1000 yard range report

[Old Marine]

Took my 24" barreled Radical out to Tac Pro range in Mingus, TX over the weekend. Started out at the 100 yd range and sent about 5 shots downrange to check zero at 100 and then went over to the 1000.

Temp was in the mid 70s and wind was about 4-5mph quartering into us. Ballistics calculator for the 123 gr. A-Max said 11.7 mils elevation, so I sent the first two and missed low both times. I added .2 mil., then had three hits in a row.

Results were good relative to the .308s we were also shooting. 8 out of 12 hits for the Grendel, maybe that or a little less for those with the .308s. We switched around and all agreed the Grendel was very capable at that range.

[customcutter]

That sounds pretty impressive too me Old Marine. I've been looking at the Radical offerings. How many have you put down the tube so far? What type of break in have you done, or is this pretty much the first time out? I'm a hunter, not a long range shooter, so please forgive me, but what size targets are you "hitting" at 1000yds? Just curious if it's shooting less than MOA at 100yds? Thanks for the feedback.

[Old Marine]

I've shot about 80 or so rounds so far, and the break-in was punching the bore and swabbing the chamber after each shot for the first 20 rounds. The 1000 yd target was a steel plate, 20"x20", or 2 moa. I think the rifle has been hovering around 1 moa at the 100 yd mark. I too am a hunter, so for 50-500 yd, I feel good to go. If you decide on the Radical, I'd recommend the Geissele trigger upgrade, which Radical sells. I got the SSA two stage version and I find it light enough for casual bench shooting and certainly good enough for hunting.

[customcutter]

Thanks for the info. I put a RRA two stage in my first Grendel build, and it's good to go for hunting. Feels like 3.5 or 4#'s on the trigger, and it will do sub MOA if I do my part. Looking to do a light weight build, but the 20" radical looks impressive for the money.

[BarrelNut]

Old Marine, what was your OAL and OAL to Ogive on those 123 AMAX loads?