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22 ARC: The little ARC

January 8, 2026blog22, 22 arc, arc, cartridge, Hornadycoldboremiracle

Preface

The newest member of Hornady’s Advanced Rifle Cartridge family also happens to be the smallest yet. The 22 ARC is the little ARC, made by necking the popular 6 ARC down to .224 caliber. But do we need another centerfire .224 cartridge? Or perhaps the better question is what does the 22 ARC offer that we don’t already have? Today we will dive straight into the subject and get some answers so grab a drink and a notepad.

The Case for the ARC

The 6mm ARC was designed for many of the same reasons as its parent case, the 6.5 Grendel. Both were designed to shoot heavier bullets out of a case that could fit in an AR-15 magazine. The 6 ARC shoots bullets in the 60-110 grain class at velocities much higher than the popular .223/5.56 cartridges that most AR style rifles use. This gives a very big advantage at further distances or up close.

22 arc, 6 arc, 6.5 Grendel, hornady, — the 22 ARC (left) seen with the 6 ARC and 6.5 Grendel

Shooting heavier bullets has a great effect on power delivered to downrange targets. And it also greatly improves ballistic performance, shooting flatter and preventing deviation from wind. All of this from a cartridge that can fit into most any AR-15 receiver, of course using a different magazine and giving up a few rounds of capacity.

Making the 22 ARC was a natural evolution, as it seems handloaders are fascinated by making new cartridges out of existing ones. But the ARC isn’t just another .224 caliber cartridge, there is more to it than its neck. With it’s short body, and faster specified twist-rate, this chubby little cartridge was also built for pushing bigger bullets.

The 22 ARC feeds well from various magazine systems, you can read more about my Howa Mini 22 ARC here

A Different Approach

Cartridge designers made the case shorter than cartridges like the .223 Remington, this helps fit the longer heavier bullets into the case. And also allows these cartridges to cycle in actions when loaded with these long bullets. In order to boost capacity to make it worth the trouble, the cartridge was also enlarged to the case-head size .441. Making it larger in diameter and shorter gave it the capacity and proportions needed to exceed the performance of other cartridges.

22 arc, 22-250 remington, .223 Remington, — As you can see, the 22 ARC has much more seating room than the 22-250 (center) and .223 Remington (right)

For example, when compared to the .223, the 22 ARC case is shorter, allowing longer bullet seating. The popular 22-250 is even longer than the 223, which allows even less room for seating bullets out. Most 22-250’s use slow twist rates like 1:12 or 1:14 which means they can’t shoot heavier bullets anyways. Limiting their use to 40-55 grain bullets for the most part.

22 ARC Specifications

22 Advance Rifle Cartridge Specifications
Max O.A.L.	2.260 inches
Bolt Face	.441 inches
Trim Length	1.525 inches
Shoulder Angle	30 Degrees
Case Capacity (H2O)	34.6 grains
Barrel Twist	1:7 standard
Bullet Weight Range	60- 90 grain (typical)

So why would you want to shoot heavier bullets? I’ve been loading 75-grain BTHP bullets for AR-15 rifles for decades. Because they simply perform better at further distances. Once upon a time, many years ago my brother and I were shooting a steel target at roughly 700 yards if I recall correctly. I was dinging the steel repeatedly using my AR loaded with 75-grain bullets. My brother shooting his 22-250 was having trouble hitting it with 50-grain bullets. This made a lot of sense once we retrieved the target and found his bullets barely sticking into the wooden target hanger like a dart.

The much higher velocity of the 22-250 burns off too fast in a small bullet for long-range shooting. That’s why in this case my .223 chambered AR was superior, and a rifle chambered in 22ARC would have been even more superior. Shooting 70-90 grain bullets at higher velocities than the .223 can hurl.

my 22 ARC is a **Howa Mini**, seen here with a **Lucid Optics MLX** scope

But what if you don’t wanna shoot far you might be asking? Well, then the 22 ARC still has a lot to offer you. Shooting lighter bullets up close, the 22 ARC gives devastating performance just like the aforementioned 22-250.

Loading the 22 ARC

Rolling your own 22 ARC cartridges is easily done, getting brass from Hornady. You can also get it from Alpha Munitions and Petersen Cartridge Company. Small rifle primer pockets are used in the ARC, and modest charges of powder will get you excellent velocities.

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Picking the Right Rifle Twist Rate and Barrel Length

November 9, 2025blogbarrel legth, choosing a barel, selecting barrel length, twist ratecoldboremiracle

Preface

If you find yourself rebarreling a rifle, be it as an upgrade or because it has been worn out, you might be asking yourself a few questions. Today we are going to discuss how to pick the right barrel length and twist rate. Barrel length has a lot to do with performance, and the twist rate inside dictates the bullets you can shoot through it. In our discussion today I hope to illuminate how these topics should be approached and evaluated.

Ruger American Gen 2, Maven Optics, — Modern rifles are trending towards faster twist rates and barrel lengths to match. **This Ruger American gen 2 rifle** is paired additionally with a **Banish Suppressor** and **Maven riflescope**

Barrel Length

The length of your barrel has a great deal to do with velocity. Typically, longer barrels produce higher velocities all else being equal. A 308 Winchester loaded with 165 grain bullets would likely have a muzzle velocity around 2800 FPS. When you look at test data they usually post the barrel length they used to get that velocity (often a 24-26 inch). So if you have an eighteen-inch barrel on your 308, you are likely going to get a much slower muzzle velocity when using the same 165 grain load.

Various studies have been done showing velocity reductions as barrels are cut down. With most cartridges it seems the drop in velocities become greater past a certain length. For example, cutting from 26 to 24-inch you may only lose 25-50 FPS. But cutting a 20 down to 16-inches, the loss will be much greater.

mant modern bullets require faster twists than previously used, like these **Hornady 180 gr 7 PRC**

This is important when making your decision, as velocity can be important depending on the purpose of your rifle. For example if you are doing long-range target shooting, you might want as much velocity as possible. While if you are assembling a short-range hunting rifle, it might be more important to have a compact rifle even at the cost of some velocity.

Burning Powder

Big magnum cartridges use a lot of powder, and the barrel length is used to allow all that powder to be burned. This is also why big cartridges use slower burning powder, so it is still burning at the end of the barrel. This keeps the bullet accelerating, whereas if the powder burns up too fast, it can be spent before the bullet leaves the muzzle.

This 20-inch **LWRC REPR** barrel allows better combustion of powder than a 16-inch version would

Ideally you’d want a long enough barrel to allow all the powder to be used to accelerate your bullet. But there are some considerations to keep in mind, sometimes long barrels are cumbersome. And its more common these days for folks to compromise between a long barrel and one that gives enough velocity without being unwieldly.

Twist Rate

In the same fashion, barrel twist is important to evaluate when deciding on your next barrel. And again for the same reasons. If you goal is shooting long-range, you will probably want to shoot high ballistic coefficient (BC) bullets that require faster barrel twist rates. Whereas if you are rebarreling your favorite varmint rifle, a slower twist rate might be optimal for the bullets you will be shooting.

antelope, pronghorn, desert tech, srs m2, us optics, — Faster moving cartridges typically use slower twists, but stepping them up to a faster twist will allow you to shoot bigger bullets faster. My **Desert Tech SRS M2** uses a variety of barrels and calibers

If you are of a certain age, you might have played with the ancient toy called a top. Often shaped similar to a bullet, you spin the top and it would stand up and spin until it slowed enough to topple over. You can imagine if a top was taller, shaped like an inverted old Coke bottle, it would be much harder to get it to spin fast enough to stay standing.

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two bullets of identical weights, but one requires a much faster twist to stabilize

Picking the Right Bullet Weight for Long-range Shooting

November 5, 2025blogbullet, bullet selection, ELR, long-rangcoldboremiracle

Introduction

So you’ve decided to get into long-range shooting have you? Whether you plan on pushing the limits of your current rifle, or plotting to get another, today’s subject is quite relevant. You’d be surprised at how much difference the right bullet can make. And today we are going to discuss how picking the right bullet for long-range shooting can pay off big time in this game.

Ballistic Performance

The very shape of a bullet is designed to be aerodynamic, cutting through the air with as little resistance as possible. Much like the fairing on a motorcycle or the front of your car, they are designed to reduce drag so they can retain energy and avoid deflection.

bullets, round nose. vld, eld, lathe turned, solid bullet, long-range — modern bullets like this lathe turned solid copper bullet (right) perform much better than older designs

Ballisticians have come up with a mathematical formula to assign a score to a bullet’s ability to cheat this drag and deflection. This score is called a ballistic coefficient, there are a few different models for this numerical grade, but mainly folks use either the G1 or G7 drag models. That may be deeper than you wish to look, so to keep it simple lets just stick to the G7 as it seems most popular.

A ballistic coefficient (BC) is shown as a decimal, and an easy way to understand it is that a 1.00 BC is significantly better than a .500 BC. And the .500 BC is still better than a .300 BC. Most bullet manufacturers produce a BC for each bullet they manufacture. And for the most part you can use the manufacturer’s BC with confidence to calculate and theorize a trajectory. Many offer a stepped BC for different velocity ranges.

anechoic anechox 35L suppressor, desert tech srs m2, Apex Optics Rival — one of my favorite long-range rifles, the **Desert Tech SRS M2**. Seen here with the **Apex Optics Rival scope**, and the **Anechoic Anechox 35 suppressor**

Perfect Proportions

It would appear, based on the design of most high performance bullets that there seems to be a set of perfect proportions to them. You can put high BC bullets of various calibers together, and you’ll start to see a pattern. They are typically long, and have slender points with uniform tips, and almost always a boat-tail at the back.

Whether you are shooting a .223 or a 300 Winchester there is a selection of bullets out there with higher performance. The question is; Can you shoot them?

Stabilizing Bullets

One of the greatest development in firearms has been the rifling of the barrel. The grooves cut into a barrel are done so with a specified twist rate, the purpose is to cause the bullet to spin as it exits the muzzle. Barrel twists are depicted in a “one rotation in XX inches”, and written like 1:12, meaning one rotation in 12 inches of barrel travel. Spinning bullets stay far more stable than non-spinning ones. Much like a football, when you throw it right it will fly much farther and land closer to you point of aim. But when thrown without the characteristic stabilizing spin, it is bound to fly more unexpectedly.

PFI, pride fowler industries, evolution, rifle scope, bergara b-14, hmr — Testing various bullets and loads in this **Bergara rifle** identified the best performer

High BC bullets as I mentioned are usually longer than a typical for caliber bullet. For example; A popular 30-06 Springfield bullet might weigh-in between 165 and 180 grains. But you could also load the same cartridge with something like a Berger 210 grain VLD bullet that has a much higher BC than your typical 30-06 bullets.

Most 165 to 180 grain bullets on the market today would shoot acceptably well from a barrel with a twist between 1:12 and 1:10. But the longer 210 grain bullet I mentioned needs at least a 1:10 twist to stabilize, and might do even better in a 1:9 twist barrel.

So How do I Pick a Bullet Already?

You may have figured it out already, but if you know or can figure out the twist of your rifle’s barrel, you can then evaluate the bullets that will best stabilize through it. Once you have that figured out, you can decide which one might give the best velocity.

Speed isn’t everything though. If you start out two bullets at the same speed and measure the speed again 500 yards downrange, the one with the higher BC will be faster. So the only thing better than a higher BC bullet is a high BC bullet going even faster.

Two very similar **Hornady bullets** with differing performance profiles

The secret: picking a bullet that will stabilize in your barrel twist, has the highest BC, and allows you to get the best velocity from your given chambering. And if you still aren’t seeing the performance you desire either on paper or on range, you might need to step up to a bigger cartridges, or a faster twist for better bullets.

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remington 700, 25-06, 25-06 remington, two vets tripod, cole tac, carbon fiber, arken optics, epl-4 — This rifle performs much better at longer distances because of superior bullet selection, you can read more about it here.

A 25 For ’25: a modern 25-06 Remington

October 20, 2025blog25-06, deer rifle, hunting rifle, remington 700, rifle buildcoldboremiracle

Preface

I’ve mentioned many times that I started out with a 25-06 as my first real rifle. So it should come as no surprise that I’m a fan of the caliber. But today is about a more modern project, the 25-06 has been around for a long time, and this one needed a nudge into modernity. Today I bring you a 25-06 worthy of 2025, a modern 25-06 Remington.

remington 700, 25-06, 25-06 remington, us optics, txh, 3-18, two vets tripod, cole tac, carbon fiber — I also did some initial shooting with my **US Optics TXH scope**

A Donor

This project began as a bone stock Remington 700 Long Range model, chambered in 25-06 Remington. While there was nothing wrong with it, it still featured similar barrel design features to the original. Mainly it used a slow barrel twist rate like a 1:10, and the steel barrel was a little heavy for mountain hunting.

The plan was to rebarrel the rifle, with a new Proof Research carbon barrel with a faster twist to allow use of modern bullets like the Hornady 13 4 ELDM and the Sierra 131 Match King. Other things like a threaded muzzle and such would also be added to make this rifle a little more appealing to modern culture.

remington 700, 25-06, proof research, carbon fiber,

Since the original fiberglass stock wasn’t terrible, I decided to stick with it. It wasn’t overly heavy, and both fit and looked good. Though we did shorten the stock for its future user, to make it even lighter and a better fit.

Fresh Threads

Since this rifle was built to hunt, we cut the barrel at 20-inches. This might be a little short for some folks taste, but with the horsepower of the big ’06 case I expected velocity to be between 2800-2900. More than enough for most of the hunting we would do.

With a Proof Carbon barrel finished at twenty-inches, and a 7.5 twist. This rifle would do fantastic. Most of the machine work was done at my friends shop E.S. Tactical. I did a little machining myself to ensure the barrel channel would fit the large MTU style profile.

Once the barrel had been fitted, and the stock inlet for the new barrel, it was time to assemble the rest. With the trigger adjusted properly, and screws torqued town, it was time to mount a scope.

Range Prep

I ended up mounting a scope from Arken Optics, their affordable quality is matched by quality glass. This would make a good match for this rifle. I installed a Weaver picatinny rail, which was actually a touch longer than would work with my scope and ring selection. So I trimmed about half-an-inch off the front, which made it perfect.

The Arken EPL-4 is a 6-24x50mm scope, which would be more than enough for most hunting purposes. I mounted it in a set of Warne rings, followed by a quick boresight job. With the scope ready, I attached a Harris bipod and grabbed my Anechoic 35 suppressor to keep the noise down.

Ammunition Prep

With quite an inventory of 25-06 brass, I grabbed some Remington cases, and began prepping them to be loaded. After various tests, it seemed the 134 liked a charge of Hodgdon Hybrid H100V. Seated about 20-thousands off the lands, they would typically group around half an inch.

In the Field

The rugged Rocky Mountains where this rifle will prowl are home to big spaces. On various occasions now, I’ve taken the rifle into the high country where bears and elk roam. There we stretched the rifle out to see how it would perform in this country.

Shooting at small targets has been a great way for me to evaluate a rifle’s utility. I picked out a small rock surrounded by soft dirt, still damp from the previous nights rain. At 425 yards the rock measured about 6-inches round, a suitable target for a hunting rifle. After punching in some hard numbers to my ballistic solver, it came up with 2 MRAD. I dialed it in and fired several shots, all found their mark. I repeated the process for six-hundred, and nine-hundred yards as well. With predictable accuracy on 1 MOA sized targets. I knew I had a winner in my hands and couldn’t wait to put the hurt on some Mule deer with it.

The Deer Hunt

All that was left for this rifle was it maiden trip into the deer woods, in this case it would be the deserts of Southern Utah. The open country with sandstone peaks and Cedar trees would make perfect testing ground for this rifle.

mule deer, deer hunting, remington 700, 25-06, arken optics, dead air, nomad, suppressor,

This rifle was actually built for my cousin’s oldest daughter, and after practicing a bit with it she was ready for opening morning. Today was that morning, and Harley made a perfect shot, making an accurate double lung shot on a nice four-point Mule Deer from 370 yards.

Final Thoughts

My love for the 25-06 has only gotten better with this project, and Harley seems to be at the beginning the same kind of scenario. This little rifle promises to bring years of accurate shooting, and peak performance in a package that a 100 pound girl can run with authority. Or maybe even a guy like me.

-CBM

A Spike in Elk Hunting

October 19, 2025blogelk, elk hunting, rocky mountain elk, spike, utah, venisoncoldboremiracle

Introduction

Few things compare to elk camp, and it is the highlight of my year each fall. The perfectly cool weather, in the high Rocky Mountains in the prettiest time of year. And perfected by the sometimes distant song of rutting bulls. This year I changed up my plan a little bit, and hunted a different area than I have been for the last five or so years. Changing your hunting plans can be a roll of the dice, creating potential triumph or bust. It wouldn’t be long before I would find out.

this mature bull spent 30 minutes bugling on this hillside as we watched him

Terrain and Weather

The mountains of Central Utah are a unique collection of geography. Interesting layers of rock, clay, and stone conglomerate you would normally see in the desert, have all been pushed up over millennia to an altitude over eight-thousand feet. And at this altitude, the typical alpine and aspen forests grow. That is where elk thrive, and we had made our way into this country in search of immature spike bulls.

At this high altitude, storm clouds crash into the mountain range and squeeze out all their precipitation. I actually enjoy a little bit of weather, mingled with good. It tends to keep animals active when they otherwise might not. And the weather we encountered had caused the local elk to endure their rutting mating rituals, which was a great help for us.

Junior and I enjoying a bit of sunshine as bulls bugle in the background

Despite the less than ideal weather, my son and I took every opportunity to explore, hunt, and even fish some handsome Cutthroats from the nearby creeks. Until he had to leave halfway through the hunt.

Bonneville Cutthroat filled the tiny creeks

Bull elk had been bugling so frequently during our time in the mountains, that I was beginning to develop elk tinnitus. I was beginning to hear bugles in my sleep and in my thoughts.

An Opportunity

After many days of hunting, I had seen quite a few elk including some mature bulls we couldn’t engage but through the binoculars. I’d even caught a glimpse of a spike running through the forest. But an actual shot opportunity had evaded me.

It was an evening hunt midweek, and three of us were stalking quietly through clearings in the forest. Sagebrush pastures surrounded by Aspen groves and thick pine covered ridges allowed us to move pretty quietly. Thick dark clouds hung overhead licking the tops of the tallest pines, causing the effect of a premature twilight as the sun hung low in the western sky.

With me that day was my old friend Nathan, and his son Jacob. The three of us approached a small open draw buried in the thick forest, hoping to see the brown and tan figures we were after. Moving very slowly to avoid detection, and with the wind in our faces, we crept over the edge looking into the draw below.

US Optics, USO, LXR, riflescope, x-series, 4-24x56, scope, 6.5 PRC, PVA Modus, cole tac, elk, elk hunting, — The **US Optics LXR** mounted on my PVA Modus rifle

Taking the Shot

I spotted one elk feeding calmly opposite us, down the draw and up the other side. We watched her through binoculars as a calf fed out alongside her from the thick pine trees nearby. We prepared our gear as we watched for additional potential targets. A third elk fed out of the trees, and I was sure it had short antlers. Watching through my scope, I whispered to Jacob who was on the spotting scope, seeking confirmation that the third elk indeed was a unbranched antlered bull. Jacob confirmed what I suspected, and it was time to shoot…

Hardware

The rifle I carried that day was my Patriot Valley Arms Modus rifle, chambered in 6.5 PRC. I had used the rifle several times before for both deer and elk hunting, I’d even managed to have some success the previous season. The Modus wore a brand new US Optics LXR 4-24×56, one of my favorite new scopes. Aside from the typical bipod and sling, I’d also installed my Anechoic Anechox 35 suppressor, to keep things quiet.

The rifle was loaded with my pet handloads, made from Peterson cases loaded with Hodgdon Powder and the Hornady 140 grain BTHP match bullet. Muzzle velocity was just over 3000FPS, and had been tested extensively out to distances well beyond 1000 yards.

As the young bull fed quietly 430 yards away, I rested the rifle atop my upright backpack, sitting behind it. As Nathan and Jacob both watched, we waited for the bull to turn broadside. I’d dialed the 1.6 MRAD elevation correction into the LXR’s elevation turret, and I evaluated the breeze as I tried to calm my elevated heart pace. The killshot came as his broadside show between two pine trees, I confirmed with my spotters that was indeed the bull, and sent one of the handloaded Hornadys through his chest. His shoulder rippled with the impact, and he charged out of sight into the pines.

Recovery

The centered shot just behind the shoulder looked good, I expected the bull to be dead a few yards away. But as we quickly hiked into the location I didn’t see him, and the increasing rain threatened to wash away any blood sign. So we quickly set to find a blood trail.

As we did, I heard the thrashing sounds of the dying bull. About forty-yards into the pine trees, his legs kicked against the brittle sticks where he’d fallen. We approached the fallen bull as the eerie sound of his last breath escaped from the wound in his side.

I knelt beside him as the rain continued to fall. We quietly revered him in the damp silence, listening only to the sounds of the forest and our thoughts of gratitude.

Food for Thought

After an exhausting extraction through rain and mud, the young bull hangs in a tree a few yards from camp. Using my pocket knife, I cut a tenderloin from his belly. I cleaned it and trimmed it up as I heated a dutch oven and butter. As Nathan, Jake and I sat to eat this fresh piece of our prize, I considered a thought that frequents my inner dialogue. There was a time, where I would hunt like this whether accompanied or not. But as I’ve aged, I find the solitude less entertaining.

I’ve found that without someone I love to share my adventures, they aren’t quite as bright. Without one of my kids to teach something, or a brother or friend who can share in the suffering and triumph, the memories fade faster than those I share with loved ones. Nothing will stop me from pursuing these adventures, but these days I spend as much time including kids and others as I do planning the adventure itself. And those memories are refreshed every time we taste a delicious deer burger, or slice a juicy elk steak.

-CBM

The Guns of King of 2 Miles

October 13, 2025blogELR, king of 2 miles, KO2M, long-range, long-range shootingcoldboremiracle

Introduction

Long-range shooting has become a very popular sport across the world, and the folks on the extreme cutting edge of this sport are the extreme long-range (ELR) shooters. Today I am writing you from the world championship King of 2 Mile competition, where ELR enthusiasts are pushing the limits of non-guided munitions. Since it is a bit challenging to explain the entire ELR scene, I decided to share with you something a little more familiar and exciting for gun folk. Today we are going to be looking at the guns of King of 2 Miles.

Cadex, nightforce — this custom-built Cadex Defense rifle is supported by a long carbon fiber Accu Tac bipod extender

Shooting 2 Miles?

Can that even be done? What could you possibly hit from two miles away? Is this even a practical sport? These are all questions you might be asking yourself, and you aren’t alone. So before we get too deep, lets get some context on what’s happening in this event.

target, king of 2 miles — Here you can see one of the many distant targets, if you look closely (about 3.4L and 2.5D) you can see the target cameras setup to watch the targets

Targets

Yes the targets are big. To a typical shooter they might even seem ridiculously big. But when you push these targets out across a wide desert canyon three to four-thousand yards away, they become quite small. Small enough in fact that when seen through the scope they measure around one to two minutes-of angle (MOA). Imagine for comparison; a typical paper target you shoot at the range is likely twenty or more MOA in size. So essentially, ELR shooters are shooting for just a tiny portion of a typical target. Like one of the squares on the target you might zero your rifle with.

chronographs like this one use doppler radar to get exact muzzle velocity for every shot. That way, if a shot lands lower than expected but is correlated with a low muzzle velocity the shooter knows immediately. This prevents making unnecessary corrections

PRS shooters are aiming at targets of very comparable size, but shooting 1 MOA targets is much easier when its done at distances like a thousand yards or less. Wind is the name of the game in ELR, and there can be many different layers of wind to deal with at distances like these.

Rifles

Big rifles are used to engage these big targets. Most of these rifles are shooting large cartridges like .375 Cheytac, and .416 Hellfire. Many of them are both custom cartridges and chambers, and they are all built to be heavy. Not just because of the cartridge size, but because a heavy rifle makes a more stable launch platform.

Heavy barrels with incredibly thick profiles add both weight and stability. Most of the barrels I saw came from companies like K&P Precision, and they used aggressively fast twist rates. This is due to the long length and highly efficient bullets that are typically used. These are CNC lathe turned solid copper bullets that are exceptionally uniform. Shooting bullets from Cutting Edge and using mostly Peterson Brass.

Most guns don’t use an ejector, spent cases are pulled from the action by hand. Expensive and carefully prepared brass are too valuable to be tossed into the dirt or gravel. Every rifle I’ve seen here uses large muzzle brakes, to help keep the rifle as stable as possible.

Optics and Mounting

You can imagine that only the best optics are used to see such distant targets. High end optics from big names like Nightforce and Zero Compromise adorned every rifle. And just as important as the scope itself, was the mounting and offset solutions used.

Heavily canted scope mounts allow shooters to aim dead on targets even at these extended ranges. Using optical offset wedge prisms of various types allow you to shoot and test your rifle as close as 100 yards, while still being able to make hits two miles away. For example, I looked through one of the rifles with dual prisms to inspect a deer crossing the range perhaps half a mile away. But when I pointed the rifle at where the deer was, I could only see the dirt halfway between the deer and I. To see him I had to look at the ridge behind him.

Various prisms were used on nearly every rifle, the prism sits in-front of your riflescope. it works by essentially bending the line of sight as seen through the scope, and it bends it an exact amount. This allows you to add or remove large amounts of optical offset, they can even be stacked to multiply the effect

Precise optics paired with very robust mounting systems are required. And the repeatable adjustment of both mechanical and optical offset’s are paramount to being able to make these hits.

Ancillary Equipment

Aside from the gun itself, there is a necessary collection of support items as well. Very large bipods are used to hold up these heavy guns. Accu-Tac Bipod extenders allow the rifle’s balance point to be moved to the rear. This makes the gun more stable, and recoils straight into the shooter for maximum control.

this rifle incorporates a bipod extender, they have a set of collapsible carbon shafts that allow you to push your bipod out even beyond the muzzle. You can see the feet of this Accu Tac bipod are also made to slide back under recoil. Also you can see the thin carbon fiber mirage guard that covers the barrel, this works to keep heat waves out of your line of sight to prevent obscuring the target

Rear bags and inflatable cushions are used to make micro-adjustments in the way the gun is held on target. Stability is another important part of this type of shooting.

This rifle chassis made by Accu Tac incorporates the bipod extension into the chassis itself. At the rear you can see a bag-rider rail under the buttstock, this is made to slide on the bag under recoil. The bag itself is a heavy sandbag that incorporates an inflatable air bladder controlled by a squeeze-bulb in the shooters support-hand

Chronographs like the doppler radar Garmin Xero were used on nearly every rifle. Electronic leveling indicators as well. Knowing each shot’s velocity can mean the difference between corrections from one shot to the next.

long custom barrels give maximum velocity with these high performing **solid bullets**

Taking the Shot

Shooting a target two miles away takes a few seconds. In fact, depending on the target there was often enough time to reload, and have a brief discussion with the spotter before the bullet would hit the target. After each shot, the collection of people sitting behind spotting scopes would finish their conversation and about the same time all would turn to their scopes to watch for impact.

shooter and spotter work as a team to watch for impacts, and evaluate the wind for the next shot

Spotters

Spotters would use very large spotting scopes and binoculars to watch conditions. Keeping an eye on the boiling mirage downrange, and watching it shift and where. A true skill in its own right; being able to evaluate the shift shot to shot and suggest the corrective action for the shooter. All this is done under a time limit, while everyone else watches with excitement. This is also why both the shooter and their spotter are awarded at the end of the match. The impacts can also be watched by target cameras setup downrange, giving a clear view of each hit or miss.

king of 2 mile — monitors setup for spectators to watch, each target can be seen by remote cameras

Loading

Every rifle I witnessed was manually loaded, even though some of them had magazines. There are several reasons for this, first off; even the guns with magazines replaced the mag with a single shot dummy mag.

cartridges are loaded carefully, and extracted by hand as well. With as much time and money as shooters invest in their ammunition, it makes sense to take care of them

large muzzle brakes help drastically reduce recoil helping the shooter stay on target, allowing the shooter an opportunity to spot his impact

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The Race to the Bottom: Smaller Bullets Carrying a Heavier Load

October 7, 2025blogbullet, cartridges, moderncoldboremiracle

Preface

Science is a neat thing, especially as it improves our shooting abilities. A long time ago, these very same mountains and valleys were hunted by our ancestors. They were likely using equipment of the time, perhaps the first black powder cartridges or muzzleloaders. I find it fascinating how American rifles have gone from big guns shooting massive projectiles to tiny sharp bullets moving two or three times the speed. Modern bullets have allowed us to do so much more with less, and today we will discuss what has made that possible.

springfield Armory model 1898, 30-40, krag, krag jorgensen,

A Revolution

America was born of powder and bullets, so our affinity for shooting runs deep. The weapons our forefathers used like the Brown Bess fired huge projectiles weighing nearly five-hundred grains. And their effectiveness was dismal by comparison to even our modern muzzleloaders. Accuracy and power of OG American’s weapons was somewhat sad, with projectiles that barely achieved supersonic speeds.

musket, musket ball, bullet, projectile,

Even so, they managed to secure both a country and the food they were after. And it wasn’t long before Americans started hunting everything in sight. Using old Sharps rifles and Remington rolling blocks they hammered away at bison and other game animals. And though they were much better off with the .45 and .50 caliber cartridges, they still had a somewhat limited range and power.

The Advent of Bottleneck Cartridges

As smokeless powder and bottleneck cartridges have reigned over the last century, technology has only made them better. Impressive improvements in powder and bullets have massively changed the game. I remember a time when hitting targets at 1000 yards was something exceptional. But these days I do it frequently with a variety of rifles chambered in as little as .223 Remington.

257 blackjack, 45-70 government, lever gun, — the modern wildcat cartridge 257 Blackjack compared to the old standby 45-70 Gov

The cost of the equipment needed to shoot like this has come down significantly. Even manufactures known for more affordable firearms have models capable of performing tasks that were unbelievable 30 years ago. And what’s even more interesting is that folks are doing it with less and less. Even 20 years ago, people shooting 1000 yards were typically using a large 30-caliber magnum. Or perhaps a slippery six-point-five cartridge like a 6.5x.284 or 6.5-06.

even more recent long-range rifles were shooting bigger bullets and cartridges

Velocity

The powders we load our cartridges with these days also have much to do with these advances. Black powder muzzleloaders and cartridges were significantly slower. Our smokeless powders today allow velocities going double or more compared to the cartridges of the past. The increase of velocity drives the energy up significantly, which is part of the reason we can get so much out of small bullets.

A .54 caliber muzzleloader for example, would likely generate around 1500 lbs of energy at the muzzle. This energy would drastically drop as it gets further downrange. By comparison, a lowly 308 Winchester could have the same energy as far away as 500 yards. And even smaller cartridges (like my next example) have even more, at further distances still.

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30-06 springfield, 25 creedmoor, 131 sieraa match king, aics magazine, mdr magazine — The **30-06 Springfield’s** performance is surpassed by smaller modern cartridges like the **25 Creedmoor**

Six Ways to Sunday: Supreme Six-millimeter Cartridges

September 25, 2025blog.243 win, 6mm, 6mm ARC, 6mm creedmoor, 6mm GT, six millimetercoldboremiracle

Preface

Six-millimeter cartridges are very popular for various shooting activities. Their low recoil and high velocity mingled with great ballistic performance make them optimal for many purposes. Today I intend to take a walk through a selection of popular six-millimeter cartridges and why you might want one over the others. Whether you find yourself considering a six-millimeter for your next purchase, or trying to diversify your 6mm collection I hope we might be of help.

.243win, 6mm Creedmoor, 6mm GT, 6mm ARC, six millimeter, cartridge — **Hornady** is a big supporter of the six millimeter family

Old School

If you grew up in the 60’s and 70’s you were likely to run into a .243 Winchester on a typical deer hunt. A derivative of the always popular 308 Winchester; the .243 has always been a popular low recoiling hunting cartridge. Launched about the same time from a competitor, the 6mm Remington was a less popular but comparable option. Both of these cartridges have stood the test of time, pushing their typical 70-100 grain bullet quite fast. Making them great for varmint hunting and smaller big game animals.

There quite a few old **Winchester Rifles** out there in .243

The characteristics of these cartridges often led to them being relegated to either a “ladies caliber” or something for new shooters. There is surely nothing wrong with that, but they certainly shouldn’t be looked at as a lesser cartridge. I would happily take a .243 on a deer hunt or something comparable, the lightning speed and flat trajectory would come in very handy.

Way back then, you could have purchased a Model 70 chambered in .243. These days there are rifles from nearly every manufacturer chambered in the cartridge. Whether you want a bolt-action rifle from Savage or Sako, or even a lever-action .243 from manufacturers like Henry.

Modern Performers

If the .243 Winchester was such a good thing, and is still a popular chambering in todays modern firearms, you might ask why fix what isn’t broken? Hornady released the 6mm Creedmoor nearly ten years ago, much to the horror of the Creedmoor haters it took off. With a supply of high quality components it made sense. But what did the 6 Creedmoor have that the .243 didn’t already cover you might ask? Modern performance is the answer, Creedmoor’s came with aggressive twist rates like 1:8 and 1:7.5. The .243 has a slower twist rate which limits its ability to stabilize many modern bullets larger than 100 grains. The faster twist allowed the 6 Creedmoor to push bigger bullets like 108’s and 115’s at fantastic speeds, giving it a huge ballistic advantage.

Competition rifles like this **6mm Creedmoor Browning X-Bolt** have all the modern features

One of my favorite 6mm cartridges is the 6mm GT. After the success of cartridges like the 6mm Creedmoor and competition cartridges like the 6 Dasher and 6 XC, the 6mm GT was released by GA precision and produced by Hornady. Finding a happy medium of performance and longevity, the 6GT fits easily into AICS magazines like the others I just mentioned. It does this while giving excellent ballistic performance and better barrel life than larger cartridges.

All of these modern performers are shorter cartridges than the older .243 Winchester, which allows them to load longer higher ballistic coefficient bullets and feed from magazines. And the smaller powder charges allow longer durability before the chamber throat is eroded causing degraded accuracy.

Modern Sporting Rifles

Any of the cartridges mentioned today could be and frequently are chambered for semi-automatic rifles like the popular AR pattern. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the very popular 6mm ARC, as it is the most likely to fit into this category. For a variety of reasons, but mainly because it fits in a 5.56 sized action and magazine. The 6 ARC offers 6mm attributes like ballistic performance and heavier bullets while still fitting into the average AR15 rifle.

6mm ARC, bullpup, mdrx, WLVRN, us optics, TXR, primary arms, GLx, suppressor, anechoic, yhm, — (bottom) My **Desert Tech WLVRN** custom chambered in a 6 ARC and outfitted with a **US Optics TXH** and **Anechoic suppressor**. (Top) my Desert Tech MDRX with its own custom 6 ARC barrel, and a Primary Arms GLx scope and **YHM Turbo suppressor**

Additionally due to its smaller size, it burns far less powder extending the accuracy life of the barrel. This makes even more sense in a semi-auto as they tend to shoot much higher round counts than typical bolt-action rifles. There are a great variety of 6 ARC autoloading rifles available like the CMMG Resolute series of rifles.

the Howa Mini has been a fantastic little hunting rifle for the whole family

The 6 ARC can obviously be used in bolt-action rifles as well, where it does an excellent job. Additionally the 6 ARC is also typically given a 1:7.5 twist which helps it handle modern bullet selections. I am a bit partial to the Howa Mini, a rifle we have used with great success. But there are also great bolt-action options from Ruger and Savage Arms. With the cartridge gaining in popularity every day, you are likely to find six of one, and half a dozen of another.