Rifle competitions?

[Nimitz87]

hi all i was wondering what kind of organizations are out there for high power rifle competitions?

im a minor being 17 so im sure that will effect what kind of compeitions i can get into... not sure on if i want to go w/ the ar-15 style rifles or a normal rifle... looking at something like the remington 700P

also in the market for a gun for this exact purpose... any recomendations?

also .308 or .223? im leaning towards .308 my theory is that it will work better in the wind.. others opnions?

thanks

Chad

[G23/40]

Check out the NRA web site.
That should get you pointed in the right direction.
Your age will have little to do with it,unless your under 16..I think.
Rifles will depend on what type of competition you plan to shoot and how serious you want to get with it.
A good starter AR-15 for HIGHPOWER in my opinion is the RocK River Arms National Match A2 .Later if you decide to upgrade you can.There are some fine AR-smiths out there.
Can't really comment on the other forms of shooting.
Just go and have fun with whatever you shoot.
G23/40

[GaryXD]

I agree with G23/40. Go to http://www.rockriverarms.com and click on National Match A2.

[Chick]

Personally, I called Rock River last spring, looking for an upper. What I found was a witch with PMS on the other end of the phone. They may be good for some, but they don't have to worry about me buying from them.

[LegendF1]

It all depends on what you want to shoot. In high power, there's match rifles and service rifles, either requiring iron sights. For a beginner, I'd recommend a service rifle, since they're generally cheaper to start out with compared to a match rifle and there's less fiddling and adjustments to make compared to the match rifle. The most common service rifle you're likely to see is an AR, they're cheap compared to a tuned M1 or M1A, they won't beat you up in recoil, and they shoot great. Or you could call CMP up and order up a Garand and get your feet wet for about $500. The most important thing is to get out there and have fun! You're only competing against yourself.

Then there's F-class, which is kinda like your tactical/sniper type dealy, fired from prone. Optics are allowed, as is artifical support like sandbags and bipods. The best thing to do would be to hit CMP's website (www.odcmp.com) and locate a CMP affliated club near you.

As far as rifles go, for a service rifle, I'll echo the sentiments above and say track down an RRA National Match A2. If you're interested in F-Class, a Remington 700 or one of the Savage guns will suit you fine.

[30Cal]

An "Across the Course" Highpower Rifle match has two categories as stated above. There's Service rifle (M1, M14, AR) and there's Match Rifle. If it doesn't fall under the service rifle rules, it's a Match rifle. Generally, a service rifle can have internal modifications to improve accuracy (glass bedding, freefloated barrel, NM sights, etc). It's all done with iron sights. You can usually shoot F-Class (any rifle, any sight) at a match, but your score won't count and you'll look a little out-of-place (they're seen as a little bit of a novelty). Highpower shooters are generally fairly proud of using iron sights.

Across the Course bolt guns get fairly pricy (the sights alone are $pendy). They also have to be able to shoot the rapidfire stages, so that means they need to be milled to accept stripper clips (I've seen a couple bolt guns with detachable mags, but not too many--they're kinda new on the scene).

Shooting starts with offhand at 200yds slowfire.

Then you'll do sitting rapidfire. You start standing up. Once the targets come up, you have 60 seconds to sit down, shoot 2, reload, and shoot 8.

Then you move back to the 300yd line and shoot prone rapid. Same drill as previously.

Finally, you shoot prone slowfire at 600yds. Some places obviously don't have the full 600yds, so they shoot the course on reduced targets. All the same fun, but you don't have to deal with the wind like you would at 600.

The AR does just fine against the wind. It's the cheapest to get into match condition and the cheapest to feed, it shoots a little better and is easier to shoot well. You'll need something 75grs or more for 600yds.

Most CMP clubs have club rifles that you can borrow for the day. I'd do that for a little bit before sinking money into a heavy, expensive, and somewhat specialized rifle.

There are also long range matches that are fired prone starting at 600yds and finishing at 1000yds. Iron sights again, still shooting under the NRA Highpower rules.

If you want to shoot a rifle with a scope and bipod and those things, there are tactical matches held at some clubs. They use whatever local rules they have put together. To shoot long range (600yds+) with a scope, you'll need to spend a lot of money on a long range scope and mounts for it to be able to get enough elevation adjustment. A normal scope won't cut it.

Ty

[Tim R]

Might help to know what state your in. Maybe some body could direct you to someone who will help you get started. There are state clubs that many times have web sites too.