Target Is Moving target (not moving but use your imagination) (courtesy target is moving.com)

The above Target is a moving target – which isn’t moving (unless you’re reading this at sea). It stands 16″ tall from the exposed bottom to the tip. The round bit at the top has a six inch diameter. TIM owner Brent Kochuba tells TTAG that he doesn’t [yet] know the exact speed at which the $365 target oscillates. [Click here for their videos.] That said, the company’s press release claims the extended wireless capability TIM target works out to one mile (1609.34m). That would be one hell of a shot. Has the 33-year-old computer engineer attempted it? “No sir. I live in the Northeast . . . We’ve only shot it out to a couple of hundred yards.” Doable at one mile out? What gun and optic would you use? TIM’s sending TTAG two targets to test. I know a place in New Mexico where we can set it up one mile out. So you’re invited! Ping [email protected] with a pic of your gun (for Facebook). I’ll see about getting Kirsten there as well. Again, if you can’t get here in real life, how would you make this shot?

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96 COMMENTS

  1. Maybe there IS a use for volley fire after all…

    Ah, who am I kidding; stuff like this is why we have belt-fed machine-guns. A tripod/T&E-supported, properly placed cone of fire will get you a hit, eventually.

      • That was going to be my response…

        The answer to this question like so many others is obviously: a GAU-8 Avenger, from a shallow dive.

  3. I’d suggest a 50 BMG or a Cheytac in 475 maybe a Barrett in their super 4(somethin) caliber. either way it’d bout have to be one of those highend guns designed for extreme range shooting.

    • .338 Lapua would be better then a fifty only if were talkn strictly for distance and plinkining. Its been proven to reach out and touch things at almost 2 miles. But the fiftys nice if you wanna put weight and power into that mile long shot, say if you game hunting.

  4. 6″ at 1 mile, even if it were a static target I would believe only if I saw it in person. As that target is 1/3 MOA at that distance, hitting a 1/3 MOA sized target is a feat to do at 600 yards, let alone at 1 mile.

    Add movement, yeah it is unlikely that anyone could do it consistently.

    • At that range the fact that it is moving might actually increase the odds of a hit as it might inadvertantly move into the path of the bullet.

      Also I assumed the one mile range is under ideal lab conditions, field conditions such as geography, and brush cover are highly variable and decrease range significantly so the 1 mile range makes it a whole lot more likely that it will work at the ranges you intend to use it at.

      • I understand what you mean, I was simply commenting on the story.

        On a 600-1000 yard range this would be a really challenging target. Particularly if you put a barricade so it isn’t visible throughout it’s arch of motion.

    • 1/3 MOA? I would have thought it was a hair more than that, but I’ve seen plenty of rifles that can manage that level of accuracy. I’d imagine that with the right equipment and enough experience at it, someone could hit a 6″ target at a mile somewhat consistently. As for the question of movement, that’s a matter of timing it right, and if you can dope the wind, the curvature of the earth, the propellant temperature and burn rates and the air density and everything else to make a one mile shot, a little metronome motion would be well within your grasp. Now, if it moves erratically, on the other hand, it might be more a question of luck.

      • It is .35 MOA, which is close enough to 1/3 MOA.

        Yes there are some rifles that shoot well under 1/3 MOA, but pushing that type of accuracy out to 1,760 yards is very hard. The current F-class record is about 3″ at 1,000 yards or 1/3 MOA, so yes someone MIGHT be able to do it. But that level of shooter and gun are very very rare.

  5. Is there a limit on number of rounds?
    Eventually you’ll hit it, but nobody is hitting a six inch moving target at a mile even one time in ten.
    Often you can’t even see where the round lands at that distance. You’ll need some place with no brush, and soft ground that will kick up, and be above 10,000 feet, have it be warm, with no wind.
    Still, it’s extreme luck to score a hit.

  7. Even a 6 inch stationary target at a mile is nigh on an impossible shot for most people…I suppose given enough ammunition and time maybe not impossible but still.

  8. I don’t care what you give me. There’s no way I’m going to hit a target that small at that distance.

  9. I’d use a Karl Lippard M1911 and hit that target 1000 times in 1000 shots at 1600 meters, blindfolded and drunk.

  10. Easy-peasey: give me an 8″ self-propelled howitzer and a trained crew, and we will take that sucker out with one shot.

    • Ya beat me. I was gonna mention that a very recent post reminded us of the existence of 16″ guns….

      I seem to recall that they threw a 500 lb projectile 50 miles, or a 2000 lb projectile 20 miles. One shot should be easy, obliterating everything within several hundred yards of the target. Use a 4x Weaver scope.

      • A buddy of mine who was an old ANGLICO guy used to say a 16″ fire requests were basically an entire grid square. The projectiles were very accurate for dumb rounds, but the blast effects were simply devastating. The Marines lamented that the era of Naval gunfire support ended when the BBs were retired for good.

      • The downside was that you had to be within range of a body of water that could float a battleship. For fun, go to Bing and type in “images of Iowa broadside”. We’re talkin’ serious metal, folks.

  11. Well the CIRCLE may be 1/3 MOA, but the entire target itself is about 1MOA equivalent vertically. But only about 4 inches wide. So it would still have to be extreme luck.

    Speaking of extreme luck…my dad claimed to have hit a bleach jug with his dad’s Zehner custom vz. 24 in .270 Winchester at half a mile. First time. With open sights. At age 12 or so (that would have been 1959).

    All I can think of is it must have been one hell of a big bleach jug (barrel maybe?) or he somehow aimed low and skipped the bullet into the target. Just how big could you get a bleach jug back then?

    I have the rifle, so maybe I ought to consider trekking to New Mexico? 🙂

    Tom

  12. Jesus, 1 mile! 98 Bravo- 338 Lapua, hand loaded, premium projectile, supplied rear mono-pod and sandbag rests all around. Maybe Schmidt and Bender PMII with NASA level zoom. I can consistently hit a silouette at 1000 with an M-107 but conditions have to be perfect or I won’t even try. A mile…MOVING!

  14. Either a JDAM, Hellfire missile or MK 19 grenade launcher w/ 20-30,000 rounds and I MIGHT be able to hit it.

  17. I would give it a go. I have made hits on a 20″ target at 1830 yards with my .338 Lapua. No where in Texas to reach out to a mile?

  18. Hell no! But if I was to try it, I would use:
    Accuracy International Arctic Warfare L115A3 in .338 Lapua Magnum w/
    Harris Bipod,
    x3-x12 x 50 Schmidt & Bender scope,
    Suppressor.
    If that fails, I’ll take a:
    Browning M2 .50 Calibre Heavy Machine Gun w/
    Desert Patrol Vehicle- Hey, you gotta get down to clean up the mess somehow!

  19. Get Jerry Miculek out there. He’ll hit the thing 4 out of 5 shots from a snub-nosed .357 in under a second.

  20. Call up TrackingPoint. Let’s see what their sooperdoopersniperkiller machine is capable of. See if it’s really worth $$FirstBorn.

    • Or one of those new DARPA self guided bullets. Maybe a tracking point WITH some of those DARPA rounds?

  21. I almost bought one of these TIM targets to use as it seems like a great idea, but we rigged a simple mover with some 550 and a pulley for much cheaper 😛

  22. Well the back of my .22 Remington Golden Bullet box says it can travel up to a mile…..sooo….

  23. Gimme a Desert Tactical SRS in .338, a couple of boxes of ammo, a day of shooting, and MAYBE. That shot would even be putting the .338 Lapua at it’s maximum range, but it could be possible.

    • You could practically \touch thet target at a mile away with a full size mosin and bayonet attached. Might have to hold it at arms length though.

  25. I bet you could hit it with a 155mm 😛 never said it had to be still there after the shot

  26. Of course, I can do that, it’s the internet.

    Don’t you understand how the internet works?

  29. MW laser and a good beam director? No problem.

    What I actually have in the safe?

    Well … I could shoot *at* it…

  31. Yes. I can hit that. But I will need some help. First I need a guy to crawl forward about 1,000 yards and shine a laser designator on that. Then I need a cell phone to call a Predator to drop a Hellfire on it.

  32. Well, I’ll take a poke at it with a Savage 110 BA .338 Lapua with a Bushnell 3.5-21x scope on a 20 MOA base with 300 grain BTHP’s. I’ve never shot out that far, and giving it a college try would be fun.

  33. Just go to a Gun Show, stop by the Loophole area and get an “assault rifle” with a high capacity “clip” and a “shoulder thingy” and just “spray” that target repeatedly from 1,800 yards on “full auto”.

  34. I’d use some of my hand loaded Barnes 750 grain bore riders out of my McMillan. Scope is a Millet 6-25 x 56.
    Might hurt the target though. It’s still hitting with a bit over 8,000 ft/lbs.
    Even with a 500 yard zero, I’d be holding 22 MOA or 466 inches over.
    Doable. Just because the target is oscillating doesn’t mean I can’t get lucky.
    Besides, luck is when skill meets opportunity…

    • Tom, 8,000 ft lbs. of energy at one mile! I’d hate to think what that’s doing to your shoulder at zero yards.
      Oh, by the way, if your not going to the shoot in Austin, don’t worry, I ordered extra Pizza.

  35. I think the way to hit it would be, first, Count the seconds it takes your bullet to get to the target. Hopefully there would be something around the target area that would kick up some dust from the bullet strike. Then calculate where the target would have to be for it to be at the end of the swing, left or right.
    However all this is mute if you don’t have a rifle that will shoot .3 MOA or better, Much better!
    Of course it will take a while to get the bullet drop figured.

    • 1.918 seconds with a starting speed of 2,850 fps.
      That with a g2 coefficient of 1.05.

      • The BCs from the .50 Cal rounds are a whole other level – makes a .338 Lapua look like a .308.

        A Ma Deuce would make the shot very doable.

        • Also makes spotting the misses much easier…

          *Whump!* (6-foot exploding fan of dirt from crater)

          “About 4 feet right, range correct, try again!”

      • I was gonna go for it,but my stop watch doesn’t read in thousands, Oh well, my 30/30 wont shoot accurate enough anyway,

  36. k31 – oculus scope.

    I could hit the target – but I’d need a couple boxes of ammo to do it.

    • I doubt I’d be able to with a truckload of ammo but I’d sure as hell try as long as someone else was paying for the ammo!

  37. Not really moving by my definition… it’ll be oscillating which is predictable. Moving would be like on wheels. Hitting anything at a mile is impressive to me though! I’d love a mythbusters style video where they got an RC’d car rigged up and had a “sniper” go for the “kill” at a dummy driver. Do it up like the “Shooter” movie down a known path and distances. That’d be a video to watch!

  38. Beats me. 5280 feet is a mighty long way for my eyes. Ironically Jerry Miculek is even older than I am-& he could do it.

  39. I’m sure if you asked the question loud enough at a LGS you’d hear how several people(or their buddies) have already done it but don’t have the time to bother doing it again…lol.

    • Way to ruin my day, Ralph. Going to fire and ice today. Had plans to attempt this exact task on their roof. Now I’m skeptical.

  41. I couldnt make that shot, but the 19 year old 300+ lb guy at my local gun store that was a black ops elite super special forces operator sniper in desert storm could hit it all day with his Glock .40. He also has an odd obsession with Geckos.

  42. If I could hit it would greatly depend upon what I am shooting at it with. With a 30-06 (and similar rifle round) or even a .50 caliber rifle round I’d be lucky to hit it at 100 yards. With a computer assisted 5 inch naval gun, I pretty sure I could nail it.

  44. I couldn’t even do that on Call of Duty! Move it up 1400 meters (sad I know) and now were talking.

  45. A Mosin Nagant with iron sights, a cell phone, and a shooter 100 yards away from the target.

  52. Minimum caliber to do this would probably be .338 LM, and probably with a milled solid. Something with a crazy C.D. like a Lehigh. (Too bad Lost River Ballistics went out of business in ’05!) I would personally recommend, as others have, a .375 CheyTac (~3,200 FPS) or a .416 Barrett (~3,350 FPS); something with very high velocity that retains speed well at range.

    Then I’d figure out the average swing time of the target and how fast the bullet can get there, then set about getting the two to meet in the middle by timing it. It’s not altogether undoable, at least when we’re talking strictly about the mathematics. But making a first-round hit on a swinging 6″ target at a mile? Video or shut the hell up.

  53. Oh please! Any true operator can make that shot, upside down while having a 3-way with Russian twins on a trapeze.

    I used a Accuracy International L115A1 .338 with an unreleased Leupold scope, a secret scope given only to operators with 4x magnification. Real operators don’t need more than that at a measly mile.

    I shot it on a blistering hot day in the Arctic Circle. Just don’t ask me for proof, I left the target in my other pants.

  55. Hickok45 would be insulted if you doubted his ability with a 642 and asked him that question.

  56. Anything made by cheytac or with cheytac in the caliber. I remember seeing a white paper from cheytac that said they had a couple of marine scout snipers use their m200 intervention system in 408 cheytac to get a 3 shot group at 2800 yards or so. Thats about .64 moa if I recall my math.
    Also recently billy carter shot a target at 2.07 miles (3650 yards) with an m200 chambered in 375 cheytac. http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2013/05/texas-shooter-nails-target-at-3650-yards-with-375-cheytac/

  59. .50 BMG in a Barrett.

    Hopefully one of the Vietnam era guys can chime in here…I had a book about Vietnam as a kid that had a pic of a Ma Duece with a scope on it at a hilltop outpost. The story that went along with it was that they would squeeze off single shots and making kill shots at 3/4 to 1 mile away. The book is long gone, and i have no way of verifying or confirming.

    • Henderson is the author. It’s a book about Carlos Hathcock. A very gifted and disciplined shooter.
      It was a Unertl fixed 10 power scope.

  60. Well…my favorite tool in the shed is my Barrett .50 cal. bolt action..but even then it’s a mighty sword for a still shot into 6″ …one bobbling back and forth like an armored metronome…well that’s tricky even for an ex army ‘heavy breather’. I’ve taken some pretty nifty dead-eye shots at fairly slow moving deer at about a kilometer with success, but again, they didn’t start bobbling ’til my HP hand loaded 7mm mag round repurposed their heart and lung tissue into the special of the day at camp that night.
    I think I’d try my 7mm mag using my hand loads on this one. After 28 years with ‘her’ everything is slick and smooth and feels right. I’d probably cheat a bit with my homemade mini ‘ground conditions’ meter for very accurate wind, temp and humidity. ..maybe chant “wax on, wax off” for luck?

  61. Grand Daddy’s 1903 springfield, the use of the Force and the London Symphony orchestra playing the appropriate John Williams theme in the background.

  62. What are we even talking about this for man, just take off and nuke the site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure!

  64. Oh, I can hit it with a .22 short derringer… Who cares. Stop stroking each others muzzles and be men.

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