Give me your input on how to practice.

[MrSwede]

So heres the thing:
I've got access to a range with berms at 50, 100 and 200 meters.
Theres some PRS props (skill stage + barricade wall) there.

So the stage is set for some good training sessions. Buuut I usually just flop to my belly and drill tiny holes.. You know how it is.

So: How do you go about training for PRS?

 

[Matt_3479]

So heres the thing:
I've got access to a range with berms at 50, 100 and 200 meters.
Theres some PRS props (skill stage + barricade wall) there.

So the stage is set for some good training sessions. Buuut I usually just flop to my belly and drill tiny holes.. You know how it is.

So: How do you go about training for PRS?

With those kind of ranges, mix rimfire in there for wind holds and dialing practice. Don’t drop centerfire all together due to recoil management but the rimfire will help at these ranges.

Dryfire practice is one of the best training methods for repetition on building a solid position, and fundamental practices.

 

[Niles Coyote]

My routine is primarily dry fire as I can do this at home. I built a barricade and measured out the distance from my living room window to the tree line and made some targets that would measure .4, .3, and .1 of a mil through my scope and attached them to a tree.

From there I do drills and mock stages with a shot timer.

Practice getting into position perfectly, paying close attention to adjust your position to ensure your natural point of aim finds you on target and your reticle doesn't bounce off your point of aim as the firing pin slams forward. Once you build repeatability and consistancy in this begin doing it with the added pressure of the shot timer giving you a defined start and stop beep. Once you get this down start measuring the time it takes you to move from your last position on the barricade to the next position and dry fire.

Set goals and objectives and journal your progress.

This is a great way to test out new equipment or different ways to go through your process and localize gaps that you need to concentrate on.

I can't stress enough how much improvement I have seen after doing this for the past 10 months. Prior to this I'd run mock stages at the range live firing on trouble spots I had at previous matches. While growth did occur, I feel I get more out dry fire now because I can see what is going on or holding me back without the distractions of recoil and noise. Then follow up with live fire verification when I am at the range.

Also, don't overlook quality instruction, it will pay dividends.

 

[todd]

As Frank has said, "Paper doesn't lie."

Set a Kraft Drill target at 100 yards. Spend some time figuring out how you can get the most stable positions from as many heights as you can, then shoot the KD target to validate your position behind the rifle is good. Once you can shoot groups you're comfortable with, then start on the movement portion of the KD. Include dry fire as Matt_3479 said above to help lock in those positions to memory. Work on how to get into and out of those positions in a repeatable manner, as efficiently as possible.

 

[OREGUN]

Start at Riflekraft.com

When you can shoot <1 inch groups from any position, add a timer. Dry fire a lot. Shoot as many matches as you can.

 

[superde]

My routine is primarily dry fire as I can do this at home. I built a barricade and measured out the distance from my living room window to the tree line and made some targets that would measure .4, .3, and .1 of a mil through my scope and attached them to a tree.

From there I do drills and mock stages with a shot timer.

Practice getting into position perfectly, paying close attention to adjust your position to ensure your natural point of aim finds you on target and your reticle doesn't bounce off your point of aim as the firing pin slams forward. Once you build repeatability and consistancy in this begin doing it with the added pressure of the shot timer giving you a defined start and stop beep. Once you get this down start measuring the time it takes you to move from your last position on the barricade to the next position and dry fire.

Set goals and objectives and journal your progress.

This is a great way to test out new equipment or different ways to go through your process and localize gaps that you need to concentrate on.

I can't stress enough how much improvement I have seen after doing this for the past 10 months. Prior to this I'd run mock stages at the range live firing on trouble spots I had at previous matches. While growth did occur, I feel I get more out dry fire now because I can see what is going on or holding me back without the distractions of recoil and noise. Then follow up with live fire verification when I am at the range.

Also, don't overlook quality instruction, it will pay dividends.

This 1000%.

 

[The4GunGuy]

As Frank has said, "Paper doesn't lie."

Set a Kraft Drill target at 100 yards. Spend some time figuring out how you can get the most stable positions from as many heights as you can, then shoot the KD target to validate your position behind the rifle is good. Once you can shoot groups you're comfortable with, then start on the movement portion of the KD. Include dry fire as Matt_3479 said above to help lock in those positions to memory. Work on how to get into and out of those positions in a repeatable manner, as efficiently as possible.

This past Sunday we had a rough centerfire match that was very challenging. One stage was a dot with your shooter number on it, placed at 100 yds and you had eight shots off of a PRS barricade with four positions in two minutes. Time was not a factor, but it really showed 1) how stable YOU are on your rifle and 2) How good your zero really is. I tend to use this method in the field. At 100 yds, I'll place a target with 5 dots and then run a 5 position stage in 90 seconds (not 2 minutes) to check my stability and zero.

 

[todd]

This past Sunday we had a rough centerfire match that was very challenging. One stage was a dot with your shooter number on it, placed at 100 yds and you had eight shots off of a PRS barricade with four positions in two minutes. Time was not a factor, but it really showed 1) how stable YOU are on your rifle and 2) How good your zero really is. I tend to use this method in the field. At 100 yds, I'll place a target with 5 dots and then run a 5 position stage in 90 seconds (not 2 minutes) to check my stability and zero.

Sounds like a modified (paper version) PRS Skills Stage, kind of a combination of the PRS Skills Stage and a Kraft Drill. Good stage idea.

 

[acudaowner]

correct or not we started out by putting paper plates at 150 -600 yards and confirming my dope with 3 shots as close as I could get them , and as it got easier to hit and the groups tightened up we started shrinking the targets 100-200 1'' targets 2'' targets 300-600 and again as it got easier to hit the targets and get good groups we shrunk it again and again 1/4'' targets 100-150 1'' 200 -500 and a 3'' circle steel targets my goal for that drawling a cross down the middle of it splitting it into 4 quarters and trying to keep all my shots in one of those quarters example
now most of the time I try to put 3 shots center on the plate 300-600 ( not always in that order ) and 5 shots on the 3'' steel . best of luck how ever you decide to do your practicing switch it up and try to keep it interesting .

 

[CK1.0]

One thing that has helped me a lot over the last few months is, (other than when occasionally shooting groups), I’ve been making a point to build, and then break position, for just about every round I fire… plus it’s more fun.

This way every round also means I got a build/break rep in. And, I’ve made it a point to get my ass up and away from the bench.

My usual practice session is 50 rounds, and I try to keep any bench/prone stuff to no more than 5-10rds since the other stuff is harder and more like stuff you’d see in a match and thus requires more attention.

 

[tthomp302]

This past Sunday we had a rough centerfire match that was very challenging. One stage was a dot with your shooter number on it, placed at 100 yds and you had eight shots off of a PRS barricade with four positions in two minutes. Time was not a factor, but it really showed 1) how stable YOU are on your rifle and 2) How good your zero really is. I tend to use this method in the field. At 100 yds, I'll place a target with 5 dots and then run a 5 position stage in 90 seconds (not 2 minutes) to check my stability and zero.

Hey, I was there. It was a great eye-opener for sure.

 

[Sheldon N]

Practice for us is all positional, almost never prone, mostly just use a step ladder for a barricade. Build/break a position every shot. Sometimes will run a 5 position 5 round "stage" but more often will just do single shot drills with a shot timer. Sometimes going for pure speed, more often it's trying to be quick into position and slow on the trigger pull. Lots of attention on how "accurate" we can be with the initial pointing of rifle and body alignment and being on target immediately in 5-6 seconds. Usually shoot at 1MOA steel targets, we have a nice practice target that works well for 223 at 150 yards at our shorter covered range and a 6" at 525 yards out at the other place we shoot. Yesterday the wind was a bit more sporty so we practiced on a 10" at 580 yards and spent time trying to call where on plate the shots went and keeping recoil management clean with the rifle tracking straight.

 

[ECK]

I dry-fire a lot. Second story window in my house looks out into my field and I use the insulator caps on top of the fence posts as targets. I typically shoot off the top of my tripod with a bag to simulate shooting off tank traps or posts like you see at matches. Or I’ll use a step ladder. I do wish my window was full length so I could also practice kneeling or squatting, but I have a downstairs sliding glass door I can use that for, and get licked by my dogs when I get down to their height…

For drills, I practice doing various drills on the clock to help me improve my work-flow of getting into position, minimizing wobble, acquiring the target, dialing or holding, mag changes, support side shooting, concentrating on a good trigger press, etc. I do this with my centerfire and rimfire rifle since dealing with parallax on the clock is a thing with rimfire.

Then when I go to the range I try to practice what I suck at which is wind calling.

 

[lte82]

There's really just a handful of skills to learn for PRS. Building positions, transitions, fast target acquisition, shooting small groups, spotting shots / impacts / misses, and reading wind. You will have a hard time learning wind and spotting shots inside 200 yards, but you can certainly practice the other aspects. As Sheldon mentioned, a ladder, cattle gate, or other multi-level prop is perfect for getting good at the basics, and those basics will take you a long long way.