500 Meter Hunter Challenge

Rules & scoring

The challenge was popularized by precision shooter Erik Cortina, and the premise is simple: if you cannot put your first cold bore shot into a vital zone at 500 meters, that is not your hunting range. There is a video on this page showing what it looks like.

Format

• Distance: exactly 500 meters.
• Target: a 5 inch (13 cm) circle — a vital zone just under 1 MOA at that distance.
• The shot: one cold bore shot, the first round out of a clean, un-warmed barrel, the way the shot presents itself in the field.
• Follow-ups: up to two more shots if the cold bore shot misses the vital zone.
• Rifle: your precision competition rifle or a hunting rifle. No weight limit, no gear restrictions — the test is practical field accuracy.

Rules

1. Cold bore means cold bore. No fouling shot, no warm-up, no sighter on the day of the attempt.
2. The distance is lasered and confirmed before the shot.
3. A hit is any shot that breaks the 5 inch circle.
4. One attempt per shooter per event.
5. Every attempt is filmed and the target is photographed before and after, which is what makes a card verifiable.

Scoring

Cortina’s original is pass or fail on the cold bore shot. The point scale below exists only so cards can be ranked against each other on the leaderboard.

Shot that hits the vitals	Points
Cold bore, first shot	3
Second shot	2
Third shot	1
No hit in three shots	0

Ties are broken on date — the earlier verified card ranks first.

Why it matters

In the field there is often no second shot. This challenge trains you to say no to the shot that sits outside your honest limit.