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Practicing for long range - options when you are capped at 200 yards??

Brett_N

Private
Minuteman
Oct 24, 2022
8
4
Phoenix Arizona
HI folks

Newbie to long range rimfire, and I have a couple questions on practicing. (and I have my flame suit on ;) ) finding out how much fun RF really is and it's all steel and paper anyway but having a blast.

I have 100 yards and 200 yards available to me almost every day of the week. Have been shooting a 5x5" steel diamond with 90% hit rate @ 200 yards on any given day of the week with both guns.

Now - there are days when I have 300 and 500 yards available, but, I work, so I'm stuck with either the 100 yard range or 200 yard range but want to start reaching out to the 250, 300 or 350 yard ranges in practicals and (fun) matches.

So my question is -- should I get some 3" and 2" gongs and set them up at 200 yards, and go at it? That's obviously going to change my MOA at that range, but I'm thinking that's better practice than a 3/4 or 1/2 target at 100 yards? Having never shot further than what I have on the range and with our fixed targets, I'm kinda leaning towards this being a good option, but I have no idea what you guys are shooting at (size wise) at 250+ yards so if there is something that would make more sense, I'm all eyes and ears!

FWIW I'm shooting about as budget you can get. In a 10 shot group, I can regularily shoot 1/2 to 3/4 groups with at 90% at 100 yards with a Ruger American RImfire, with a 6x24x50 + 20MOA rail. 2nd gun is a good old 10/22 with the same scope but no +20MOA rail so I have to adjust for holdovers.

Granted I'm ALSO using cheap-o Federal Automatch HV (1280FPS round nose lead that both guns love) but, should I just buy $30 worth of steel and go at it? or is there something that would be a better use of time?

I read through the thread where someone had 1/4 sized targets made, but I'm not sure if that would help here?

Thanks in advance, any idea that keeps it fun is welcome
 
HI folks

Newbie to long range rimfire, and I have a couple questions on practicing. (and I have my flame suit on ;) ) finding out how much fun RF really is and it's all steel and paper anyway but having a blast.

I have 100 yards and 200 yards available to me almost every day of the week. Have been shooting a 5x5" steel diamond with 90% hit rate @ 200 yards on any given day of the week with both guns.

Now - there are days when I have 300 and 500 yards available, but, I work, so I'm stuck with either the 100 yard range or 200 yard range but want to start reaching out to the 250, 300 or 350 yard ranges in practicals and (fun) matches.

So my question is -- should I get some 3" and 2" gongs and set them up at 200 yards, and go at it? That's obviously going to change my MOA at that range, but I'm thinking that's better practice than a 3/4 or 1/2 target at 100 yards? Having never shot further than what I have on the range and with our fixed targets, I'm kinda leaning towards this being a good option, but I have no idea what you guys are shooting at (size wise) at 250+ yards so if there is something that would make more sense, I'm all eyes and ears!

FWIW I'm shooting about as budget you can get. In a 10 shot group, I can regularily shoot 1/2 to 3/4 groups with at 90% at 100 yards with a Ruger American RImfire, with a 6x24x50 + 20MOA rail. 2nd gun is a good old 10/22 with the same scope but no +20MOA rail so I have to adjust for holdovers.

Granted I'm ALSO using cheap-o Federal Automatch HV (1280FPS round nose lead that both guns love) but, should I just buy $30 worth of steel and go at it? or is there something that would be a better use of time?

I read through the thread where someone had 1/4 sized targets made, but I'm not sure if that would help here?

Thanks in advance, any idea that keeps it fun is welcome
If you can shoot 1/2 to 3/4 groups at 100yds with a factory Ruger anything with crap Federal ammo, don't ask me for help! I need to take lessons from you!
 
I'm shooting about as budget you can get. In a 10 shot group, I can regularily shoot 1/2 to 3/4 groups with at 90% at 100 yards with a Ruger American RImfire, with a 6x24x50 + 20MOA rail.

Granted I'm ALSO using cheap-o Federal Automatch HV (1280FPS round nose lead that both guns love) but, should I just buy $30 worth of steel and go at it? or is there something that would be a better use of time?
If someone regularly shoots .5" to .75" ten-shot groups at 100 yards with a Ruger American Rimfire using Federal Automatch, the word to describe it would be incredible.
 
Id shrink my target making it harder while not exactly the same as stretching your target to distance ( no wind effects ) it will help you when you finally do get the chance to go further .
 
Whatever rifle/ammo combination you're using don't change it if these are your results.

If shooting from bench/probe specifically, go for further distance and smaller target, but if you get bored and try shooting from props, keep it at 200/300 and go with larger targets as your stability won't be repeatable.

If you compete in Rimfire PRS etc matches, most targets will be 50-300 yards anyway so why not focus within that range
 
Damn OP, you should come shoot my match. You would clean the field and win the after match side challenge!

For the aftermatch side challenge I made a steel plate electric hit indicator—it is a 12”x14” plate with a 1” hole in the middle. Put a 22 bullet through the hole and it flashes a few seconds for positive hit indication. Last couple matches everybody gets 10 rounds, first has to clear a 8 target rimfire KYL big to small gongs in sequence at various yardage ( so far that has been anywhere from 35-77 yards). That leaves 2 rounds to shoot at the electric 1” indicator ( which is usually between 100-115 yards, roughly MOA size).

last match one out of ten competitors succeeded. Previous month 5 out of 12 successfully completed it. Next match I’m thinking of putting it at 150 or 200 yards for 3/4 or 1/2 MOA.
I made that target specifically for the internet challenge of “I can shoot 1/2 MOA all day long as long as I do my part”

EDIT ADD* pics and descriptions.


Electric target with 1” scoring area, light flashes on top if target hit, bottom pic is KYL at 35 yards. You can see electric target behind it at 100 yard line.

7A2DA905-1B13-4C30-B649-4F43186DC30D.png
30CD5594-B525-4F0F-822D-705923D01DEE.jpeg
 
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Are you stuck at 100 and 200 yards or can you put out targets at 50 75 110 130....?
The match I shot on sunday had a stage that was 5 targets at 5 distances, dope went from 2.5 to 10.0. had to shoot near to far and then near to far again, 10 shots. The numbers were oddball and the far target was far enough that I would have had the magnification turned all the way down to have the 10 of the reticle visible in my scope. I tried to dial with the dope written on my hand. I timed out with 2 or 3 targets left unshot.
Thats something I will be practicing, dialing real fast and also trying to dial somewhere in the middle and holding the other targets.
Also had a stage where there were 3 targets at 3 different distances. I dialed the first and held the other 2. Had to shoot near to far 3 shots, change position the barricade then shoot 3 targets again, 9 shots. Well I shot the first target and then missed the next 2.... Forgot to hold over...
Practicing dialing, hold overs, back and forth... Thats the stuff that trips you up. Keeping track of what you are doing, different distances, make sure you change positions, dialing and holding.... the mind games the match directors come up with are pretty good.

Do you have anybody to shoot with? Put out targets at different positions, white up a couse of fir for your shooting partner. Let them read it, come up with a plan, THEN START A TIMER. The sound of a beep or sombody saying GO will turn off most of the brain power you can muster.

Also like others have said, a Ruger American shooting 1/2 to 3/4 at 100 is super impressive and almost unbelievable. Could you shoot 10 groups on one piece of paper and post it? That would make you, Ruger and federal automatch look awesome.
 
Tiger I really like that target setup you have there. I may have to look at building one of those electronic versions!

Yes - I can set targets (most days) at various yardages across the 100 yard range. I've been doing this as practice for NRL22 (but I'm limited to paper / soft targets due to ricochet concerns with plates)

No one that has shot this stupid rifle can believe the accuracy out of it. I tried something like 15 different variations of ammo, and for availability and price the cheap federal came out on top. (I do weigh and sort all of my rounds though.) I did replace the trigger and hone the bolt. Other than a little polishing in the action it's just shot damn straight from the 1st round through it. Hoping to sneak out today or tomorrow, I'll shoot a couple of patterns with it. BUT - in the interest of clarity, I'm only accurate from a bench rest with a bipod and bags. Don't ask me to even hit the barn if standing :eek:

Thanks for the tip on PRS BadJuju - I thought it was 350 and further
 
I'm not as serious about competition as some of you guys, but I bought two KYL racks one of .5" and one of 1" and I use those at various distances. Immediate feedback is always nice.
 
HI folks

Newbie to long range rimfire, and I have a couple questions on practicing. (and I have my flame suit on ;) ) finding out how much fun RF really is and it's all steel and paper anyway but having a blast.

I have 100 yards and 200 yards available to me almost every day of the week. Have been shooting a 5x5" steel diamond with 90% hit rate @ 200 yards on any given day of the week with both guns.

Now - there are days when I have 300 and 500 yards available, but, I work, so I'm stuck with either the 100 yard range or 200 yard range but want to start reaching out to the 250, 300 or 350 yard ranges in practicals and (fun) matches.

So my question is -- should I get some 3" and 2" gongs and set them up at 200 yards, and go at it? That's obviously going to change my MOA at that range, but I'm thinking that's better practice than a 3/4 or 1/2 target at 100 yards? Having never shot further than what I have on the range and with our fixed targets, I'm kinda leaning towards this being a good option, but I have no idea what you guys are shooting at (size wise) at 250+ yards so if there is something that would make more sense, I'm all eyes and ears!
FWIW I'm shooting about as budget you can get. In a 10 shot group, I can regularily shoot 1/2 to 3/4 groups with at 90% at 100 yards with a Ruger American RImfire, with a 6x24x50 + 20MOA rail. 2nd gun is a good old 10/22 with the same scope but no +20MOA rail so I have to adjust for holdovers.

Granted I'm ALSO using cheap-o Federal Automatch HV (1280FPS round nose lead that both guns love) but, should I just buy $30 worth of steel and go at it? or is there something that would be a better use of time?

I read through the thread where someone had 1/4 sized targets made, but I'm not sure if that would help here?

Thanks in advance, any idea that keeps it fun is welcome
A few thoughts on long range shooting. Practice your shooting techniques at 50yds. They carry over to long range. LEARN TO SHOOT THE WIND! It's the most important factor in long range shooting in both remfire and also centerfire. Use wind flags. they are easily made and the best tool you have to learn how wind effects both vertical and horizonal shot placement. Use large targets with a small point of aim or at least large backers and small targets. You need to see your misses and correlate them with what your wind flags are doing.
 
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Practice your corrections when you miss. Pick a 1 moa target . Dial elevation and windage. Have someone alter your turrets by + .2 mil for elevation and +- .3 to .8 mil for windage. or do it to yourself. Take the first shot and make your adjustment in holds from your impacts. Practice that in prone then go to some props with 3 shots per position and 4 positions. You can simplify the latter with 1 shot per five positions. You can use the berm at first. Then add in a time limit.

Next, put a hay bale back therefor the bullet to hit if you miss. You will not see the miss. This takes some getting used to.

I would not practice on anything more than 1.5 times the size of your group size. Aim and wobble small and you will miss small.

Most of your practice : get a DFAT and practice in your garage A LOT. If you are at zero wobble with a perfect level and no reticle movement on trigger press on every dry fire you will clean most of the stages not requiring wind smarts. I can't emphasize the zero reticle movement enough. the first few weeks its very frustrating but you will get there. There is really no other way. it took me over 40 hours of focused dry fire to get there. single position -> movements without time -> movements under time. Zero reticle movement.
 
Your rifle is ridiculously awesome. I can barely shoot 3/4" 10 shot groups with my Vudoo and using Midas+

They usually say everytime you double a distance increase the target size by 3.

So 50yd 1/4"
100 yd 3/4"
200 yd 2.25"
400 yd 7"

Most rifles I would say
50 yd .5"
100 yd 1.5"
200 yd 4.5"
400 yd 14"
This is what I see as well.. Good to see someone post what is honestly normal for most. If everything is right I can get into the top numbers but usually right there about the lower numbers as an average.
 
C'mon y'all....I read about 10/22's that'r sub-moa all day long doncha know.
50 yards, 100 yards, 200 yards....not a problem, ever, with Fed 36 gr cphp, CCI SV and Minimags, see it all the time.
The internet forums are full of those superbly accurate mass produced semiautos every day.

All accompanied with proof of accuracy....a pic of single 5 shot group, 2 inches left of center. :unsure:

You want to work on long range precision, start at 50 yards, shoot a Grid.
50 shots, each at it's own aimpoint. See if you can hit what you aim at.
When you can keep all 50 shots within 1/4 inch of aimpoint, y'er ready to push out to 100 yards and beyond.

 
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C'mon y'all....I read about 10/22's that'r sub-moa all day long <If I do my part> doncha know.
50 yards, 100 yards, 200 yards....not a problem, ever, with Fed 36 gr cphp, CCI SV and Minimags, see it all the time.
The internet forums are full of those superbly accurate mass produced semiautos every day.

All accompanied with proof of accuracy....a pic of single 5 shot group, 2 inches left of center. :unsure:

You want to work on long range precision, start at 50 yards, shoot a Grid.
50 shots, each at it's own aimpoint. See if you can hit what you aim at.
;)
 
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HI folks

Newbie to long range rimfire, and I have a couple questions on practicing. (and I have my flame suit on ;) ) finding out how much fun RF really is and it's all steel and paper anyway but having a blast.

I have 100 yards and 200 yards available to me almost every day of the week. Have been shooting a 5x5" steel diamond with 90% hit rate @ 200 yards on any given day of the week with both guns.

Now - there are days when I have 300 and 500 yards available, but, I work, so I'm stuck with either the 100 yard range or 200 yard range but want to start reaching out to the 250, 300 or 350 yard ranges in practicals and (fun) matches.

So my question is -- should I get some 3" and 2" gongs and set them up at 200 yards, and go at it? That's obviously going to change my MOA at that range, but I'm thinking that's better practice than a 3/4 or 1/2 target at 100 yards? Having never shot further than what I have on the range and with our fixed targets, I'm kinda leaning towards this being a good option, but I have no idea what you guys are shooting at (size wise) at 250+ yards so if there is something that would make more sense, I'm all eyes and ears!

FWIW I'm shooting about as budget you can get. In a 10 shot group, I can regularily shoot 1/2 to 3/4 groups with at 90% at 100 yards with a Ruger American RImfire, with a 6x24x50 + 20MOA rail. 2nd gun is a good old 10/22 with the same scope but no +20MOA rail so I have to adjust for holdovers.

Granted I'm ALSO using cheap-o Federal Automatch HV (1280FPS round nose lead that both guns love) but, should I just buy $30 worth of steel and go at it? or is there something that would be a better use of time?

I read through the thread where someone had 1/4 sized targets made, but I'm not sure if that would help here?

Thanks in advance, any idea that keeps it fun is welcome
Go to https://shootingtargets7.com, and get some small gongs. Keep moving them out as far as you can hit them. You can get larger ones and shoot groups on them.
 
I have found that Rimfire is just like shooting center fire. Once you have good fundamentals, building a stable position on a barricade and calling the wind is what makes a winner.

Learning to build a stable position is fairly easy. Like stated above, get a DFAT for your scope, build a practice barricade and work on getting the wobble out of your sight picture. Practice until you can quickly build a stable position and keep the reticle on target. This can be done with dry fire practice in your home or garage.

Learning to call the wind is much harder. The wind acts differently at different ranges. Read all you can about calling wind and try to shoot different ranges if possible. 200 yards is plenty to learn wind. Try to go to the range on windy days and see what happens to your round.
 
calling MYSELF out for being a BS artist. I had my ranges way off and I am falling on my own sword. (blame it on the vodka) Best I could shoot today was 3/4 @ 50 (basically, 10 inside a quarter) and about 1.75 @ 100, so yep, I'm full of _______ and I now have 2 flame suits on.

But anyway. I did order up a new KYL rack from Shootingtargets7 and got permission to use it on our 100 yard range, so, I'm excited to get that out of the box and get shooting. Only put 10 rounds down the pipe on the short range before moving to the 200 so sorry didn't pic any of the shots.

At the 200 I spent most of my time working on hitting a spare chain hanging from our rack. That was a TON of fun to watch misses through the optics. And MOST of them where misses, maybe 1 in 10 for hits, if not 1 in 15 or 20. Can't wait for the KYL to be able to work it all out. (Spent most of the time with the new CMP M1...)

I have been messing around with my Arduinos working out an idea for a sensor based LR target. So, I guess the question is, if I start with an 8 inch outer gong, think a 2" center hole is fair for 200 yards? with a secondary gong with a digital hit indicator. I'll start a new thread for the build in case anyone wants to use it.
 
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calling MYSELF out for being a BS artist. I had my ranges way off and I am falling on my own sword. (blame it on the vodka) Best I could shoot today was 3/4 @ 50 (basically, 10 inside a quarter) and about 1.75 @ 100, so yep, I'm full of _______ and I now have 2 flame suits on.

But anyway. I did order up a new KYL rack from Shootingtargets7 and got permission to use it on our 100 yard range, so, I'm excited to get that out of the box and get shooting. Only put 10 rounds down the pipe on the short range before moving to the 200 so sorry didn't pic any of the shots.

At the 200 I spent most of my time working on hitting a spare chain hanging from our rack. That was a TON of fun to watch misses through the optics. And MOST of them where misses, maybe 1 in 10 for hits, if not 1 in 15 or 20. Can't wait for the KYL to be able to work it all out. (Spent most of the time with the new CMP M1...)

I have been messing around with my Arduinos working out an idea for a sensor based LR target. So, I guess the question is, if I start with an 8 inch outer gong, think a 2" center hole is fair for 200 yards? with a secondary gong with a digital hit indicator. I'll start a new thread for the build in case anyone wants to use it.
The @littlepod post above covered realistic target sizes very well:

Yours would be in the "most rifles" category. You can already see the group size growing past double from 50 to 100 yards from the velocity spread. You'd be doing very well stability and wind call wise to keep them all within 4.5" at 200 yards.
 
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yep, I'm still human, but the arrow is way better than the Indian behind it :) And yes, HUGE difference at 200 yards, but I'm seeing a lot of consistency based on ammo choices at that range too, which adds to the fun. I'm a tinkerer, but I know from shooting CF, find a round your rifle likes and stick with it. I KNOW within 3 or 4 shots if the gun doesn't like the ammo.

I actually really like shooting 22 in the wind at 200. It adds to the challenge. This time of year in Phoenix it can go from 75 and windy one day to 75 and calm the next day. Now that I figured out the MOA adjustment for vertical, it's all about reading the wind. To me, just adds to the fun. And I'll go through a 325 round box in an afternoon, with 50% misses and have way more fun than shooting the high $$ rounds with a higher hit rate.

Once I get the KYL rack, I'll make a camera holder for it and put the gopro on record.
 
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calling MYSELF out for being a BS artist. I had my ranges way off and I am falling on my own sword. (blame it on the vodka) Best I could shoot today was 3/4 @ 50 (basically, 10 inside a quarter) and about 1.75 @ 100, so yep, I'm full of _______ and I now have 2 flame suits on.

But anyway. I did order up a new KYL rack from Shootingtargets7 and got permission to use it on our 100 yard range, so, I'm excited to get that out of the box and get shooting. Only put 10 rounds down the pipe on the short range before moving to the 200 so sorry didn't pic any of the shots.

At the 200 I spent most of my time working on hitting a spare chain hanging from our rack. That was a TON of fun to watch misses through the optics. And MOST of them where misses, maybe 1 in 10 for hits, if not 1 in 15 or 20. Can't wait for the KYL to be able to work it all out. (Spent most of the time with the new CMP M1...)

I have been messing around with my Arduinos working out an idea for a sensor based LR target. So, I guess the question is, if I start with an 8 inch outer gong, think a 2" center hole is fair for 200 yards? with a secondary gong with a digital hit indicator. I'll start a new thread for the build in case anyone wants to use it.


Is what I put up at 200. Pretty fun.
 
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Thanks Littlepod - that's pretty cool. {edit} that's actually pretty slick, so if you shoot the "ARM" when it's up does it reset? or is it manual
 
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I think the “arm” picture is just to illustrate the mechanism of it. I believe the arm is loose and gravity makes it fall into place after an impact. At least that’s how the one I has worked, up until done lame brain showed up while we were shooting one day, pulled out an AR and just blasted it before I could stop him.

Even 1/4” AR500 does not do well at 100 yards with 3000+ fps .223 impacts.

I like the one @littlepod linked, and may get it for a special prize stage in my after Thanksgiving match.
 
3-4moa for positional practice and drop down in size as your hit percentage gets closer to 100%. That’s still pretty small for a lot of shooters. I hope for 2 moa past 200 with environmental mixed in from the bench
 

I think the “arm” picture is just to illustrate the mechanism of it. I believe the arm is loose and gravity makes it fall into place after an impact. At least that’s how the one I has worked, up until done lame brain showed up while we were shooting one day, pulled out an AR and just blasted it before I could stop him.

Even 1/4” AR500 does not do well at 100 yards with 3000+ fps .223 impacts.

I like the one @littlepod linked, and may get it for a special prize stage in my after Thanksgiving match.
A really good reactive target! I use one for 200yd practice. Only drawback is That I need to paint it often to keep up with my misses. If you never miss you never have to paint!
 
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Write down your your misses on how far off target you are when you get to play in the 250-300 range. You can be spot on at 200 then be off at 250 due to temp change and velocity being different than the ballistics program shows. Some ammo is more temp sensitive than others.
 
Once I get the KYL rack, I'll make a camera holder for it and put the gopro on record

Couple of things:

Put a drop of loctite (I used blue) on the lock collars on the crossbar. Mine usually work loose after 2 or 3 sessions. No big deal, but I never seem to remember to check. After Loctite, no issues in 10+sessions.

Think carefully about bullet splatter v gopro positioning. I didn't. It was ugly.

Dave
 
Kinda off to the side here, if you are using a ballistics program, get to know it and what matters. Get the program set up so it is working and then play with it. Just change one thing to see how it really affects your bullet. Try changing just the humidity. Then just the elevation above sea level etc etc. go through that program changing it all one item at a time. It will really teach you about your ballistics program and what really has an effect on your rifle. I would suggest using 1000 yards for a center fire and 200 yards for a 22
 
So for good budget ammo I have had much more consistent shots using aguilla pistol match at 385 yards 10 for 10 on a 7 x11 gong vs 6 out of 10 with the federal auto match out of my tikka t1x. The Aguila is decently cheap for what it does.. at least in my rifle. Yrmv
 
Damn OP, you should come shoot my match. You would clean the field and win the after match side challenge!

For the aftermatch side challenge I made a steel plate electric hit indicator—it is a 12”x14” plate with a 1” hole in the middle. Put a 22 bullet through the hole and it flashes a few seconds for positive hit indication. Last couple matches everybody gets 10 rounds, first has to clear a 8 target rimfire KYL big to small gongs in sequence at various yardage ( so far that has been anywhere from 35-77 yards). That leaves 2 rounds to shoot at the electric 1” indicator ( which is usually between 100-115 yards, roughly MOA size).

last match one out of ten competitors succeeded. Previous month 5 out of 12 successfully completed it. Next match I’m thinking of putting it at 150 or 200 yards for 3/4 or 1/2 MOA.
I made that target specifically for the internet challenge of “I can shoot 1/2 MOA all day long as long as I do my part”

EDIT ADD* pics and descriptions.


Electric target with 1” scoring area, light flashes on top if target hit, bottom pic is KYL at 35 yards. You can see electric target behind it at 100 yard line.

View attachment 7983496View attachment 7983497

What is KYL?
 
KYL = Know Your Limits.

Old school used to be that you shot until you thought you might miss then stopped, at your limit. Typically each successive smaller target was worth more points if you hit it, but if you missed, you lost all your points on that stage and took a zero.

Those who must win at all times and not know what their limits were, complained loud and long until this style stage was removed per the PRS rules. We can’t have people lose anything if they take a risk. Participation trophies for everyone!

Now it is still acceptable to use the KYL rack if you only offer one point per target and missing is A-okay. I still use it and sometimes make it “must hit to move on”.
 
KYL = Know Your Limits.

Old school used to be that you shot until you thought you might miss then stopped, at your limit. Typically each successive smaller target was worth more points if you hit it, but if you missed, you lost all your points on that stage and took a zero.

Those who must win at all times and not know what their limits were, complained loud and long until this style stage was removed per the PRS rules. We can’t have people lose anything if they take a risk. Participation trophies for everyone!

Now it is still acceptable to use the KYL rack if you only offer one point per target and missing is A-okay. I still use it and sometimes make it “must hit to move on”.

Whoa, wait, wut?? KYL is verboten per PRS rules now?! Dude, if we’re that soft in the firearms community now, we’re effed… 😕
 
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Gongs are for fun and matches. Shoot paper for practice. You need to track the location of every “miss” and constantly strive to make the cone of error smaller. Otherwise it’s a feel good exercise that ignores the misses. Just my opinion, of course.
 
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Brett, I facilitate a monthly postal match, and have two matches that might interest you. One at 100 yards, and the other at 200/300 yards using paper targets. It might be worthwhile to practice on the 200 yard target, to prepare for shooting longer distances. You'll be able to see what your shot spread is at 200 yards, which hopefully might give you a perspective of how well you'll shoot at longer distances.

Here's a link to check out if you're interested:

 
Whoa, wait, wut?? KYL is verboten per PRS rules now?! Dude, if we’re that soft in the firearms community now, we’re effed… 😕
It has been for years now. There was a huge thread on it back when it was changed.

As mentioned, an MD can still use the racks, though they are now usually called TYL (Test Ypur Limits) racks now. Only one point per one hit is ever allowed and there can be no stage that has negative points or removes points for impacts a shooter already has.
 
KYL = Know Your Limits.

Old school used to be that you shot until you thought you might miss then stopped, at your limit. Typically each successive smaller target was worth more points if you hit it, but if you missed, you lost all your points on that stage and took a zero.

Those who must win at all times and not know what their limits were, complained loud and long until this style stage was removed per the PRS rules. We can’t have people lose anything if they take a risk. Participation trophies for everyone!

Now it is still acceptable to use the KYL rack if you only offer one point per target and missing is A-okay. I still use it and sometimes make it “must hit to move on”.
I still use it, but have a "bank" target. Depending on choices made by the shooter points could be lost, but they can also be regained if the time allows. Obviously this is a non-sanctioned match.
 
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I still use it, but have a "bank" target. Depending on choices made by the shooter points could be lost, but they can also be regained if the time allows. Obviously this is a non-sanctioned match.
I like this format or similar. We often did a modified KYL, wherein you had ten rounds and 90 seconds to complete the rack with increasing point values as the targets got smaller. If you missed you got to start over in the rack with the time and rounds remaining. Potentially, you could miss on the fifth shot and still clean it, though smallest target was always smaller than 1 moa, at 600 yards, so it still paid to know what your limits were.

Those that don’t think that that takes more skill and decision making on the clock than just blasting away and getting points for whatever you hit are full of something, and it’s not only themselves.
 
I like this format or similar. We often did a modified KYL, wherein you had ten rounds and 90 seconds to complete the rack with increasing point values as the targets got smaller. If you missed you got to start over in the rack with the time and rounds remaining. Potentially, you could miss on the fifth shot and still clean it, though smallest target was always smaller than 1 moa, at 600 yards, so it still paid to know what your limits were.

Those that don’t think that that takes more skill and decision making on the clock than just blasting away and getting points for whatever you hit are full of something, and it’s not only themselves.
So far it's been fun, eventually everyone will take the safe path and clean more often than not.
Right now it's hilarious to see the shooter who thinks "I got this" and loses everything on target 8 and is scrambling to rebuild because he wouldn't bank at 7.
Risk --- Reward.
 
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HI folks

Newbie to long range rimfire, and I have a couple questions on practicing. (and I have my flame suit on ;) ) finding out how much fun RF really is and it's all steel and paper anyway but having a blast.

I have 100 yards and 200 yards available to me almost every day of the week. Have been shooting a 5x5" steel diamond with 90% hit rate @ 200 yards on any given day of the week with both guns.

Now - there are days when I have 300 and 500 yards available, but, I work, so I'm stuck with either the 100 yard range or 200 yard range but want to start reaching out to the 250, 300 or 350 yard ranges in practicals and (fun) matches.

So my question is -- should I get some 3" and 2" gongs and set them up at 200 yards, and go at it? That's obviously going to change my MOA at that range, but I'm thinking that's better practice than a 3/4 or 1/2 target at 100 yards? Having never shot further than what I have on the range and with our fixed targets, I'm kinda leaning towards this being a good option, but I have no idea what you guys are shooting at (size wise) at 250+ yards so if there is something that would make more sense, I'm all eyes and ears!

FWIW I'm shooting about as budget you can get. In a 10 shot group, I can regularily shoot 1/2 to 3/4 groups with at 90% at 100 yards with a Ruger American RImfire, with a 6x24x50 + 20MOA rail. 2nd gun is a good old 10/22 with the same scope but no +20MOA rail so I have to adjust for holdovers.

Granted I'm ALSO using cheap-o Federal Automatch HV (1280FPS round nose lead that both guns love) but, should I just buy $30 worth of steel and go at it? or is there something that would be a better use of time?

I read through the thread where someone had 1/4 sized targets made, but I'm not sure if that would help here?

Thanks in advance, any idea that keeps it fun is welcome
Did anyone answer your question? I may be different than others, but scaling target size down at closer distances just let's you gather better data, and ultimately be a better shot at that distance.
What happens to a 22LR bullet at 200 is not even remotely comparable to what will happen to it at 400 yards. I suggest trying to find the time to experiment.
There is a thread in this section on target sizes, may help.
 
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Wind calling especially with rimfire at ranges beyond 100 yards is an art form. I know people who can do it. I am not one of them. My wind calling story goes all the way back to a match I shot in 2004 ( it was a national level championship and I was on the winning team) when we were shooting the 500 yard line, the guy coaching me was a wind call wizard. We were using iron sights at the time. I laid down and shot 20 shots prone. The coach gave me a wind correction nearly every shot, with some of the adjustment 6-7 clicks of wind between shots! But those adjustments is what won us the championship. Without those wind calls it would have been hopeless for me.