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Old May 17, 2009, 10:19 PM   #1
ar15man2009
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Join Date: February 15, 2009
Location: Harlan County,Kentucky
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begining competition rifle shooting

hello all,
I have been interested in shooting long range for years but only recently became interested in doing it in competitions. I live in southeastern kentucky and have used firearms my whole life. mostly for hunting,or just to go out and shoot for fun. i reload my own ammunition so i will have plenty to practice with,i am just wondering about a few pretty basic things.

1.Where can i find matches at? there are really no ranges close.

2.What things will i need to start? besides the rifle i mean.

3.What will be a good rifle to start out with? I have no idea so i need to know about bipods,rifles,scopes,the whole 9 yards.however,i am pretty certain on using 308. remember,this will just be a hobby so i dont want to spend 5,000 on a rifle.i would really like to keep it as cheap as possible and still be able to "compete".

thank you in advance for any replies and any help will be greatly appreciated.
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Old May 18, 2009, 09:19 AM   #2
melchloboo2
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I only do a little smallbore competition, but I assume in your case you should be ready to spend the bulk of your equipment budget on optics. In my experience, the sooner this is accepted the better. The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price is gone.
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Old May 18, 2009, 09:34 AM   #3
kraigwy
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I'd recommend getting started in High Power and F-Class to start. Don't go out and start buying a lot of stuff before you really find out what you need.

Go to the Civilian Marksmanship Program's web site. You'll find a list of clubs in your area. They are all over.

Best book you an get for starting out is the USAMU SERVICE RIFLE GUIDE. CMP sells them for $6.95. Thought is geared for the service rifle its for every form of competitive rifle shooting. Its put out by the best shooters in the world.

Here is the link for the CMP Bookstore, there are some other great books and DVDs but the Service Rifle Guide, is the best and most complete.

http://estore.odcmp.com/Store/catalo...note5=&max=100
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Old May 30, 2009, 05:01 AM   #4
shooter007
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I don't shoot competition, but I've learned you can have the best rifle in the world, but if you dont have a solid scope it doesnt matter. From what I've found, for the money, nighforce offers top of the line scopes. Could be from
1k - 2k but worth every penny.
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Old May 30, 2009, 12:02 PM   #5
Casimer
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Location: Pennsylvania, USA
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There are a variety of NRA sanctioned matches listed in this online magazine - http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Oli...tingSportsUSA/

Another good resource is your local CMP.

Also try posting to nationalmatch.us to inquire on matches and organizations in your area.
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Old May 30, 2009, 03:21 PM   #6
darkgael
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Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania.
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sights

Quote:
you dont have a solid scope it doesnt matter.
Quality sights are mportant, certainly. If you can't see the target well, you can't hit it too well either.
About scopes - depending on what competitions you decide to devote yourself to - you may not need a scope other than for spotting. There are a number of long distance competitions shot with iron (aperture) sights (Service Rifle/High Power in general, for example). You may not save too much money, though; the best sights - iron or glass - are pricey.
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Old May 30, 2009, 03:44 PM   #7
Creature
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For CMP-type matches, the minimum I needed was:

1. Shooting jacket
2. Shooting glove for the non-trigger hand
3. shooting mat
4. spotting scope and stand
6. folding stool to sit on
5. wagon and bungee cords to strap in and lug all this stuff back and forth between the firing lines...











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Old May 30, 2009, 04:50 PM   #8
ltdave
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it does make a difference as to what kind of competition you want to get into...

High Power (service or match rifle run by CMP and NRA) will require a different set of tools and accessories than what 3-gun competitions will...

www.nationalmatch.us is a geared specifically towards High Power rifle competition. www.Long-Range.com addresses long range (800-1000 yards). F-class falls into this category...

ive shot long range and while its fun, the trip to the range is too far so i stay with service rifle...

you dont use a scope for any of these for shooting disciplines other than F-class. scopes are used by the scorer in high power...

i know alot of guys in Kentucky shoot at Ft. Knox when they have matches there. i dont know the schedule but they had matches last weekend...

Small Arms Firing School at Camp Perry during the beginning of the Rifle Matches at the National Matches is a great couple of days, including using USGI M-16A2s for the M-16 match. instruction and coaching by USAMU and the All-Guard rifle teams disseminate a great deal of information. i dont know if its too late to get in SAFS now but check them out on the www.ODCMP.com page under the National Matches tab
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