Long Range Rifle/Scope/PRS question(s)

[Walkalong]

We'll figure it out.

 

[GoldieMI]

That's awesome!

Whatever works. I've seen that done.

thank you
and painters tape is a lot easier to remove than Sharpie all over your arms
I got home last night, put my rifle away (cleaned it there at MTC before I even made the 3 hour drive home), and put my dope cards back into the pelican case.
the 6BR being lighter than the Dasher was easier to throw around- did find out the bipod is a bit short for that metal cage
side note- didn't really need any ibuprofen this morning after the match lol

 

[Walkalong]

We had to shoot our rifles standing no support one match. Jeff says dang I don't have a sling.
No worries I respond, I have one in my pack.............Not. "Sigh" That cost me hits.

 

[Walkalong]

Jeff and I are both signed up to shoot Saturday at West GA Precision. I hope you can make it.
I'll meet him where he works in Alexander City and we'll pair up from there.

 

[Walkalong]

I assume Jeff and I are the people from Alabama?


We’re really excited about another place to shoot matches so close to us.

 

[Walkalong]

@rdnktrkr, do you need to borrow a rifle to shoot the match? I can fix you up.

 

[rdnktrkr]

Yes you are who I was referring, now come up and kick butt and take names, that is an excellent local forum and they just put on an excellent gun show.
I appreciate the offer, I'm still up in the air about being able to make it, I've signed up twice in a pickleball tournament, (1st time I've tried that) 60+ mixed and 60+ men's, it is double elimination so I'll have mixed Thursday and men's Friday and as long as we win we keep playing , I hope to be playing late Saturday

 

[rdnktrkr]

I would love to watch a match or a practice before entering one, if I can't make this one maybe I can make the next one.
What do you think about the RPR22? I've seen them advertised but haven't held one. They appear to be around $450-500. What about a tricked out 10-22? About the same price

 

[Walkalong]

I'm sure both rifles would do just fine, I've seen some real tricked out 10-22s in matches, as well as some bone stock, the barrel/ammo will make or break the 10/22 setup. The RPR22 has a good rep. A stock CZ or Tikka would be in that range as well, and both are very accurate rifles.

 

[Varminterror]

What do you think about the RPR22? [...] What about a tricked out 10-22?

Between the two, I'd bet on the RPRR over the 10/22. The Savage Mark II I shoot is about on par with the RPRR for performance and handling, and it easily outperforms my wife and I's 10/22's.

Equally, I've been chatting with a few other match directors lately which host monthly NRL22 and PRS Rimfire matches about how to design matches to bring in "gunowners who aren't competitive shooters," as I'm exploring range layout/design options to start hosting matches next season on one or two of my properties, as well as discussing how we can get more and more participation out of all of our matches. How to accommodate the common-man's 10/22 comes up in every conversation - because so many "gun owners who aren't competitive shooters" already own 10/22's (same with 3-9x SFP scopes). There is an unwavering consensus that matches would have to be redesigned to accommodate 10/22's, because the performance gap is too large. One of those match directors runs the largest NRL22 club in the country, and one of the ranges he uses also hosts centerfire PRS matches - and they even host specialized matches designed for AR-10/15's because they see the gap in performance on the centerfire side, AND recognize there are SO many "gunowners which aren't competitive shooters" which already own AR's, so they tap into that market. They do intentionally include a few "semi-auto friendly" stages in their extra stages beyond the monthly standard NRL22 matches, but it's only ~2 stages out of 10 where the playing field is kinda leveled. Maybe another way of explaining it - all of those guys which host these matches point to the fact: if we design matches so 10/22's can be successful, then either 1) dudes with Anschutz, RimX, or Vudoo rifles will clean the match, or 2) the game becomes a speed/action event, and totally diverges from what is Precision Rifle Competition. It's getting tougher and tougher for inexpensive bolt action 22's to keep up - Production Class is one option, but it excludes "tricked out 10/22's".

If you OWN a 10/22, come out and challenge your skills and your rifle, but calibrate that there will be shooters at that match with years of more experience and with $5000-10,000 purpose built rigs. If you're buying new, don't even consider a 10/22, let alone buying and customizing a 10/22 (at added cost).

One other consideration for using a 10/22 for PRS/NRL22 games - you have to be relatively selective with your ammo choices, or maybe better stated, you are more limited in ammo options - as many of the match quality 22 ammo is pretty heavily waxed, and will gum up a 10/22 within a few stages.

 

[rdnktrkr]

No pickle ball this weekend, "water issues" YAY.
I looked at the NRL22 COF, looks like a lot of movement within 120sec then have to keep heartrate and breathing smooth. I can't imagine a 1/4" target at any range beyond the muzzle tip.
I'm looking forward to meeting Walkalong and seeing how this thing is run

 

[Walkalong]

Looking forward to it.

 

[Walkalong]

All packed up and ready to go. COF looks tough for an old guy.

 

[Walkalong]

Heading home, shot poorly, although I finally got it together and shot well the last two stages.
Jeff shot well, despite mag issues on all three 12 round stages. He placed 7th out of 30. I was 19th. Brutal. Had fun though,

@rdnktrkr picked a tough course of fire for a first match, but he got better all day and his last stage was his best. He can say, but I’m pretty sure he learned a lot. The other shooter’s helped him a lot with excellent coaching.

His rifle ran 100% all day, I had some uncharacteristic mag issues. Need to clean the rifle.


I’ll post more pics later

 

[rdnktrkr]

I enjoyed today and when I got home I realized how worn out I was, Thank you Walkalong and Jeff for your help along with the rest of the squad. I shot in positions today I never dreamed I would be and my legs are showing it, not easy for an old fart like me. Thank you again

 

[Walkalong]

It was fun meeting a fellow THR member, and the match was tough but fun. Lots of rifle movement. Three 12 round stages, all stages 90 seconds.

Stage 1 (12 shots) had 6 distances must impact each twice before you move, but you must move after every 4th shot, regardless.

Stage 3 (12 shots) had 3 distances, shoot near to far off the tank trap, move, shoot far to near, move, shoot near to far, move, shoot far to near. I held all of that. Timed out with a nine but no misses (one of the last two stages our squad shot)

Stage 7 had six distances with 1 shot and move, shoot six far to near, then repeat near to far. Only one position, but a lot of dialing or a lot of holding.

A lot of people timed out on the 12 shot stuff, and even some other stages. Winner only dropped 5 shots though, so.........

A fun new place to shoot a couple hours away. They have 2 PRS-22 matches this year (One was today), and NRL-22 matches most every month.

 

[Walkalong]

 

[Walkalong]

Oh yea, I bought an L3I "No Sucks" 12 round mag, which we both tried, sucked both times. Sigh. Can't wait for the new Vudoo mags to come out. That said, my old style discontinued Vudoo 12 round aluminum mag ran for me, even though I modded the mag catch slightly to lock up in the Hawkins M5-DBM bottom metal in the Foundation, which makes it hang ever so slightly lower in the Manners stocked gun (Badger bottom metal I believe).

I've let the Manners stocked rifle get real dirty, and I didn't do my normal clean/oil the bolt prep, so the mag issues with a proven mag/ammo/gun combination are probably related to that. That combo has run 100% for several matches prior to today.

 

[rdnktrkr]

I couldn't believe how stressful I felt the match was trying to remember what to shoot (not the concrete block holding the steel hanger) where to shoot from, when to move, breathing, trigger control, on & on it was a lot for a newcomer. I knew I was going to time out so I just went for the easier positions. I came home, unloaded the truck, cooked some tenderloins and was in bed before 8pm body aching, up this morning with a clear head, still a little sore, and hunting a RPR or CZ so I can do it again

 

[Varminterror]

I couldn't believe how stressful I felt the match was trying to remember what to shoot (not the concrete block holding the steel hanger) where to shoot from, when to move, breathing, trigger control, on & on it was a lot for a newcomer.

Don’t feel alone, amigo! The most common advice I have to give new shooters at our matches is “just breathe,” because it IS a lot to mentally organize, and guys really do forget to breathe… As simple as it sounds, that really is the point of the game though - it’s meant to be mentally and physically challenging, so we have to do all of “think and move and shoot,” at the same time; that’s what makes it so much fun!

But also, it does get easier as you get used to it. A handful of matches from now, you’ll still be tired and sore after the end of a match, but less so, but you’ll be finishing stages with time to spare and won’t feel the chaos nearly as much any more. I do hope your squad was giving you pointers through the day to help make the stages easier for you, help keep you on track for which target and which position, and help you grow into it more quickly.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it and that you’ll be back - it’s super addictive, and a great challenge to improve overall marksmanship.

 

[Walkalong]

I couldn't believe how stressful I felt the match was trying to remember what to shoot

I'll say again, this was a tough course of fire, with no easy stages, no prone or semi prone, all shot off of props with a lot of gun movement. (Well, one semi prone off of the angled roof, hardly counts)

I wouldn't be discouraged at all.

I do hope your squad was giving you pointers through the day to help make the stages easier for you, help keep you on track for which target and which position, and help you grow into it more quickly.

They did a great job, Jeff and two others really helped him a lot with excellent advice. I helped him get dope each stage, we filled out data cards together when one was needed, but he shot right after me, so I was putting stuff away as he shot, so I was really grateful for the others helping him out.

 

[rdnktrkr]

Guys I'm hooked, I'm still thinking about last weekend, talked to my body builder friends about what exercises to do to strengthen my legs and knees, also looking at trying to improve my fundamentals. I've been looking online at 22s that would be suitable for me, currently I have single shot, semiautos, levers and tube feed bolt actions but no mag fed bolt guns. The rifle Walkalong loaned me was flawless, VERY accurate, clear optics basically about 3 or 4 steps above anything I've shot before, the only problem that rifle had was the loose nut behind the trigger and it tried all it could to tighten it. I don't know if I will ever be able to thank him enough for that experience, Walkalong, his friend Jeff, and the other competitors helped me through each stage and gave me pointers, most I would forget before the next stage but afterwards I started to recall them.

I noticed there was a lot of people that had trouble with their mags, one shooter had trouble with 2 of the same mag, Is that common? Walkalong had an issue and it was on the speed stage so I know that cost him points. There was a RPR22 there that had trouble with factory mags. Is there some mag mfg to stay away from when I decide on a rifle?

 

[Walkalong]

The CZs feed really well, can’t remember seeing one with an issue. Means mag changes I believe.

Vudoo is coming out with a new style mag to help address issues. Depends as well. The Hawkins bottom metal with their extended mag catch feed flawlessly with the original Vudoo mags, plastic or aluminum. That’s what you had.

Mine with the bottom metal it has needs help, like the mag block I added to keep the bag from pushing on the mag (which can tilt it down and cause jams), and the mag stop I put on the back of my plastic mag. That usually feeds flawlessly, but I had a couple of issues with a jam where it seemed like the bolt was jammed. I’ll try to replicate it, but believe it was from not cleaning. This is the first match I’ve shot where I did not clean and lube the bolt before the match. I did clean yours, I was very concerned with you not having any rifle issues along with trying to learn something new.

Savage makes a rifle aimed at NRL-22, looks nice.

The CZ Varmint At One is a lot of bang for the buck, a young lady from out west beat our eyes out with one at a match last year.

 

[Walkalong]

Started prepping 22 OF 6 Dasher cases last night to put with the 77 OF I have already fully prepped and primed (Alpha).

Will trim, deburr, chamfer, brush, & tumble them tonight, might shoot a one day Saturday.

 

[rdnktrkr]

I can't believe I've reread all 86 pages and feel I've learned some things that will help me that as a casual shooter I never thought about (I'll probably forget everything when I shoot another match).
Walkalong there is another range in Macon that has NRL matches if your interested, looks like it is about 3hrs from Montgomery, Marion road gun club, I just saw it and thought I would pass on the info.