This would be Razor & I's first 2-day match. They seem to be considered much more serious than 1-day matches. I wouldn't have guessed it, since PRS matches aren't super physically demanding. 2-day physical events are definitely more weighty than 1-day physical events. It does take more focus and time to complete a 2-day non-physical event. I guess I would figure out what it's all about at the VPRC Rifleman's Revival!
Andy Slade has a shop called Rifleman's Outfitters, and his training company is Rifleman's Path, so we figured he would have a strong hand in organizing this event, which meant that it would be really good.
TUNE-UP DAY
We arrived the day before the match to zero. I moved 0.1L (dialing is my practice for windage fixes), but elevation was fine. My average speed was 2973, with an ES of 62 and an SD of 23 over 5 shots. It's crazy to me how the gun slows down as I shoot more.
The day before is called a "Tune-up day", where they give you a chance to not only zero but practice shooting off of the props. That seems very fair. You want to even the playing field and not have a huge home-field advantage from someone knowing how the wind behaves at the range, how wobbly the props are, and what heights and techniques work well on different props. Pros probably don't need this quite as desperately as newbies do, since they at least have a better grasp on how they like to handle different heights and techniques. Newbies, on the other hand, are probably trying to figure out a million things at once anyways and can only figure out so much in a short time period and will still miss a lot due to fundamentals and other, non-prop-related basics.
I shot off the cattle gate at a 640yd target, barricade style. My Vortex Impact (which isn't of any use at a PRS match where all target distances are given ahead of time) hits up against the top bar, which isn't great. It took me about 8 rounds before I started hitting, I think because I was 0.75 high initially.
I shot some more using tripod rear and a flat bag, getting a first round hit. It felt stable, but my left knee didn't enjoy kneeling and felt oddly sensitive.
I shot from the rooftop, on the same target. I wanted to focus on position building, not figuring out elevation, so I kept the target and elevation hold constant to eliminate that factor in assessing how I was shooting.
I shot from a circle port in a wall, using tripod rear. The circle port was very deep, and the back blast coming back at me through the little tunnel was massive. I had no chance of seeing my shots, but I hit.
I shot from a tall rock at a 700yd target.
There was also a mover at 600yd, 0.5mil wide. I held 1.5 L->R and 1.0 L->R. I spent most of my ammo on the mover. It's not often that you get to play with a mover, even if it is just a mechanical one and not a fun robot.
There was a "Tank Trap Drag Race" late in the day. $50 buy-in with single elimination. I had less than zero chance, so I didn't play, but it was interesting to watch. They make it look so easy. It was fun watching Lauryl kick everyone's butts.
We got to meet a guy from Miles to Matches. SB recognized his voice from the podcast. She told him the story about how she had thought that the "Tank Trap Drag Race" was purely a physical race where participants had to actually drag the tank trap. He'd later share this story on the podcast, which was hilarious... we've made our mark on shooting history, even if it wasn't for the reasons we had originally envisioned.
As we left the range, they handed out the match book. We had dinner at El Rio. Back at the AirBNB, we worked through the day 1 stages to run the distances through the Kestrel to write down our dope. As we read the stage briefs, we regretted not taking pictures of the props during tune-up. We had to make guesses on what some of the stages would actually look like during execution, based on what we recalled seeing at the range.
DAY 1
We arrived at 8am so that I could foul up my barrel after cleaning it the previous night, since I had shot 63 rounds during zeroing and tune-up. I only had to adjust it 0.1R, which cancelled out the change I made the previous day.
The safety brief was pushed back by 30 min to 8:30am due to the rain.
They randomized which squad started at which stage, which was a nice idea.
Andy's advice to Razor and I was to let each round be a data point. Also, if you have a bad stage, let it go and move on.
It was 52*F, 28.96 Hg, 94%RH, and 1082 DA when we started.
Stage 3: Logan's Ladder
- Shoot at a 10" square @500yd 1x, then hit a 12" then a 8" diamond 1x each from any position on the triangle barricade.
- Repeat from 3 more positions.
Outcome/learnings: 0 hits /6 attempts /12 possible
- Had tried dope based on average velocity from yesterday, but based on how poorly that went I decided to go back to the velocity of 2054 that I usually use for my dope, which is what I used when I wrote down dope for all the stages the previous night anyways
- I hit low right using 0.7L and 1.0L and needed to hold even more wind, which had been coming in at 11 o'clock at what I thought was 7mph but which was actually probably more
- I only saw splash 2x, but it splattered so much I thought it could've been a hit, but there were no sounds
Stage 4: This Old Log
- from the end of the log, shoot near-far-near @415yd piglet and 710yd pig
- go to the middle of the log and shoot far-near-far
- go to the other end of the log and shoot near-far-near
Outcome/learnings: 4 hits /7 attempts /9 possible
- I had pre-dialed 0.2L
- I only ever hit the piglet and never saw my misses on the pig. I'm normally pretty good at spotting my misses in dirt, so that was surprising
- A spotter said afterwards that I was missing right.
Stage 5: Around the World
- go prone and shoot clockwise starting with the low left berm, 2 rounds on each IPSC target
- I tested my bipod height beforehand since we were allowed to on the side, as long as we didn't dry fire. I needed 2 clicks up on my GRNDPOD.
- The rifle felt stable, and the targets seemed big
- Wind had died, so I started with 0.1L and adjusted from there
- I needed to go left edge for the further targets
Stage 6: Nightforce Skill Stage
- Shoot 8" and 6" circles @401yd from the barricade, 1 round each, from 4 different positions.
- Repeat one of the positions at the end, for a total of 5 positions
Outcome/learnings: 5 hits /9 attempts /10 possible
- Wobble was tolerable
- Had to tiptoe, and I did make a shot from tiptoes
- Started with 0.2L and hit the first target
- I did small adjustments as I went
- I did shoot from the low right side for my third position, just in case I never got to the 4th position, since low is advantageous for me since I don't have to tiptoe. That also meant that I could go back to that spot if I got to a 5th position.
Stage 7: Roof Top Hunter
- Go onto the roof and shoot groundhogs @229yd L then R, one round each
- Shoot animals with 1 round each going near (duck @425yd), middle (coyote @463yd), far (pig @509yd), middle, near, middle far.
Outcome/learnings: 4 hits /7 attempts /9 possible
- I hit the groundhogs and the ducks
- Saw a miss high on the coyote
- Wrote a good plan to hold, but I ended up dialing for more certainty
- I added 0.2L after shooting the groundhogs
- It took me some time to find the animals on the left, even on 15x zoom, since they were in the middle of grass without a lot of landmarks around
It was now 66*F, 28.67Hg, 54%RH, 2082 DA
Stage 8: Sheen Gun Needs Ammo
- Get on the bench table and shoot bowling pins N->F, 1 round each- Move an ammo can from one side of the shooting area to the far side and yell "Sheen gun needs ammo"
- Repeat shooting, N->F from the bench
- Move the ammo can back
- Shoot F->N to finish
Outcome/learnings: 7 hits /8 attempts /9 possible
- I pre-dialed 0.2L
- I missed on the first shot, off the right, so I adjusted after that
Stage 9: Hustlin' Hustlin' - Rock Ross
- shoot the far back 717yd IPSC from rock 1
- move to rock 2 and shoot the near 492yd IPSC
- go back to rock 1 for the far IPSC
- move to rock 3 for the near IPSC
- go back to rock 1 for the far IPSC
- move to rock 4 for the near IPSC
- go back to rock 1 for the far IPSC
- move to rock 5 for the near IPSC
- go back to rock 1 for the far IPSC
- move to rock 6 for the near IPSC
Outcome/learnings: 2 hits /5 attempts /10 possible
- I pre-dialed 0.2L and held left edge for the far target
- The moving sequence was challenging... I had to pause and think a couple of times to remember to move instead of staying and shooting the different target
Stage 10: Taxation is Theft
- Off the clock, with the rifle on the ground, pick up the 22LR pistol with silencer and mag dump on the IPSC @20yd, and put it down
- time starts when you retrieve the rifle to shoot at a square @272yd 2x, from right above the right square port
- move above the left square port and shoot F-N-F, 2 hits each @446yd and 511yd squares
Outcome/learnings: 2 hits /6 attempts /8 possible
- I should've removed my bipods from the front because they hit the middle ridge on the decorated wall when I went barricade style on it. I used barricade style since the wall wasn't long enough for modified prone
- I had put the bag ont he ridge as a workaround, which was OK for the near square, which I hit on the second attempt... I wasn't sure why I missed the first time.
- I dialed 0 wind because it was a tailwind from that angle
- On the left side, putting the bag on the ridge made the pistol grip go so far forward that it hit the front of the wall due to the more extreme angle, so I wasn't able to do make adjustments well, and it took forever for me to get off shots
- I dialed 0.6L for the far target and held right edge for the near target... I made one hit on the near target, I think.
Stage 1: Logan's Pipes
- Shoot from any position @594yd 12" square and the large KYL @328yd, then back at the square
- Repeat from a different position but with the middle KYL
- Repeat from a third position but with the small KYL
Outcome/learnings: 3 hits /4 attempts /9 possible
- I had the wrong initial elevation dialed, set for near instead of far
- I had 0.5L of wind pre-dialed and held and additional 0.5L for the far target
- I didn't remember that we had to shoot at the square again before moving and had missed but heard the squad and RO behind me hinting that I was doing something wrong after I took a shot from the second position (which missed anyways) and went back
- I disliked having to go second on this stage, especially after the long walk from stage 10 to stage 1, since there was no time to watch the course of fire and internalize it
- the wind was 8mph, verified emperically
Stage 2: The Jeffersons
- go prone and shoot the mover (66% IPSC) @598yd with 3 rounds from the top of the deck
- shoot @916yd IPSC
- do 3 more shots on the mover
- shoot @916yd IPSC
- do 3 more shots on the mover
Outcome/learnings: 1 hit /11 attempts /11 possible
- I tried to figure out what to hold based on yesterday's dope, which I ended up ignoring
- I pre-dialed 1.2L. When the mover was going left, I needed to shoot off the left edge, so 1.5L.
- I was way off trying 2.0 when the mover was going right. I tried to adjust, but there weren't enough chances for me to figure it out. I tried 2x going left and 1x going right.
- I forgot to dial back down to 3.1 after the second time out to the IPSC and therefore missed on my first shot attempt back on the mover
Overall
- I decided that I didn't shoot that much on day 1 (83 rounds), and we didn't have rain during the stage, so I didn't bother to clean my gun again
- At night after dinner at El Rio again, we generated Kestrel dope for stages 11-20
- Andy made the targets even smaller for day 2 because the top shooters had done so well and the scores were really close... Day 2 would be even harder than the tough Day 1 that we had had
DAY 2
It was 34*F, 29.09HG, 59%RH, and -651DA!
SB and I split a pair of handwarmers, and I borrowed SB's gloves for my left hand while shooting. I like to keep my right hand bare so that I can fully feel the trigger.
Stage 18: Bedded KYL
- from the left side of the truck bed, shoot @715yd IPSC KYL L->R, 1 round each
- repeat from the right side of the truck
Outcome/learnings: 1 hit /10 attempts /10 possible
- I forgot to set parallax beforehand and was still on 300, but it wasn't the reason I did poorly, I don't think
- Started with 4.3 up and 0.3L but missed... I guessed that I was high and dialed lower. I hit shot #7, maybe
- I tried adjusting for wind, thinking that my mistakes could be due to wind, and went down to 0.1, but I couldn't tell which direction I was missing
- Eventually, I saw a miss on the right and went back to 0.3L and hit.
Stage 19: Your Rocks are Numbered, Son
- Pick 4/6 rocks to shoot from
- From spot 1, shoot target #1 @388yd
- From spot 2, shoot target #1 then target #2 @438yd
- From spot 3, shoot target #1, target #2, then target #3 @504yd
- From spot 4, shoot target #1, target #2, target #3, target #2, target #1.
Outcome/learnings: 1 hit /6 attempts /9 possible
- I almost forgot to move after the first position and started to prep the shot for target #2 before remembering to move and to stay on target 1
- I started with 0.3R then went to 0.2R when I missed (maybe I need to make bigger adjustments in the future)
- I held elevation, but the results weren't great, so maybe I should stick with dialing?
Stage 20: Entrenched
- Shoot from the end of the wall, 3x @377yd German Helmet
- Move to the next position on the forward-facing wall and shoot 3x @785yd IPSC
- Move to the far left position and shoot 3x @1087yd IPSC
Outcome/learnings: 3 hits /5 attempts /9 possible
- I started with low forward bipods, using the GRND-POD due to weight savings, but I hit the ridge with the bottom of the handguard
- I switched on the clock to normal height bipods and even then, I was still hitting the handguard a bit
- I dialed 0.1L for 0 wind and forgot to hold more (0.2) for 0 wind @785yd. I saw my miss right and adjusted, but not enough. I was still missing right, the spotters said afterwards. I need to make bolder wind corrections.
It was now 44*F, 29.14 Hg, 46%RH, and -63 DA.
Stage 1: Piped by Logan... Again
- take a position and hit the spinner 3x @286yd, then shoot 1x ea on big and small IPSCs @594yd
- move to the second position and repeat
Outcome/learnings: 6 hits /10 attempts /10 possible
- I got the spinner OK despite it oscillating more and more based on how my timing played out
- I used 0.2L on the spinner based on what others were using
- 0.6 was too much for the far targets, and I missed left according to spotters. I did do 0.2 instead of 0.3 close, so maybe I should've gone for 0.4L far based on proportions
Stage 12: To the Windooooooooow....
- drop to prone and shoot from the low window @645yd IPSC, 2x
- move to the window to the left and shoot @1145yd IPSC, 2x
- shoot @ close IPSC 2x from 3 more windows with no repeats
- 0.6L on the close target was not enough, so I held left edge to make the hit the second time
- for the far target, I started with 1.6L and missed and didn't see where it went, so I backed off to 1.2 and still missed. I missed right, the spotters said.
- on my 1st shot on the near target from modified prone, I saw my miss high left but there was no time to correct
- it's loud in the connex! I feel bad for the ROs for that stage.
Stage 13: The Gatekeeper
- Go to the cattle gate and start from one of the top 3 levels and shoot 2 rounds @500yd German Helmet
- Switch levels and repeat, until you go top/middle/low/middle/top or in the reverse direction
Outcome/learnings: 1 hit /6 attempts /10 possible
- I stood on a block that SB had asked Andy to make available, and I used barricade for the top position since it was quick and I didn't have to deal with making space for both the step and the tripod at the same time, which would've been tricky.- I dropped the bag on the other side of the gate by accident and had to pick it up and try again
- I used tripod rear for everything else, after Andy and SB helped me remove the block so that I wasn't having to do that on the clock too
- I had trouble finding the target even at 16x... it was too much
- I started with 0.2R and hit but missed the other 5 despite using tripod rear
- I saw splashed, and it seemed high? but I coudln't tell
- My tripod legs weren't all on the ground... I should've picked it up to move it so that it wouldn't go awry, a good shooter named Luke said
- Jayden watched my disastrous stage and gave me welcomed advice afterwards. She suggested that I try to stand more upright instead of leaning forward. She also mentioned that I should make sure that all 3 tripod legs are on the ground
- I chose to try tripod rear because I was doing so poorly at this match anyways and had nothing to lose. At least by doing it here, I could get tips from good shooters. People felt bad for us and knew that we weren't threats.
Stage 14: Tanked & Trapped
- get on one tank trap and shoot near piglet @415yd and far pig @710yd
- go to other tank trap and shoot far then near
- return to the first tank trap but at a different spot and do near then far
- go back to the other tank trap with a new position and shoot far then near
- go back to the first tank trap and use a new spot for near then far
Outcome/learnings: 4 hits /5 attempts /10 possible
- missed 1st shoot, corrected, and then it was good after that
- I had pre-dialed 0.2L for near because the wind had died down slightly
- I noticed that the wind picked up again and was going to adjust, but time ran out anyways
- I used the grey ops bag, which was pretty good and not crazy heavy if I held it upright while moving
- It took me a while to find the near target one time... I had to back out and look for landmarks
- I had zoomed in for the close piglet because it was small, and I needed accuracy
- I started on crux's because they were the most stable. The arms did have flat tops, though, which helped
It was 56*F, 29.11Hg, 29%RH, and 790 DA.
Stage 15: Out & for Back:
- go prone and shoot 2x each at targets going near @656yd IPSC, mid @825yd IPSC, and far @1205yd IPSC, then mid, then near
Outcome/learnings: 5 hits /10 attempts /10 possible
- I pre-dialed 0.7L and missed right, so I adjusted left to hit. I continued the pattern after that.
- I supposedly missed high right on the middle target, which I only ended up hitting 1x
- I held the wrong direction on the far target for my first shot, fixed it, and hit the second time
- I missed off left shoulder high on the middle on the way back, and I hit the neck on the 4th shot at the target
- I hit the last target 2x
- I set up bipods with 2 clicks up again after testing it out
- I adjusted based on the wind picking up, too, and looked at the flags on the clock 2x
Stage 16: Nightforce Skill Stage
- shoot at a 8" circle @401yd and 8" circle @491yd from the first four positions on the PRS barricade
- repeat one of the first positions, for 5 positions total
Outcome/learnings: 0 hits /10 attempts /10 possible
- pre-dialed 0.1L because the 5mph wind was straight on
- I had trouble locating the near target, since I was just seeing grass
- I only saw a miss once, high. Other times, I had no idea what was happening. The spotter later told me I was high right.
- I used heavy rubber blocks to stand on. I've ended up doing poorly when I've used bolsters this weekend. Maybe it's too much to deal with vs just dealing with limited height by tiptoeing. Bolsters can easily get in the way for other positions, anyways, so you're screwed one way or another
Stage 17: Hit the Slopes
- go prone and shoot far @767yd IPSCs with 1 round each, big then small
- go to the sloped roof and shoot animals 2x each @509yd far pig, @463yd middle coyote, @425yd near duck, then far again
Outcome/learnings: 4 hits /7 attempts /10 possible
- I shot the big IPSC, 1st pig, 2 coyotes, and missed the small IPSC high right
- timed out after 1 miss on the duck
- pre-dialed 0.8L wind for the iPSC, then went down to 0.4L for the pig and was surprised to hit
- I made the left leg of the bipod as long as possible for the roof. I regretted not bringing the Ckye pod that others had brought. It has a ton of adjustability. I also loosened the cant all the way and was able to be pretty horizontal. SB says she couldn't get flat with the Atlas bipods, which surprised me.
- The Kestrel string got caught in my butt stock base bar as I was setting up on the slope, and untangling ate up about 5s
Overall - 112/122 which happened to tie with SB who did beat me with the tiebreaker
- I need to visualize myself executing the stage beforehand to avoid mental errors on when to move and what steps to do and what targets to shoot- I need to carry forward wind info and adjust appropriately based on distances using the quick wind formula
- I should make bolder wind corrections after missing... 0.1 won't make a difference
- I should measure the distances I need for bolsters for barricade vs tripod rear vs modified prone and bring a tape measure
- I may need to find landmarks even for targets in big grassy fields, or else figure out how to guide my gun onto the target even with the Impact better, now that I can't see the turret.
- They feed you at 2-day matches!
- They also had a prize table and took good care of the ROs.
- We got beat pretty badly, but I guess this is kind of like the major leagues, shooting with people who take this seriously.
- I don't know that I'll be jumping on another 2-day match again in the near future. I probably have a lot to work on first. It did give us a ton more hours of experience, though.
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