I’m one of the first to admit that I am not a die-hard hunter.

I love the chance to sit over a rabbit warren and shoot some for the pot.

I enjoy the thrill of chasing or whistling a fox, wandering through some bush for a goat or pig, and I certainly have a bucket list of game I would love to hunt (and cook, considering my background as a chef) given the chance.

My happy shooting space is the challenge of slinging lead at steel plate as far as I possibly can depending on the land or space available.

Kids’ weekend sports curtails any notion of being a club shooter, so I have generally used my spare time to challenge myself and my gear in a less formal setting.

About nine or so years ago I started to gravitate toward long-range shooting, particularly after completing a long-range/marksmanship course.

I found it exceptionally enjoyable and challenging (a well-run and informative course is something I would recommend to everyone to do, especially newer shooters).

The decision was made to expand my collection to have a rifle specifically capable of accuracy to 1000m+ without costing huge dollars up front – a ‘slow build’ of sorts.

After several discussions on what calibre to use I decided to go down the route with the original 6.5, the 6.5x55.

After settling on a Weatherby Vanguard Sporter as a donor rifle and going through the Western Australia application process, I then had it re-barreled with a heavy varmint profile in 1/8 twist at 27.5” after a short time in its factory configuration.

This was then fitted back into the factory timber stock with a little inletting, resulting in a Kimber ‘Longmaster Classic’ style and used for a year or so as a spotlighting rifle, while honing technique and handloads suitable for more long-range use whenever the chance arose.

During this time, the rifle performed well, although the configuration was less than ideal for both duties, with barrel length/balance/optic choice being ok for long-range and target work it was less than ideal for spotlighting.

The release of GRS stocks caused a rethink along with the release of the Leupold VX-3i LRP into the marketplace. This saw the timber stock replaced with a GRS Varmint stock (now called the Sporter, with minor differences), a Leupold VX-3i LRP 6.5-20x50 FFP TMR fitted along with a Timney Trigger to complete the slow build, with the changes and build being completed over two-plus years.

Being a reloader, the rifle is fed with a steady diet of Nosler RDF’s in 140gn, atop AR2209, ignited by CCI Benchrest primers all wrapped up in beautiful Lapua brass, generating a relatively mild 2850FPS.

This velocity while not overly quick or high pressure, allowing me between 1350m to 1450m before showing signs of destabilising coming back through the transonic zone.

I have found the Nosler RDF to provide consistent performance and with a good G1/G7 profile while being pretty good value, with an added bonus of being available in 500 count packets. Lapua brass is known for being consistent and great quality plus, it just makes for a darn good looking loaded round. And let’s face it, that’s all part of the appeal isn’t it!

Early on when I went down the “long-range/long-range hunter” route, keeping it semi-traditional, in the Kimber Longmaster ‘style’. Wearing a VX-3 6.5-20x40.

This combination regularly produces three and five round groups of under half inch at 100m.

Achieving my first goal of 1000m, the next goal for this rifle is 1600m+. As time permits, more time to ensure ultra-consistent loads, with variance kept to an absolute minimum, and potentially increase powder loads (safely of course!) to generate a little more velocity.

I am lucky enough to have access nearby to private properties, meaning I can duck out for the day and spend a couple of hours practising or testing out new loads.

In the meantime, I am lusting over the Springfield Waypoint 2020 to replace my current 308, for hunting and maybe some PRS style shooting duties, along with upgrading to a Mark 5 5-25x56 in PR2-MIL for my 300 Win Mag!