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This was a two day event, however I only went out Sunday. I'd already zeroed my scope a couple weekends before at CTA in Piru. Sunday meant an early start, I was on the road from Los Angeles at 5am for the ~2 hour drive. Stopped for a quick McD's on the way and rolled into the meetup spot by ~7:45am.
From there it was mostly waiting and chatting with the other guys until about 8:15, then we got the talk about safety, expectations, and how the day would run. Around 8:45 we drove up to the small car drop-off, I loaded my gear into Ryan's (event host) truck, and made our way up to the shooting positions for the mile target. There was a flatbed set up for about four shooters, and three other trucks opened up their beds for extra shooting positions. We needed the elevation off the ground just to clear the ridge in front and there was some minor terrain challenges to overcome.
By the time we got settled, a handful of guys had their spotting gear set up behind the shooters, and just before 9:30am, we started shooting. Conditions were as good as you could ask for, not hot and not much wind. The mile target had a hit indicator that flashed green on impact, so there was no guessing whether you connected.
I've owned my rifle since January 2025 (bought used - limited round count) and this event was far from my first time stretching its legs. My actual introduction to long-distance shooting was from Ryan's Modern Field Rifleman course in May 2025, hosted at the same location. Since then I've competed in one PRS shoot at CTA in Piru, and regularly take the rifle out to 600 yards at Angeles Shooting Range.
For this event I added a new scope and zeroed it at CTA, and this time was able to consistently shoot at a 1 moa target at ~640 yards. The one time I'd shot further than that was back at the Modern Field Rifleman, where I managed to hit a target at ~900 yards using a 3-15x scope. All told, I've put just under 500 rounds through this rifle, with the mile shot being new territory for me.
My rifle details:
I was part of the second group to shoot at the mile. Before my attempts, I helped spot for others, though initially I wasn't much help, but I got better at calling misses, no shoots and impacts.
Before it was my turn, I knew I would have to be holding on my scope. I have a 20 MOA scope base, my scope could only dialed up to 70 MOA, and the mile shot needed something closer to 90 MOA (from my zero at 100 yards). That meant holding an extra ~20 MOA plus whatever wind adjustments. Initially I was holding too high and was shooting over the target. We couldn't see any impacts in the dirt at all for the first dozen rounds due to higher hold.
It took until somewhere around shot 19 or 20 before I found a rhythm. After each miss, I'd center the scope on where the shot actually hit, then use that data to make my next hold. Shot 22 was the one that mattered: I hit the mile target, with a fairly minor wind hold. Shot 23 missed, but on 24 I called my shot and made another impact. I came to do something and it pulled it off. It was a great feeling and adds more to my confidence in knowing what I am capable of with my rifle.
Before we moved on to the later part of the day to shoot at closer targets, we were given a timed challenge: on the beep, start from standing to prone and put 1 shot onto the mile target. I am proud to have pulled off the challenge in under 36 seconds for my 25th shot. That 3-ish second flight time felt long!
The remainder of the day was spent at a different shooting position engaging at targets ranging from 400 to 1400 yards. It was great to gear chat with others and also see how each person was interested in this kind of sporting.
I understand that this kind of event really shines when you are able to succeed at the task. I still consider myself a beginner in this sport, and days like this remind me what it means in freeing myself from expectations. I have Ryan and his crew to thank for putting on these events. Their ability to share their knowledge and provide an opportunity to apply it into skill development has been exciting. I now feel I know what is next in my long range shooting journey.
My next goal is to compete with this rifle at least twice before the end of the year, and one of those I'd really like to do is a team-style match: two shooters, one running a gas gun and one a bolt gun, working together under a time limit to engage targets. I need a teammate
Socials:
- https://www.reddit.com/r/CAguns/s/yOvHVebd6z
- https://www.instagram.com/southcoast_longgunner/p/DbBCYHuTdKA/
This was a two day event, however I only went out Sunday. I'd already zeroed my scope a couple weekends before at CTA in Piru. Sunday meant an early start, I was on the road from Los Angeles at 5am for the ~2 hour drive. Stopped for a quick McD's on the way and rolled into the meetup spot by ~7:45am.
From there it was mostly waiting and chatting with the other guys until about 8:15, then we got the talk about safety, expectations, and how the day would run. Around 8:45 we drove up to the small car drop-off, I loaded my gear into Ryan's (event host) truck, and made our way up to the shooting positions for the mile target. There was a flatbed set up for about four shooters, and three other trucks opened up their beds for extra shooting positions. We needed the elevation off the ground just to clear the ridge in front and there was some minor terrain challenges to overcome.
By the time we got settled, a handful of guys had their spotting gear set up behind the shooters, and just before 9:30am, we started shooting. Conditions were as good as you could ask for, not hot and not much wind. The mile target had a hit indicator that flashed green on impact, so there was no guessing whether you connected.
I've owned my rifle since January 2025 (bought used - limited round count) and this event was far from my first time stretching its legs. My actual introduction to long-distance shooting was from Ryan's Modern Field Rifleman course in May 2025, hosted at the same location. Since then I've competed in one PRS shoot at CTA in Piru, and regularly take the rifle out to 600 yards at Angeles Shooting Range.
For this event I added a new scope and zeroed it at CTA, and this time was able to consistently shoot at a 1 moa target at ~640 yards. The one time I'd shot further than that was back at the Modern Field Rifleman, where I managed to hit a target at ~900 yards using a 3-15x scope. All told, I've put just under 500 rounds through this rifle, with the mile shot being new territory for me.
My rifle details:
- Bergara B14 HMR Pro
- Chambered: 6.5 creedmoor
- Scope: Vortex Viper PST II 5-25x MOA
- Bipod: Accutac SR-4
- Extras: Area 419 Arca with mag guard, Weidbag cheek rest, midway padded mat
I was part of the second group to shoot at the mile. Before my attempts, I helped spot for others, though initially I wasn't much help, but I got better at calling misses, no shoots and impacts.
Before it was my turn, I knew I would have to be holding on my scope. I have a 20 MOA scope base, my scope could only dialed up to 70 MOA, and the mile shot needed something closer to 90 MOA (from my zero at 100 yards). That meant holding an extra ~20 MOA plus whatever wind adjustments. Initially I was holding too high and was shooting over the target. We couldn't see any impacts in the dirt at all for the first dozen rounds due to higher hold.
It took until somewhere around shot 19 or 20 before I found a rhythm. After each miss, I'd center the scope on where the shot actually hit, then use that data to make my next hold. Shot 22 was the one that mattered: I hit the mile target, with a fairly minor wind hold. Shot 23 missed, but on 24 I called my shot and made another impact. I came to do something and it pulled it off. It was a great feeling and adds more to my confidence in knowing what I am capable of with my rifle.
Before we moved on to the later part of the day to shoot at closer targets, we were given a timed challenge: on the beep, start from standing to prone and put 1 shot onto the mile target. I am proud to have pulled off the challenge in under 36 seconds for my 25th shot. That 3-ish second flight time felt long!
The remainder of the day was spent at a different shooting position engaging at targets ranging from 400 to 1400 yards. It was great to gear chat with others and also see how each person was interested in this kind of sporting.
I understand that this kind of event really shines when you are able to succeed at the task. I still consider myself a beginner in this sport, and days like this remind me what it means in freeing myself from expectations. I have Ryan and his crew to thank for putting on these events. Their ability to share their knowledge and provide an opportunity to apply it into skill development has been exciting. I now feel I know what is next in my long range shooting journey.
My next goal is to compete with this rifle at least twice before the end of the year, and one of those I'd really like to do is a team-style match: two shooters, one running a gas gun and one a bolt gun, working together under a time limit to engage targets. I need a teammate