First PRS match - next steps, advice

Schmedium gamechanger with heavy is the first thing I’d do. If you don’t have a tripod, get a cheap one you can put binos on then learn to read wind and mirage. Position building and wind reading are the first things to work on if you have the fundamentals of marksmanship down. Find someone that knows how to shoot PRS type stuff, and see if they’ll teach you. Having someone who knows what they’re doing to show and teach is the fastest way to learn.

I agree wjth the comments above. Get yourself a good bag. Heavy fill schmedium game changer or heavy fill mini fortune cookie with skid plate. Bino’s and a tripod is another great couple pieces of gear, but you can generally use other guys in your squad for the first little bit. I think skip the cheap tripod and save up for a good one. It’s well worth it. Small items like a data card hold or wrist coach. I like the Cole tac cheat sheet and tape on it. It’s quick, easy, cheap, transferable and extremely effective. Sounds stupid but a shooting jersey or similar material. A long day, in the hot months really wears on your body. Those style of shirts are rated for uv protection, super light weight, and breathable. Really helps relief some physical drain on your body over the course of the day. A good backpack is a big one to help carry your gear and my new favourite is the OBI-link system for carrying bags, rifle and tripod to help free up your hands. Attaches by m-lok or QD, and then the other side attaches to your back pack.

Until you’re ready to upgrade your rifle just stick with it, learn it. Positional practice plays a massive factory and wind reading seperates the good from the great. Dryfire practixe in the house goes a long long way as well.

Schmedium GC. Shoot what you have for a season and watch others and check out their gear. Do not be in a rush to get new rifle, etc. Meet people - I got a great deal on a full custom rifle when one of the PROs upgraded.

I put of getting a Kestrel for a season but it helped me a lot better understanding wind and wind calls.

Listen, everyone above me is giving you the pg version.

Here is the next step:

Sell all of your unnecessary shit. Anything associated with other hobbies, any firearms or firearm components that you haven't used in the last 6 months, request a credit increase on all of your cards, demand a raise from your boss and then go have a heart to heart talk with your wife. Tell her that you've become a crack addict and you don't intend to quit. She won't believe you're buying gun stuff when she sees how much you've spent, so just tell her it's crack... she will worry less.

sidetoss20 said:

Well guys appreciate it, I put the order in with Armageddon for the schmedium heavy fill. I’ve sold everything except for my bolt gun, scope, and I’ve purchased so many additional reloading supplies that I’ve been preemptively kicked off my home insurance. Something about a fire hazard?

Boss told me to fuck off, wife took it surprisingly well - she was pleased to hear it wasn’t heroin. Only problem is, she’s been looking for where I could be hiding the crack, and she’s checked just about everything in the house except the gun safe. @Hecouldgoalltheway , any further advice?

Thanks guys

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Yes sir, step 2 is that you begin a daily ritual of punching yourself squarely in the testicles at least 4-5 times a day. I don't know how many matches you have to shoot before 4-5 stages per day stop feeling like being kicked in the nuts, so if you get there before I do, let me know. If you have a friend who can deliver a stiff kick, it might accelerate the process, but accuracy matters. It's important that the pain isn't delivered to the boss, the taint or the poop chute, if you want to train like you fight, you need the force centered on the boys.

1. Get a shooting buddy, misery loves company. One who is better than you (tough on ego but better for you in the long run)
2. Setup your rifle so it balances 4-5” in front of the magwell when resting on your Schmedium.
3. Other than checking zero, shoot 90% of your shots from props at various heights to get used to lo-kneel, high-kneel, lo-standing, upright-standing… everyone is a rock-star from their belly, it’s the positional shooting that gets you at matches.
4. Dry fire a lot off whatever items you have in your house (ladder rungs, buckets, tires, back of the couch, porch railing, etc…)
5. Shoot when its windy out, practice what you suck at. See above comment about punching yourself in the junk, repeatedly.
6. Keep your magnification around 12-16x
7. Practice holding as well as dialing
8. Set an aggressive par time to go from standing with gear in hand to getting into position, on target, and breaking your first shot.
9. Sink a ridiculous amount of money into a rimfire setup and practice (marginally cheaper than centerfire), shoot 22PRS, NRL22, and NRLX as well. Good for time management which will translate over to centerfire.

ECK said:

1. Get a shooting buddy, misery loves company. One who is better than you (tough on ego but better for you in the long run)
2. Setup your rifle so it balances 4-5” in front of the magwell when resting on your Schmedium.
3. Other than checking zero, shoot 90% of your shots from props at various heights to get used to lo-kneel, high-kneel, lo-standing, upright-standing… everyone is a rock-star from their belly, it’s the positional shooting that gets you at matches.
4. Dry fire a lot off whatever items you have in your house (ladder rungs, buckets, tires, back of the couch, porch railing, etc…)
5. Shoot when its windy out, practice what you suck at. See above comment about punching yourself in the junk, repeatedly.
6. Keep your magnification around 12-16x
7. Practice holding as well as dialing
8. Set an aggressive par time to go from standing with gear in hand to getting into position, on target, and breaking your first shot.
9. Sink a ridiculous amount of money into a rimfire setup and practice (marginally cheaper than centerfire), shoot 22PRS, NRL22, and NRLX as well. Good for time management which will translate over to centerfire.View attachment 8108529

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Damn, have you been reading my training schedule? Basically word for word what I do.

Emerson0311 said:

Damn, have you been reading my training schedule? Basically word for word what I do.

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LOL, misery loves company!

There is nothing wrong with a 700 action when you're just starting out. My rifle started it's life as a 700P. After I got the action trued by Spartan Precision Rifles, I haven't felt the need to upgrade my action. Everything else on the gun has been changed. Stick with what you have for now, spend your money on ammo and shoot a metric ass ton. There is an unbelievable amount of good information here on the Hide, if you go look for it. If it's in your budget, go to a training course like Rifles Only, Frank's travelling road show or someone else reputable. It will save you time and money in the long run. Use your Dry Fire practice to find inefficiencies in how you are getting into position on props - standing, kneeling, seated, prone. Video tape yourself. You'll be surprised how much you pick up on wasted time from building 20-30 positions on camera. Shooting buddies help.

todd said:

There is nothing wrong with a 700 action when you're just starting out. My rifle started it's life as a 700P. After I got the action trued by Spartan Precision Rifles, I haven't felt the need to upgrade my action. Everything else on the gun has been changed. Stick with what you have for now, spend your money on ammo and shoot a metric ass ton. There is an unbelievable amount of good information here on the Hide, if you go look for it. If it's in your budget, go to a training course like Rifles Only, Frank's travelling road show or someone else reputable. It will save you time and money in the long run. Use your Dry Fire practice to find inefficiencies in how you are getting into position on props - standing, kneeling, seated, prone. Video tape yourself. You'll be surprised how much you pick up on wasted time from building 20-30 positions on camera. Shooting buddies help.

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"There is nothing wrong with a 700 action when you're just starting out."

This is the prs equivalent of "you can have a few hits of heroin to see if you like it. I wouldn't worry, I don't think it's actually that addictive".

During dry fire, focus on what the reticle is doing when you pull the trigger. If it moves, make adjustments to your position and work on it until it doesn’t move.

Focus on spotting your shots and making necessary adjustments for follow up shots.

Write down what stages kicked your butt and think of how to improve in that situation to make more hits.

Get obsessed and read/ watch videos on better shooting techniques.

Come up with some lies to tell your wife why the bank account is empty.

I’m very new too, but this has been my route of becoming better. Just my .02

You can break most positions down to height, high/low kneeling, high/low standing and prone. Once you learn how to be stable in those positions the prop doesn't really matter. You can get pretty damn good practicing off a 5 step ladder at 100y. Solid props you can lean in hard, wobbly you need to back off the gun a little or free recoil it. Learn to use a tripod for rear support. Dont give up points because its not cool. Ask dudes to check out their gear a d ask how they like it before you spend money. I've bought so much stuff that i wish i hadn't. And most of all enjoy the game and people. Its a great group

M4orturnate said:

You can break most positions down to height, high/low kneeling, high/low standing and prone. Once you learn how to be stable in those positions the prop doesn't really matter. You can get pretty damn good practicing off a 5 step ladder at 100y. Solid props you can lean in hard, wobbly you need to back off the gun a little or free recoil it. Learn to use a tripod for rear support. Dont give up points because its not cool. Ask dudes to check out their gear a d ask how they like it before you spend money. I've bought so much stuff that i wish i hadn't. And most of all enjoy the game and people. Its a great group

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Like the other post, this one mirrors my training very closely.

I too completed my first match recently. I found anything I needed or would benefit me on stages I could borrow off of anyone there.

At the moment I'm sinking most of my money into ammo and matches. I've got a schmedium gamechanger too as a bag is pretty much the next most used item.

Ive got my second match coming up in April. Can't wait.

In for the good info.