Ruger Precision Rifle Part 2: 600 yard and 1000 yard Range Day with the 6.5 Guys

In my last post, I walked through the unboxing, overview, setup, and sight in of the Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor. With only a quick 100-yard sighting completed, I was off to the range the next morning with Jim Findlay and the 6.5 Guys: Ed Mobley and Steve Lawrence. Sure, I had fired a total of about 20 shots through these rifles, but how would they do at 600 yards, and how about 1000 yards? We were all about to find out. Be sure to check out the video at the end of this post!

Gavin-RPR-Day1-Creedmoor-2000

We got to the range, and experienced some amazingly great weather. Jim had reserved the 600 yard range for us to use with some other range members, and we were all excited to do some shooting with these new rifles. The plan was to start with the 6.5 Creedmoor rifle at 600 yards. Before starting the shooting session, I made sure that I had all of my ballistics data correctly entered in the Shooter App. It’s pretty amazing how accurate the numbers produced by the Shooter App are. My experiences have been “within inches” at 600 yards in some cases. And that’s without entering weather data or other “advanced” factors.

Here we see Jim Findlay checking out the trigger on the Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor prior to shooting:

Jim-RPR-1-2000

And here’s me taking shots at 600 yards with the Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor- it only took two shots to get on target based on the data from the Shooter app and the 100 yard sight-in that was performed.

Gavin-Shooting-RPR-Creedmoor-1200

Ed, Steve, and I were impressed with how well the 6.5 Creedmoor Ruger Precision Rifle performed at 600 yards. We all agreed it would be interesting to try a muzzle brake, and I just happen to have one on hand that I’m thinking to try out later. The surprise of the day was how well everyone liked the Ruger Precision Rifle chambered in 243 Winchester. With it’s super-flat trajectory and light recoil, it was a hit.

Here’s a picture of Steve Lawrence shooting the Ruger Precision Rifle in 243 Winchester:

Steve-RPR-243-600-yards-2000

It wasn’t just a day for shooting the Ruger Precision Rifle as both Ed and Steve had an upcoming match to practice for together. Seeing them in action is like magic- with Ed ringing steel shooting off a barricade like it was no big deal! Here’s Ed practicing with his rifle:

Ed-Custom-Rifle-Prone-2000

It was a great time- super-fun to put these rifles through some “sea trials”. What was different this time was that I hand’t done really any work at 100 yards to prepare. Working up loads, chronographing loads and evaluating groups would be a normal part of my pre-long-range preparations. But some days you just don’t have time to do that kind of work before duty calls, and that’s where published load data and the Shooter app come in really handy!

6.5 Creedmoor and 243 side by side crop 2000
6.5 Creedmoor cartridges (left) compared with 243 Winchester cartridges (right)

For this shooting session, I used brand new brass and a mix of 120/140 grain Hornady AMax bullets for the 6.5 Creedmoor Ruger Precision Rifle. For the 243 Winchester Ruger Precision Rifle, I used some Berger 87 grain bullets with once-fired brass. A subsequent 100 yard session at the “Ultimate Reloader Outpost” revealed just how well these loads can group (more on that in a future post).

This was also the first time to really try out the Vortex Viper riflescopes that I’m using on these rifles. For the 6.5 Creedmoor Ruger Precision Rifle, I’m using a Vortex Viper 6-24x50mm scope. On the 243 Ruger Precision Rifle, I’m using a 4-16x44mm Vortex Viper scope. Of the two, I prefer the 6-24 power model at these distances (and beyond- where we plan to go!). I’ll have more information and write-ups on that scope in the near future.

Overall a GREAT day at the range, makes me look forward to my next visit to the North Central Washington Gun Club!

Next up is a “Fireside Chat” with the 6.5 Guys where we reflect on this “day at the range”- you won’t want to miss that! We’re just getting started with the Ruger Precision Rifle here on Ultimate Reloader!

Thanks,
Gavin

18 thoughts on “Ruger Precision Rifle Part 2: 600 yard and 1000 yard Range Day with the 6.5 Guys”

  1. Wow, teaming up with the 6.5 guys. My 2 favorites for shooting and reloading information. Doesn’t get any better than that.

  2. Nice shootout comparison, I would like to hear your thoughts about their accuracy at 1 mile. How large were the targets at 600 & 1000 yards? Maybe in the next video you can show some pics of your targets?

    Thanks for the review, I always enjoy hearing about a fun day at the range!

  3. Howdy,just picked up the rpr in 243.looking for some answers on good load info to get out to 1000-1200 yds.been playin w/H4831 44grs.and sierra MKs 95 grs. c.o.a.l. 2.585

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