Getting started in PRS

GolfVI

Hi everyone,

Before I start let me apologise for the long post. Any information from any of the PRS shooters or competitive shooters in general will be greatly appreciated.

I have been attending the midlands casually over the last couple of years shooting my .22 and .223 , but now I want to get involved in the competitive side of things and am looking to get involved in PRS.

My plan is to start with the Irish Rifle League rimfire and move up from there. For this I am happy with my .22 setup

RIFLE:
for the centre fire league my plan is to trade in the .223 for a .308.. Having watched the Fieldsports Ireland video series on the subject the bergara b14 in .308 has caught my eye. Can the .308 keep up out to 1000yards, and whats the barrel life?

OPTICS
For optics my .223 currently has a Vortex Viper, and I understand that quality optics can be more important than the rifle so will look to upgrade once I have some range time in on the .308. I am thinking Nightforce as my first choice.

AMMO
Unsure where I stand on this. In the states most PRS shooters handload. I know theres reloading facilities in the midlands, but would there be a recommend factory load/brand or is it a case of just trying a few to see what shoots best. What do you guys currently shoot if using factory ammo.

ACCESSORIES:
Besides range bags for the various shooting positions is there any other accessories recommended? Maybe a kestral for windage calculations or a brand of bipod?.

Thank you.

Ziggieire

As some know i am part of the team who make up the Irish Rifle League and working with Midlands we have put togather the League for this year and the foreseeable future.

we had 32 registered league shooter and maybe 6 day shooters, with the 10:30 safety brief and last shots at around 4:30 it was a long day but well worth it.

One of the best things about this league is that no matter what rifle you have you can shoot, and most rifles fit into one of the league Divisions Link Here

The idea is if you turn up for a day shoot with your foxing .223 and harris bipod factory ammo, you would lightly be in the Sporting rifle Divisions and shooting agents the same type of gear, and not trying to hit a target at 800 yards being scored against a Open class shooter shooting the latest and greatest rifle that looks like it came from a spaceship.

With the .308 mentioned you could enter in Factory, or Limited.

When it comes to optics every type of scope was at the match, i seen a 1/8 Moa burris to a 1mil purpose built ZCO.
The important part is knowing your hold overs or your dialing if you use a non hashed reticule, Never mind about the wind that's a different days typing.

And for ammo.
only Open and Limited classes can use reloaded ammo. Factory and sporting are Factory ammo.
This is not like fclass the smallest target is over 2moa its more down to your ability to make contact with the target from the approved shooting obstacles.
If you miss, 90% of the time you were not steady or you dropped a round or could not get a mag in.

As for accessories, Yes bags help a lot they make a massive difference filling the voids in your body so you can comfortably and safely make an impact. There is a lot of sharing going on in all divisions, and our sponsors have confirmed the will be sending support bags for people to use,but C-19 Has slowed that down.
Bipods ranged from none at all, just using a bag, to chinese knockoffs, harris,atlas to 700euro CkyPods. they all work some take more of a beating than others, and some have more usefull features like legs that lock back to shoot of short obstacles.

Best advice i can give is come down and try a day, you do not have to shoot for the league table, Everyone is very helpful and everyone down there learns something new each match.

GooseB

What's the situation with the rimfire matches? I see no mention of them on the web page linked above (irishrifleleague.ie) under the "Divisions" category. What are the limitations set for them (eg: weight limits, subsonic/supersonic ammunition or either, etc).

I presume the plan is to update that website when you can get around to it and have the time? Any info appreciated. Thanks.

Peppa Cig

The PRS lads are/were trying hard to get permission to provide training for those new to PRS at a midlands venue.

Hopefully they can pull it off. There seems to be a lot of interest for basic PRS orientation training.

New blood in the sport is always a good thing in the medium-long term.

extremetaz

GooseB wrote: »

What's the situation with the rimfire matches? I see no mention of them on the web page linked above (irishrifleleague.ie) under the "Divisions" category. What are the limitations set for them (eg: weight limits, subsonic/supersonic ammunition or either, etc).

I'd be very keen to see this information as well.

Uinseann_16

Best thing to do is what i did on Sunday go down and have a go, watch the other lads that go first
Now i hadnt a clue what i was at i had a new barrel just on and was shooting soft points left over from September and strelok was a nice bit out:p
But it was a learning experience and ill definitely know what to do at the next match with better ammo that was chronod with my drops got
Ill have to say the lads couldnt have been more helpful at the match advice and even had a couple of bags lent to me for the different stages

Ziggieire

The Rimfire is .22lr only,
No reamer fed rifles, due to concerns with showing empty.
There are round limits on each stage so its not a lead lobbing race. and having a 10 round simiauto is no advantage.
No ammo restrictions.
That is my fault i will add them to the site today.

As for Training days there will be some coming up and will be advertised.

hiddenmongoose

Ziggieire wrote: »

As for Training days there will be some coming up and will be advertised.

Who will be running the training days?

GooseB

I looked up the next Irish Rifle League rimfire match and found it on the IRL facebook page but I'm not a member of Facebook so thought I'd ask a question here regarding the next round.

Four of the five rounds for the next competition have the equipment needed for that round listed as "One Bag". Is a bipod taken for granted and the bag refers to a rear support bag? Or does this refer to a larger bag that the forend of the stock will be rested on and the rear support will just a hand or clenched fist?

Thanks.

Ziggieire

GooseB wrote: »

I looked up the next Irish Rifle League rimfire match and found it on the IRL facebook page but I'm not a member of Facebook so thought I'd ask a question here regarding the next round.

Four of the five rounds for the next competition have the equipment needed for that round listed as "One Bag". Is a bipod taken for granted and the bag refers to a rear support bag? Or does this refer to a larger bag that the forend of the stock will be rested on and the rear support will just a hand or clenched fist?

Thanks.

One bag refers to a single support bag, used in any what ever way you wish, as long as it does not infringe on the rules of the stage.
Back front side middle, what ever helps.

There are some positions that a bipod would be no help in, as in the saw-horse or a gate.
There are some prone unsupported stages that only a sling is allowed i think.
But unless is says no bipod, bipods are fine.

GooseB

Ziggieire wrote: »

One bag refers to a single support bag, used in any what ever way you wish, as long as it does not infringe on the rules of the stage.
Back front side middle, what ever helps.

There are some positions that a bipod would be no help in, as in the saw-horse or a gate.
There are some prone unsupported stages that only a sling is allowed i think.
But unless is says no bipod, bipods are fine.

Thanks for clearing that up. There's only one stage listed where it says "No Bipod" and that's a prone, unsupported stage using a sling.

hiddenmongoose

Ziggieire wrote: »

As for Training days there will be some coming up and will be advertised.

So....who will be instructing these training days?

Brontosaurus

Is PRS only done in at midlands?

Ziggieire

Right now yes, we need the distance for the centrefire.
The rimfire may move around next year as most stages only need 100 yards

hiddenmongoose

Ziggieire wrote: »

Right now yes, we need the distance for the centrefire.
The rimfire may move around next year as most stages only need 100 yards

Interested in these PRS training days...who will be instructing?

ejg

I still have a really nice 6.5CM 24" Marksman profile cut barrel on a T3 action. Barrel is new with just 15 shots to test through it. The rifle is wasted on me as I don't shoot PRS. Stock can also be provided.
edi

hiddenmongoose

Any idea when these training classes will be held, who will be instructing them ?

badshot

hiddenmongoose wrote: »

Any idea when these training classes will be held, who will be instructing them ?

i'd like to know this aswell

GooseB

Just wanted to say thanks to the organisers of today's IRL 22 match, fair play lads.

It was my first time at one of these and as stated previously, if you want to try it out then just drop in and see what it's about - that's what I did today. You'll need a scoped rifle and know what to dial for the distances and/or know your hold overs/unders in your reticle. Additionally you'll need a sand bag of some description to support the rifle butt from a prone position (or a sock filled with rice) and maybe a larger sandbag to rest the forend on depending on the stage. No need to get bogged down in too much gear to try it out.

It was a friendly atmosphere, nobody was biting heads off and certainly a bit of craic. So if you're on the fence, just give it a go.

If the organisers could lower the wind the next time and possibly use "metric minutes" with 100 seconds in them while they're at it it would be great!