I shot my first 200 Yard Prone Match on Saturday

[iggyort]

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to shoot a local 200 yard smallbore prone match with my scoped CZ 455 rifle. Since I was not permitted to use a bipod and I did not have a sling, my score reflected my handicap. Regardless , the match was fun and it taught me about the effects of wind on a .22LR round at 200 yards .

I do not understand why 200 yard smallbore matches are not more common/ popular. In speaking with the 81 year old gentlemen that ran this match, this type of match was once quite popular. What has happened to lessen the popularity of this type of match?

 

[RTH1800]

Long story.

Faded in the 60's. Hippies, television, dope, prosperity, anti gun and anti Vietnam sentiment. Many of the top small bore shooters became snipers, became sniper instructors or were killed in the war. Just fell from popularity. It was a common ROTC activity and the whole group went on a SE Asian vacation and came home to a different world, some without limbs or in a box.

Without collage support and student demand, faded away. Many of the ones that stayed in shooting went to bigbore shooting.

 

[Wahoo95]

Sadly many of the Rimfire matches have fallen out of popularity over the years. Long range Rimfire is fun!

 

[Mr. Winchester]

May I ask which 455 and scope do you have? I've actually started picking up interest in smallbore and looking into either getting an varmint or precision trainer.

It's now hard for me to get to range past 300 and think smallbore will a good fit.

 

[iggyort]

May I ask which 455 and scope do you have? I've actually started picking up interest in smallbore and looking into either getting an varmint or precision trainer.

It's now hard for me to get to range past 300 and think smallbore will a good fit.

I used a CZ 455 Tacticool Model with a Millett 4-16x50mm Tactical Rifle Scope

Plenty of advise here on the CZ 455

Good luck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqby83clqKY

 

[JoeMartin]

My grand dad won this match (.22 Rimfire - 200 yards) back in 1929 using iron sights. I believe these matches were popular back then, and long range - Ranges were more available.
Plus,,, there was no mass media such as T.V. in homes, and a higher percentage of shooter's were willing to take up the challenge and get outdoors and test themselves.

 

[kansas45]

That's something to be proud of, Joe.
A few of us around here shoot 200 & up, sometimes with good results!
The Kansas winds make it hard to do most of the time, but it is good practice.

 

[JoeMartin]

Northwest Nebraska wind isn't much more forgiving, Kansas45. A few years back I shot this 20 shot match using aperture sights on
my Savage FVT MKII, and I was able to throw up a score of 178 off a caldwell rest - prone. Of all things I used Federal 510B ammo.
I expect grand dad did his 173 with just a sling while shooting military style, and probably using the "standard" ammo of the day
which was probably in the 1150 fps neighborhood? May have even been black powder .22 loads? Don't know for sure unfortunately.

 

[MosesTheTank]

We have one at Riverbend Gun Club in Dawsonville, GA. It got started up (re-started) several years ago and was expanded to 4x/year as attendance grew. It's a great way to learn to play in the wind, no doubt.

RBGC

 

[kansas45]

We talk about having matches here. I have a 250 yard rimfire range on my place. Lots of interest, but when it comes time to shoot only 3 or 4 folks actually show up.

 

[JoeMartin]

We talk about having matches here. I have a 250 yard rimfire range on my place. Lots of interest, but when it comes time to shoot only 3 or 4 folks actually show up.

Same story here aside from a couple of shooters. Seems like most are better at talking the game then actually playing it.

 

[kansas45]

Same story here aside from a couple of shooters. Seems like most are better at talking the game then actually playing it.

Yes, Joe. I blame the fast-paced world that we live in. We have to be somewhere else almost every time we really want to be somewhere else.

 

[JoeMartin]

Yes, Joe. I blame the fast-paced world that we live in. We have to be somewhere else almost every time we really want to be somewhere else.

I like the way you worded that. Talk about hitting the nail on the head. Now that's some summing up for sure!

 

[Rustybroadhead]

We have one at Riverbend Gun Club in Dawsonville, GA. It got started up (re-started) several years ago and was expanded to 4x/year as attendance grew. It's a great way to learn to play in the wind, no doubt.

RBGC

Moses, How long do you think it would take to get to the club from Birmingham??? This looks like a lot of fun but I am sure I will get my a** handed to me. LOL

 

[MosesTheTank]

Moses, How long do you think it would take to get to the club from Birmingham??? This looks like a lot of fun but I am sure I will get my a** handed to me. LOL

It would be about a 3 hour drive. I would highly recommend getting sighted in at 200 first. Some folks don't have enough elevation to get there. To help with this we will stack 2 targets on top of one another and you can sight in on the top one with shots hitting the lower one. There will usually be someone there on Friday getting dialed in, so if you can't get a 200 yard zero otherwise you might make that then spend the night. If you need to bribe the wife the outlet malls are nearby.

 

[Rustybroadhead]

It would be about a 3 hour drive. I would highly recommend getting sighted in at 200 first. Some folks don't have enough elevation to get there. To help with this we will stack 2 targets on top of one another and you can sight in on the top one with shots hitting the lower one. There will usually be someone there on Friday getting dialed in, so if you can't get a 200 yard zero otherwise you might make that then spend the night. If you need to bribe the wife the outlet malls are nearby.

Thanks Moses. I shoot a match here that is off a bipod or rest out to 200yds each month. It is a lot of fun but I know that I need to practice positional shooting and this sounded like quite a challenge (to say the least). I will see if I can talk the wife into going as well. She isn't much of a shopper but lived in Atlanta for a few years and has friends there. Might drop her off on the way out and pick her up on the way home. I will keep an eye on the dates and see if I can't make it over for one.

 

[Randoman5]

I love shooting my .22 at 200 yards. Thats the longest distance the range closest to me has and hitting pop cans with my .22 at 220 is a fun challenge. I'd definitely be willing to give a match a shot, although methinks my 1022 wouldn't be all that competitive. It usually takes me a few tries to hit a can. It'll group about the size of my palm at that distance.

 

[iggyort]

One of the biggest hurdles with bringing back the 200 Yard Smallbore* is the current NRA Smallbore Rule 7.7

*

7.7 Long Range Conventional Prone -(200 Yards) - This event is no longer used for classification or National

Records. If a sponsor desires to conduct this event, Target A-21 may be used or it may be fired on high power

ranges using regulation high power targets, pit operation and scoring procedures. (High Power Rules 4, 10, and

14.

*

*

We would need to petition the NRA to make “Long Range Conventional Prone”* a requirement for National Records. Until this happens, *200 Yard matches will be basically a local affair.

 

[kansas45]

Heck, National Records or just a local affair, 200 yards with a 22LR is still tough, and it's a blast!