’s group centers were also about 1 MOA higher than predicted. This small error in prediction isn’t very troubling though, as we’re not entirely confident in the range measurement. As 1760 yards (one mile) is too far for a direct laser rangefinder measurement, the distance was determined with a combination of GPS and Google maps. At that distance, a range error of just 15 yards (out of 1760) could cause the percieved 1 MOA error in predicted drop. So, if the target were really at 1745 yards, instead of 1760 yards, it would explain why we were hitting 1 MOA high. Alternatively, if BC error were the reason for hitting high, it would suggest the G7 BC for the .338-cal 300gr Berger Hybrid is .427, as opposed to the currently advertised .418; a 2% difference.

The Joy of Ultra-Long-Range Shooting
For me, the thrill of shooting these extreme long ranges isn’t just about the group sizes, but the accuracy with which the trajectory can be predicted. The shooter who understands ballistics and inputs the right variables should be able to center a 1.5 MOA group well past 1000 yards. He can be more effective, on targets at extreme ranges, than someone who can shoot an 0.5 MOA group but can’t keep it centered. Of course the most impressive of all is the shooter who can combine precision with accuracy and center the 0.5 MOA group at extreme distances!