bushmeat

Contact the match director and find out what ruleset the matches are based on. In my area, they run US Carbine Association rules which stipulate a sling for the long gun and that it cannot be unslung during a course of fire. The stages are a mix of bay and natural terrain with a lot of movement. The choice of sling and how you deploy your rifle will dictate how your other gear is carried. Obviously, interference is a consideration and the pistol being snagged by the rifle sling a major issue. Given the round counts for the typical stage we run, aside from my slung rifle and holstered pistol, I only carry a kangaroo rifle/pistol pouch for the magazines I will be reloading with. I go to the line with my "make ready" mags in my pockets. Less stuff to pop out and scatter on the trail.

Not a silly question at all. Sometimes I set it for the smallest target in the array. Sometimes I set it at the average of the distances.

I'd say that illum isn't working. My Gen 1 1-6x was bright! Had a different issue with the scope. Sent it back for repair. They couldn't fix it. Gave me store credit on a new scope! Contact Marshall at Primary Arms. Honestly, I was quite surprised how responsive they were to customer issues. They will try to make you happy.

Had two "standards" a 1-6 and 1-8, and one platinum 1-8. All had very bright illumination. Not much difference that I could tell in clarity between the 1-8s but the platinum had less forgiving eye-relief.

Illumination on the Primary Arms 1-6 and 1-8s are daylight bright. Nice reticle, nice price, lifetime warranty, customer service is A1.

The Eley 22 Precision Rimfire Challenge last Saturday at Peacemaker in WV was a PRS-style match with targets ranging from 12 to 290 yards. Sure, there were a lot of variable power scopes up to 27x but most ran them at 15x and less. If the OP's definition of "best" means optimum, what's the point of carrying more magnification, more weight and more cost than can be efficiently utilized? I found 10x was actually more than enough for even the farthest targets and allowed quicker transitioning. A variable 10x with 2-3x at the bottom end would do away with parallax concerns. A good hashmarked reticle, whether mil- or MOA-based, is a must and gives the shooter the option to hold or dial as the target array or time element dictates.

I shoot PRS/PRS-style matches, bolt, gas-gun and rimfire and DMR. For the gas-gun and DMR matches which go out to 800 yards, I use an 18" 5.56 AR and run 69TMKs at 2800 fps. In those matches, the majority of competitors use .223 ARs. I have not felt that 6.5 Grendel or even 6.5 Creedmoor platforms to have a significant advantage over mine. It seems to me that whatever slight edge the larger cartridges have in the 600-800 yard distances are offset by the heavier weight, and slower recovery time between shots. If you can't spot your misses, you can't correct. As LSnSC indicated, PRS is positional shooting, mostly in less than ideal positions and a heavier gun is slower to put into play. The OP's key phrases "trainer" and "eventual foray into PRS" indicate the .223 as the better platform. Cheaper ammo allows more practice and easy transition to PRS via the gas-gun/DMR route.

Warne sells a 20 MOA cantilever scope mount that's designed for AR mounting. Put your scope in that. Then just remove your 20 MOA rail from your bolt gun and put a picatinny on it. Then you could switch between the two rifles.

If you test at only 100 yards, you might be disappointed in the heavies. However, they come into their own at the longer ranges. I load the 77TMK long at 2.55 on top of 25gr of AA2460. 2800 fps out of an 18" AR. Sub-MOA at 200. If wind is steady and read right, it is sub-MOA to 500 yards. I load the 69TMK to mag length. It has a better BC than the 77SMK and can be pushed faster.

PMC Bronze is the softer shooting version (the other is X-Tac) and moa-capable in all my guns at 200 yards and in. Will reliably hit a B/C plate at 500 but the ROs sometimes can't hear it ring.

The "quicker" guys might be running adjustable gas, hoser loads and lightened bolts and buffers. Or have names like Jordan, Horner or Miculek.

I put together an AR upper with CMMG conversion bolt and CMMG 16" .22 barrel. With the new Black Dog steel lipped mags very reliable with CCI 22 AR and Mini-Mags (had one failure to fire in more than 500 rounds) and moderately reliable with Fed bulk pack copper plated (like a couple of failures every 50 rounds). However, it does not like to be monopodded. Tends to shave bullets if I do and I get a buildup on the feed ramp of the bolt collar (I think that's what it's called). After the first 300 rounds of use, It broke the hammer of the Rock River 2stage I had in the lower. Switched to a Geissele SSA-E and no problem since.

Are your groups 2" wide or 2" vertical? As I posted previously, the Larue pencil profile is more sensitive to the type of brake. Also, mine didn't seem to like heavy bullets pushed hard. My 69SMKs had a great sub-moa node at 2700 fps. The 77SMKs were good at 2650. Couldn't get Hornady 68s or 75s to group consistently, although the 55FMJs were half-moa to 200.

You don't think "handguard is slightly off-center" is a clue? There's a reason Ruger switched handguards between Gen1 and Gen2. Still some flex in the latter as compared to, say, a Seekins or the Geisseles with proprietary barrel nuts.

My 55s shot 1/2" groups out of my lightweight Larue but my Sierra 69s showed 2" of vertical stringing. I had an Adams Arms brake with jet ports on it initially. When I switched to a Miculek, no more stringing - sub-inch at 100 on most everything except the Hornady 68s and 75s.

I like my Larue lightweight barrel. However, if you're going to run a skinny, pencil profile be advised you might need a .625 gas block and you might want to run a brake that doesn't have top ports.

As a 3gunner you already have the ability to shoot from funky positions without the assortment of Kryptek pillows you'll be seeing most PRS shooters use. Just try not to twitch your trigger finger too fast and follow through. At least a 10x scope on your AR would be a good idea. And a bipod. Although coupled mags might suffice. If you're shooting at Woody's, the majority of targets should be within AR range.

The RPR is an accurate rifle but that folding stock starts to get some play after a bit. Also the forearm has a bit of flex in it. You might want to also look at the Savage Stealth too or the Howa chassis rifle. Couple of bills cheaper than the RPR. The Vortex Viper PST is a very adequate scope. I would suggest the EBR-2C reticle in either MOA or MRAD. Together, a good package for PRS production class.

Great thing about PA 1-8 is you don't have to buy once. It's cheap enough and very, very good value for the price. IMHO, glass clarity over magnification is overrated since we all wear glasses and they're all smudged anyway by the 2nd stage of a match. A bigger target in my reticle gives me confidence to pull the trigger faster.

Wow, Armscor 1-1/8 #7s are 1800fps?! I would love to be able to get that here. Boy Glock, if you run the same weight of #6s instead of #7.5s you get more energy on the target. Generally, the heavier shot patterns tighter for a given choke. So, instead of switching out chokes for a different array of type of target, you could choose to use different shot. In the Philippines, where you're mostly running 3Gun Nation rules, there's probably more uniform type targets and presentations. In the US, there's quite a variation since most clubs are on outlaw rules. I've shot at steel pipe targets on big stands that take 3 shots to fall running full choke and Win AA 1300fps #7.5s. So, it's good to go matches with a box of Prairie Storms or 3" shells.

Tried the dual focal plane Burris 1.5-8, unforgiving eye relief, not a good thing for 3gun imho. Now have the PA 1-8 in 2nd focal plane. Solid scope, very nice reticle, positive click adjustment, great glass for the price + lifetime warranty. What's not to like?

Boy Glock, since you already had #6 shot, just up it to 1oz and 1200 fps and you should be good to go.

OP, I take it that you're shooting 3gun in the Philippines. So you're not really going further out than 100 yards/meters. You would be well served with a hosing load using 55/62 fmj (whatever you can get there), ball power like 748 or 2230, and mixed brass. I easily get sub-inch groups with my loads with mixed brass out to 100 yards. That allows you to avoid tedious brass sorting. I think brass sorting comes into its own when you're running 69-77 smks out to 750. IMHO

57k, have you actually used Ramshot Hunter and validated this? A temp--stable ball powder? Is it sub-moa accurate? Curious why everyone hasn't gone to this.

Yes, make sure your load is consistent and accurate. Otherwise, just pick up some Federal Gold Medal Match 175smk factory loads and chrono through your gun. The 168s are accurate but open up after 700 yards I've found. Then download Strelok and familiarize yourself with it. The advantage of a smartphone app over a data card is you can input prevailing environmental conditions like temp, altitude and barometric pressure. Yes, a good rangefinder is essential. Helps you validate dope.