Talented shooter Mitchell Fitzpatrick of Applied Ballistics topped a field of over 280 competitors to win the 2023 Nightforce Extreme Long Range (ELR) Steel Challenge in Wyoming last week. The prestigious Nightforce ELR match was held June 9-11 in Glenrock, Wyoming, at the Tillard 55 Ranch. During the three-day match competitors shot 20 different stages with targets placed from 725 yards to 2125 yards. Awards were given for both individuals and teams.

Finishing third overall was Team Vihtavuori member Francis Colon who stated: “Not all challenges are created equal — in this case it was a last minute need for some extra help to run the Applied Ballistics LLC Mobile Lab at the Nightforce ELR Steel Challenge in Wyoming. Normally, I have months of advance notice to prep a rifle, barrels, and ammo for matches. However, in this case, I had less than a week and half to get a new rifle built, broken in, and begin learning to shoot a Barrett MRAD in .300 Norma Magnum[.] ”

Colon explained: “With an average target distance of 1200+ yards and 10-25 mph winds, I was definitely out of my element. But the AB solver on my Kestrel 5700 continued to help me make solid solutions at all ranges. The resulting success — finishing 3rd of more than 280 shooters — [with] my friend Mitchell Fitzpatrick (below) taking first place overall, is truly incredible and humbling.”

Colon observed: “The nerve-racking uncertainty of maintaining first round impacts on 1.5-2MOA targets at distances from 800 to 2200+ yards cannot be captured in words. It was exhilarating and gratifying. Thank you to Nightforce Optics, Barrett… and thank you to SIG SAUER for the Sig Kilo 10K with Applied Ballistics Rangefinding Binos!”

Following the match, Colon commented, “I had less than a week and half to get a new rifle, break it in, and learn to shoot the heavy-recoiling .300 Norma Magnum. I used Lapua .300 NM brass and Berger .30 Cal 215gr Hybrids powered byVihtavuori N565 to create a consistent, high-performance load and it worked exactly as expected. With an average target distance of 1200+ yards and 10-25 mph winds, it was imperative that my powder and projectile be as consistent as possible to make wind calls more successful.”

“This was my first ELR match and the first time shooting this rifle beyond 100 yards. To achieve that level of performance with those hurdles to overcome is testament to the quality of the Vihtavuori, Lapua, and Berger products working together to create an incredible system,” stated Colon, who is a top ranked Precision Rifle Series (PRS) shooter.

Joe Burdick, owner of Rock Solid Shooting Solutions, provides this report from Wyoming: “I’m having a blast at the Nightforce ELR Steel Challenge at the Q Creek Ranch south of Casper, WY. Made my longest hits ever in competition at 1800 and some change. This 300 Winchester Magnum is absolutely PUNISHING the steel. The short targets here are at a thousand yards. I had multiple hits and clean runs on stages with targets from 1200-1800 yards. I missed the longest target of the match (2100 yards) by about 0.2 Mils.”

All photos by Joe Burdick other than as indicated by Alpha Unknown and Mitchell Fitzpatrick.

Target locations are indicated with red dots.

Burdick had high praise for the match and the venue: “This is a super cool match in an incredible location. It is remote but the size and beauty of the venue make it well worth the trip. The range is covered with life-size elk, wolf, ram, antelope, and even kangaroo targets with plenty of circles and squares as well.” The vast Q Creek Ranch encompasses 560,000 acres of scenic Wyoming landscape.

Burdick, whose company Rock Solid Shooting Solutions runs matches and sells custom gun covers, wanted to acknowledge his sponsors and equipment suppliers: Bushnell, Kelbly’s, WildEar, Precision Rifle & Tool, Huber Concepts, The Heritage Flag Company, Armageddon Gear, MasterPiece Arms, Kahntrol Solutions, BEST Targets, and Patriot Cases.

“Incredible location. It is remote but the size and beauty of the venue make it well worth the trip.”

Confirming Elevation Dope Is Essential for ELR Competition
Prior to the match, Joe verified his long-range “dope” at the Q-Creek Ranch shooting at distant targets. Joe reports: “Shooting my 300 Winchester Magnum, I made my longest hit ever with any rifle at 2086 yards.”

The 2086-yard target is marked with the red dot on the photo. The yellow dots represent the location of the 1000, 1409, 1725, and 1816 yard targets for reference.

And the Winners Are…
Chris Gittings and Brent Wood tied for Overall and Hunter Class honors at 115 points with Brent taking the tie-breaker. Notably, Brent’s son Tyler won the Junior Division. With 114 points, Mitchell Fitzpatrick took First Place in Open Division at the Nightforce ELR Steel Challenge. Congrats to all four marksmen on their great shooting! Fitzpatrick works with Applied Ballistics in the AB Weapons Division. He was shooting an AB Weapons Division M30TS rifle chambered for AB’s new .338 EnABELR cartridge, running 300gr Berger Hybrid OTM bullets at 3160 FPS. The scope was a 5-25x56mm NF ATACR with T3 reticle.

Parting Shot: ELR Shooting Organization supplied edible ELR rewards for participants.