Precision Rifle Blog - What the Pros Use - 2014

Johnny Boom said:
So who can host it in Ontario? I think we could get enough guys interested to at least try.

Wasn't there some chatter about putting a proposal together for UKD on DND ranges at the ORA PR championship?
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There are UKD ranges on many of the military bases.

There is also a private range North-East of Toronto that would be idea.

There could also be matches on a few of the 300 yard / meter ranges. They would be a bit limiting, but good intro matches could be held on them. For people who have never shot over barricades and the like, it would be a good stepping stone. Hunters could benefit from shooting this type of match too.
 
kombayotch said:
There are UKD ranges on many of the military bases.

There is also a private range North-East of Toronto that would be idea.

There could also be matches on a few of the 300 yard / meter ranges. They would be a bit limiting, but good intro matches could be held on them. For people who have never shot over barricades and the like, it would be a good stepping stone. Hunters could benefit from shooting this type of match too.
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:agree: really good idea!
 
kombayotch said:
There are UKD ranges on many of the military bases.

There is also a private range North-East of Toronto that would be idea.

There could also be matches on a few of the 300 yard / meter ranges. They would be a bit limiting, but good intro matches could be held on them. For people who have never shot over barricades and the like, it would be a good stepping stone. Hunters could benefit from shooting this type of match too.
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Yeah, when the ranges shrink you just need to get a little more creative with stage design I guess. I am all for getting folks out of the comfortable prone position. I have been tossing around the idea of presenting a course of fire to our club executive this spring. I know there is no replacement for shear distance for wind calling etc, but I *think* you could still have a fun shoot with much smaller targets, awkward positions. Snipershide has a 25m rimfire challenge that I am keen to try at 100-200m with the centerfires.
 
arcticcathonda said:
Yeah, when the ranges shrink you just need to get a little more creative with stage design I guess. I am all for getting folks out of the comfortable prone position. I have been tossing around the idea of presenting a course of fire to our club executive this spring. I know there is no replacement for shear distance for wind calling etc, but I *think* you could still have a fun shoot with much smaller targets, awkward positions. Snipershide has a 25m rimfire challenge that I am keen to try at 100-200m with the centerfires.
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Shorter range competitions with rimfire would be popular. Say up to 300m maximum. For comparasons, this would be in line with 800-1000m centerfire matches.
 
I run a .22LR match from 100-300 yards (more of an F-Class style match). But, there aren't that many people who have a rimfire rifles set up for it. Many max out their scope at 200 the first time out.

I've made some practice barricades from skids I got from the industrial area near work. Companies put them on the edge of the road for people to take for firewood.





Even at shorter distances, it can be pretty challenging, especially if you do things like make people shoot left handed or right handed depending on which side of the barricade they're using.

Some kind of muzzle restrictor would probably need to be added in order to use them on some ranges though.
 
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Thanks for the posts. Very interesting articles and info on a exciting "new" sport.

One of the factors that might have influenced the top shooters choice of gear - availability. I scanned through the areas of my interest and focused on a few items.

2012, lots of Kriegers. 2014, very few.

At the same time, Krieger took on a huge commitment to a single end user. That sucked up production and left sport shooters with waits approaching 1 yr. It worked out great for the company on the contract side but really hurt on the sporting side. I have chatted with the higher ups at Krieger and they are definitely working to correct that. Lead times have been chopped by 1/3 and they are working to chop it to 1/2 of what is was over the last 3 yrs. As lead times start to fit industry norms, I expect to see more of this brand show up on equipment lists

I was disappointed with Shilen as they have made their business on 6mm barrels with SR BR in the past. Again, OEM has been their focus and despite their lack of presence in some LR shooting sports, they continue to be one of the largest match barrel producers in the world and certainly continue to help shooter gets on the podium. Many of their desired products faced some very long lead times over the last 3 yrs opening the door to competitors. Again, they are reviewing their entire portfolio and speeding up delivery times to sporting end users.

Some product I have ordered in the last quarter arrived in 1/2 the time projected. A very good sign.

In the stock category, if our experience is typical, long lead times at McMillan would certainly turn some shooters off.

In the bullets, Berger has indeed been a dominant name in many LR shooting sports. BUT again, their success may very well be their downfall. Talk about long lead times, they got them now too. However, they are investing heavily to rapidly increase production volume. They have pretty much doubled their product volume since 2012 and hope to add 20 to 30% in 2015. A huge financial commitment and I hope they pull it off.

Maybe, the other major brands will put on their thinking caps and bring new product to the market. SHOT is not that far away so let's see what the new year brings.

So I see lead times of product as a significant part of the choices shooters would/could have made. Not to say the other brands aren't great, they are. But if you can't get it, you can't use it.

I had a nice chuckle in the optics section. It is completely opposite to the F class world. Different needs, different tools.

I would love to see matches like this in Canada
Jerry
 
kombayotch said:
There are UKD ranges on many of the military bases.

There is also a private range North-East of Toronto that would be idea.

There could also be matches on a few of the 300 yard / meter ranges. They would be a bit limiting, but good intro matches could be held on them. For people who have never shot over barricades and the like, it would be a good stepping stone. Hunters could benefit from shooting this type of match too.
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Milcun Training Center is the only place I can think of where it may work.

I'm very interested in doing a few PRS style matches. Currently assembling gear and skill.
 
kombayotch said:
I run a .22LR match from 100-300 yards (more of an F-Class style match). But, there aren't that many people who have a rimfire rifles set up for it. Many max out their scope at 200 the first time out.

I've made some practice barricade from skid I got from the industrial area near work. Companies put them on the edge of the road for people to take for firewood.


Even at shorter distances, it can be pretty challenging, especially if you do things like make people shoot left handed or right handed depending on which side of the barricade they're using.

Some kind of muzzle restrictor would probably need to be added in order to use them on some ranges though.
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Thanks for sharing, some great ideas! I may just need to try this!
 
As for the equipment report, some of the results were influenced by availability. Surgeon, for example, was not offering there actions for a long time due to them fulfilling a big order for that Tracking Point rifle system. They started offering actions again at the end of the summer, so they will probably move back up.

People are moving to mid-sized 6mm's from other calibers. They offer the optimum combinations of flat trajectory, low wind drift and low recoil. 6XC probably would have been the sweetheart if the brass was available, but the only one making 6XC brass is Norma and people had trouble getting it. Many people ended up going to 6 Creedmore instead. I think you will see an even bigger shift to 6 Creedmore since Hornady, Nosler and Norma are now making 6.5 Creedmore brass, and Winchester will probably release it soon since they were selling the ammo this year.
 
I would definately be another one interested in a PRS style match done somewhere out west. I think there are a couple of ranges that could be used, even if there are known distances I think you could get really creative with improvised shooting positions.
 
Unkown distances (UKD) is preferable, but not absolutely necessary. Many matches only have a few UKD stages because it's hard to keep them fair unless the match involves having the people continuously on the move to different locations. When you have a bunch of people waiting around in the peanut gallery, there's always going to be gamers and the like lasering the targets or people telling their buddies what the distances are, etc... We talk about a UKD range being needed because these are the only kind of military ranges where you would potentially be able to shoot at different distances from the same firing point.
 
kombayotch said:
As for the equipment report, some of the results were influenced by availability. Surgeon, for example, was not offering there actions for a long time due to them fulfilling a big order for that Tracking Point rifle system. They started offering actions again at the end of the summer, so they will probably move back up.

People are moving to mid-sized 6mm's from other calibers. They offer the optimum combinations of flat trajectory, low wind drift and low recoil. 6XC probably would have been the sweetheart if the brass was available, but the only one making 6XC brass is Norma and people had trouble getting it. Many people ended up going to 6 Creedmore instead. I think you will see an even bigger shift to 6 Creedmore since Hornady, Nosler and Norma are now making 6.5 Creedmore brass, and Winchester will probably release it soon since they were selling the ammo this year.
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Yep, more supply problems.

I can see why they would go through barrels. Many are running over 3100fps with the 105 H's. That is smoking and would certainly do all the good stuff you would want for this game. BUT this is similar to a 22-250 so 1/2 min or better is not going hang around for long. Assume the targets are also bigger so MOA would still be plenty accurate?

As with most things in our sport, parts drives the decisions. I like what you were saying about Surgeon... Yeah, like they wouldn't be a good choice for this sport??? No, you just can't get one :)

I think PRS would be the ideal place for the 25Cal... if someone made bullets

Jerry
 
6mm is about as small as you want to get to still be able to see the bullet swirl reliably and for the scorer to be able to see the hits on the steel. Remember, you need to spot your own shots. Your target is only 1-2 MOA (1 MOA prone, 2 MOA from a barricade) and there is nobody down there putting an orange marker beside or above it if you miss it. If there is vegetation, there won't be any splash. And some of these matches go out to 1200 yards and beyond. They will probably start going further now that they have gongs with flashers. The limitation was the scorer being able to see the hit on the steel.
 
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Very cool, interesting to see the different gear guys are running. I don't buy into if it is the best or not just because a lot of guys use it, as the shooter is a major component of how well they placed in competition, but interesting nonetheless.
 
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