First PRS Match: Prep & Takeaways

[Castle Rock]

The Long Range Shooters of Alaska PRS Match finished up this evening.

There were some aspects that went as expected and others that did not.

It’s a crowded space under the covered shooting range, with 4 squads running 10 stages side by side.

Targets were quite small and the stages were quite challenging, atleast with an 11 lb gun, compared to some with 25 lb+ setups.

I definitely made some silly mistakes, such as screwing up the firing order on a couple stages that really cost me.

My goal was a 50% hit rate and I ended up with 49.3% and in the middle of the pack, a ways behind @Marty, who was at 62%.

I can’t see myself being competitive, without a significant investment of time and money to build a PRS gun.. which for one, my wife wouldn’t be too happy about and the largest factor of all is this:

FUGG muzzle brakes! Seriously. The experience of shooting alongside half the competitors that feel they need muzzle brakes on 20 lb+ rifles chambered in 6mm cartridges can go to hell.

This alone is the reason that I’ll never shoot a PRS Match again. Double plugged and my ears and head feel horrible, hours after the match finished.

I’ve seen where my deficiencies are and will work on these by myself, in the mountains.

P.S. My Scythe didn’t blow up, so there’s that.


View attachment 881887View attachment 881888View attachment 881889

Yeah, leave the games for the gamers, everything that starts out trying to be practical ends up being ruined

 

[HuntHarder]

Fug all those muzzle brakes. It's amazing to me that guys like being around guy's shooting them. I am with you on the 25lb guns too. I guess if you really want to compete, you need something in that realm. I enjoyed the shoots, knowing I was not competing. Just a fun day of long range shooting. Glad your Scythe made it. Mine is now over 2k rounds and hasn't split in half yet...

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I’ve seen where my deficiencies are and will work on these by myself, in the mountains.

My spirit animal.

 

[Southern Lights]

I learned a number of things doing PRS matches. I was lucky that I was also put on squads with guys that would later become nationally ranked in the US early on. I could see what made them so good and it boiled down to a few things.

- A lot of shooters lost points due to equipment failures on stages. Shooting too hot loads that were causing issues, bullets seated in lands so that they would jam/dump powder if they had to cycle it without shooting, scopes dying, etc. Just having middle of the road loads and reliable gear can make up lots of points vs. hot rodding and high BC.

- You don't get points for shooting all your rounds on a stage. You only gets points for hits. The best shooters often didn't fire every round, but all the rounds they did fire hit.

- At very competitive shoots, you pretty much need to try all the KYL stages and get all the points to place. So I'd suggest going for it if you get those stages.

- I wrote down dope on a wrist board before I got to the line and ran the sequence through my head. You may want to look at how other shooters in front of you solved the stage, but don't do anything crazy just because you saw someone do it before you if you never tried it before.

- Don't screw with your equipment the night before, or day of, the match.

- There are no good new ideas the day before a match. Stick to your training.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

I learned a number of things doing PRS matches. I was lucky that I was also put on squads with guys that would later become nationally ranked in the US early on. I could see what made them so good and it boiled down to a few things.

- A lot of shooters lost points due to equipment failures on stages. Shooting too hot loads that were causing issues, bullets seated in lands so that they would jam/dump powder if they had to cycle it without shooting, scopes dying, etc. Just having middle of the road loads and reliable gear can make up lots of points vs. hot rodding and high BC.

- You don't get points for shooting all your rounds on a stage. You only gets points for hits. The best shooters often didn't fire every round, but all the rounds they did fire hit.

- At very competitive shoots, you pretty much need to try all the KYL stages and get all the points to place. So I'd suggest going for it if you get those stages.

- I wrote down dope on a wrist board before I got to the line and ran the sequence through my head. You may want to look at how other shooters in front of you solved the stage, but don't do anything crazy just because you saw someone do it before you if you never tried it before.

- Don't screw with your equipment the night before, or day of, the match.

- There are no good new ideas the day before a match. Stick to your training.

Great advice. I can tell it comes from a place of experience.

 

[Kurts86]

You are making a good choice shooting skills division in NRL hunter just because you can waste a lot of valuable training opportunities looking for hidden steel plates. Time management is the biggest struggle for NRL hunter.

Train on the speed to deploy your tripod from your pack and shoot Kraft drills as a training drill to build solid positions.

You will be inevitably be a little irked shooting a match with true hunting gear because gun gamers are gonna game. At least with NRL hunter there is a 12 lb division although lots are shooting the 16 lb divisions.

Other shooter’s muzzle brakes are less of an issue with NRL hunter because you stage 20 yards behind the firing line to go into a stage “blind.”

For NRL hunter it’s often in your best interest to throw away half the targets on a hard stage and make sure you get hits on the easier ones or the targets you actually find. The target difficulty is less than PRS but time management is harder due to the more dynamic nature of things.

 

[Lawnboi]

I like shooting out in the mountains as well, that said shooting under someone else’s rules, under pressure from time and peers is only bested by shooting at a live animal.

I have become a much better shooter on game specifically since beginning to shoot matches. I attribute it to spending a lot of time behind the trigger under pressure.

You would enjoy hunter a lot more due to the spread out nature, and not spotting next to brakes all day.

 

[Travis1400]

I shoot a lot of regional PRS and national NRL hunter, as well as NRL hunter in a team. I have gone down the rabbit hole of prs with 20+ lb. rifles and small 6mm's, its all fun. I recently swapped to shooting the new this year sportsman's class for PRS and its been the most fun I have ever had in PRS. Ignoring the competition aspect of either PRS or NRL they both have lots of good skills to learn as a hunter but are different. I like to practice PRS using just a sand bag and a bipod with no rear tripod support. PRS is great for learning how to build shooting positions in a timely manner and manage recoil to spot impacts, part of why if you want to be competitive a good brake really helps vs. a suppressor. NRL hunter is a great way to run through your actual hunting gear and sort out issues before a hunt. If you want to be super competitive its hard to do without LRF binoculars, but I think there is no harm in running your real hunting gear. Being on a clock has a way of bringing weak links to the surface, and will test how well you actually know how to deploy your gear. Also NRL is a great space to become more competent with a tripod either as main support or rear support. Either PRS or NRL is fantastic for just getting rounds downrange and learning to read wind. Have Fun!

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

Post in thread '2025 NRL Hunter'
https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/2025-nrl-hunter.374929/post-4220595

 

[doc holiday13]

it is AK...if its pouring rain and a wet erase board isnt working, a simple wide roll of masking tape and a sharpie works too. Just stick to arm, engage.

skip the sharpie.. use a China pencil aka Grease pencil

 

[khuber84]

I use permanent markers on my plastic dope cards, then to clean off the writing, a lil drop of alcohol based hand sanitizer and a cloth, wipes the permanent ink right off.

Do this no matter the weather, cuz I've brushed my hand against my dope card and wiped off my non permanent writing on accident.

 

[Jordan Smith]

I use permanent markers on my plastic dope cards, then to clean off the writing, a lil drop of alcohol based hand sanitizer and a cloth, wipes the permanent ink right off.

Do this no matter the weather, cuz I've brushed my hand against my dope card and wiped off my non permanent writing on accident.

So have I. Wet erase pens fix that issue, but only if it's not raising or snowing. Your idea of permanent marker with alcohol-based hand sanitizer is a good one, and would work in any weather condition (as long as the pen will write and the alcohol doesn't freeze ).

 

[khuber84]

So have I. Wet erase pens fix that issue, but only if it's not raising or snowing. Your idea of permanent marker with alcohol-based hand sanitizer is a good one, and would work in any weather condition (as long as the pen will write and the alcohol doesn't freeze ).

I don't think the alcohol would freeze up in any match scenarios. I did use a grease pen last January and Feb matches as it was single digit temps and markers weren't working great. Just keep grease pen in pocket to keep the grease pliable. I used grease pens forever, but as matches have gotten more complex, there was a need for more data on the cards, and smaller print with a grease pen is tough to write and read.

 

[Jordan Smith]

I don't think the alcohol would freeze up in any match scenarios. I did use a grease pen last January and Feb matches as it was single digit temps and markers weren't working great. Just keep grease pen in pocket to keep the grease pliable. I used grease pens forever, but as matches have gotten more complex, there was a need for more data on the cards, and smaller print with a grease pen is tough to write and read.

Yeah, grease pens are a little annoying to use but they're reliable. Wet-erase or permanent markers are much nicer to work with, but don't always work in all conditions.

 

[Razorwynd]

This is all great advice.

 

[khuber84]

A lot of guys are sectrelty intimidated by competing in a match, showing their skills(or lack thereof) in front of their peers. Their ego is about to get hit pretty hard. Especially the first few matches. You don't know......what you don't know until your figure it out! It's such a freakin blast tho, and you make friends very quickly and there is a ton of comradery. Want to shoot someone's rifle? Try their bag? Use their Tripod? Look through their glass? 99% they'll absolutely give you that opportunity if it's not gonna short them on ammo or be a major inconvenience in their stage prep. This community is legit, most are there to have fun, but still want to finish well, being competitive. There are some that one lil thing will ruin their day.

Takeaways..........1. show up, shoot the first match with some basic gear. Don't go out and pre buy all the shit you think you want. Shoot a match or two, test everyone else's gear, then you'll actually know what you want. Some leagues have loaner rifles, all you need is pay for ammo. Make friends with a guy who competes regularly, he likely has all the equipment, and extra you could utilize.

2. Be there to have fun 1st, hit targets 2nd. If you f up, get outta sequence, bomb a stage, it happens! To everyone! Just take as much away from your failures as learning lessons and try to plan and strategize your way around that.

3. Take the time to break a steady shot. If the position that you built sucks, fix it! If your wobbling all over, you can't trust your miss. You have to be able to trust your miss to make a proper correction. If this limits you to getting 4-5 shots off per stage, so be it. Speed will come with reps and experience.

4. Don't overthink or complicate things. Only use gear or an approach your comfortable with and have practiced. Trying a new technique(say Tripod rear for first time) will kill you on the clock. See what others do, and then test and practice that at your home range. Now if it's something simple, or just a lil different body position so your using bone support VS muscle, absolutely, use that. But putting new gear into the mix you've never used before isn't likely going to aide you until your versed with it.

Have fun and don't be afraid to laugh at yourself, don't take this game too seriously, cuz at the end of the day, it's still a game. You think Orgain, Vibbert, Pynch Alwine all get paid enough to shoot to get rid their day jobs? Negative........they still all work for a living in one way or another.

 

[Razorwynd]

Have fun and don't be afraid to laugh at yourself, don't take this game too seriously, cuz at the end of the day, it's still a game. You think Orgain, Vibbert, Pynch Alwine all get paid enough to shoot to get rid their day jobs? Negative........they still all work for a living in one way or another.

As someone looking to get into this game, this was really impactful to read and is the best advice i have read in a while.