I've wanted to shoot PRS for about a year, but haven't, mainly because I don't have a ton of high end equipment or a super flat shooting cartridge, and I was afraid it would be a waist of time. I was very very wrong.
Yesterday I shot my first match. A couple weeks ago I posted on one of the Facebook shooting groups asking for tips to prepare for my first match. Instead of just stuff like "dry fire" or "confirm zero first" I got a lot of guys giving in depth answers, and one guy even said "I'm shooting that match, squad up with me and we will look out for you."
It was probably the most enjoyable shooting competition I've ever taken part in. I actually liked it more than USPSA, and I found the par time wasn't bad at all.
Equipment wise, I'm using a savage 111 in 30-06 that I picked up for about $300 when I was 20. The rifle itself is stock: no muzzle brake, zero trigger work (and it's not an accutrigger model), only the single 4 round magazine, and the flimsy plastic stock that came with it. Aftermarket accessories were limited to a Blackhawk bipod, an SWFA 4-14 scope (falcon menace) with MOA turrets and a mil-dot reticle, and a precision rifle sling from Armageddon gear. I did not have access to a chronograph, and used IStrelok as my ballistic app, with a muzzle velocity that I guess-timated from comparing reloading manuals.
To show that I'm not a ringer, I'm unclassified in 3 gun, USPSA, and IDPA, have never shot past 200 yards, and when I went to appleseed, I was about 20 points shy of making rifleman.
The experience: everyone was friendly. I found that on the whole, everyone was easy to talk to, and people went out of their way to set me up for success on each stage. Did I need a shooting bag? By the end of the day, I must have tried 4 or 5 diffeferent types and styles. Need help with strategy for a specific course of fire? I was able to run my plan by more experienced shooters, and get input along with explanations why. Did I maybe have my seating die a little too shallow, so once or twice, when unloading, a bullet got stuck in my rifling while the case ejected and gunpowder went everywhere? Yes, but one dude had a hammer and cleaning rod (which I will be carrying with all rifles from here on out at all times) and helped me out.
Every match I shoot, regardless of the discipline, I go into with the primary goal of not getting DQ'ed, and the mantra that Sam1911 is fond of sharing: no one will be impressed with how fast you are, but everyone will be impressed with how safe you are. I had a second goal of I wanted to hit a target. Just one single target, and I'd be happy. My tertiary goal was I wanted to hit a target at 600 yards. The first stage was tricky, I think my dope was off, and my fundamentals were definitely off. I missed them all. The next stage my dope was also off, but I got a hit.
The next two stages where from prone, and I was able to hit multiple targets at 390 and 600 yards. From then on, I performed much better, and except for the ocasional instance of shooting at (and sometimes hitting) the wrong target, and a tactical miscalculation that resulted in an inability to properly manage the rifle under recoil, I felt like I did pretty well for my first time shooting at those ranges, and one guy in the squad even said he thought I was doing well. In the end, I had 8 points, but I'm not knowledgeable enough about the scoring system to be able to make any determinations about how that reflects on my performance, other than "better than I was expecting."
If you're thinking of shooting a match like this, but are reluctant because you don't have all the cool guy gear, don't let that stop you. Here's a breakdown of how much I used the gear I had:
- bipod x 3: there were two prone stages that I used it in. There was another stage where I used it, but I shouldn't have, and one more where I should have used it (or a bag) to help lock into the barricade but I didn't.
- sling X1+: I only used it to help build a more stable position on one stage. In retrospect, I probably would have used it on a couple more, but it didn't occur to me at the time because no one was doing it. I feel it's important to note, I used the bungee in the sling for support, not the loop/cuff like I was shooting at appleseed.
- super fancy custom trigger x 0 cause I don't have one. The trigger on my rifle is about the same as the trigger on my glock or m&p, maybe a little lighter.
Newbies thoughts on a scope: I picked up a used SWFA/Falcon Menace a number of years ago. I wish I had taken the time to put zero stops on it, as I can see now how that would be useful, and that will probably be my next gear purchase. My scope reticule doesn't match the turrets, because when I bought it, I didn't understand what that meant, and the price was right. This wasn't really much of a handicap for me, once I told my squad about it. Everyone else was using Mils, so them being able to give me corrections in Mils was very helpful for my hold overs. For the most part,I didn't use the 14x that often, keeping it around 10x or 12x, because the limited field of view made it hard for me to find the target sometimes, and when I mounted the scope, I messed up, and the eyebox wasn't adequate enough and required a slight change in head position. To me, the number one thing that made a difference was being able to easily dial in my corrections, and adjust the focus, since targets ranged from 325 to 600 yards. If I was only going to buy one piece of kit before shooting a PRS match, it would be some kind of scope with turrets that have good tracking (in other words, I don't think the bushnell 3-9 duplex reticle that comes with the Savage 111 combo is adequate.) and some kind of ballistic table or app is a must.
Things I would have done differently prior to the match:
- if I could have chronoed my ammo so that my D.O.P.E was more precise, that could have helped out a little bit.
- worked on building a stable position at different elevations.
- spent more time on familiarizing myself with the focus and power adjustment of my scope.
- spent more time shooting from a variety of surfaces so I would understand that my specific bipod was a horrible choice for plywood (should have used a shooting bag.)
- given the round count, I may have had more success if I had come up with a faster way to jack cartridges into my gun than reloading from a pocket. (I see one of those elastic forend mounted cartridge holders in my future.)
Things I would have done differently at the match:
- written down the distance, target size and type, and my hit/miss/round count ratio for each stage (I assumed that practiscore would show that, but either it doesn't or I am incapable of finding it)
- used my sling for more support on some of the baricades.
- afterwards, tried to take pictures of targets through my scope to practice ranging later at home.
- kept a written record of what gear I borrowed and how I liked it. Eventually I will need a couple shooting bags, and I liked some better than others.
-made a point of getting glass on target at EACH AND EVERY stage before shooting, so that I knew 100% what target I was supposed to shoot, and how to easily find it in my scope.
- asked questions about resources for information on dryfire and building a more stable shooting position. I saw a couple guys using tripods, and other guys using bags in creative ways, and asking more technique/gear questions may have payed dividends later on down the road.
If you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed it, or got whatever information you were hoping to scavenge from this. If you want to shoot a match, but are worried about not having the right gear, don't worry about it. Reach out to the local PRS or long range community and I'm confident they will help you get squared away.
Stay Frosty,
Chris "kayak-man" Johnson
Yesterday I shot my first match. A couple weeks ago I posted on one of the Facebook shooting groups asking for tips to prepare for my first match. Instead of just stuff like "dry fire" or "confirm zero first" I got a lot of guys giving in depth answers, and one guy even said "I'm shooting that match, squad up with me and we will look out for you."
It was probably the most enjoyable shooting competition I've ever taken part in. I actually liked it more than USPSA, and I found the par time wasn't bad at all.
Equipment wise, I'm using a savage 111 in 30-06 that I picked up for about $300 when I was 20. The rifle itself is stock: no muzzle brake, zero trigger work (and it's not an accutrigger model), only the single 4 round magazine, and the flimsy plastic stock that came with it. Aftermarket accessories were limited to a Blackhawk bipod, an SWFA 4-14 scope (falcon menace) with MOA turrets and a mil-dot reticle, and a precision rifle sling from Armageddon gear. I did not have access to a chronograph, and used IStrelok as my ballistic app, with a muzzle velocity that I guess-timated from comparing reloading manuals.
To show that I'm not a ringer, I'm unclassified in 3 gun, USPSA, and IDPA, have never shot past 200 yards, and when I went to appleseed, I was about 20 points shy of making rifleman.
The experience: everyone was friendly. I found that on the whole, everyone was easy to talk to, and people went out of their way to set me up for success on each stage. Did I need a shooting bag? By the end of the day, I must have tried 4 or 5 diffeferent types and styles. Need help with strategy for a specific course of fire? I was able to run my plan by more experienced shooters, and get input along with explanations why. Did I maybe have my seating die a little too shallow, so once or twice, when unloading, a bullet got stuck in my rifling while the case ejected and gunpowder went everywhere? Yes, but one dude had a hammer and cleaning rod (which I will be carrying with all rifles from here on out at all times) and helped me out.
Every match I shoot, regardless of the discipline, I go into with the primary goal of not getting DQ'ed, and the mantra that Sam1911 is fond of sharing: no one will be impressed with how fast you are, but everyone will be impressed with how safe you are. I had a second goal of I wanted to hit a target. Just one single target, and I'd be happy. My tertiary goal was I wanted to hit a target at 600 yards. The first stage was tricky, I think my dope was off, and my fundamentals were definitely off. I missed them all. The next stage my dope was also off, but I got a hit.
The next two stages where from prone, and I was able to hit multiple targets at 390 and 600 yards. From then on, I performed much better, and except for the ocasional instance of shooting at (and sometimes hitting) the wrong target, and a tactical miscalculation that resulted in an inability to properly manage the rifle under recoil, I felt like I did pretty well for my first time shooting at those ranges, and one guy in the squad even said he thought I was doing well. In the end, I had 8 points, but I'm not knowledgeable enough about the scoring system to be able to make any determinations about how that reflects on my performance, other than "better than I was expecting."
If you're thinking of shooting a match like this, but are reluctant because you don't have all the cool guy gear, don't let that stop you. Here's a breakdown of how much I used the gear I had:
- bipod x 3: there were two prone stages that I used it in. There was another stage where I used it, but I shouldn't have, and one more where I should have used it (or a bag) to help lock into the barricade but I didn't.
- sling X1+: I only used it to help build a more stable position on one stage. In retrospect, I probably would have used it on a couple more, but it didn't occur to me at the time because no one was doing it. I feel it's important to note, I used the bungee in the sling for support, not the loop/cuff like I was shooting at appleseed.
- super fancy custom trigger x 0 cause I don't have one. The trigger on my rifle is about the same as the trigger on my glock or m&p, maybe a little lighter.
Newbies thoughts on a scope: I picked up a used SWFA/Falcon Menace a number of years ago. I wish I had taken the time to put zero stops on it, as I can see now how that would be useful, and that will probably be my next gear purchase. My scope reticule doesn't match the turrets, because when I bought it, I didn't understand what that meant, and the price was right. This wasn't really much of a handicap for me, once I told my squad about it. Everyone else was using Mils, so them being able to give me corrections in Mils was very helpful for my hold overs. For the most part,I didn't use the 14x that often, keeping it around 10x or 12x, because the limited field of view made it hard for me to find the target sometimes, and when I mounted the scope, I messed up, and the eyebox wasn't adequate enough and required a slight change in head position. To me, the number one thing that made a difference was being able to easily dial in my corrections, and adjust the focus, since targets ranged from 325 to 600 yards. If I was only going to buy one piece of kit before shooting a PRS match, it would be some kind of scope with turrets that have good tracking (in other words, I don't think the bushnell 3-9 duplex reticle that comes with the Savage 111 combo is adequate.) and some kind of ballistic table or app is a must.
Things I would have done differently prior to the match:
- if I could have chronoed my ammo so that my D.O.P.E was more precise, that could have helped out a little bit.
- worked on building a stable position at different elevations.
- spent more time on familiarizing myself with the focus and power adjustment of my scope.
- spent more time shooting from a variety of surfaces so I would understand that my specific bipod was a horrible choice for plywood (should have used a shooting bag.)
- given the round count, I may have had more success if I had come up with a faster way to jack cartridges into my gun than reloading from a pocket. (I see one of those elastic forend mounted cartridge holders in my future.)
Things I would have done differently at the match:
- written down the distance, target size and type, and my hit/miss/round count ratio for each stage (I assumed that practiscore would show that, but either it doesn't or I am incapable of finding it)
- used my sling for more support on some of the baricades.
- afterwards, tried to take pictures of targets through my scope to practice ranging later at home.
- kept a written record of what gear I borrowed and how I liked it. Eventually I will need a couple shooting bags, and I liked some better than others.
-made a point of getting glass on target at EACH AND EVERY stage before shooting, so that I knew 100% what target I was supposed to shoot, and how to easily find it in my scope.
- asked questions about resources for information on dryfire and building a more stable shooting position. I saw a couple guys using tripods, and other guys using bags in creative ways, and asking more technique/gear questions may have payed dividends later on down the road.
If you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed it, or got whatever information you were hoping to scavenge from this. If you want to shoot a match, but are worried about not having the right gear, don't worry about it. Reach out to the local PRS or long range community and I'm confident they will help you get squared away.
Stay Frosty,
Chris "kayak-man" Johnson
