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Many of you have read my article on the Friends of Billy Dixon Long Range Shooting Facility. Please be advised that the range is now open, and the website is:
http://www.friendsofbillydixon.org
If you wish to visit the range, please call David Torkelson at 970 527-3881.
Stengel's Gun Shop can be reached at 970 872-3748.
I have changed the event date to accommodate more people. It is now Saturday and Sunday July 26th and 27th. There will also be a few Shootists present both days. The amount of expertise that will be available will be extraordinary. I am really looking forward to trying out some new "heavy bullet" loads in my Mauser at 1500 yards! I highly recommend anyone in adjacent states to Colorado try to make it. My friends and I will be coming out from California. It is well worth the trip!
Please see the article below for more information on the range facilities:
Hello guys. While on my spring break visiting such neat places as Dead Horse State Park, Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park in Utah (which I will write about in another thread) I had the opportunity to visit someplace truly special to us old world firearm enthusiasts. My best friend Tym and I were able to visit the Friends of Billy Dixon Ultra Long Range Shooting Facility located at Stengel's Gun Shop in Hotchkiss , Colorado . This is a facility that is still under construction with many more improvements planned. It reportedly is the only place in the country where you can shoot out to metal targets at a distance of 1500+ yards! The group of individuals who started this idea were founded in 2005 to honor the memory of buffalo hunter William "Billy" Dixon who ended the siege at Adobe Walls, Texas by firing a single shot out of his "Big Fifty" Sharps rifle that hit one of a group of 15 Indian Warriors at a range later surveyed to be 1538 yards, thus ending their planned attack. The friends of Billy Dixon include Mic McPherson, David Torkelson and R.W. Boyle (all Shootists) to name a few. The creation of the FoBD Range would not have been possible without the very generous help of Mr. Gerhart Stengel, who owns the land the new range is built upon next to his existing range which has been around since 1967 (and hopes to be around for many more years).
When I found out about the range being open, I wasted no time in planning a way to incorporate a visit there as part of my Spring Break vacation to Utah with my old buddy Tym, who has been my good friend for 8 years, and is the one responsible for my introduction to firearms. As it turned out, and totally unbeknowest to me in the planning phase, Tym and I are the first people from the "general public" to shoot at the range. The targets were first put up last summer, and except for a few friends of the FoBD family, no one had shot them yet. Tym and I were both very honored to be the first to use this great new facility which is still in the works. Tym also took almost all the pictures as my own digital camera died just before the trip, and I thank him for the use of all his photos.
Some of the following pictures tell you much about the facility, and I will let them speak for themselves, but the range is set up with shooting berms at 100, 200, 300, 500, 600, 1000 and 1500+change yards. David Torkelson met us there at 830 am on a cold but clear Friday morning (it was 20 degrees the previous night) to get us oriented to the range. This orientation is not only necessary for safety, but also worth every penny as it will save you a fortune in wasted ammo. The only way to play this game is start up close, and work your way out to the 1500 yard line in increments. No belted magnums or ultra high velocity cartridges need apply as they will tear up the targets. Also bear in mind that most of these high velocity cartridges may be capable of 1000 yards, but will probably not be stable at 1500 yards as the light bullets tumble as they approach the trans-sonic and subsonic barrier. If you remember the movie "The Right Stuff" with Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier in the different "X" planes, and the incredible turbulence just before going supersonic, you will begin to understand. It takes a very heavy bullet to withstand those forces. Pure lead bullets can be used on any target, but high velocity cartridges up to about 30-06 can only be used on the diamonds until 1000 yards, then it is OK to shoot at the calibrated gongs.
The "Weather Gods" in Colorado were extremely kind to us for the days previous and the actual day of our shooting. If it had rained previously, the ground is too damp to get a good puff of dirt to recognize where your shots went. If it was windy, as it can be in the afternoon in Hotchkiss, then your accuracy involves as much chance as skill. It was sunny and clear with no wind in the morning with some cloud cover rolling in later in the afternoon, with only an occasional breeze. It was quite literally, a PERFECT day for shooting, a surprising thing considering the early time of year. This is an all day event by the way guys, so plan accordingly.
Here is a photo of David Torkelson and one of the artistic metal targets he created to show some scale.
The rifles in use were my beloved "Old Thirty One Twenty" model 71/84 Mauser in 11mm (43 Mauser) shooting a 400 grain bullet at just under 1400 fps. These loaded cartridges were given to me by my very good friend, "Professor Loudenboomer", until my own cases would arrive (they were on back-order) and they shoot very well. Tym predominantly used his Springfield M1A in 308 Win, but also his FAL in 308 (both with 1981 milled surplus ammo). We also did some work with his Legacy Arms Model '92 Carbine in 454 Casull (16" barrel).
We started at the 200 yard line. Tym shot and hit the small diamond (the smallest target at this range) with his M1A and FAL in 308. I shot it with my Mauser from sitting and off-shoulder. I found the factory battle sight worked perfectly at its 200 m setting and a center of mass sight picture. You can see the small diamond to the left of the big gong.
At 300 yards, we started to use some optics (no scopes on the rifles, this day was all done with iron sights) to see our shots. Tym still shot the small diamond with his M1A from sitting. I began by shooting the large gong (the sound is so cool!), then the small gong, then the small diamond using the flip-up 300 m battle sight. It was dead on. I was surprised when I was able to hit the small diamond at this range off-shoulder. In fact, I walked back to my ammo and gear to get some things, and upon returning to the berm, I found myself wondering, "Did I really hit that? It looks so small". So, I shot at it again off-shoulder, and again made the hit. I was pretty happy, to say the least.
After Tym returned from an errand to camp, we broke out the 454 Puma at this range. It was zero'd for 100 yards, but I found if you held over the front bead "Elmer Keith" style, both of us were able to hit the small gong from sitting. The 454 Puma's are a lot of fun, but they do need a better recoil pad than the factory offering.
At the 500 yard line, we had to rely heavily on our optics, one of us using the binoculars to help the other spot the hits and misses. Tym was becoming very enamored with his M1A as all the factory settings were proving to be pretty accurate for that range. He was able to shoot the large diamond (5’ across) on the right from sitting (the small 3’ diamonds appear extremely small at this distance). I was able to hit the large gong from sitting and off-hand using the 450 m setting of the flip-up ladder bar sight.
Things became more difficult at the 600 yard line. Tym was able to hit the large diamond sitting and off-hand on his last shot on the line (nice shot, Tym!), but it took more experimenting with the sight settings. Eventually, setting the sights for 650 yards seemed to be the ticket. It took more bullets than it had before for me to hit the targets as well, and it seemed the bullets were dropping fast at this point. I hit the large gong from sitting and setting the ladder bar sight at 550 meters. I also shot at the 9 ft tall Grizzly Bear target and managed to hit him in the belly button. I was happy with that.
We decided to take a break at this point, and go see Mr. Stengel's Gun Shop. David said he was a "lovable old man", and he turned out to be just that. We both really liked him. He also had a mischievous side, and he told us some good stories. His shop is more like someone’s garage, but a very organized one. I really enjoyed poking around, and finding all sorts of gems in there, from firearms to ammo. But the day was waning, and it was time to get back to shooting.
We lined up again, this time at the 1000 yard berm, which is almost six tenths of a mile away from the targets. Tym was eventually able to hit the large gong from sitting using a setting of 800 yards (things don't always work like they are supposed to at these extreme ranges). Keep in mind again that all his ammo was military surplus. Once the M1A was sighted in, he passed it to me, and I was also able to hit the large gong from sitting. These guns are extremely accurate, and I came away pretty impressed. Tym really didn't think he would be able to hit the 1000 yard targets because of the shorter 18 1/2 barrel of his model, so he was thrilled to see that it could.
At this range, "Old Thirty One Twenty" became very awkward to use. The rear sight was set for 900 meters, and was so high I had no cheek weld at all. My face was at least two inches above the stock. The stock also had to rest more by my collar bone. It just felt very unnatural. I tried sitting, prone, and eventually used the line’s lateral limit markers (wire-bound river rock) as an impromptu field rest. I also changed to a six o'clock hold at this range. I was able to make this last position work, and with Tym's help on optics, I hit the large gong one time for sure, and we're pretty sure a second time.
OK, 1500 yards. That's point eight fifths (.85) of a mile. The targets that were so large standing next to them, are like the size of specs of dust on the lens of your optics. Tym was not interested in shooting at this range, but agreed to help me try. I only had 12 rounds of ammo left. I decided to use a concrete structure as a rest with a rifle pad we bought along. It was like shooting off a low wall, which was very appropriate as I believe Billy Dixon's famous shot was also from a wall. I still had no cheek weld, but the butt stock fit more securely down into my chest area at this point as the sights were set at 1350 meters. Tym said it looked more like I was shooting a rifle grenade! However, even with optics, we couldn't see where the bullets were hitting at that range. I had no reference point to adjust my aim or sights. Something was wrong. Tym eventually volunteered to drive out there and take a position behind a bunker with a radio so he could communicate to me where the shots were actually going. Once he was out there, he said he could hear the bullet pass over head, but not see the hit. He said he thought it was clearing the entire hillside (flying the hill). I was aghast. Up until this point, the conversion from meters to yards and the factory iron sights had been very accurate. Now, instead of hitting low, it was hitting way to high! I had 3 shots left, and backed down to 1100 meters on the sights. Adjusting my sight picture, I eventually hit about 20' low in front of the Grizzly Bear. It was unfortunate that at this point, I ran out of ammo. Darn.
Thankfully, I followed David's advice, and kept a "brain book" of all the loads and settings I used that day. Next time, I will know to pick-up where I left off, and try setting the sights at 1150 meters using a six o'clock hold.
Here are some pics of the targets after we shot them. You can see the new navel I gave the bear at 600 yards, and the way Tym "peppered" the diamond.
Tym and I are in agreement that not only did we have an absolute blast shooting, meeting Mr. Stengel and hanging out in his shop, but we are both better shooters for the experience. We both know our rifles far better than we did before, at ranges from 200-1000+ yards. You can hardly put a value on that. I'm also still working with Prof. 'Boomer and Mic McPherson to develop a 43 Mauser load using a heavier bullet for the extreme range stuff and we are continuing our experiments using a 485 grain and 540 grain bullet to see which will work better. On my next trip to the FoBD Ultra Long Range , I hope to have some new proven loads to try at these extreme ranges, and see how they shoot.
As to the future of the range, Mr. Stengel has plans to pass it on to his son after him, and plans beyond that as well. As he has donated his property as a State Nature Conserve, he means it to be around for a very long time.
By the way, he has a lot of rare, hard to find, obsolete factory ammo in his shop in new condition. He doesn't take credit cards, but will sometimes ship stuff out. I won't quote the prices I saw, but some were so low that even Ganjiro would buy them.
Stengel's Gun Shop can be reached at 970 872-3748. If you wish to visit the range, please call David Torkelson at 970 527-3881. Its worth the trip, believe me. -Text by Andy Tuttle
-Photos and Editing by Tym Hurst
