PRS Talk So where to start?

[libertyman777]

I’ve been looking around and reading some about the PRS. It certainly looks like fun. I’m in a good location for opportunities to participate, 2.5 hours from Carbon Hill, AL, about 3 hours from Blakley, GA and just over 4 hours from both Baker, FL and Finger, TN. I did notice

I have no illusions of grandeur and my participation would be limited to a Saturday match or two and one weekend match a year.

I noticed on the FB Page for match dates that there are different organizations represented. Doesn’t matter to me and I assume that all are doing something similar.

Now I’m starting from scratch and I’m certainly not made of money. I’ve been eyeballing mating a Howa action with a KRG Bravo stock. So that setup, a rail (20 or 30 MOA??), and a few extra magazines and I’ll be looking at a grand.

Caliber I’ve narrowed to two but I’m open to suggestions. .308 because I’ve loaded it for years and it competes in a special class or the 6mm CM. I’ve owned and shot a 6.5 cm and liked it but always wanted something in 6.

Now the glass question. If I don’t sell anything besides what I’ve already committed to sell, I’ll have $400. And that ain’t much.

I can’t think of any Chinese glass that I could tolerate. I’m not a glass snob by any means but most that I’ve tried has left me wanting more. The glass itself has gotten better but the other things like turrets, parallax adjustments and power adjustments tend to be lacking. I’m basing this on my competitive airgun experience. Shifting poi from power adjustments is a real problem in Chinese glass.

So at $400 I’m limited to things like the older 6.5-20x44mm or 50mm Vortex Vipers. Nothing else comes to mind right off. And I’m not sure these will do the trick.

I can add $450 by selling my spring gun. So at $850, I’m getting into Bushnell Elite 3.5-21x50 with the TRMR2 or H59 reticle.

I could sell my match PCP but I’m not sure I want to sell the spring gun much less this. It’ll bring $1900 but I’m not sure I’m that committed, at least not yet.

Will an older Viper hold up to the dialing? Or should I just swallow my pride, buy a Diamondback Tactical with the EBR-2C and just try to use that reticle for holdover. I understand that I will need to upgrade glass but I just need enough quality to get me started if that’s possible.

Sorry for the long post and I appreciate your patience.

 

[Lowlight]

Work within your budget and honestly don't spend any more money than you have to in the beginning.

Attend a match or 3 and see what the others are doing, use it a training evolution vs a competition because you will not be competitive so don't go into it thinking you are shooting a match.

Don't fall down the rabbit hole in the beginning chasing gear, instead of that, chase Knowledge. Learn how to execute the stages in the most efficient manner possible. Its guys who practice and focus on drills who do better vs guys who hunt gear.

Your scope budget is a bit low, especially in 2018, almost 19, just make sure your reticle is one that gives you options to hold and then when you do buy your scope test it and understand what the tracking variation will be. Odds are it will be a few % off perfect and most Apps can adjust for this with no drama.

Don't be afraid to check out the classifieds for a used scope that might punch above its weight class.

 

[Tnc]

The viper would hold up fine. Once you get a few matches under your belt, you’ll change your mind about selling the others for some better glass.

 

[Danattherock]

You are in great location for sure. I have shot at the locations you mentioned, all great PRS venues. I would consider buying a swfa 10x with milquad reticle at $299 and use that till you know what you want and save up. Also, gives you time to gauge your interest in PRS.

For calibers, 308 will put you in tactical class, competing against those shooting same, or 223. But score isn't focal point, especially starting out. Who cares, really. Lowlight gives great advice above, just learn, practice, watch good shooters, and have fun.

308 will be good training for reading wind, has long barrel life, and will teach recoil management. You will hit less targets though, no doubt. 6 Creedmoor will be less recoil, less barrel life, but will be much better in wind. You will hit more targets, all else being equal. If pushing 108 elds at 2975-3025, 1800-2000 rounds may be possible. Varying opinions on this, but I'm 1650 in on one of my 6 Creeds and it's still shooting well. Above load.

For any new competitor, I would suggest a moa rifle with good dope to 1200 yards, a ballistic app like applied ballistics, strelok, or shooter, two ten round mags, and a Harris notched leg bipod. That's more than adequate to start shooting one day matches and have some success. You will know what to change or add after a few matches, if anything.

Shoot a match soon as possible. Thats my suggestion. It's an amazing sport and you will meet great people as well.


Dan
NC

 

[simpy16]

I would agree with these guys! I did the opposite and felt like I had to have everything in place and bought before I started and then once I got into it I realized that what I had was not what would really work for me and I was left with trying to sell it and get what I actually was going to use. With that being said the thing I love most about this hobby/sport is the willingness for other people to share their stuff! While it is fun to have have a fancy 6mm wildcat to shoot with there is still a lot of value in something like a .308! Abundant, quality, cheap brass, good selection of quality bullets, lots of powders available and I think another huge upside would be the barrel life, possibly 5-7000 rounds on a barrel which would be about 3-4 times more than on a 6 creedmoor. And if you are just getting into it the best thing you can do is shoot, shoot, and shoot!

I would recommend asking the MD of those locations you can travel to if you could go and RO a match if you have not done that already, it is a VERY low cost to see what it is all about in person, you will learn more than you realize being behind a spotting scope all day watching people shoot. And you have the added benefit of seeing what people use as well as asking them if you can get behind a gun to look at a scope or talk to them about their setup. I think everyone should RO before they actually shoot as it gives them a leg up and also some confidence when they show up the next time to shoot their first match because they have seen it and they have seen others come before them and not clean every stage, or shoot their grandfathers .270 with a simple duplex scope and a sock filled with rice as a rear support.

Hope you get involved and enjoy the adventure!

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

If pushing 108 elds at 2975-3025, 1800-2000 rounds may be possible. Varying opinions on this, but I'm 1650 in on one of my 6 Creeds and it's still shooting well. Above load.

Dan
NC

This is probably going to sound errily familiar to you, but I just pulled barrel #4 at just roughly 1850 rounds with no loss of velocity or accuracy. The other 3 barrels I have shot through have gone 1850, 1980, 2150, and then 1850 - all with no loss of velocity or accuracy before getting yanked. 3 were shot out with 105 Hybrids and/or RDFs, and #4 with Hybrids and then 108 ELD-Ms. All 3 26" tubes were launching 105-108s at 3080-3125, depending on lot of H4350.

 

[Dthomas3523]

Get the 6.5 if you might hunt or shoot it a lot. Otherwise, get the 6. I’d pass on .308 other than a trainer or if you wanted to compete in the actual PRS tactical division.

As Frank said, I’d increase your optic budget a bit.

Buy a game changer or fortune cookie, get a weatherflow meter and app or buy a kestrel.

You can start shouting matches with those items and it won’t be because you’re lacking a piece of gear when you miss.

The rest is just added creature comforts.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

Get the 6.5 if you might hunt or shoot it a lot. Otherwise, get the 6. I’d pass on .308 other than a trainer or if you wanted to compete in the actual PRS production division.

As Frank said, I’d increase your optic budget a bit.

Buy a game changer or fortune cookie, get a weatherflow meter and app or buy a kestrel.

You can start shouting matches with those items and it won’t be because you’re lacking a piece of gear when you miss.

The rest is just added creature comforts.

A small point - you can shoot 6.5 and 6 in Production. I get the feeling you meant Tactical instead of production.

 

[Dthomas3523]

A small point - you can shoot 6.5 and 6 in Production. I get the feeling you meant Tactical instead of production.

Yep, thanks!

 

[highhope]

thanks for the post..

 

[Rimfiremike]

As others have said, go to a match close to you with minimal gear. I had never done a PRS style match, but thought it would be fun, so I called the guy that was listed as the match director. He was great and highly encouraged me to come shoot a match with what I had. He also lent me bags to try out and made sure i was in his squad so he could help me out during the match. Others that were there also were extremely friendly and willing to answer questions and give helpful advice.
Had a great time... but, be careful, it can get you hooked after just one match!
It is humbling, but if you go willing to learn, improvements come quickly with practice.
I've started to buy a few things since that first match, but also realized that it is far more important to practice with what you have, learn to read wind better and watch closely what the better shooters are doing.