A precision shooter who requested anonymity set a new long-distance shooting record of 4.4 miles on Sept. 13 in western Wyoming. The undertaking was the result of the massive efforts of Scott Austin and Shepard Humphries, managers of Nomad Rifleman, a firearm training facility located near Jackson Hole, WY.
The pair worked for more than 20 months to get the rifle completed, bullets hand-lathed, accessories collected and orchestrate a time in which the expertise required could assemble to accomplish the feat. Shot No. 69 hit the eight-inch orange circle and was later recovered. Total time in flight was 24.5 seconds. It pierced the 4-foot by 10-foot thin metal sheet only 3.125 inches from dead center.
“These types of shots are just for fun” explained Humphries. “This is not for hunting purposes, and the hit isn’t consistently repeatable yet. Maybe the people who beat our record and the other smart cookies in the ELR [extreme long range] world will be able to make first round hits at these distances in the years to come, but at this point, it isn’t a sure thing.”
Walking a gun onto target in extreme-range shooting is common, although this particular distance presented unusual challenges. The bullet rose 2,500 feet above the rifle’s bore, encountering conditions best doped by weather balloon. Despite that fact, a 53-MOA wind call set the record-setting shot—in ground wind that averaged 8 mph. Holdover was dialed up for a staggering 1,092 MOA, which required the addition of a variety of precision devices in front of and below the scope. Coriolis was deemed too insignificant to weigh with other unknown atmospheric variables and spindrift calculation was an adjustment of 93.80 inches.
S&S Sporting, based in Driggs, Idaho, assembled the rifle from parts and accessories from Arkansas, South Dakota, Canada, New Zealand and elsewhere. The firearm’s chambering is .416 Barrett. The Cutting Edge MTAC 422-grain bullets left the muzzle at 3,300 fps and connected at the target with a speed of 689 fps.
The effort included a support team of experts at the firing line. Multiple spotters downrange also called shots and were on hand to verify impact and later recover the bullet.
