Ok, last few weeks I've had many a conversation with old friends, new shooters, and those who actively compete. Each conversation leads to the desire to shoot a match that is fun, challenging, with no drama, etc. A field style match without any contrived circus stages. A match where not only a veteran shooter would be challenged, but also a novice shooter would feel comfortable shooting. There's a huge number of shooters seeking field matches that aren't the usuall, well you know, as a friend just sarcastically said...
"Any stages with wobbly beds and bags full of beach balls to shoot off of? Cause I encounter that shit whenever I'm out walking around. Really need to work on those skills."
So recently I met the GM of a very large Ranch, who I have started the conversation with about the possibility of having a two day long range precision rifle match, 100 to 120 shooters, etc. The Ranch consists of thousands of acres of varying terrain from open grassland to heavy timber, altitude from 6000 to over 9000-ft.
So here's my question seeking feedback, but let me preface this with, I don't need suggestions on how to put on a match, as I've been a co-match director for two large national level matches. What feedback I need is people to just say "Yeah, that's cool, I'd love to shoot that kind of match" or "No way, I want to chase points in a series, and shoot off of wobbly man made stuff, and then bitch about how I got screwed at the prize table."
Here's the start of my idea and planning;
- This will be an outlaw match, and not affiliated with any organization. However, if enough people like this style of match, and want to create matches across the country based on this model, and want to create an organization, that's cool.
- Field style match. There will be no man-made props to shoot off of, with exception of for example an abandoned old cabin, that you may set up in, and shoot through the windows or a doorway. There will be no man-made props built or moved in specifically for the match, as often seen at PRS matches like tank traps, floating platforms, etc.
- Gear; No gear restrictions, this will be a field style match, where walking will be required, and you'll have to navigate a trail (typically single track) through sage brush, tall grass, dense forest, rock fields, up and down hills, etc. So the rule is, if you can carry it, you can use it. ATVs, UTVs, Wheeled Carts, etc will not be allowed. Once you leave the parking lot, you will not have access to your vehicle until the end of the day. You'll have to carry all your gear to include ammo, bags, tripod, etc. However, it will not be an endurance race, so walking distances will be of reasonable length to ensure stages are spaced enough apart to prevent conflicts and crowding.
- Stages; Targets will be of appropriate size to make it challenging, but not impossible for the average shooter to successfully hit. Shooting positions will be realistic, as one would find in a hunting or combat scenario. You may be required to move positions in order to see or engage all targets, and you will have the opportunity to shoot any stage as you see fit. If you want to shoot all targets standing using a tripod, or shoot at every target prone, your choice. Just realize, equipment deployment and set up will be under the clock. Time will be generous to afford the opportunity for the average shooter to realistically and safely get all shots off in the allotted time. Also, We're not going to force you to roll dice, pick a card, pick a number, shoot targets in a convoluted order, or any other kind of silliness. It will be a simple shoot near to far, unless you want to skip a target and come back to it later (and you communicate with the scorekeeper/spotter).
- Equipment Deployment, no complex or stupid rules. Carry your equipment as you normally do, and that's how you start each and every stage. For example, I carry my rifle slung across my chest, with bipod legs out, but collapsed. I have my tripod set to waist level, with a Precision Shooting Platform and soft bag mounted on top of it, and hand carried. I have one rear bag attached to my belt, and any other bags are attached to my pack. So simple rule, I would start every stage in this manner. If someone normally carries their rifle in a Eberlestock pack, with tripod fully collapsed, and attached or stowed to the pack, that is how they would start every stage. If you normally carry your rifle slung on your shoulder with bipod folded, hand carrying a fully extended tripod with binoculars attached for spotting, and all shooting bags inside your pack, then that's how you would start every stage. It's a simple process, without any drama. Every stage will be different, so how you carry your gear will not give you any advantage over the next person as what gear and how it's used will vary on each stage. This will also teach individuals how to efficiently carry and deploy their equipment based on field conditions such as Hunting, instead of configuring equipment prior to each stage like everyone does for a square range match.
- Scorekeeping and RO's; Squads will be assigned a Squad Leader with radio, scorekeeping and timing device provided. Shooters will be required to spot and keep score for their squad mates, so spotting optics (Binoculars as a minimum) will be required for at least two shooters on each squad. I don't believe this will be an issue as 90% of all shooters have binoculars.
Scoring and Awards; Target engagement will be one shot per target, a hit is one point, and a miss is zero points. There will be at least two stages that will be tie breakers (primary, secondary, etc). So if you tie with another individual, but have more points on a tie breaker stage, then you will gain a fractional point to show placement. Awards will be trophies for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd with a cash payout to the top five shooters. Also some small category prizes, for example a bottle of whiskey to recognize the top Military/Veteran shooter. Donated or match sponsored equipment. All equipment will be displayed at a Saturday night BBQ gathering, and will be actioned off to all participants and match support staff. This will afford you the opportunity at a chance to win something you are interested in, vs picking up something off a prize table that you don't need and will be sold, and the sponsor is never recognized or thanked . All proceeds of the auction will go to a worthy disabled veterans organization. There will be no other prizes or awards, just bragging rights.
Entry Fee; The big unknown at this time. I haven't even started to negotiate land lease fee's with the ranch, and there's also other costs like portable toilets, catering of the Saturday night dinner, etc. And if the majority says, hell, let's be individually responsible to bring our own lunches, and water during the match, that's one less cost to pass on to the shooter, thus lowering the entry fee.
Location and Date; Again this match location is still being negotiated, so all I can say is Central Rocky Mountain area in the Summer of 2021. This area has snow in patches on the ground until end of May, and because the Ranch offers Guided Hunting, I can't see this match being held any later than end of August or September? I will try not schedule the match on the same weekend as any other two day match in the State or adjoining States. However, I have to work with the Ranch schedule (which sometimes gets VIP and Foreign guest's), and the existing NRL and PRS schedule that usually comes out well in advance.
So based on input from you, It may be something that can become reality.
Let me know your thoughts. Will you want to shoot this match? Thanks!
"Any stages with wobbly beds and bags full of beach balls to shoot off of? Cause I encounter that shit whenever I'm out walking around. Really need to work on those skills."
So recently I met the GM of a very large Ranch, who I have started the conversation with about the possibility of having a two day long range precision rifle match, 100 to 120 shooters, etc. The Ranch consists of thousands of acres of varying terrain from open grassland to heavy timber, altitude from 6000 to over 9000-ft.
So here's my question seeking feedback, but let me preface this with, I don't need suggestions on how to put on a match, as I've been a co-match director for two large national level matches. What feedback I need is people to just say "Yeah, that's cool, I'd love to shoot that kind of match" or "No way, I want to chase points in a series, and shoot off of wobbly man made stuff, and then bitch about how I got screwed at the prize table."
Here's the start of my idea and planning;
- This will be an outlaw match, and not affiliated with any organization. However, if enough people like this style of match, and want to create matches across the country based on this model, and want to create an organization, that's cool.
- Field style match. There will be no man-made props to shoot off of, with exception of for example an abandoned old cabin, that you may set up in, and shoot through the windows or a doorway. There will be no man-made props built or moved in specifically for the match, as often seen at PRS matches like tank traps, floating platforms, etc.
- Gear; No gear restrictions, this will be a field style match, where walking will be required, and you'll have to navigate a trail (typically single track) through sage brush, tall grass, dense forest, rock fields, up and down hills, etc. So the rule is, if you can carry it, you can use it. ATVs, UTVs, Wheeled Carts, etc will not be allowed. Once you leave the parking lot, you will not have access to your vehicle until the end of the day. You'll have to carry all your gear to include ammo, bags, tripod, etc. However, it will not be an endurance race, so walking distances will be of reasonable length to ensure stages are spaced enough apart to prevent conflicts and crowding.
- Stages; Targets will be of appropriate size to make it challenging, but not impossible for the average shooter to successfully hit. Shooting positions will be realistic, as one would find in a hunting or combat scenario. You may be required to move positions in order to see or engage all targets, and you will have the opportunity to shoot any stage as you see fit. If you want to shoot all targets standing using a tripod, or shoot at every target prone, your choice. Just realize, equipment deployment and set up will be under the clock. Time will be generous to afford the opportunity for the average shooter to realistically and safely get all shots off in the allotted time. Also, We're not going to force you to roll dice, pick a card, pick a number, shoot targets in a convoluted order, or any other kind of silliness. It will be a simple shoot near to far, unless you want to skip a target and come back to it later (and you communicate with the scorekeeper/spotter).
- Equipment Deployment, no complex or stupid rules. Carry your equipment as you normally do, and that's how you start each and every stage. For example, I carry my rifle slung across my chest, with bipod legs out, but collapsed. I have my tripod set to waist level, with a Precision Shooting Platform and soft bag mounted on top of it, and hand carried. I have one rear bag attached to my belt, and any other bags are attached to my pack. So simple rule, I would start every stage in this manner. If someone normally carries their rifle in a Eberlestock pack, with tripod fully collapsed, and attached or stowed to the pack, that is how they would start every stage. If you normally carry your rifle slung on your shoulder with bipod folded, hand carrying a fully extended tripod with binoculars attached for spotting, and all shooting bags inside your pack, then that's how you would start every stage. It's a simple process, without any drama. Every stage will be different, so how you carry your gear will not give you any advantage over the next person as what gear and how it's used will vary on each stage. This will also teach individuals how to efficiently carry and deploy their equipment based on field conditions such as Hunting, instead of configuring equipment prior to each stage like everyone does for a square range match.
- Scorekeeping and RO's; Squads will be assigned a Squad Leader with radio, scorekeeping and timing device provided. Shooters will be required to spot and keep score for their squad mates, so spotting optics (Binoculars as a minimum) will be required for at least two shooters on each squad. I don't believe this will be an issue as 90% of all shooters have binoculars.
Scoring and Awards; Target engagement will be one shot per target, a hit is one point, and a miss is zero points. There will be at least two stages that will be tie breakers (primary, secondary, etc). So if you tie with another individual, but have more points on a tie breaker stage, then you will gain a fractional point to show placement. Awards will be trophies for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd with a cash payout to the top five shooters. Also some small category prizes, for example a bottle of whiskey to recognize the top Military/Veteran shooter. Donated or match sponsored equipment. All equipment will be displayed at a Saturday night BBQ gathering, and will be actioned off to all participants and match support staff. This will afford you the opportunity at a chance to win something you are interested in, vs picking up something off a prize table that you don't need and will be sold, and the sponsor is never recognized or thanked . All proceeds of the auction will go to a worthy disabled veterans organization. There will be no other prizes or awards, just bragging rights.
Entry Fee; The big unknown at this time. I haven't even started to negotiate land lease fee's with the ranch, and there's also other costs like portable toilets, catering of the Saturday night dinner, etc. And if the majority says, hell, let's be individually responsible to bring our own lunches, and water during the match, that's one less cost to pass on to the shooter, thus lowering the entry fee.
Location and Date; Again this match location is still being negotiated, so all I can say is Central Rocky Mountain area in the Summer of 2021. This area has snow in patches on the ground until end of May, and because the Ranch offers Guided Hunting, I can't see this match being held any later than end of August or September? I will try not schedule the match on the same weekend as any other two day match in the State or adjoining States. However, I have to work with the Ranch schedule (which sometimes gets VIP and Foreign guest's), and the existing NRL and PRS schedule that usually comes out well in advance.
So based on input from you, It may be something that can become reality.
Let me know your thoughts. Will you want to shoot this match? Thanks!
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