[bigbrother]

In preparation for an October Antelope hunt, we've been shooting our carry rifles out to 850 yards. Last weekend, 3 of the Pro Staff went to our rifle club to practice on steel. Pigs at 300 meters, Turkeys at 4, Rams at 500 meters shooting off sticks while sitting, utilizing mildot scopes and holds in the wind was most of the practice.

My carry gun is a 700 Rem, with an adjusted trigger and good handloads. No other modifications were made to it. I top it with a Leupold 4.5-14 Long Range scope with mil dot reticle. I use this gun for normal deer hunting here in PA as well as just about anything else I can find to shoot with it. I run my mil numbers to 600 yards. As with anything, the key to being profficient is PRACTICE!

It's simple enough to topple the rams at 500 meters off the bench with a rest and bags but when you sit down and shoot off sticks it's a whole different world. Breathing and a good trigger squeeze become ever more important. It seems it gets harder and harder to find time to practice but it's certainly no less important. My confidence right now is soaring and certainly if I can crawl to within range of a good antelope it will be in trouble. Am I looking for a long range shot? Not really, but if I can't get any closer than 600 yards on a record book buck, I KNOW that I can make the shot. THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!