Just wondering if there is anybody that knows if there are matches held at this range or futher? If so what kind of groups are they shooting? Is there record keeped of these things or is it just word of mouth?
I'm not aware of any, and don't expect there would be many, simply because this is a longer distance than most conventional ranges. So while anybody can shoot 3/4 mile or 1 mile any time and any place that they set up a target, not having facilities that allow groups of people to shoot on a regular basis would be an obstacle for a regular shooting tradition (matches, records etc) to develop.
1000 yards is pretty much the standard "long range" rifle range, and there is also a smaller tradition of firing to 1200 yards in the UK which has recently gained a bit of a following in Australia. For what it's worth there is a 1200 yard range in Canada, the Northstar range owned by the Sakatchewan Provincial Rifle Association.
While score or group size records are interesting, I feel that they're not particularly meaningful goalposts since they basically record "outlier" performances of great skill plus great conditions plus good luck all coming together at the same time and same place. Comparing your shooting performance against other skilled and determined competitors at the same time and place gives you a much better gauge of how you're doing and how much you might be able to improve, whether shooting at a local match with a couple of other decent shooters, or at a national match with a goodly number of world-level shooters.
If you're out by yourself shooting at a 1000 yard target under difficult conditions and getting a mediocre score, you might actually be shooting very well on an absolute scale, though it can be hard to tell. But if you do get a chance to shoot alongside other shooters who are good, you can find some solace in your score of 65 (out of 75) if you know that the top score was fired on the target next to you by a national champion level shooter who only managed to work a 67 out of the same conditions.
Really I need something to compete with group wise. Or should I maybe say, to strive for!
I think you really "get" what shooting is all about. While one of the most influential things I've heard was "in the end, we are competing with ourselves and our own prior performances", it is also true that we need to know how others are shooting so that we can know just how much higher is possible.
