PRS Bread and Butter

[xswanted]

Hi guys,

I’m just getting involved with a few PRS matches and have shot a number of informal steel and tactical type matches.

I have my own private range that I can practice beyond 1000 yards.

I’m learning, at lest I think, there is a “bread and butter” type distance that PRS shoots focus on.

Is this fairly standard or is it just a coincidence on the couple I’ve shot?

Distance doesn’t seem to be the focus but more so different positions, speed and adapting to conditions.

What’s your opinion? Where is most of the money in PRS made?

0-600?

0-800?

What are your thoughts?

I’ve shot over 1000 at a couple but it seems most of the shots are inside 600.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Its all in what the match designer decides on. That heavily depends on terrain and number of shooters

 

[22DASHER]

Barricade and positional practice from 400-800 yards. Most shots beyond that are prone.

 

[CharlieNC]

Prone shooting is "easy". Positional shooting separates the winners.

 

[22DASHER]

Also you need to make sure you can make accurate wind calls for your first shot. I screw myself when I botch the wind call, miss the first shot and can’t see the impact. Then it’s really just guessing...I’d like to think “educated” guesses but for me unfortunately that’s not the case. If you can spot your impacts obviously it’s a piece of cake, but when you can’t you better know what to do.

 

[xswanted]

Also you need to make sure you can make accurate wind calls for your first shot. I screw myself when I botch the wind call, miss the first shot and can’t see the impact. Then it’s really just guessing...I’d like to think “educated” guesses but for me unfortunately that’s not the case. If you can spot your impacts obviously it’s a piece of cake, but when you can’t you better know what to do.

This is where I felt like I did okay at the first official PRS match I entered.

However in practice at home, thats where I burn up time. It’s tough for sure!

My problem was changing positions. I ran out of time on 5/9 stages and only fired 61 shots. I had a really good hit percentage but just couldn’t get situated after the first position.

So I built a tank trap and found a 55 gallon drum to use a barricades to practice from.

 

[linebaugh]

Positional shooting, fundamentals and wind calling. Most matches will have large majority of targets 250-800 yards. Learn to run your gun smoothly and aquiring targets quickly

 

[MakeSawDust]

If you are timing out and hitting everything you have a very good chance to do well. Dry fire will help you learn to drive your gun very quickly while still making clean trigger breaks. Remember to stay on the gun long enough to imagine seeing the impact or you can create follow through issues. The next thing to practice with dry fire is how much time is 90 seconds and how much time is 120 seconds. Then practice very efficiently getting into and out of steady positions. Find a go to for if your plan goes to hell. A lot of times I'll throw all my shit except a game changer and gun if my plan starts to look like it won't work. If I can shoot most any stage well that way I can at least salvage what could have been a bad stage and save all the wasted time of trying to force the plan to work. The last piece of advice came from Jim See at a match he ran. "Build a good position, and then shoot really fast." Since you have a private range that goes beyond 1000 yds you can gather good dope to help you with the longer stages. Being able to get most of the positional points and picking up a few of the longer shots in the prone stages should have you finishing pretty high in the standings.

 

[Dgd6mm]

Dry fire a stage, then live fire it. Build some different barricades. Watch plenty of videos to become familiar with stages you have never even imagined possible. Practice on setting up your platform to fire. The faster you get at this the more time you will have to shoot your shot without being stressed on your time. You can learn a lot by watching the competitors that shoot before you.

 

[FrankG]

The last match earlier this month was from 300 to 850 yards.

The big PRS match next month (WI Barrel Makers Classic) is from 210 yards to 1530 yards. Your only allowed to shoot one gun at this match. Bummer was thinking about shooting my F class gun for that far target! LOL!

All held at the same club.

Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels

 

[xswanted]

The last match earlier this month was from 300 to 850 yards.

The big PRS match next month (WI Barrel Makers Classic) is from 210 yards to 1530 yards. Your only allowed to shoot one gun at this match. Bummer was thinking about shooting my F class gun for that far target! LOL!

All held at the same club.

Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels

Do guys switch rifle occasionally based on targets?

I thought about this as well if the rules allow it but then one gun is probably a better option.

 

[FrankG]

Do guys switch rifle occasionally based on targets?

I thought about this as well if the rules allow it but then one gun is probably a better option.

Some matches it sounds like you can use more than one gun but at this match the match director clearly indicates the rifle you start with is the rifle you finish with. Only exception is if the rifle breaks. Then it's up to the match director what gun your allowed to borrow/finish with.

 

[Dgd6mm]

This is where I felt like I did okay at the first official PRS match I entered.

However in practice at home, thats where I burn up time. It’s tough for sure!

My problem was changing positions. I ran out of time on 5/9 stages and only fired 61 shots. I had a really good hit percentage but just couldn’t get situated after the first position.

So I built a tank trap and found a 55 gallon drum to use a barricades to practice from.

What was the total number of rounds for the shoot, 61 out of how many possible? Also on stages with multiple targets to acquire put the magnification on your scope on a lower power. This will allow you to find targets faster. You already may be doing some of these things. On your yardage question that I skipped over (sorry) it very from shoot to shoot, but my experience is out to 800 yards. So shoots around where I'm from have some paper involved. This stuff 50-300 yards can be very tricky. You can drop a lot of points on paper, quick, fast, and in a hurry. Don't forget to practice standing and sitting. It's not often it comes up but when it does if you haven't practiced it, you lose it, it's a perishable item.

 

[Milo 2.0]

Target acquisition and building solid positions are key to most matches. Out west here, most today have a target to 1300 or so, prone of coarse. Being new, and not all that versed in positional and transitioning, you need to game your strengths and weak points. If you are good prone, no reason to drop points unless the wind is nasty, and at the same time, no use missing close targets to get all your shots off unless the farther targets are proportioned way larger for the actual distance shot.
If a positional shot at 450 is tough, and the next one at 600, well, you know which one you need to hit for points.

 

[xswanted]

What was the total number of rounds for the shoot, 61 out of how many possible? Also on stages with multiple targets to acquire put the magnification on your scope on a lower power. This will allow you to find targets faster. You already may be doing some of these things. On your yardage question that I skipped over (sorry) it very from shoot to shoot, but my experience is out to 800 yards. So shoots around where I'm from have some paper involved. This stuff 50-300 yards can be very tricky. You can drop a lot of points on paper, quick, fast, and in a hurry. Don't forget to practice standing and sitting. It's not often it comes up but when it does if you haven't practiced it, you lose it, it's a perishable item.

There was 90 shots possible. I fired 61 and scored a 56. 5 shots counted for 2 points each so I connected with steel 51/61 shots. 84% hit percentage, which in a match I was happy with.

I agree as well the close shots can be a bugger.

Positional shooting is where most of my practice has been since.

 

[linebaugh]

Do guys switch rifle occasionally based on targets?

I thought about this as well if the rules allow it but then one gun is probably a better option.

I have not been to a match where switching guns was allowed outside of a break down. Quit thinking outside the box and concentrate on learning to shoot.
I am a poor to middle PRS shooter mostly because I do not make time to practice. I am working on a 22 trainer now and planning to change that. Love the sport and the people involved.

Last year I was squadded with a top shooter and since I do my own machine work I asked him about barricade wedges and some other ideas I had. He stopped and in one of those moments where the music stops and time slows down he simply told me... "buy a good bag and learn how to shoot your gun" "gadgets don't win matches, shooters win matches".

That was a defining moment for me and I bought an udder bag and don't carry the garbage anymore. I see most of the gadget guys have went away in the matches I shoot and I simply see rifles with bags and puff pillows, some rear wedges.

If I could add to what that shooter told me above and in response to your dual rifle idea. "Rifles don't win matches, shooters win matches, learn how to shoot."

That was not meant as sarchasm BTW.

 

[Milo 2.0]

Last year I was squadded with a top shooter and since I do my own machine work I asked him about barricade wedges and some other ideas I had. He stopped and in one of those moments where the music stops and time slows down he simply told me... "buy a good bag and learn how to shoot your gun" "gadgets don't win matches, shooters win matches".

You got some rock solid advice ! lol Practice
It'd be fun to count the money spent on gadgets, from tripods to bags to arca rails. Sometimes it would be fun to be a match director so you could make your barricades out of 3'8" all thread, or twisted wrought iron to circumvent some of those gadgets.

 

[22DASHER]

@Sheldon N

 

[xswanted]

I have not been to a match where switching guns was allowed outside of a break down. Quit thinking outside the box and concentrate on learning to shoot.
I am a poor to middle PRS shooter mostly because I do not make time to practice. I am working on a 22 trainer now and planning to change that. Love the sport and the people involved.

Last year I was squadded with a top shooter and since I do my own machine work I asked him about barricade wedges and some other ideas I had. He stopped and in one of those moments where the music stops and time slows down he simply told me... "buy a good bag and learn how to shoot your gun" "gadgets don't win matches, shooters win matches".

That was a defining moment for me and I bought an udder bag and don't carry the garbage anymore. I see most of the gadget guys have went away in the matches I shoot and I simply see rifles with bags and puff pillows, some rear wedges.

If I could add to what that shooter told me above and in response to your dual rifle idea. "Rifles don't win matches, shooters win matches, learn how to shoot."

That was not meant as sarchasm BTW.

I’m a “less is more” type of guy.

I don’t like clutter so this is pretty much what I’ve done at the shoots I’ve been at an probably will continue to do.

Gadgets in this game seem to cost way more than I can afford......$1400 tripods, $1000 chassis, $2500 scopes, $700 wind meters etc....

I’m with you, I’ll spend my money on bullets, powder and barrels.

I’ve shot a lot of competitive shooting sports and the same advice holds true in them all, practice cannot be substituted.

 

[Sheldon N]

What’s your opinion? Where is most of the money in PRS made?

You've got a ton of good advice here, and I like your perspective on "less is more". With your own private range out to 1000 yards you've got something a lot of people would be very envious of.

PRS matches are won and lost inside of 600-700 yards. There may be some longer stuff here and there, but the positional shooting is what separates the winners. If you look at how the top guys shoot they almost never time out and they clean stages more often than not. The thing that makes those stages tough is the number of transitions, the wide variety of positions, and the complexity of target order and target acquisition. You don't need to shoot "fast", but you can't dick around. Build the position, get on target, break a clean shot, pick up and move, one shot every 10 seconds is a good goal, moving at a relaxed not rushed pace. It's super tough.

If you're looking for what to practice, it's positional shooting. No more prone, unless it's for gathering dope. Build yourself a traditional barricade (like the PRS skills stage), maybe get a folding step ladder, or something like a 4x4 post in the ground with a bunch of 1" dowels coming out both sides for positions all the way from crouching to tall standing. Then work on shoot/move/shoot/move/shoot move. As far as targets to set, I like the 200-600 range with small steel. Right now the stuff I practice on is 2" at 200 yards, or 6" at 350 yards, or 10" at 600 yards shooting with 223. Hittable but forces discipline, makes you susceptible to wind and forces you to watch your misses, etc.

Set yourself little match stages that keep you busy and moving around. Different targets from different positions, dialing and changing, holding over, etc. A lot of times it's not just that you have to hit the target, it's that you have to remember the messed up shooting order that the match director set for the stage. Things like from position A shoot targets 1,3,1,2 then from position B shoot targets 2,3,1,3 in that order in 90 seconds. Helps to have the mental game ready to memorize and execute that shooting plan.

As far as gear just one bag is all you need, a waxed canvas game changer is my favorite. No extra doo-dads necessary to win. I do love my tripod and binos though... very helpful to stare at targets, memorize the stage, watch others shoot, watch the wind. All part of the mental prep.