38superman

Sounds like you've got a good plan. I think you'll be much better prepared for your first match than I was. I'm looking forward to hearing about what you experience and what you learn from it. Keep us posted on your prep work and good luck! Tls

Steve, That's a nice looking rifle and should do very well at Woody's. If I remember correctly, you will be shooting mostly at steel out to 600 yds. A .223 with 75 grainers should be more than adequate at those ranges. I'm wondering about the scope. What reticle does it have? Unless it is has a target grid marked for hold over, you will need to know your "come-ups" at various ranges and dial up to the long shots. Some times those tricky stage designers will force you to hold over by not allowing you to adjust the scope during the stage. Just something else to think about. Tls

One more thing to consider. Weight matters. At least to me it does. My rifle as configured from the factory weighs a little more than 8 lbs. After adding a 2 lb scope, PRS stock, scope mount, and bipod, the loaded rifle is roughly 12 to 13 lbs. In the match I entered, there was also a pistol to be worn with all the associated magazines and ammo to carry. I am a senior with way too many pizzas under my belt. Running up hill with a 12 lb rifle and a 40 lb pack on my back is pushing the limits of my physical condition. Show up with a 15+ lb rifle and you will soon feel like you are hauling a boat anchor. What did I learn? When I do this again, I will be in better shape. My rifle will be a heavier caliber but I want the unloaded weight no more than about 10-11 lbs. I will not be stupid enough to carry all ammo for the entire match, + food and water, in my pack. Take what you need for a few stages and go back to the vehicle for resupply as needed. My pistol will be a polymer 9mm instead of a steel frame .45 Otherwise I will need to take a cardiologist and a defribulator to the match. Be advised. Tls

Just a few more words for you guys wanting to give Precision Rifle a try. If you are thinking about getting involved and you just want to test the water, your gasser will do okay. It doesn't matter what hardware you show up with at your first few matches. You will not scare the elite shooters. I shot my first precision match in November of last year, and it was the most fun I've had shooting in a long time. I was running a heavy barrel AR-15 in .223 that had been set up for varminting. The gun has a JP 3.5 lb. single stage trigger. I put on a Horus Vision 5-20 x 50 with an H-25 reticle and a Magpul PRS stock. This is not the ideal precision rifle but it was certainly servicable. I was a late entry to the match and had very little chance for any preparation. The longest shot I could take at my practice range is 100 yds. That makes it pretty hard to get ready for a long range match. However, armed with some factory 68 gr Nosler Competition loads and my shiney new Horus ballistic calculator,.. I jumped in. I was able to consistently hit targets out to about 550. Once you get beyond 600, you start to bump up against the limitations of the .223 I finished 42 in a field of about 65 shooters. Nothing to write home about, but under the circumstances, I was okay with it. I certainly didn't want to embarrass myself, but I also knew I wasn't going to take the world by storm in my first try. It was a learning experience. A chance to try something new and have a good time doing it. The moral of this story?... Go for it. You will figure out what works and what doesn't soon enough. Check out the photo, taken at the match. My rig is the second from the front. Notice that there are 6 guns on the table. 3 gas guns and 3 bolts. Tls

FireShooter, I think you could do quite well with a JP in.308. I'm sure that with some decent load development you should be able to get your rifle shooting sub 1/2 MOA. I've never been able to shoot much better than 1/4 MOA with anything but a bonafide benchrest gun. Make no mistake. This ain't benchrest. In the rough and tumble world of Precision rifle you will be shooting in awkward and uncomfortable positions, you will be on the clock, and moving. Don't get me wrong. I want every last bit of accuracy I can wring out of my rig. However, your skills will go farther toward determining your score than any miniscule accuracy advantage you might gain with a bolt gun or exotic caliber. If you are on a course with close up targets in the mix, the speed of the gas gun will work in your favor. Much depends on the course design. Don't be shy. Spend some time with the rifle, work up a good load and spend some ammo on long range practice. Learn how to deal with the wind and know your trajectory well when you step up to the firing line. If you do that, you can definately be a respectable competitor with that rifle. Optics are another matter. You will be at a substantial disadvantage with anything less than a 20x. Magnification is not the only issue, clarity, repeatability of adjustment, type of reticle, etc. are all important. In this game a quality optic is a must. Tls

I agree, dt1 I wasn't really trying to start a gas vs. bolt debate. The OP was asking for opinions about the best caliber for a precision rifle. Caliber?,... Depends. That's a very complex question and I think it depends on a lot of factors. Do you expect to do anything else with the gun or will it be purely dedicated to Precision Matches? What type of matches? 2-Gun, Rifle Only? What ranges do you expect to encounter? Once you answer those questions it will go a long way toward determining the platform, and that will influence the choice of caliber. Bolt? if so long action or short?, Small frame AR? Large Frame AR? For example: If you are looking at extreme ranges, you're probably looking at a long action bolt to get the powder capacity and pushing a bullet with a very high ballistic coefficient like maybe a 300 win mag. However, You don't really want to be blasting at 25 yd pistol targets with a 300 mag. Like I said, complex question. I prefer that my bullet is still supersonic when it arrives at the target, therefore: 25 to 600 yds = AR15 in .223 out to 1000 yds = AR 15 in 6.5 Grendel - or - AR 10 in .260; 6.5 Creed; .308 out to 1200 = Short Action Bolt gun in the AR10 calibers above. beyond 1200 = Long Action Bolt gun in 7mm or .300 mag Tls

I am no expert so take my comments with a grain of salt. I entered my first precision rifle match last November. This particular match was a 2-gun match, so we had pistol gear to lug around along with the rifles. The courses of fire had us shooting rifle and pistol on IPSC-like stages with long range rifle shots mixed in out to around 725 yds. Scoring was based on points and par times. What I learned was that weight and speed are major considerations. Because the clock mattered, you couldn't shoot at a leisurely pace. Take too much time and you don't get all your shots off. I saw a lot of bolt action guys burning time while working the actions. They also seemed to have much more trouble with reloading the box magazines common to bolt guns. The larger capacity AR type mags and the ease of reloading, plus the quick follow up shots made it clear for me that a gas gun was an advantage. This was especially true on the short range IPSC targets. Weight mattered a great deal as the physical aspect of the match was a great challenge, at least for me. There was a lot of movement (up and down hill) and negotiating obstacles while carrying a heavy pack loaded with rifle and pistol ammo. Most stages had you shooting from unsteady and awkward positions, so manueverability of the rifle was at a premium. With all those things considered, the AR was most useful. However, an AR15 in .223 was at a big disadvantage beyond 550-600 yds. The typical AR-10 calibers are far superior on long range shots, but the AR10 is way heavy. For me the best compromise would be an AR-15 in 6.5 Grendel. It has the speed, relatively light weight in gun and ammo, portability, and ballistics. Tls

Finished the precision rifle match last night. This morning I'm still thinking about how it went as my body slowly recovers. I am primarily a pistol competitor and this was my first ever multi-gun competition. It was certainly the first time I have ever tried to engage 700yd + targets from the hood of a truck. The match was exactly what I hoped it would be,... A good time and a great learning experience. I definately learned that I'm not in shape to run uphill carrying all that gear. At the top of the hill on stage 4B, there was a moment when I couldn't decide whether to shoot or call for an ambulance. I wont need an EKG this year because I just stress tested my heart. My appreciation to the match staff and the sponsors. The work that went into setting up that match had to be incredible. The prize table was outstanding. Thanks to everyone that made it happen. Matches come and go but I will never forget this one. Tls

Yes, I have my Kershaw on me at all times. I am often asked why I feel the need to carry a weapon. I don't think of it as a weapon, rather I view it as a very useful tool that can become a weapon if needed. If I feel the need to carry a weapon it will be something with more range than a folding knife.

I'm in. App going out tomorrow. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into but it should be interesting. Tls

I'm seriously considering entering this match, but it would be my first precision rifle contest. The rifle I would use isn't currently set up to engage targets beyond 500 yds. Can someone give me a little more detailed info on how the match would run and how the stages might be set up? I need to know what I am getting into so I can show up properly equipped for both the rifle and pistol stages. Tls

If you are going to rule out the .338 Lapua, the I would think about the 7mm Ultra Mag, the .300-378 or the .338-378. Something with high ballistic coeffient and a massive case is required to sustain any significant energy at those ranges. I recently built a precision rifle in .223 and it is great out to about 500-600 yds. Any farther and the 69gr SMK has nothing left energy-wise and trajectory starts to drop dramatically. I think a .308 will extend that quite a bit, but if I'm engaging anything beyond 1500 yds. the.338 is the cartridge of choice for me.

Sorry Peter but I'm just going to have to let this one go by. The Ga state match has some kind of Voodoo curse on me. I never seem to do well in this match and last year marked my first ever DQ in 10 years of IPSC. Have fun and shoot straight guys. I'll save my ammo and read about it later..

I hate classifers. Afterwards, I seem to always think I did better than I really did. I recently shot a classifier and thought "Wow, .... I smoked that stage. This should be a good score." Then a quick check revealed the reality. 62%

Wow. A quarter at 500 yds? I thought I was doing good when I drilled a dime at 100! On a good day I think I could hit a Quarter at 250, maybe 300. But 500?,..... My hat's off to anyone that can pull that shot off.

It's mine now. Just got through mounting the EOTech

I'm all in. I'd love to do a 2 gun or rifle only match. Anybody that wants to put one together around Area 6, just let me know. Tls

Is anybody running Two Gun matches with Rifle and Pistol? I have no desire to do 3gun because I simply don't care to deal with a shotgun in competition. However, I find running stages with a rifle is great fun. The Alabama section has a Birmingham club (Heritage) that runs a pistol match with a two stage rifle side match. Are there any matches going on out there beyond the club level? Tls

I'll race with you. I'm a B class shooter on a fast track to C.

I recently came across a Marksman CRX-16 at a local gun shop. I have made up my mind to buy it, just waiting for the coin to hit my bank. I've read a lot of comments about the "6 lb" trigger but I can tell you that it feels better than any production AR I've ever shot. There is almost no travel or creep, it breaks clean and feels relatively light. I've owned a JP CR02 and it was awesome. It was also megabucks. I currently own a Winham Weaponry AR with a 20" fluted stainless barrel. The trigger is typical for a production rifle but the barrel is fabulous. This thing is sub 1/2 MOA with my SMK handloads, even with a heavy factory trigger. It is a good long range shooter but too long and a bit heavy for USPSA. I don't shoot 3-gun and the local rifle matches are typically pistol stages with a few long shots at plates / poppers. The Colt is my next rifle. It looks like a lot of gun for the money and has a great feel. It is also hand built in Texas. I'm in. Tls

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007. I completed radiation and chemo on Feb5, 2008. The treatment was successful and I have been clean for 5 years now. Cancer is the enemy. Attack it relentlessly and have faith. Still here. Still shooting. Tls

I had a great time last year and will definately be back in 2013. I only shoot 2-3 matches each year but this one is mandatory. See ya there.

This has now become a huge issue for me. I normally have the detent drilled deeper and this does the trick. (See post 18 above) My safety engagement was tight enough that you couldnt engage it with only your thumb. You had to reach over the slide with the weak hand and pull up on both sides of the ambi safety. This worked for me. Then the extractor broke and my 2011 went back to the builder for a replacement extractor. Upon inspection, it was decided that the safety should be replaced as well. I agreed, with the provision that the detent be reset to a comparable condition. At my first match, the safety locked up the gun on every stage. Not wanting to pay another $100 shipping bill drove to Atlanta to give a local guy a shot at fixing it. I got back what I wanted, .... at first, but it quickly loosed up even more. Now thoroughly discouraged, I had another local smith mill the left side paddle down (I'm a lefty) to make it thinner. The thought being that I'm bumping it with the web of my hand during recoil. He says he also put a stronger spring and a deeper detent hole in the safety, but it is still way too loose. I think that because the new safety has a highly polished finish, it simply doesnt proved enough friction on the plunger. At this point, I'm at a loss for what to do. A lot of guys will say ride the safety, but thats not my style and after almost 10 years I'm just not willing to change my grip. It's maddening that this gun ran for me for 8 years and now,..... I can't use it. Tls

I definately process used brass but not new Starlines. I have never seen a round of virgin Starline that wasn't ready to load. If it will put your mind at ease, check a sampling. For used brass, I do the following:. Tumble in corn cob media with brass polish Inspection under a lighted magnifier for cracks and splits. Check for length with a dial caliper set as a go / no go guage. Clean primer pockets with an RCBS wire brush. After that they are ready for the 650. When they are finished, each round is run though a Dillon check guage before it goes in the ammo box. All that may seem a little silly to some. However,...... After almost 4 decades of loading precision rifle ammo, some habits die hard. Maybe all the effort is overkill, but I almost never have an ammo related malfunction. Us old, slow, and half-blind guys have enough challenges. I can't afford mis-fires Tls

I just came across this thread and I can't say I really understand all this talk about goal depression. I only have one goal: keep getting better. As long as can do that, all other goals are just milemarkers on the side of the road. I know the day will come that my gun skills will begin to decline. Father time will steal my reflexes, sight, quickness and no matter what I do or how hard I work at it, it just wont get better. I fear nothing more than the day I have to look in the mirror and say, you are as good now as you are ever going to be,.... Your best match is not in front of you, its behind you. Until that day I will not allow depression to enter my mind or my heart, for I still have the power to achieve. Tls