Were any of the 223 shooters in Open? or were they all shooting in Tactical? wee bit of difference in the ballistic potential....
Take a bit of time and run some numbers comparing the bullets and performance I have indicated. What we are discussing has been around for quite a long time (like 15 yrs). maybe not in the PRS world but it is very well developed and understood in other disciplines.
If you decide to do some research, pretty much all the ballistics and chamberings popular today are based on concepts and ideas that have been around for 30 to 50yrs. I think you will get a kick out of the 6mm International...and the work done by Elgin Gates and others. In fact, much was designed for Handguns if you can believe that.
Yes, that is where the 6BR (actually the 7BR) came from....
I sense you are very passionate about this game, and have very strong opinions on what is "right", but understand that the rifle tech we are discussing is not new.. the PRS game and how it is played may be and I am very impressed with all the new support aids that have been created... very novel and exciting. ARCA swiss rails, game changer bags and others, new bipod options... all very cool stuff.
I am sure we will meet at a match....
All the best
Jerry
I realize that nothing we are talking about is new, it's just being adapted to the PRS discipline.
When tactical field matches first came out, everyone was shooting .308's. Then they realized the ballistic potential of the 6.5's, so the .260, 6.5x47L and 6.5 Creedmoor started to become a lot more popular. Now the current evolution is going to 6mm's. Combined with the advancement in projectiles with higher BC bullets and lower recoil, the 6mm's are starting to rule the roost. The downside is less energy on target. In this game, we shoot steel targets, and it's hard to pick up a 6mm bullet signature at long distances. It just doesn't have the energy that the 6.5mm projectiles do. Combine that with inexperienced spotters, and that creates a lot of incorrect calls at distance. This is a common complaint of 6mm shooters on the longer stages, I hear it all the time. But of course you know that, as you are an expert and all.
I know you are pushing the .223, and coming from your benchrest background where you shoot paper, you are overlooking the fact that low energy projectiles don't have much signature at distance on heavy steel targets, which provides a distinct disadvantage to the shooter. If you would shoot a few matches, you would realize that that is a real hurdle for the smaller, lighter projectiles. Yes, some shooters are shooting .223AI's and straight .223's, and even doing well in some cases, but they are mostly doing it for fun or switching it up for a match from their main 6mm or 6.5mm gun. Not sure why you are pushing the .223 and .22's so hard, I think you are just trying to differentiate yourself from the experienced shooters in this thread.
Based off of mine and others experience in this discipline, I don't think that the .22 class cartridges provides a distinct advantage over the 6mm or 6.5mm. With a 20+lb rifle, the recoil of a 6mm is so minimal that a .223 isn't going to make much of a difference. But ballistically, you are giving up a lot. Yes, a shooter can be effective with it, particularly if the match has pre-dominantly short stages. I wouldn't mind shooting a match or two with a .223, but I know that I would be handicapping myself.
Yes I am passionate about this, as I see a lot of bad advice on this forum. Seems like a lot of people like to provide advice on something they've never experienced. You'll never see me in a thread telling you benchresters how to shoot in your sport.
For 2+ years now you have been constantly stating that you will shoot a match in the future, but always "have commitments up until blah blah blah". Funny, you don't have the time to shoot a PRS match, yet you have the time to write 13,000+ posts on this board. I know you are trying to sound knowledgeable on this discipline, as you stand to gain financially from selling inexperienced shooters wanting to get into the game with your products. Those that have shot these types of matches can see that your knowledge on the subject is definitely lacking, but someone with no experience may not have the capability to differentiate between the good and bad advice on this board. And unfortunately there is a lot of both.
Talk is cheap, and that is very evident in this thread and elsewhere on this board. If you are going to keep acting like an expert on this subject, you need to shut up and go out and shoot it.
