300wm in PRS? Hear me out..

[Bigtony]

I mostly hunt pigs and coyotes, and I’m starting to get the itch to stretch my legs a little more with long range target shooting, ELR, and trying PRS for fun when I can get time away from work and family.

I already have a .308(sig cross) for my lightweight hunting rig ( I plan on trying out NRL Hunter with), and a 300wm (browning bolt) for my longer range big pig gun. The browning is alright, shoots around 1moa, but it’s really light hunting focused and has a thin barrel that doesn’t string groups well when hot.

I have plenty of ammo invested for both. So I’d like to stick with those two calibers as much as possible.

I’m about to pull the trigger on a MPA BA PMR pro 2. Trying to decide between long action 300wm or short action 308. But for some reason, in my head, it doesn’t really make sense for me to spend 3k on a competition .308 rifle when my chassis sig cross already shoots sub .5moa (w/Sako ammo) and it probably won’t really scratch that long range itch of easily shooting 800+….. but I also am tracking that 300wm isn’t the ideal cartridge for PRS for obvious reasons….

I guess, if you were in my shoes. And only had enough money to spend on one rifle for a year or two.

Would you buy a 308 MPA and run it PRS?
Or
Would you buy a 300wm MPA and run it PRS, and ELR? How silly would it be showing up to regional PRS matches with a 300wm? Is it possible to practice enough where a 300wm can compete closely with the more popular calibers?

 

[Rio Precision Gunworks]

I would absolutely never run a 300wm for PRS. Maybe just as a joke or goal for a club match, but probably not even then. You'll get beat to death and likely won't see much of your impacts or misses.

The .308 won't be competitive, but if your goal is to just shoot against yourself and get better, have fun, etc......the .308 is manageable.


You'll absolutely regret the 300wm and I'd bet you'd stop shooting it in matches after the first time.

 

[TheOfficeT-Rex]

Most matches I've attended had a limit of 30 cal or smaller, and 3200 fps or slower to save the steel targets. Depending on load, winmag may be a little quick.

Just take your 308 and a good attitude to a match, tell your squad you're new, borrow gear, and if you enjoy it, work from there.

 

[ForgeValley]

Is it possible to practice enough where a 300wm can compete closely with the more popular calibers?

No. Prs is a game that rewards the lighest shooting caliber you can get away with, with as little input into the rifle as possible, and still spot shots. That's it. The only worry about terminal ballistics is, does it allow you to see your shots?

It's called barricade benchrest for a reason. Long action magnums need not apply. If you'd like to shoot a WM in matches, try one of the many field matches, sniper challenges, etc. they are more appropriate for magnum calibers.

 

[Supersubes]

308 No, 300 wm hell no. You need a 6.5 manbun or smaller.

 

[Bigtony]

No. Prs is a game that rewards the lighest shooting caliber you can get away with, with as little input into the rifle as possible, and still spot shots. That's it. The only worry about terminal ballistics is, does it allow you to see your shots?

It's called barricade benchrest for a reason. Long action magnums need not apply. If you'd like to shoot a WM in matches, try one of the many field matches, sniper challenges, etc. they are more appropriate for magnum calibers.

Makes sense, I guess PRS might not be what I should be looking at then. I’ll start looking into more local field/sniper matches near California.

 

[ZY100]

Not recommending 300 wm by any stretch.

But a guy (don't recall a name) ran one in a 2-day at Frontline I shot a few years back. He was on the podium—3rd I think. But he might have won it…?.

I have seen one at a one day regional as too. Guys logic was it was his elk gun, might as well be good with it. He ran it well.

Anyways…just an anecdote or two.

Edti: Yes, it was Craig and he is a good dude.

ZY

 

[Bigtony]

I would absolutely never run a 300wm for PRS. Maybe just as a joke or goal for a club match, but probably not even then. You'll get beat to death and likely won't see much of your impacts or misses.

The .308 won't be competitive, but if your goal is to just shoot against yourself and get better, have fun, etc......the .308 is manageable.


You'll absolutely regret the 300wm and I'd bet you'd stop shooting it in matches after the first time.

How often do you see someone with a 308 do well in matches? Are they getting blown out of the water that badly?

 

[Bigtony]

Not recommending 300 wm by any stretch.

But a guy (don't recall a name) ran one in a 2-day at Frontline I shot a few years back. He was on the podium—3rd I think. But he might have won it…?.

I have seen one at a one day regional as too. Guys logic was it was his elk gun, might as well be good with it. He ran it well.

Anyways…just an anecdote or two.

ZY

Nice, It would definitely be pretty cool to practice at matches and then try taking a couple pigs past 1km.

 

[b6graham]

Not recommending 300 wm by any stretch.

But a guy (don't recall a name) ran one in a 2-day at Frontline I shot a few years back. He was on the podium—3rd I think. But he might have won it…?.

I have seen one at a one day regional as too. Guys logic was it was his elk gun, might as well be good with it. He ran it well.

Anyways…just an anecdote or two.

ZY

craig thomas

tbf i've also seen him ride a moto to a 2 day match and bring his shit into taco bell after shooting

 

[Bigtony]

craig thomas

tbf i've also seen him ride a moto to a 2 day match and bring his shit into taco bell after shooting

True American

 

[XP1K]

I've thought about this myself. I'll probably never actually go shoot a prs match though. I'd have to drive several hours in any direction to find a match.

I've considered making the journey down to rifles only. That's probably 4-5 hours from where I'm at on the gulf coast. I think he has a 3200fps speed limit and no bullet over 180 grains.

Factory 150's run about 3300 out of my rifle with little to no recoil.
180's aren't even bad out of my rifle. Heck, my wife shoots it with 215's and it doesn't bother her.
The rifle has a good brake on it and weighs 14lbs with the scope and bipod. Unloaded.

155's running 3200 wouldn't be hard to manage at all. I mainly hunt and shoot out to 1000 yards with this gun so practicing shooting in practical or improvised positions would probably be to my benefit. I may do it one day just to be that guy lol.

 

[hlee]

How often do you see someone with a 308 do well in matches? Are they getting blown out of the water that badly?

Guys that shoot them well, shoot them well. But, in an environment where the typical wind reading skill is “hold edge of plate and send it,” the fat and relatively slow 308 bullet leaves a lot on the table when compared to the 6 and 6.5 mm bullets. When it came out, the 6.5 Creedmoor was called the “cheat more” for a reason. The original PRS “wind cheater.”

Combine that with the increased recoil of the 308- as compared to cartridges like the 6 BRA/dasher/etc- and self-spotting hits is
significantly more difficult with the 308.

Without digging up any data, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that none of the top 100 guys/ladies in PRS open are shooting a 308. That would strongly suggest that the cartridge is not competitive in PRS at the upper levels.

 

[Bigtony]

I've thought about this myself. I'll probably never actually go shoot a prs match though. I'd have to drive several hours in any direction to find a match.

I've considered making the journey down to rifles only. That's probably 4-5 hours from where I'm at on the gulf coast. I think he has a 3200fps speed limit and no bullet over 180 grains.

Factory 150's run about 3300 out of my rifle with little to no recoil.
180's aren't even bad out of my rifle. Heck, my wife shoots it with 215's and it doesn't bother her.
The rifle has a good brake on it and weighs 14lbs with the scope and bipod. Unloaded.

155's running 3200 wouldn't be hard to manage at all. I mainly hunt and shoot out to 1000 yards with this gun so practicing shooting in practical or improvised positions would probably be to my benefit. I may do it one day just to be that guy lol.

That’s pretty much my thought process, I’m pretty used to my budget 300wm, and worse case scenario it will make me a better shooter

 

[XP1K]

That’s pretty much my thought process, I’m pretty used to my budget 300wm, and worse case scenario it will make me a better shooter

Barrels are consumables. Smoke it and build another one.

A buddy of mine made a comment about me shooting my 300winmag so much last year. I only put about 400 rounds through it in 6-8 months. I just told him I built it to shoot it not look at it lol.

 

[R_A_W]

worse case scenario it will make me a better shooter

no, worst case is you blow through 100rds, get some hits but have no idea what happened, & then call it quits for good

For PRS, IMO you'll be at a greater disadvantage with the .300wm than the .308win

There's no reason for you to take the .300wm to shoot your first match, that Sig Cross is perfectly serviceable for your first few matches. If you still want to shoot a match with .300wm after that, knock yourself out

 

[wind gypsy]

Seriously impressive if guys run a 300wm competitively. I'd want no part of that. I'd think the firing rate would be hell on a 300wm barrel?

Why not get a 6.5 that will have acceptable ballistics and be more fun to shoot?

 

[KnowNothing256]

One other thought is that you're flagging cost as a key consideration in your plan. Are you thinking about ammo costs? Are you thinking about the cost of ammo spent performing poorly?

I shot a couple matches a couple weekends ago, and had stepped up from my normal light-recoil cartridge up to a 6.5CM for a few reasons. I found it very distracting and disrupting to my performance to deal with that increased recoil; I accept that this is a fundamentals issue on my part, but I bring it up because I had a vastly different experience behind the gun switching to a more challenging cartridge.

It was harder to spot my impacts (not impossible, and I got better over the weekend), and that difficulty really took me mentally away from what I needed to be focusing on: where my bullets were landing, what that meant about the wind conditions, and maintaining my confidence and calm.

If you just want to go out and "see what it's like," just take your Cross and try to load it up with some weight. But understand that you're not actually seeing what it's like, because you're driving the wrong car for the race, and you're also spending money to do it in match fees, gas/food/lodging, and ammo.

Dropping $3k on a new rifle in the wrong caliber is baffling to me, because you're either going to:
1) not love the game (for any number of reasons) in which case you spent $3k for not much benefit,
2) really enjoy the game and end up sending more than $3k worth of ammo downrange playing it, so you might as well invest in a better platform, or
3) really enjoy the game and get the competitive itch, and have to bail on the 308 anyway

I see no upside for you, unless you're saying you're never going to buy ammo again, in which case fine, stick with 308. But I expect you're going to replace the ammo you shoot, so saying "Well I already have the ammo so I don't want to spend more money on a different caliber" is lying to yourself about what it costs to pull the trigger each time.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

I shot a few PRS matches with my AI AXMC and 300WM barrel just because I was curious, I did alright but it absolutely was not ideal and I was at a serious disadvantage. Unless it's all I had and just wanted to go shoot a match then no way would I do that, I certainly wouldn't buy a rifle specifically for PRS in 300WM or even 308 for that matter.

I wouldn't stick with those two chamberings just because you have ammo for them. You're going to burn up ammo shooting all of them anyway so what difference does it make? They also may not even shoot the same ammo well so at that point it goes fully out the window because you have two loads for two rifles.

Buy a PRS rifle in a 6mm or 6.5mm unless you just want to go waste your time and money.

 

[Vivacious Stallion]

Yup, similar to @redneckbmxer24 , I thought it would be fun to run my AXSR with the 300 prc barrel on at a local match. It was not...

It will be particularly rough shooting positional or improvised postions. Pretty much anything not prone or modified prone.

If you want a magnum, great, awesome, do it. Just don't buy one specifically for prs.

 

[Covertnoob5]

To the OP. Cheap exercise, go to your local range with your 300WM with a basic step ladder. Pick a 1-2 moa target at 4-600 yards and shoot it 3 times from each step. 8-9 total shots depending on how many steps you have. Do it in under 2 minutes with your 300WM.
That’ll give you a SMALL idea of what it’s like to run that gun.
If you only have limited distance available (1-200yds) put a 1-2” shoot n see dot at 100yds and use that as the target.

I would highly advise against both calibers but if forced to choose, 308 hands down. At least you’ll be in Tac division and maybe even get a participation trophy if you’re the only one lol

I would highly suggest a 6.5CM. I’ve seen several at the NF ELR matches (2kish furthest target) and yes not the right tool for that job but they did fairly well. Better than people with magnums. If you can’t call wind a 230gr bullet won’t save you. In PRS you can be plenty competitive with 6.5, it’ll do general long range well (inside of 1,500yds) and you can train, practice and hunt with it. Great all around caliber.

If you’re absolutely set on something with more horsepower because you feel the majority of life for that particular rifle will be at 1,300+yds with a little dable in PRS then go 6.5PRC. People forget that cartridge was originally branded as a competition caliber (6.5 Precision rifle cartridge). I’ve seen guys shoot them at matches and while still not a good option, it’ll beat you up less than a 300WM by a lot. And still give you a big advantage on wind vs a 308 with not much more if any recoil honestly.

 

[vinniedelpino]

I say go for it.

No way you’d be competitive, but rolling up to a match with a 300wm and only as much gear as you can carry would be badass.

I can’t see a bunch of dudes wheeling around their 20+lb pea shooters in glorified baby strollers picking on you for it, if that’s what you’re worried about.

That’d be absurd.

 

[Rio Precision Gunworks]

How often do you see someone with a 308 do well in matches? Are they getting blown out of the water that badly?

Just pure numbers say that if you're trying to be competitive, a .308 severely limits you.

You'll be shooting against guys running 6mm that weight 20+ lbs. The very best fundamentally sound shooters will be able to be *somewhat* competitive, but would still be at a noticeable disadvantage. The lesser skilled shooters will be at an even larger disadvantage as the skill gap in creases.

The best tac class shooters perform at about 85% of the winning score at two day matches. And that's the very best.



That's not to dissuade you from taking a .308 and enjoying matches. But if the question is strictly about being competitive, the answer is 85% at best for the best tac class shooters.

 

[BR7.62]

aside from matches i dont understand the need for 300wm for pigs either. are they like 1000 pound pigs or something?

 

[D_TROS]

craig thomas

tbf i've also seen him ride a moto to a 2 day match and bring his shit into taco bell after shooting

he has won a PRS match with his 300wm

I have top 5 with a 308 in a prs match

wouldnt recommend either as already mentioned its a disadvantage. high BC bullets with little recoil is the name of the barricade benchrest now.


I would, OTOH, use either in an NRL Hunter match where round count is lower and targets more generous sized.



GL
DT

 

[XP1K]

aside from matches i dont understand the need for 300wm for pigs either. are they like 1000 pound pigs or something?

What's need got to do with it ? Some of us just like smashing stuff with a 215 running 2900.

 

[XP1K]

I say go for it.

No way you’d be competitive, but rolling up to a match with a 300wm and only as much gear as you can carry would be badass.

I can’t see a bunch of dudes wheeling around their 20+lb pea shooters in glorified baby strollers picking on you for it, if that’s what you’re worried about.

That’d be absurd.

If I do ever try it I'll probably take my homebuilt 700 in 308 and my fortune cookie. That's about the extent of my gear. The only person I'd be competing against would be myself.

Y'all are going to make me look for a match.

 

[steve123]

No and no.

In the old style tactical matches when more than half the stages were shot off the ground and bipod those heavy hitter cartridges weren't totally horrible when having a weighty gun and a large brake. I won some stages with my wildcat 30 cal with 230 gr bergers going 2935 fps and finished pretty high up the roster. Now few stages are shot like that and there's no way I'd try the old 30 cal.

Basically if you can't see where you missed then you are going to get frustrated because you won't know where to correct to. Also that 300wm barrel is going to get burned out pretty quickly shooting in these types of matches.

There are a few awesome shots that can do well with 308 in these matches but it takes many thousands rounds to acquire those wind reading skills along with the recoil control skills. Shooting a lighter weight 308 would make PRS even harder.

Personally for PRS I'd rather shoot a 223 with heavies if given the choice between 223, 308, and 300WM. Self spotting way out there is the toughest thing but not too hard inside 600Y or so, also these blow in the wind quite a bit but a 223 is sweet to shoot all day.

These PRS friendly rifles and cartridges are so fun, also so low recoiling and easy to shoot, while enabling great long range performance, that it's hard to enjoy what I call nowadays "the old beaters" much anymore. I know its sacrilege around here to say so but the only 308 I have left is a family heirloom.

Even the old 30-375R got turned into a 6.5 Saum.

The 6mmBR works so well I grab it for 80% of my long range shooting. Low recoil, long barrel life, cheaper to shoot if reloading because only 29.3gr powder, low SD, super precise, and does decent in wind as well.

I say do it right for PRS or enjoy other types of shooting.

 

[hlee]

If I do ever try it I'll probably take my homebuilt 700 in 308 and my fortune cookie. That's about the extent of my gear. The only person I'd be competing against would be myself.

Y'all are going to make me look for a match.

The worst thing that could happen is that;

-you spend all day at a range in order to shoot for a cumulative 16 minutes,
-burn up 80-100 rounds of painstakingly crafted ammo,
-get sunburned, windburned, and dehydrated,
-find out that you don’t really like competitive shooting

Actually it could be significantly worse. You could drive for several hours, get lost and never get to the match. Your rifle could shit the bed on the first stage and you are unable to complete the match. You could be squander with a bunch of newbs. Or worse, a bunch of jersered “pros.” You could miss every target. You could time out on every stage, before ever finding a single target. It could be REALLY bad.

But, it would probably go more like this. You show up an hour or so before the start time. There’s a 100 yard range set up so you can check zero and confirm you mv. You check in and see that you’re squadded in the “newbie squad.” There’s a “pro” acting as “squad mom” to make sure everyone knows the stage layouts and understands the course of fire, helps with wind calls and spotting hits/misses, and generally insures your first match is a good experience. He curb stomps everyone in the squad. You shoot about 80% of the ammo you brought, because you timed out on half of the stages. You score roughly 60% of the top finisher. Your pro let you use his support bag and a spare bipod. You leave the match with a list of wants and gear “deficiencies” that you are determined to rectify before next month’s match. And, you foresee that this new rabbit hole is a pit of crippling debt that you will never willingly dig your way out of…

 

[D_TROS]

The worst thing that could happen is that;

-you spend all day at a range in order to shoot for a cumulative 16 minutes,
-burn up 80-100 rounds of painstakingly crafted ammo,
-get sunburned, windburned, and dehydrated,
-find out that you don’t really like competitive shooting

Actually it could be significantly worse. You could drive for several hours, get lost and never get to the match. Your rifle could shit the bed on the first stage and you are unable to complete the match. You could be squander with a bunch of newbs. Or worse, a bunch of jersered “pros.” You could miss every target. You could time out on every stage, before ever finding a single target. It could be REALLY bad.

But, it would probably go more like this. You show up an hour or so before the start time. There’s a 100 yard range set up so you can check zero and confirm you mv. You check in and see that you’re squadded in the “newbie squad.” There’s a “pro” acting as “squad mom” to make sure everyone knows the stage layouts and understands the course of fire, helps with wind calls and spotting hits/misses, and generally insures your first match is a good experience. He curb stomps everyone in the squad. You shoot about 80% of the ammo you brought, because you timed out on half of the stages. You score roughly 60% of the top finisher. Your pro let you use his support bag and a spare bipod. You leave the match with a list of wants and gear “deficiencies” that you are determined to rectify before next month’s match. And, you foresee that this new rabbit hole is a pit of crippling debt that you will never willingly dig your way out of…

DAM....well said lolol

but agreed 100% on last paragraph./

 

[Mendy300wm]

I wish my stool was as soft as this thread…

That is all

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

A good chance you will get asked to go home. Many ranges do not have targets/hangers that can handle that much energy. Seen at happen twice with guys shooting magnums who were asked to leave after their 2nd shot broke a target after going cold and fixing it.

The rules need to be changed to 30-06 and under 3200 fps. There should also be bullet weight limit of 178, same as tac to keep energy down. Some combination of speed and bullet weight under a threshold. 6.5prc has similar energy to some 308 and 3006 loads so it would be fine.

No one is winning matches with 308 unless no one shows up. Also what a guy did at a match 7 years ago doesn't mean shit today. The matches today are not designed for that.

 

[Chris1972]

So what’s the barrel life on the WM? You gonna shoot 10 outings and get a new barrel? Can you get 100 rounds out of a pound of powder?
You said you have lots of wm ammo? What is a lot and is factory or hand loaded?


I shoot a bastard round in the 7-08 so don’t think I’m being a giant pessimist, but if buying a rifle for $3000 be sure you’re prepared to feed it well and pat it on the but at night.

I’d hate for your first adventure to ruin you and your shoulder. 50-100 rounds in a day. Think about that. I’m kinda a pussy though so there’s that.

 

[Tcorb734]

Not saying I'm as good as Craig Thomas, but I used a 30-06 for several seasons. I never came in last place. Used for local matches and national level matches. It was fun and match directors didn't appreciate stopping the match to put targets back up. Probably why Brandt invented that target lock. I didn't get beat up. It weighed about 15.5 pounds with a nightforce atacr on it. I shot a 208 eld-m at 2800 fps out of it. Those 10 round mags are a bit long though.

 

[schmi015]

$2,600.00 – $2,890.00 for the MPA BA PMR pro 2. What scope you planning on running? I'll be honest you could probably split this and get two tikkas. Get a 6.5cm to shoot prs https://www.eurooptic.com/Tikka-T3x-CTR-65-Creedmoor-Stainless.aspx and a new 300wm for hunting-LR comp. https://www.eurooptic.com/Tikka-T3x...ag-PIC-SS-237-MT-5rd-Rifle-JRTXRSV331R10.aspx

 

[Covertnoob5]

$2,600.00 – $2,890.00 for the MPA BA PMR pro 2. What scope you planning on running? I'll be honest you could probably split this and get two tikkas. Get a 6.5cm to shoot prs https://www.eurooptic.com/Tikka-T3x-CTR-65-Creedmoor-Stainless.aspx and a new 300wm for hunting-LR comp. https://www.eurooptic.com/Tikka-T3x...ag-PIC-SS-237-MT-5rd-Rifle-JRTXRSV331R10.aspx

You’d want to put that T3X into a chassis of some sort. Maybe a KRG bravo for now. For better balance and weight. Barrel is a bit thin for PRS tho

 

[DJL2]

I will simply relate a story here that I've shared elsewhere.

A while back, I showed up to the home of PRS to take a weekend basic precision rifle course. It's a nice facility, incidentally. Anyway, the various drills and courses of fire were pretty basic so that we could focus on the fundamentals. At least three folks showed up on Day 1 with .300 magnums (2x PRC and 1x WM IIRC). It played out like this:

KM Cadre: "What's everyone shooting?"
Team Magnum: 300s!
KMC: Hmm... that's a technique, but you really ought to consider running a house gun in 6.5 CM.
TM: Bro, these are so easy to shoot, the brakes are awesome, no worries fam!

Care to guess whether any of them were still shooting their 300 magnums on Day 2? I'll give you a hint: the answer isn't odd or prime. ;-)
There's a huge difference between "no big deal for me to run a box of 20 once a week" and "I've gotta shoot 100 rounds a day out of this thing and it's kicking the shit out of me."

 

[Tcorb734]

If the op has the range to do it, he should practice off tank traps and barricades for 100 rounds in one day. He'll know at the end of it if he can handle running a 300wm in a prs match.

 

[deepsix++]

I have been shooting 300wm in a custom rifle for over 15 years and I say it would be best to shoot it in local F class matches or ELR matches , things you shoot only prone , it has way too much recoil for a positional match . shoot 225eldm's at around 2700-2800 fps and you are set

 

[45-90]

A few yrs back a young stout looking young man won a match with a 300 WM...I never heard if he continued to use it...everyone was surprised at the choice, but it can be done.
The 308 would allow more practice, and half MOA will do fine... so practice...alot, with the accurate ammo you are going to use.
Take the 308 and have fun. It's a learning curve, and find out if this endevor is for you... before investing.

 

[Chris W.]

If you're honestly considering 300 WM it would probably cheaper to get one of the barreled Howa actions from Brownells in 6.5. The cost in ammo to run a 300 WM for a full season would more than pay for the cost of a cheap Howa action/barrel and something like a Bravo or XRS.

 

[Tx_Aggie]

Without digging up any data, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that none of the top 100 guys/ladies in PRS open are shooting a 308. That would strongly suggest that the cartridge is not competitive in PRS at the upper levels.

Scott Peterson was 51st overall at the 2023 Finale, and 24th in 2022, shooting a 308. But Scott is exceptionally good at calling wind, even among top PRS competitors. Take him out of the mix and you're 100% right.

 

[Rob01]

I shot a 300WM in matches years back before the matches became what they have become and it was fun to shoot but in today's game I wouldn't recommend a 300WM. A .308 would be fun though and shoot it in Tac Division. I still run one from time to time and seeing as you are coming into the game I am not sure why everyone is so worried about you buying a rifle you will win matches with. LOL A .308 is a good rifle to get into the sport and by the time you burn the barrel out you can figure if there is another caliber you want to move to for future matches.

 

[Emerson0311]

Most shooters who have not shot a PRS style match yet have no concept of what is required to get through each stage hitting a few targets and having some idea why he missed the others. I had a conversation recently with a fellow who was tickled pink that he hit steel at 1480 with a 7mm. He is planning to do hunter matches, but has never tried any kind of positional shooting. Listen to the people who have some experience. Most of their gear decisions are driven by basic realities. Add in the misery of spending $500-$600 a day in ammo and match fees to end up with no idea where most of those bullets went downrange and it’s easy to never show up again.

 

[hlee]

Most shooters who have not shot a PRS style match yet have no concept of what is required to get through each stage hitting a few targets and having some idea why he missed the others. I had a conversation recently with a fellow who was tickled pink that he hit steel at 1480 with a 7mm. He is planning to do hunter matches, but has never tried any kind of positional shooting. Listen to the people who have some experience. Most of their gear decisions are driven by basic realities. Add in the misery of spending $500-$600 a day in ammo and match fees to end up with no idea where most of those bullets went downrange and it’s easy to never show up again.

And, most people don’t want to be skull fucked by the reality that they aren’t as good as they think they are…

Shoot your first match with the rifle you have. Unless it’s a long action magnum. Expect to shoot poorly. Plan to have fun. There’s no real money in this game so you might as well have fun.

 

[R700Gunslinger]

Makes sense, I guess PRS might not be what I should be looking at then. I’ll start looking into more local field/sniper matches near California.

I see that you're in San Diego, if you don't mind the drive I recommend looking into shooting the monthly 1,000 yard matches at Desert Marksman in Palmdale. You don't have to be a member to shoot the matches. I used to shoot there before leaving California and it was a lot of fun.

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

There are a bunch of guys in SD who shoot prs and are really good. I would try and seek them out and see if they will show you the ropes.

 

[Waco Kid]

Doesn’t the Cross have prefits readily available? Why not get a 6.5C barrel and a couple a few hundred rounds to try a match before dropping a pile on a new rifle? Could probably sell the barrel off if you decide you don’t like it.

 

[Emerson0311]

And, most people don’t want to be skull fucked by the reality that they aren’t as good as they think they are…

Shoot your first match with the rifle you have. Unless it’s a long action magnum. Expect to shoot poorly. Plan to have fun. There’s no real money in this game so you might as well have fun.

This. I also don’t understand the reluctance to use Rimfire to work on the basic mechanics of positional shooting and stage management. Ammo costs alone preclude thousands of centerfire rounds of practice for most shooters, to say nothing of the need for long ranges for practice.