POTD: The M14 - Precision at a Thousand Yards
Hitting a target at 1,000 yards isn’t just about pulling the trigger, it’s about reading the wind, trusting your fundamentals, and understanding the ballistic arc of your round over nearly ten football fields. It’s also where mechanical precision meets human discipline, with no room for shortcuts. In today’s POTD, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Keaton Austin-Reed, a member of the Marine Corps Shooting Team, sends rounds downrange during the Annual Interservice Rifle Championship at the Calvin A. Lloyd Range Complex on Marine Corps Base Quantico, June 10, 2025.
Some seem to have “cheated” by using much more modern firearms - and optics!
If you think 1,000 yards sounds like a stretch, consider this: at that distance, even a slight 5 mph crosswind can push a bullet off target by more than two feet.
Would you prefer going “back to basics” or use optics in this kind of competition?
Source: U.S. Marine Corps / Lance Cpl. Harleigh Faulk
Ex-Arctic Ranger. Competitive practical shooter and hunter with a European focus. Always ready to increase my collection of modern semi-automatics, optics, thermals and suppressors. TCCC Certified. Occasionaly seen in a 6x6 Bug Out Vehicle, always with a big smile.
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I’ve been shooting an M1A since I was in my mid teenage years and now my mid 20s. Not saying the Vietnam vets who used it are wrong cause they definitely been there and done that but Im convinced that most civilian shooters either never shot one and just repeat the same negative lore about them. Other than the weight being a negative mine has served me well and is still serving me well. Never shot at 1000 yards with mine but have shot consistently out to 600 yards with a mix of M80 ball and better results with 168g Razorcore and 168g American Eagle supposedly designed for M1A use.
Mine is a Springfield Armory in what was an a pretty deep OD Green stock and that thing was out in the hot sun so much over a summer that it actually turned the stock into a lighter shade. I’m sure their might be some bad examples of M1As out there like any other rifle however
Perhaps when I was younger but I don't think I could even see the target at 1000 yards with iron sights these days. We've evolved to have small, light, rugged and reliable magnified optics these days so call it cheating if you want but with everything else being equal, the shooter with the more advanced gear always wins. And to nip it in the bud...I said "with everything else being equal", so no need to gnash and wail on about all the variables.