Competed in my first rifle match...

[precision_shooter]

Local private range (A little over an hour from my house) held a "Hunters Rifle Challenge" this past Saturday. The match had been planned for months and I had been paid up just as long.

First, let me say I had a BLAST (no pun intended)!!!

This match was set up to simulate different hunting scenarios with targets from 100 - 300 yards in varying sizes. I've never really shot past 100 yards until this match. I disappointed myself on some of the "easier" shots, and surprised myself on some of the "more difficult" shots.

1st stage - 2 shots: standing position off a T-post at 12" steel plate at 200 yds. T-Posts without any fence stretched and attached are not that sturdy... I hit both shots 2 points
2nd stage - 2 shots: unsupported (No Bipods or shooting bags, Only Slings allowed) shooting a 200yd Pig plate (Steel plate shaped like a pig and sized to mimic a pig at 200 yards). Shooter had choice of position with points value based on position chosen.
Standing Unsupported = 4 points per hit
Kneeling Unsupported = 3 points per hit
Seated Unsupported = 2 points per hit
Prone Unsupported = 1 point per hit
I chose to stand and hit my first shot, but missed my 2nd shot.
3rd stage - 4 shots: Bench or Prone Bipods allowed. Had 4 shots to break one 4" clay pigeion and one 2" clay pigeon at 200 yards. Hit both, but took 4 shots. 2 points
4th stage - 2 shots: Bobcat Vital Zone from "Reaper" rest (Rifle Rest mounted to a tripod. The rest was quite awkward, and I missed both shots. No excuses here.
5th stage - 4 shots: "Know Your Limits", Bench or Prone supported. 7" plate, 6" plate, 4" plate, 2" plate at 200 yds. 7" = 1pt, 6" = 2pts, 4" = 3pts, 2" = 4pts. Each hit accumulates points. Miss and you lose all points. Key here is to "Know Your Limits" and when to stop and keep your points. Only 3 people scored on this stage. Everyone's egos, mine included got in the way. 0 Points
6th stage - 3 shots: 200 yard offhand at 12" plate, 1 point per hit. 2 points for me.
7th stage - Deer Blind: 220 yd shot at vital zone of deer target. 2 shots. Missed first shot, hit the 2nd shot. 1 point for me
8th stage - Prairie Dogs: Steel prairie dog targets at 150yd, 200yds, 250yds, and 300yds. 1 point for each hit. I missed the 150 and 200yd shots, but nailed the 250 and 300yd shots.
9th stage - Barricade: 4-stepped wall. 3 shots at 12" steel plate at 200yds, with each shot having to be taken from a different step/position. 1st shot off top standing, 2nd off the next step down, kneeling, 3rd shot off the 3rd step sitting. 1 point for each hit. Hit 2
10th stage - 5 dot drill: 5 one inch dots at 100 yds. I hit 1 of 5. Very disappointing.
11th stage - Ferris Wheel: My Favorite stage of the day. 4 shots at a 6" swinging steel plate at 200 yds. 2 points for making 2 hits, and an additional 2 point if you could swing the plate all the way around like a ferris wheel. I got my 2 points only on this one. It was all about timing and hitting the plate on its down/back swing to get it swinging harder/faster and spin all the way around. A few people got it to spin with 3 shots.

All in all I finished 14th out of 28 shooters. The top 8-10 shooters were all shooting custom rigs with $2k-$5k scopes. I was shooting my 18" barreled Savage .308 with Vortex Viper scope and bipod.

All of the stages were timed with typically 1 minute to complete the stage. I did better than I thought I would, but not as good as I would have liked. Most importantly, I had a ton of fun and can't wait till the next match.
Now to practice practice practice till the next one...

[jwrowland77]

That actually sounds like a really fun match to shoot in. Welcome to the addiction of competition shooting. It only gets worse from here. Lol

[1stmar]

Sounds like a good time..

[1-DAB]

that sounds like a lot of fun!!

[4EVERM-14]

Interesting variety of targets and distances. Sounds like a nice test of equipment and marksmanship skills. I'll bet it was a fun day for everyone

[precision_shooter]

I was having too much fun and forgot to take a lot of pics/video. Here are the few pics I did take and a couple videos I took as well as a video of me someone else got.

Clay Pigeons and Bobcat stages


Clay Pigeon stage. Shooters choice of positions - Bench or Prone 200yds


Ferris Wheel stage. 200 yds


Clay Pigeon stage with suppressed .308.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dpb2x2Lkuxw

Clay Pigeon stage custom .243AI.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zQq_OIJ2KBc

Me shooting 200yd target from barricade kneeling.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8csttuKpbuY

[ATPBULLETS]

Nice. thanks for sharing

Good shooting.

[precision_shooter]

Thanks everyone. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait till the next one.

The biggest problem is where I live. There aren't a lot of matches around here. Have to drive 2-3 hours, or more, just to get to a decent range where public matches are held.

[zachattack2]

Wow that sounds like a lot of fun

Nice shooting

[jwrowland77]

Originally Posted by precision_shooter

Thanks everyone. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait till the next one.



The biggest problem is where I live. There aren't a lot of matches around here. Have to drive 2-3 hours, or more, just to get to a decent range where public matches are held.

Is that it, just 2-3 hours? Lol. It's crazy what we do for our love of shooting. I drive to Tulsa once a month which is around 4 hours one way to shoot in a monthly F-Class match, along with driving to Memphis (about 3 hours). Love it though.

[precision_shooter]

To get to a range to even practice beyond 100yds is a good 2 hour drive. I can't do that every weekend...

[Snyper]

To get to a range to even practice beyond 100yds is a good 2 hour drive. I can't do that every weekend...

You need to find a farmer somewhere close who will lease you enough room to stretch out without having to travel so far

[Rob228]

That's not the best looking bench setup, thinking a solid prone would be the way to go. .

[precision_shooter]

That bench was actually very stable. Heavy gauge steel construction. Was more stable than some of the cinder block shooting benches at some of the ranges I've been to.