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Shot my first PRS, ballistics really screwed me

regency

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 16, 2007
519
303
36
Memphis, Tennessee
www.patwar.com
I shot out at the K&M match for my first time ever and had a really hard time with weather conditions. I shot very well at the class I took there months before and I shoot well out at my place. I think one of the the big roots of my problem was calculating my dope for each stage. I walked into the match with a Ballistc AE drop chart on my phone that I had verified out at my private property.

It was very cold at the start and it was seriously windy too. I do not own a kestrel (just ordered the Applied Ballistics model on Amazon Prime).

What I noticed was just about everyone had a kestrel and everyone was getting readings before each stage.

What I would like to know is... What is your routine before each stage when prepping your elevation and wind adjustments? What steps and what instruments are you using?

Thank you in advance!

 
Kestrel FTW. I get a reading at the beginning of the day and IF the temp rises or drops a significant amount I get another reading.

I make first round hits out past 1k pretty regularly with mine.

MagneetoSpeed + Kestrel=WINNING
 
The best way to go in a place like this using JBM the night before, (If you don't have a kestrel)

Ask someone for the conditions the day before, the Baro, Avg Temp and/or DA

Then make a chart at the room and print it off.

If you checked zeroed and did all the typical pre-match stuff, dope the targets made available, etc, write the conditions and the drops used down. Then you can match them up with JBM later that night for the next day. Weather Underground is great to pull the predictions off, temp in the mornings, etc, they have an Hourly, so you can actually have a chart for various conditions without spending any money.

I just use a chart on my wrist, and for every 15-20 degrees you can add or subtract .2 mil. If it's colder add, if its warm subtract.

A kestrel is a great tool, but you still have to calibrate and true it, for me traveling East it usually means about 50fps adjustment when I arrive. That is what the day before is for.

if you have Ballistics AE, that is what "Current Conditions" are for. You zero the rifle and include the Zero Conditions, then when you are shooting update the Current Conditions every hour, or in between each stage. Then you can use the HUD and get real-time data.

Honestly, the stuff is not changing that much, so odds are you did poorly because you are new to it. Especially at K&M where the plates are bigger than most. Average targets are usually 2 MOA and being 2 MOA off is a lot. Most people are just moving too fast and not building a stable position. Unless the RO said your Dope was off, assume the misses were mostly left to right more so than up and down.

 
If conditions from day to day (sight in day through the end of the match) are going to be roughly the same, I do all of my data for each stage the night before using my kestrel and then a ballistics app to check against each other. I write down my elevations and wind calls for both 5mph and 10mph. I also take my Kestrel 5000 series to the match in case conditions change or the winds are higher than what the weather was calling for. I keep everything on index cards that go into my wrist coach.

I've done this the last two matches and it has worked well for me. I feel it gives me more time prior to shooting to focus on how I want to run the stage rather than worrying about what my kestrel says at that particular instant prior to shooting the stage.
 
You've got two separate issues wrapped up in your post... better to look at them separately.

First, ballistics. Your drop chart is something you should have absolutely dialed in and that you've verified and confirmed on the range before the match. You need to run with either DA from a kestrel or with location/weather specific variables that you put into your balllistic app. I do both, Kestrel to measure DA at the range to run in my ballistic app, plus I'll build a hard copy drop chart in advance the day before the match. JBM Ballistics to calculate the chart (http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj_simp-5.1.cgi), I get the physical elevation of the match site by going to this website (https://www.daftlogic.com/sandbox-google-maps-find-altitude.htm) and pull weather forecast data so I know what the baro pressure plus projected temps throughout the day are. That way I've got a physical backup if my kestrel dies or electronics have issues. The key is making sure your environmental data is solid, both at the time you are gathering ballistics at home and when you are off shooting a match. Big picture though, the temp change probably wasn't your issue at the match, it only matters out at the really far targets (ie 1000 yards) and even if it warmed up 20 degrees that's probably only 0.1 or 0.2 mils of elevation.

Second is wind and I suspect that was the real issue at the match. Don't worry, the wind kicks everyone's butt. Kestrel is handy for getting a wind speed at your location so you can put that in your app to get a preliminary wind hold estimate. However you also need to look down range at all the indicators plus have a big picture sense of how the wind is interacting with the terrain and ebbing/flowing. This can all help you make an initial wind call. Have mental preparations for high/low estimates on wind so you know how much to expect to hold if the wind is picking up or dying off. Have mental preparation for the changes in wind hold for each target from near to far within a stage. For example, if you are getting hits with a 1.2 mil hold at 600 yards and the next target is 850 yards, know what the wind hold should be for the next target based on what you were just doing at the last target. Hold wind in the reticle, don't dial for wind. Make clean trigger breaks and know where the reticle was when the shot broke. Did you miss left because of wind, or did you miss left because of wobble? You want to correct for one, but not the other. Keep your gun consistently level when shooting, inconsistent leveling in the gun will move the bullet left/right, making it harder to know exactly what was the effect of the wind. Finally, and above all else.... spot your impacts and misses. If you don't see where that bullet landed, you don't have any feedback on what you need to do for the next shot.
 
Thanks for the input so far. I will add that as the day went on and things warmed up, my hits started increasing. Instead of 1-2 hits per stage I was getting about 4 hits per stage.

It seems I might be missing out on a few features I am unaware of that ballistic AE offers.

Lowlight, there were a few instances were the Range Officer stated I was .2 low throughout the day. Makes sense if the gun was dope checked in 50-60F weather.
 
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Thanks for the input so far. I will add that as the day went on and things warmed up, my hits started increasing. Instead of 1-2 hits per stage I was getting about 4 hits per stage.

It seems I might be missing out on a few features I am unaware of that ballistic AE offers.

Lowlight, there were a few instances were the Range Officer stated I was .2 low throughout the day. Makes sense if the gun was dope checked in 50-60F weather.

Read your post and would be happy to discuss it with you on a phone call (especially since you ride a KTM LOL). PM me your info, and if you'd like we could set up a time to chat to get you ready to rock at your next comp.

Dan
 
I shot my first PRS in May and thought I was ready to go..... I had the app all dialed in and checked and was doing well for the first couple of stages and then fell apart at the longer stages (after 800 yards). I finally figured out during the final stages - that were much shorter, that I had fat fingered something and selected a completely different rifle profile! Data for the 6.5CM and .243 just are not that close after 500 yards.
Next attempt I will definitely be using some of the advice on this thread. Having a hard paper copy to double check my data the next day would probably help keep the stupid mistakes to just the trigger pulling
Good luck with you next outing.