Long gong

[King_beardsly]

Anyone play around with long gong matches and see what’s your experience been like? Is there anything I need to know before showing up besides the basics of know your gear and you ballistic data.

I’ve got a semi local club that’s putting on a match and figured I’d give it a shot since the PRS22 has lost its fun for me recently due to it becoming more of a hassle than its worth at this point.

 

[6.5SH]

Anyone play around with long gong matches and see what’s your experience been like? Is there anything I need to know before showing up besides the basics of know your gear and you ballistic data.

I’ve got a semi local club that’s putting on a match and figured I’d give it a shot since the PRS22 has lost its fun for me recently due to it becoming more of a hassle than its worth at this point.

Very range and condition dependent as to how difficult it will be. The other is the ES on your ammo, if you have a Xero use it during your strings so you aren't chasing elevation due to velocity.

Many shooters at the ones I've done quickly found out their "sub 10 SD" was a fantasy when more rounds are measured.

 

[DownhillFromHere]

I shot one here in central NC back in December. To my knowledge, the folks/venue involved in that one haven't done another... if another has been held, the organizer didn't reach out about it. I would definitely attend.

My understanding is the COF we had was "standard" for long gong:

• 8/6/4" plates at 300 yards, 1/2/3 point values respectively shot from bench (I think prone was an option but nobody did it that way).
• Five 10-shot strings - shoot a string, go to back of line, wait for next turn.
• Shooter begins with 8" plate, which MUST be hit. If hit, shooter has option to shoot the next smaller plate (6") OR shoot the 8" plate again. If 6" plate is hit, there is the option of shooting the 4" plate - or the 6" or the 8" plates.
• If shooter misses a 6" or 4" plate, he/she has to back up to the next larger plate.
• Before each shot, the shooter must declare which target is being engaged to the spotter on glass.
• Ideally, two ROs per target set are needed: one on glass and one to record each shot's score on a designed-for-purpose score sheet which speeds up and clarifies recording.
• A perfect score is 147. The guys that drove all the way down from Maine to help run and participate in this match said an average score is in low-mid 50s. The guy who won that day shot an 80; median score was 45. Keep in mind that, no matter how good the marksman and rifle, no matter how much is paid for the best .22LR match ammo, no matter how perfect the weather conditions - hitting a 4" plate at 300 yards with a .22 involves luck as well as skill.

IMPRESSIONS:

• It was fun, but there was too much down time. We had 36 shooters and two target/RO sets. With each shooter taking 4-ish minutes to set up, shoot 10 rounds, and clear the bench, it took around six hours to get everyone through. I would suggest one plate set for each 10-12 shooters, but that would be logistically more difficult.
• Running the match on a "tee time" basis would help greatly - for example, set start times on the hour, 20 minutes after, and 40 minutes after, with 4-5 shooters scheduled for each slot. Of course, this approach would pretty much eliminate any post-match awards presentation. To offset that, the match could be run as a series with an end-of-season gathering.
• Or, of course, just limit the number of shooters. I'm not sure I'd go back to a match with, essentially, 18 shooters on a squad.

 

[6.5SH]

Yeah, 1 rack and 10 shooters can take about ~4 hours. The kit from shootingtargets7.com is pretty cheap though if wanted more.

 

[pronelife]

Confirming your ammo performance at 300yds before the match saves stress on match day.

 

[DrSquall]

I have done 4 or so here in OK. We now have 3 setups so it goes much faster. We do it different because we also do 100,200,300. Target size is adjusted down in size at the closer ranges to make it more challenging. I really enjoy but at times the wind will humble you.