What is extreme long range (ELR) shooting?

I remember the first match, where the target board was almost a mile away. I remember thinking, “Man, that’s a long shot. This should be interesting.” Now that’s considered a chipshot.

Today we will be venturing into the sport of extreme long-range shooting (ELR), a worldwide phenomenon where competitors are ringing steel from one and two miles away. That fact alone is enough to make my head spin.

What is ELR?

ELR is an emerging sport that makes what was once perceived as impossible a reality. The shooter and their spotters engage steel plates one or two miles away with a rifle; when I say rifle, I’m referring to a personal canon.

This sport begins at 1500 yards and goes out to 4000+ yards

There are two classes in ELR: light and heavy guns.

Light class is 338 caliber and below and weighs under 26 pounds. This includes the complete rifle with bipod.

Heavy class is any rifle up to a 50 caliber, not weighing over 50 pounds. King of 2 Miles is the only match that requires all rifles to be 40 pounds and under.

Right out of the gate, ELR gripped people’s imaginations. In the blink of an eye, it had a limited TV series. (They didn’t even need a couple good looking gals to help sell it.) That may make some people salty, but any shooting sport brought into the forefront can’t be bad.

If you want to view this TV series (Click Here)

How did this sport start?

The sport started with a question: “How far can we shoot consistently with a rifle?” A few shooters decided, “Let’s push the limit and find out.” Shortly after, manufacturers caught wind and jumped on board, and the race was on to develop the technology.

“The math told us it was possible. Now we are proving it.”

Every part of those rifle systems is explicitly designed for sending serious air mail. I’m not embellishing when I say an ELR gun has components from 20+ companies.

What is the current state of the sport?

As of now, it is ever-evolving. The manual and course of fire are being standardized as we speak. It won’t be long, the dust will settle, and everything will be hammered out.

There are already world rankings for the King of 2 Miles and King of 1 Mile. These events are now held in over ten countries, and more countries join yearly.

Final Thoughts

Maybe one day, you will get behind the trigger of one of those rifles and take a shot. It’s good to have goals, especially if they are a steel plate one or two miles away. If you think you have what it takes to shoot extremely long-range, our motto is “Come and prove it.”

by Mac R

Shooting Sports

5 Gun Nation is one of the world’s largest competition shooting websites. We have multiple articles on shooting sports and adding more all the time. If you can’t find it here. We are working on it. – Mac R