Thinking of entering first match.

[jtclarke]

I'm thinking of trying my hand at a tactical match, there's two coming up soon in Wytheville, which is only a few hours away and the closest thing I've seen. My question is, would it be worth while to jump head first into a match, if so, what can I work on before the match as far as training? I have access to 200 yards at the house and can get occasional trips to quantico when my work schedule works out to shoot 1000 . Would it be more beneficial to just go spectate a match or just dive right in? What gear would ya'll recommend I pick up that could help out? Thanks for any help ya'll can give.

 

[Trapshooter12]

If you have never been to a Match you might go to see whats involved. If you have been to one and have an idea, by all means jump in feet first.
Everyone was a Newb once.

 

[Geronimo]

Research and train with what you have, then attack and never give up. Repeat through life.

 

[Easy_E]

Sign up and shoot. I did the same this year and it was a blast. Now I have a better understanding of what equipment I need to do better.

 

[Graham]

My question is, would it be worth while to jump head first into a match,

Yes.




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[jtclarke]

Thanks guys, that pretty much answers whether or not to enter, guess I'll give it a go. Any tips to help out as far as training goes? Or just get trigger time as often as I can?

 

[Signal25]

I shot my 1st match Saturday. Things I can think of off the top of my head.
Breathe.
Get a sling. Itll come in handy.
Check, double check, have someone else check, and triple check your gear. (I got to the match and my scope was canted.)
Get a good nights sleep before hand.
Slow down. You cant miss fast enough to win.
You wont win. Just have fun and learn as much as you can.
Get with the guys making hits and just stand behind them and listen.
Breathe. You are not going to win.
Its better to take a few good shots, then miss a whole bunch of crappy ones.
Get off your belly and work on positional shooting.
Breathe.

Have FUN!!!

 

[EasternNChunter]

Jump head first. You will probably be nervous and that is expected but you will have a good time. Don't worry about your results. Most of the guys that I have shot with or met at matches are very helpful and supportive. You will probably end up doing better than you expect. There are usually some great shooters who are sponsored and rarely miss, some guys who barely hit paper at 100 yards and everything in between. Just go with the mindset that you are going for fun. Again, you will probably surprise yourself. Some things to practice that I have seen are:
-Cold bore shot at 200 yards, 300 yards etc.
-Shoot left and right handed
-Shoot prone, kneeling and standing off awkward rests/barricades
-Ranging with your reticle/scope
-Reading the wind
-Breathing after running, crawling, etc.

Remember that many stages have a time limit so take your time but hurry...you know what I mean. You will have a blast.

 

[triceratops3]

Are you talking about Bang Steel? I say jump right in, the only way to get better at comps and to learn what works/doesn't work is to try it. The most basic things you need to shoot in a comp IMHO would be a rifle of a suitable caliber, decent scope with turrets (even though it is possible with regular adjustments, turrets make life 1000x better), a bipod, rear bag, ammo, a small notebook and writing utensil. Thats about it on a basic level to get started. From there your gear will be upgraded, and evolve until you figure out what works for you and what would make life better at a comp.

 

[jtclarke]

Yah, I was thinking about Bang Steel. Is it a pretty decent match for a beginner? Right now my rifle consists of Savage 10 fcp-sr in .308 and vortex viper pst 6-24 ffp w/20 moa egw base leupold mk4 rings. The advice ya'll are giving me is great, I really need to work on different positions and shooting weak side, both are things I don't do very often.

 

[triceratops3]

Yeah, I'd Bangsteel is a good match for a beginner, yet, still challenging enough for some experienced shooters. I've been there twice and a decent number of people run .308's and another decent number of people are using vortex glass, myself included. It's mostly just shooting from prone for the regular matches but there was positional shooting in the sniper match they had. It's still good practice because the winds are a bit difficult there.

 

[Goatman007]

One of my philosophies in life is thus; Jump on in...........and sort the mess out as you go. It builds character and you find out what you are made of, challenges you to solve problems on the fly, so to speak. A word of caution though, it can get addictive and I am talking about the philosophy here. Have fun.

 

[1911fan]

Oh yeah, jump right the hell in. You'll be squadded with other shooters, and just tell them up front it's your first match and you'll take all the help you can get. It's the most fun I've had being frustrated, ever.
Welcome to the addiction!!! PM me if you have questions.


1911fan

 

[malsa82]

Weak side shooting!

 

[sib1948]

Sign up an "just do it". Matches are the nost fun I have with my rifles, since I don't hunt. I've learned valuable insights at every match and everyone is always very helpful supporting the sport! Good Luck

 

[jtclarke]

Thanks for the support guys, I think that's what I've been needing to hear, just been a little on the fence about entering. I think I've got a decent idea on what I need to work on before hand as well.

 

[6xcKY]

I thought about spectating my first match, but was talked in to just diving in and going for it. Which turned out to be the best solution possible. What do you have to prepare for? Not trying to be a douche, but you probably arent going to be taking home the gold on your first rodeo, neither did I. About the only preparations you can do, thought I don't know what type of match you will be participating in, is to your dope in increments of 100 yards up to 1000 (if that is your matches max distance). Once you have your dope, and your densisty altitude, zero data, etc., punch that in a ballistic program (Shooter, Ballistic: Advance Edition, etc.) so that way if your match location differs than your zero location you will be able to compensate.


For gear....

Quality Rifle
Quality Optic
Quality Ammo
Quality Sling
Electronic Earmuffs
Quality Sunglasses/Eyepro
Appropriate clothing for conditions
Backpack for carrying extra ammo, emergency cleaning supplies (VERY LIMITED NOTHING HEAVY) and something to hydrate you and a energy snack.
DATA BOOK - Because all electronics are bound to fail at some point.

About the best thing like I said earlier that you can take with you, is the mind set you are there to have fun, learn, and mingle. You will learn nothing if you dont have a open mind, and give my history of shot matches, Ive learned more there than any bench/training time...

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

Can you let us know how well it went for you? What you learned? Any take aways? What you would do different? Would you do this again?

Good luck and looking forward to your experience!!

 

[jtclarke]

It looks like I'll be going to BangSteel on Dec. 14th, hopefully Dec. 7th as well for the practice match. 6xcKY, I don't take it as being a douche at all, my biggest thing is to try and do the best I can, I know matches tend to go a lot different than what I'm used to, which is essentially taking my time and shooting from the prone, just want to get comfortable with different positions as well as shooting weak side. That and get a decent gear list, try to fill in anything I might be missing. I know going out there is no way, like you said, I'll be taking home the gold, just figure it would be best to go in as prepared as I can be. I have dope for my load out to 1k that I've confirmed, I need to pick up a sling though, that's one thing I don't have. NevadaZielmeister, I'll let ya'll know how well it goes after I get back, I'm sure I'll learn quite a bit doing it first hand. Again, thanks everybody for the encouragement and the tips, it helps out greatly.

 

[6xcKY]

Can you let us know how well it went for you? What you learned? Any take aways? What you would do different? Would you do this again?

Good luck and looking forward to your experience!!

My first experience was a sniper match. And to be honest, I did horrible, came a couple spots from last with close to 60 competitors. I had a sub-par rifle, (.308, 20" barrel 1-12tw, reloads) had a good optic, good trigger, etc., but was not compatible to what others used. Now for what I learned: Breathing, controlled breathes make it a LOT easier to stay on target. Most of our stages you ran and dropped down to the engaging location, and had a limited amount of time to engage the target so needless to say your heart-rate was getting higher by the time you was getting on your rifle. For my 2nd match I had already learned that the next go around, I needed to anticipate for my heavy breathing and heart-rate and one thing you learn growing up in sports, BREATH THROUGH YOUR NOSE. The problems I mentioned above will drop dramatically. This time around, I came in the top 25 positions of almost 70 competitors, with the same rifle...

This is all depending on what time of match or competition you will be entering, but you will need to learn different shooting positions. Things you won't be comfortable with and things you most likely wont attempt just sitting in a field practicing on your own. Different shooting positions can consist of laying prone on your stomach, sitting on your butt with the rifle propped on top of your knees, kneeling behind a supported rifle position (box, barrel, car door, car hood, car trunk,) and standing positions (tree limbs, fences, car roofs, jeep tops, etc.) For the most part, all I had done on my own was lay prone on a mat, but that all changed my first match. I was shooting through grills of cars, on the back of a moving vehicle, laying across a downed tree, you name it, and we did it...Ways you can practice this? You have to get to the range somehow, so practice on your vehicle in different positions WHILE ALSO PRACTICING SAFETY. Buy some plywood, cut out squares on the inside of it, and cut off sections of the edges and build a "wall" to practice off of. Simple things like cenderblock,bricks, hay barrels, etc., can also be used.

Reading the wind is something you will learn every match, every comp, every training day, EVERY time you go in the field... What I learned from matches is how quickly you have to be able to read the wind. Not sure on your level of experience, and no matter what others might tell you, the tail wind and speed/direction you are experiencing at YOUR location matters more than what is happening at the targets location. If you have wind pushing that bullet 3oclock at 8mph at your location, its changing the direction of it from your muzzle, 100-200-300yds, etc., until it gets to your target. Not saying wind doesnt matter at target location, but its biggest effect is muzzle.

Do not over pack! First match, I took a Remington hunting backpack, with all my ammo for the match (must have), a full hydration bladder, energy snacks, rain gear, tool kit, cleaning kit, and tons of other stuff that I did not have to have. Your talking about walking for hours in a day from stage to stage, which in return means your gonna get tired. Not to mention the backpack alone was quite heavy because of its material. By the next couple of times I went out to shoot matches I had learned what I really needed, which was the bare minimum. Ammo, depending on your location some water, dont get me wrong, if your in Arizona or somewhere you are gonna need more than a little. Borka makes a nice compact tool kit, I suggest picking it up, its all you will need. You will get hungry, so a few small nutrigrain bars or something will be sufficient. You dont want like chips and crap, last thing you need is the squirts or throwing up your guts in the field.

Things I would have done different? Only one. I would have started going to matches sooner. Simply because if you dont, you will always be nervous and you will always be worried about going and comparing yourself to others. Now, I could careless, everyone for the most part is friendly, you will make friends every time and always have a good time. Unless you are Ricky Bobby and think if you aint first your last, you cant be worried about how bad you are gonna do, everyone has good and bad days.

Until my rifle gets done I am down for the year. I wont be shooting my next one until probably February or March. I am upgrading to a better stock, a new match grade barrel, and a 6XC caliber which is well known to compete, or at least David Tubb knows how to work with it. But will I do it again isn't even the question, its just a matter of how soon will I be able to do it again, because I am hooked for sure.

 

[phillip61]

There is a 600yd prone match every month a Camp Robinson Arkansas. 66 shots at 600yds on Saturday, and 1000yds on Sunday. I've been itching to go for awhile now. I finally have a 600yd range to practice at so it won't be long and I'll let ya'll know how how I do.