Rio Salado: Practical Long-Gun Matches In September

[StealthyBlagga]

Here are the practical long-gun events we have scheduled this month at Rio Salado:

Tactical .22 Rifle Match: Tuesday September 8th & 22nd

Registration opens at 4pm, with first shots shortly thereafter. Location is the Smallbore Range right behind the Activity Center. The rules are simple: it's a straight time match with penalties for misses. Pretty much any .22 rifle is OK - the most popular guns are AR15-clones and Ruger 10/22s. We have two divisions: iron sight and optical sight. Our typical match format is one "long range" stage out to 100yards, and two or three shorter range hoser stages. Check out

and this Dillon Blue Press article for a flavor of what we do. This match is more fun than a barrel of monkeys... bring a bulk pack of cheap ammo (if you can find any) and you will leave with a smile a mile wide.

3-Gun (Multi-Gun) Match: Saturday September 12th - PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED

We are now using electronic scoring. To facilitate efficient shooter registration, we want everyone to pre-register for the match. Online registration will open at 3pm on Tuesday September 8th at this REGISTRATION PAGE . When you arrive on match day, come to the stat shack and pay your match fee as usual, then simply go and shoot - your info will already be in the iPads. Even if you are not 100% sure of making it, it is better to pre-register. Those who do not pre-register will have to wait at the back of the line until everyone else who did pre-register is processed.

Sign-in on Saturday runs 7am-8am, with first shots at 7am. New shooters should come in time to attend the New Shooter Orientation at 7:30am before they shoot. To get a feel for what to expect, check out these videos from our previous matches. Our usual format is 3 short-range rifle, shotgun and/or pistol stages, plus 1 long-range rifle stage. Bring 150 rounds of rifle ammo, 50 shotgun birdshot (#6 or smaller), and 50 rounds of pistol ammo.

We are fortunate to have two very generous sponsors for our monthly match: Carbon Arms sponsors one of the shotgun stages, provides "loaner" shotshell caddies for competitors to try, and they donate a $100 gift certificate. VLTOR sponsors one of the rifle stages, and they donate TWO of their excellent AR15 rifle stocks. All prizes are distributed by random draw from the list of competitor who finish the match. With typical attendance around 75 shooters, your odds of winning something nice are pretty good.

Tactical Shotgun and Pistol Caliber Carbine Match: Thursday September 17th

Registration starts at 4pm, with a new shooter orientation shortly thereafter. The match format is four practical scenario-based stages similar to what you would encounter at a 3-Gun match, except that you only need to bring one gun - you choose either shotgun or pistol caliber carbine. There will be separate divisions for shotgun (Open, Limited and Pump), centerfire carbine (Optic and Iron) and .22 rimfire carbine (Optic and Iron). Any tactical shotgun suitable for 3-gun competition will work well in this match, or you can shoot a pistol caliber carbine (straight walled pistol calibers only please) or even a .22LR rifle. Check out the match rules for more details.

Red Mountain Action Rifle Match: Sunday September 20th

Registration opens at 12:30pm. This is a rifle-only match run over the same course of fire as is used for the Red Mountain Action PISTOL match in the morning. There will be 4 close-range (maximum 60 yards), high-speed/low-drag, run-n-gun stages. To see what a typical match setup looks like, view

. There are divisions for rimfire rifle, centerfire rifle and pistol caliber carbine. Bring 150 rounds of ammo and a quick set of legs.

To stay informed of all the latest match news, send me your email address by IM and I can have you added to our email list. Coming to your first match can be daunting, but rest assured you are completely welcome no matter your skill level or equipment - just take it easy and concentrate on being safe. If you have any questions, post them here. Anyone who wants me to walk them through their first match, stage by stage, send me an IM and I will be more than happy to do so.

Edited September 3, 2015 by StealthyBlagga

[StealthyBlagga]

A number of people have drawn our attention to some errors on the PractiScore registration page. We believe these may be related to software updates/patches recently applied by PractiScore. We are confident these issues will be worked out eventually, and in the meantime we will persevere as best we can.

Despite what is written on the registration page, the match will in fact be starting as usual at 7am. Also, do not get hung up on categories and other "required" information... so long as we have your name and division, you will be registered.

We look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday.

[pmt]

Great match today. Loved all the shotgun practice.

[StealthyBlagga]

Thanks to everyone who participated in Saturday's match - the turnout was awesome despite the triple-digit temperatures. The iPads got a little toasty, but we anticipate this problem will ease as the mercury falls. No breakages this month - Ron is much happier. The match results are posted on PractiScore.

I am pleased to announce that the provisional rule changes we have been shooting under are now approved as permanent. The division changes - notably the overhaul of Heavy Metal and the brand new Stealth Division - will be featured in SMM3G2016. I will post a link when the new rules are posted online.

This month's lucky winners of the sponsor prizes are Jeff B ($100 Carbon Arms certificate), Anthony L (VLTOR stock) & Dustin S (VLTOR stock). Congratulations, and a HUGE thanks to our sponsors generous support.

Lastly, I want to remind everyone about the Tactical Shotgun/Pistol Caliber Carbine match on Thursday. Be there or be square.

Edited September 14, 2015 by StealthyBlagga

[StealthyBlagga]

Here is the 3-Gun match video:

[StealthyBlagga]

REMINDER: Action Rifle match tomorrow at 12:30pm.