So we have kicked off the first match in the Atlantic coast region with The Pigg River Precision match February 8th.  This was a great outing to get your gun out of the safe and back in action.  Pigg river is always a very challenging match because of the winds that blow out on the hills but there isn't much to give you an idea of the winds downrange.  The grass isn't tall enough and the impact berms tend to be kind of damp so there are no great wind calls.  There are twelve matches this season in the Atlantic Coast region and another seven Pro level two day matches that can be had.  If you are looking for a challenge, that's about two matches every month.  Not to mention the Guardian Match and a number of Geissele gas gun matches and DMR matches.  So you can be busy every weekend if you felt so inclined.

Given this level of competitions, there are a few things I would suggest to someone looking to come out and shoot with the big boys.  First is dry fire.  You definitely need to practice getting on the scope and acquiring targets if you aren't super accustomed to the time crunch that comes with PRS level matches.  Most matches give you between 95-105 seconds in which to shoot 8-12 rounds from a variety of positions.  Because of this time crunch there are a few things you need to have to be competitive.  The first is a ballistic solver of some sort.  Hornady 4DOF, Applied Ballistics App or more suitable a Kestrel with Ballistic software built in.  While you can use a weather report from the area, a Kestrel wind meter and ballistic solver would be the best option since you can get data directly right before a stage.  Then in no particular order you probably need the following: An anti cant device for your rifle.  Either electronic or manual.  A nice clear scope that is capable of a range from 4x to around 18-20x magnification.  A front/rear bag.  A tripod and a pair of binoculars or spotting scope.  A bipod with an easy way to mount to the rifle where it can be removed quickly for some stages.  A laser rangefinder.  And lastly a good quality rifle, scope and ammo combo that is capable of shooting around 1 moa.  This can be a gas gun or bolt gun as either work well at many ranges.  You will probably want the rifle to shoot something between a 6mm up to a 6.5 Creedmoor.  Larger rifles are more difficult to control the recoil and thus will place you at a disadvantage to other shooters. 

Stay tuned for more...