The 2-Mile Shot: Getting on Target with Paul Phillips (GPG)

Shooting two miles successfully is no easy task. It takes lots of data, investigation, and special equipment. When I built my .375 CheyTac for this exact task I did so with input from King of Two Miles and head of Global Precision Group Paul Phillips. Now I’m out on the range with Paul and King of One Mile Clay Rhoden of Longshot Target Cameras to bring the dream to reality.

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About the Global Precision Group

Paul started Global Precision Group to promote ELR shooting and training.

Paul served as the adjutant of the U.S. FTR Rifle Team and is a 3-time World Champion with Team USA.

He is a 10-time National Champion who I first saw interviewed on Erik Cortina’s podcast, Believe the Target.

Paul explained that much of what he’s done in ELR comes from things he’s learned as part of the U.S. National Rifle Team.

From Global Precision Group:

Global Precision Group is a leading training, consulting, research, and development organization dedicated to Extreme Long Range (ELR) shooting. King of 2 Miles Champion Paul Phillips established GPG with a vision to revolutionize the development of rifles and ballistics and to push the boundaries of ELR shooting. Our goal is to elevate the level of precision in both competitive ELR matches and practical military, law enforcement, and hunting applications.

As an industry leader, GPG is committed to advancing the growth of ELR shooting by providing top-notch training and education and actively promoting ELR events and competitions. Our expertise and passion for ELR have made us a trusted partner for those looking to excel in this exciting and challenging discipline.

About the .375 CheyTacBuild

My .375 CheyTac ELR rifle is an evolution of my .50 BMG Incredible Hulk featuring a Bartlein Barrel blank made to Paul Phillips’ exact specifications and a different bolt assembly.

I even chambered the barrel on my Precision Matthews TL-1660 using a Manson Precision reamer made to Paul Phillip’s specifications.

At the center of this build is BAT Machine’s EX action set in an Accurate Rifle Systems ELR chassis with an Accu-Tac bipod.

This massive action measures 12 inches in length and weighs approximately eight pounds. I had finished off the build by Cerakoting the chassis and adding laser imaging for a patriotic aesthetic.

The Accurate Rifle Systems ELR Chassis has a number of features designed to better fit the rifle the shooter. It has an elevation wheel under the buttstock and a height-adjustable recoil pad.

We added a Charlie TARAC from TACOM HQ to the forward bridge to add elevation. Shooting two miles without a device like this isn’t possible!

The Charlie TARAC works by offsetting the angle of the scope. If you have it set to 100 MOA for example, it will shift everything 100 MOA down which brings your shots 100 MOA up.

I paired the prism with a Leupold Mark 5HD 5-25×56 scope after reading an article on the Precision Rifle Blog covering what the pros use. This scope is popular for its elevation range.

About the Load

Paul had me construct my rifle to be able to make use of a load that has performed well for him for a number of years, earning multiple King of Two Mile championships.

I utilized Peterson Brass, .375 400 Grain LAZER bullets from Cutting Edge, Federal large rifle magnum primers, and 142.0 grains of Hodgdon H50BMG. (Always reference manufacturer published data before loading.)

The tipped LAZER bullets are very consistent with a high BC and special sealing band. This is the same bullet and cartridge Paul Phillips used to win the 2017 King of Two Mile Championship! This load runs about 2,975 fps.

Making the Shot

I had previously zeroed the rifle at 100 yards, four shots landing into 0.480”.

I was very happy with this to start. It wasn’t long before my groups began to open up and I realized that I had failed to perform basic shooter maintenance checks…the ring bases had loosened!

We rectified this before heading out to two-miles, but it’s still a helpful reminder to always double-check anything that can come loose on your rifle. Paul uses blue Loctite to prevent parts from coming loose and witness marks as an easy visual check to ensure nothing has.

Part of the challenge of ELR is finding a place where you can clearly see out to two miles with an area around the target to spot misses.

One of my friends recommended a place he goes coyote hunting on public land in the middle of Washington state that was drivable from the firing line to the target.

This is very important as it takes time to set up.

Not only do you have to set up the target, you have to verify with your spotter(s) there is a clear line of sight to the target.

Before I took any shots, we had to set up the firing line. This didn’t mean just laying out a shooting mat, but making a level platform to shoot from.

In ELR, the environment is a significant factor that can affect shots more so than the accuracy of the rifle. (This does NOT mean that you shouldn’t pursue the most accurate rifle and ammunition possible.)

We did wait for favorable conditions before we started shooting. As this was my first time shooting this far, we wanted to be able to note the abilities of the rifle as accurately as possible.

Paul gathered data with his Kestrel and ran calculations using Applied Ballistics. We predicted 60 MIL of elevation. Our target measured 4’ x 8’ at 2.0068 miles—3,535 yards away.

This is where Longshot’s LR-3 really shines. We could watch the target in real time rather than having to drive back and forth after each shot. This would not just be incredibly inefficient, but would allow more time for the conditions to change between shots, further complicating matters.

Without Longshot, we also wouldn’t have any evidence! (Some may recommend flashers, but flashers can falsely indicate an impact if a round or rock bounces off the ground into the target.)

I got on the gun and waited for Paul’s instructions. He instructed me to aim center and take the best shot I could. A two-mile shot involves a seven second time of flight. We held our breath over those seven seconds, but saw no impact or dirt indicating a miss.

I aimed at the bottom of the target with shot two. We heard something at the seven-second mark and Paul could see a little bit of trace with perfect windage, but there was no concrete indication whether the shot was high or low. At this point we decided to deploy a forward observer to a safe location to prevent wasting shots and barrel life.

Paul and Clay moved to a spot about 2,700 yards from the target and watched closely. I also saw the shot this time, low, and came up based on my reticle subtensions.

This adjustment got me closer. Once again, I used the reticle subtensions to “MIL it out”, comparing where I held to where the shot landed on target. The Charlie TARAC is in minutes but I was using a MIL scope so I had to do some on the spot conversions.

Paul and Clay gave me instructions to load and be ready to shoot on their signal. They watched the conditions and gave me some approximate holds.

It took some time for me to realize I had hit the target. Bruce Thom of BAT Machine jumped in to mark each shot on the Longshot Target app as I stayed on the gun.

I ended up with five total impacts, two one after the other!

(Bruce Thom also brought a gun and achieved an impressive second round impact at two miles.)

Our predicted elevation was 60.00 MIL. The correct elevation turned out to be 60.79 MIL.

Why Were We Low?

We began to analyze why our initial firing solution wasn’t correct, and came up with two hypotheses. One, we didn’t have the correct bullet BC. Two, the Charlie wasn’t adjusted where we thought it was.

Paul, Clay, and I went back out to the range to validate the information.

We removed the Charlie and successfully tested the firing solution at 1.02 miles.

Paul did the back math and determined that both his and my rifle, very similarly set up but with different bullets, were within ½ minute of angle of the prediction.

This left the Charlie as the discrepancy. It wasn’t set to 100 minutes. Now that we knew the solution was correct, we put some marks on the wall at 25 yards away and confirmed that it was the Charlie that wasn’t where we thought it was.

Our two mile impacts were exactly where they should have been to start given the discovered error.

Conclusion

Shooting ELR is difficult. There are a number of people who will go out to one-mile and burn up lots of expensive ammunition with no success.

Shooting two miles further complicates the task. It takes the right ballistics and wind call to get close enough to the target to even begin walking it into the center. Vegetation and environmental conditions can reduce the area of visibility.

If I could go back, I would have made sure that the Charlie TARAC and scope were both in the same unit of measure so that the team was only speaking one language.

Being able to impact at two miles with a rifle I built and ammunition I loaded was a dream come true. I’m grateful to Paul Phillips for all of his help throughout this process as well as to Clay Rhoden and Bruce Thom.

This entire shooting experience wouldn’t have been possible without Longshot Target Camera technology. If you’re interested in learning more about ELR or perfecting your shooting, be sure to visit GPGTraining.com!