First NRL22 match

[Alabusa]

Shot my first match this past weekend and am hooked. Got my ass handed to me by a 14yo boy. Needless to say I was humbled greatly.
The squad I shot with was great. I got lots of help and offers of gear that I had no idea I needed. Great group of people in the community.
Shooting a PRS 22 match this coming weekend. Can't wait.

 

[Mht22]

That’s awesome. Glad people are willing to help out. I’m looking for something like this in my area. I’m just starting out and know absolutely nothing!!

 

[usafa77]

I'd be worried carrying my 20lb rifle up that rooftop!

 

[Alabusa]

I'd be worried carrying my 20lb rifle up that rooftop!

No worry needed. The RO is allowed to help with your rifle when you're climbing up or down.

 

[Masojoh]

That 14yo boy whooped a lot of ass. He does that quite often. Don’t feel bad.

 

[Jgore]

Wanting to get into this. Going to a match the end of the month. What’s the one thing you would suggest to someone that’s going for the first time?

 

[308pirate]

What’s the one thing you would suggest to someone that’s going for the first time?

Leave ego and expectations at home

 

[Jgore]

Lol. That’s what I’ve read. Have zero expectations and learn the process.

 

[Masojoh]

I have to offer two pieces of advice. First - know your dope. If you can’t hit targets at different ranges by dialing or holding over, it will be no fun.

And last - you don’t need as much magnification as you think you do. Outside of 1/4” targets and really long range ones, I seldom run higher than 18x on my scopes during a match. This helps you in acquiring targets unless you just have an amazing sense of your aim point.

 

[woogie_man]

Waiting to finish my rimx build to go out and try as well. Here is hoping it won't be a huge steaming pile of shit. Should be fun to hang out with like minded people

 

[308pirate]

Lol. That’s what I’ve read. Have zero expectations and learn the process.

There's a reason you've read it.

I've been involved in a few shooting sports over the years, rifle, shotgun, and pistol. I've lost count of the casual shooters I've seen show up, get crushed, and never come back.

Casual/backyard shooters usually overestimate their skills and truly have no idea of how much better shooters who take a sport seriously and apply themselves are.

On top of that there are elements of the sport (movement/tactics/strategy/whatever you want to call it) that can't be learned outside of the game. You can practice those elements at home (dry fire) and on the range, but you won't know what those elements are until you experience a few matches in your chosen sport.

 

[Jgore]

There's a reason you've read it.

I've been involved in a few shooting sports over the years, rifle, shotgun, and pistol. I've lost count of the casual shooters I've seen show up, get crushed, and never come back.

Casual/backyard shooters usually overestimate their skills and truly have no idea of how much better shooters who take a sport seriously and apply themselves are.

On top of that there are elements of the sport (movement/tactics/strategy/whatever you want to call it) that can't be learned outside of the game. You can practice those elements at home (dry fire) and on the range, but you won't know what those elements are until you experience a few matches in your chosen sport.

Thanks for the info. I feel completely unprepared although I shoot weekly. I’m just going to dive in and see what happens. No expectations.

 

[ECK]

A buddy got me into NRL22, so that helped me at my first few matches.

NRL22 publishes their monthly courses of fire on their website, plus there are a handful of YouTubers that will demo the stages so you can get a preview of what kind of props you’ll be shooting off of. NRL22 stages typically uses props that most people have laying around their garage: saw horse, 6’ step ladders, 5 gal and 2 gal buckets, cinder blocks, and truck tires, etc.

Unless you have a buddy to help you out, at a minimum I would figure out your dope from 25 to 100 yds and have that written down on a cheat sheet or confirm what your ballistics calculator is saying for those distances. A roll of painters tape and a magic marker to write down specific dope for each stage will be handy. A lot of people will stick the tape with dope on their left forearm so they can glance down at it during the stage.

Outside of the rifle, scope, bipod and maybe a rear bag I wouldn’t sweat the other stuff. My experience is if you tell your squad that you’re a first timer you’ll get plenty of advice and offers to use their accessories.

 

[Jgore]

A buddy got me into NRL22, so that helped me at my first few matches.

NRL22 publishes their monthly courses of fire on their website, plus there are a handful of YouTubers that will demo the stages so you can get a preview of what kind of props you’ll be shooting off of. NRL22 stages typically uses props that most people have laying around their garage: saw horse, 6’ step ladders, 5 gal and 2 gal buckets, cinder blocks, and truck tires, etc.

Unless you have a buddy to help you out, at a minimum I would figure out your dope from 25 to 100 yds and have that written down on a cheat sheet or confirm what your ballistics calculator is saying for those distances. A roll of painters tape and a magic marker to write down specific dope for each stage will be handy. A lot of people will stick the tape with dope on their left forearm so they can glance down at it during the stage.

Outside of the rifle, scope, bipod and maybe a rear bag I wouldn’t sweat the other stuff. My experience is if you tell your squad that you’re a first timer you’ll get plenty of advice and offers to use their accessories.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[Defender32]

SEGAR is a great place and a great community of shooters. The MD is awesome and a few other MD's in the area shoot there as well. You are in great hands at that club!!! My club is 2.5 hours North in KY w/ another good club at Ft. Campbell Military Base. The MD was at that match as well.

 

[NewsShooter]

It isn't easy and it can certainly be humbling. I alway tell shooters trying it out for the first time that the two most important things are be safe and have fun. Don't worry about scores as they're generally going to suck the first couple times. Awkward positions, time limits, targets and multiple locations and distances, it can be overwhelming.

 

[ECK]

All the different shooting positions in NRL22 and 22PRS certainly give you plenty of things to practice if your more accustomed to shooting prone.

In the beginning I wasted a lot of time trying to build a solid position off the various props, sometimes trying something that wasn’t ideal. After a bunch of trial and error I found what worked best for props at different heights. For example: Tires, cinder blocks, and 2 gal buckets it was better for me to rest the rifle on the prop and go prone. A 5 gal bucket or double stacked tire/cinder block I would get into a low kneeling position. Saw horse was a double knee kneel but more upright. Anything taller than that, such as a 44 gal barrel or tank trap I would stand upright with feet wide spread and bend at the waist.

Early on I would also use a tripod for rear support on some of those positions but more and more stages had too much movement to another position that I ran out of time or had to rush my shot so I spent a lot of practice time learning to shoot without the tripod (aka crutch).

I also practice a lot just holding rather than dialing since that was a time saver.

As I said, lots of things to practice
to get gooder at.

 

[Alabusa]

Going to shoot a PRS22 match this weekend. With me luck!

 

[Sblzrd65]

To add: don't worry about any timers or clearing them all the first time. Focus on one at a time. Aiming and hitting say half is better than aiming for all and missing all. See about a ballistic calculator app for distances. See if there's an option to check your zero before it starts. Ask around to see if anyone has a chrono they'll let you use. Then you can see what the speed actually is for your rifle and not just the box printed numbers. Then you can get more accurate into the ballistic app.

 

[Alabusa]

To add: don't worry about any timers or clearing them all the first time. Focus on one at a time. Aiming and hitting say half is better than aiming for all and missing all. See about a ballistic calculator app for distances. See if there's an option to check your zero before it starts. Ask around to see if anyone has a chrono they'll let you use. Then you can see what the speed actually is for your rifle and not just the box printed numbers. Then you can get more accurate into the ballistic app.

I have all of that and use both Hornady 4dof and Strelok Pro. My dope is trued and spot on past 300 and yes I have verified it.

I did rush a bit last weekend and suffered greatly for it. Will take a different route this coming weekend. Thanks for all the info and suggestions. At the moment, I need all the help I can get.

 

[Defender32]

Just remember Impacts mean more than finishing under time. Build a solid position and make that first round hit.

If you only get of 7 of 10 shots in a 120sec stage & hit all 7 of those shots you are at 100%. Engage targets until the timer goes off. Use all the time you have.