Report by Craig Arnzen of Area419You may be tempted to worry about the gear you will need to shoot your first precision rifle competition. In reality, it’s best to keep things simple. We wanted to give you a list of the Top Five Gear Item you will need for your First Match. This list focuses primarily on the “must have” items that you’ll require for PRS-style competitions. 1. A Rifle That is Reliable and Sub-MOA Accurate We can give you some more information. You’ll find that most of the guys are shooting 6.5 Creedmoor. There are some guys who shoot.308 Wins or 6mm Dashers but 6.5 Creedmoor is the most common round used in PRS competition. This includes both national and club matches. Your comp rig must be mag-fed, and shoot better than one MOA. It DOESN’T have to be better than half-MOA (0.5 MOA). A half-MOA gun is sufficient for most targets that are 2-3 MOA. You can win with a quarter-MOA rig, but more accuracy is always better. [Editor’s NOTE: PRS does offer a Gas Gun division, but most guys start out with a bolt-action rifle, which will be less maintenance-intensive than an AR-platform rig.] As much of the PRS sport is about recoil management, muzzle brakes like our Area 419 Hellfire are also very popular. If you can’t clearly see your misses you will have more. The rifle must also have an optic with repeatable clicking and a reticle that has Mil- or MOA based hashmarks. The clicks may be in the Mil system (Mil being more common), as long as they match the reticle values (i.e. You don’t want 1/4 moa clicks on a Mil-marked target. What is the power you require? Any zoom in the mid-teens range will do. I could shoot a competition with a fixed scope of 12X and not feel inferior. If you’re looking to make a recommendation, we recommend the Kahles K624i. Oh, and a bipod is a must. But the bipods are so diverse that they deserve their own article. There’s nothing wrong with starting with a Harris Swivel. You can compare different bipods from other rifles to see what they look like. 2. Ammunition – Factory Ammo & Hand-Loaded Ammunition is important but, as we discussed above, 0.5 MOA will suffice. Speed is important, but it’s not as important as you might think. Drop can be calculated precisely, and distances are usually known, so a slightly flatter trajectory doesn’t matter. Wind is important, but it’s not enough to make a difference.
Federal, Hornady and Prime all produce quality ammunition that is widely used in local and national matches by shooters. Photo by CReece. Precision Handloads
You’ll love our AutoTrickler and the accessories made of billet aluminum. 3. There are many bag options. There is one bag that you will see everywhere and for good reasons. The Game-Changer by Armageddon Gear has a great name. Many shooters use this bag as both a barricade and rear bag. This means that a guy can get away with only using this bag for the entire match. Ask someone in your squad to share a bag if you need one when you arrive. I promise. 4. Ballistics Calculator App All PRS/NRL Shooters need accurate and reliable ballistic solutions. You’ll see a lot of guys using the software-enabled Kestrel on the range. But you’ll also find a lot of guys using mobile Apps like Shooter or Applied Ballistics Mobile with great results. You can also use an armband, or a device like the Hawk Hill datacard holder, for stages that have different targets at different ranges. Once the RO says, “engage”, and your brain stops working, it’s nice to have it written down. 5. Hearing Protection PRS Competitors often shoot with brakes, and in enclosed spaces. You need to wear serious hearing protection. We recommend NRR33 earplugs doubled up with electronic muffs to hear the range commands. I’ve used the Howard Leight Max-1s and 33 dB Mack’s foamies for matches most of last year. The Howard Leight Impact Sports Electronic muffs (under $55) work well, but the premium electronic muffs are more comfortable. In-ear digital units with high-tech features, such as the ESP Stealth, are becoming more popular. I am expecting a pair of linked ESP Steaths and will be evaluating them shortly. The ESP Stealths are supposed to be excellent, but they cost $2100.00 for a pair! Do you think we missed something important? Have more questions? Contact us if you have any questions. Contact: [email protected]
