Hi Red,

Your friend is fortunate to have had someone that started him right. And it does make all the difference in the world. Just last summer we watched a young lady, (hadn' t turned 16 yet), put 10 rounds into less than 7" at 1000 yds with a custom 6.5X284. That day a friend of mine, (in his 60' s), decided to have a rifle built chambered for .338 Lapua, a project he is still working on.

With the correct equipment, good coaching, and practice what use to be out of the norm is now not only possible but also consistently achievable. And if you spend time in a gun shop you know from the " chat" that goes around that there are many " misinformed" people out there that do NOT do it correctly. That is what we need to address as a sport. If we don' t resolve these issues within our community...others outside our community (many with ulterior motives) will step in and do it for us! That is my concern.

I have killed enough chucks beyond 400 yards to know that it is not terribly difficult when done properly by a responsible person. But I have also shot enough at truly long ranges to know of the possible challenges. The young lady I referenced above could not have asked for more perfect conditions. An entirely calm day, mild temperatures...nearly no mirage, a known range, and an unmoving target. Spend any time in today' s sniper schools, or a modern KD range (particularly between 600 to 1000 yards) and you begin to understand what is truly possible. If you really want to know the limits...watch a good shooter behind a good rifle chambered for .50 BMG.

All I am saying is that we should be certain to qualify our comments, on this site or in any other forum, to insure that we are doing our sport " no harm" . In the very brief time I have been visiting this site I have noticed that the participants span the range of experience from completely " unknowing" to very experienced. For the benefit of those just learning, particularly those coming from a background not fortunate enough to have been raised in a knowledgeable environment, and in some cases even a " hostile towards firearms" upbringing, we should insure we qualify information that can otherwise be easily misunderstood.

I wholeheartedly concur that good equipment and good optics have made the task much more certain. (Even when hunting heavily wooded/brushy terrain for whitetails I always have a pair of 8X30 Swarovsky' s around my neck.) But even with the best equipment there is a minimum amount of skill, knowledge, and ethics, that are required. Just as an archer can exceed their limitations, (in spite of the vastly superior technology compared to just two decades ago), so can a rifleman. I agree with you wholeheartedly in that " positive mentoring" by those that do it properly is the best solution.

Continued good luck and enjoyment!