Here are the practical long-gun events we have scheduled this month at Rio Salado:

Tactical .22 Rifle Match: Tuesday February 9th & 23rd
Registration opens at 4pm, with first shots shortly thereafter. Location is the Smallbore Range right behind the Activity Center. The rules are simple: it's a straight time match with penalties for misses. Pretty much any .22 rifle is OK - the most popular guns are AR15-clones and Ruger 10/22s. We have two divisions: iron sight and optical sight. Our typical match format is one "long range" stage out to 100yards, and two or three shorter range hoser stages. Check out this trailer and this Dillon Blue Press article for a flavor of what we do. This match is more fun than a barrel of monkeys... bring a bulk pack of cheap ammo (if you can find any) and you will leave with a smile a mile wide.

3-Gun (Multi-Gun) Match: Saturday February 13th - PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Sign-in on Saturday runs 8am-9am, with first shots at 8am. New shooters should come in time to attend the New Shooter Orientation at 8:30am before they shoot. To get a feel for what to expect, check out these videos from our previous matches. Our usual format is 3 short-range rifle, shotgun and/or pistol stages, plus 1 long-range rifle stage. Bring 150 rounds of rifle ammo, 50 shotgun birdshot (#6 or smaller), and 50 rounds of pistol ammo.

We have been using electronic scoring for several months. To facilitate efficient shooter registration, we want everyone to pre-register for the match. Online registration will open at 3pm on Tuesday February 9th at the Practiscore website. When you arrive on match day, come to the stat shack and pay your match fee as usual, then simply go and shoot - your info will already be in the iPads. Even if you are not 100% sure of making it, it is better to pre-register. Those who do not pre-register will have to wait at the back of the line until everyone else who did pre-register is processed.

We are fortunate to have two very generous sponsors for our monthly match: Carbon Arms sponsors one of the shotgun stages, provides "loaner" shotshell caddies for competitors to try, and they donate a $100 gift certificate. VLTOR sponsors one of the rifle stages, and they donate TWO of their excellent AR15 rifle stocks. All prizes are distributed by random draw from the list of competitor who finish the match. With typical attendance around 75 shooters, your odds of winning something nice are pretty good.

Tactical Shotgun and Pistol Caliber Carbine Match: Thursday February 18th
Registration starts at 4pm, with a new shooter orientation shortly thereafter. The match format is four practical scenario-based stages similar to what you would encounter at a 3-Gun match, except that you only need to bring one gun - you choose either shotgun or pistol caliber carbine. There will be separate divisions for shotgun (Open, Limited and Pump), centerfire carbine (Optic and Iron) and .22 rimfire carbine (Optic and Iron). Any tactical shotgun suitable for 3-gun competition will work well in this match, or you can shoot a pistol caliber carbine (straight walled pistol calibers only please) or even a .22LR rifle. Check out the match rules for more details.

Red Mountain Action Rifle Match: Sunday February 21st
Registration opens at 12:30pm. This is a rifle-only match run over the same course of fire as is used for the Red Mountain Action PISTOL match in the morning. There will be 4 close-range (maximum 60 yards), high-speed/low-drag, run-n-gun stages. To see what a typical match setup looks like, view this YouTube video. The equipment divisions accommodate iron and optical sights, rimfire rifle, centerfire rifle and pistol caliber carbine. Bring 150 rounds of ammo and a quick set of legs.

We are delighted to announce that LUTH-AR is joining our list of monthly 3-Gun match sponsors (Carbon Arms & VLTOR). Each month, we will award a different LUTH-AR buttstock by random draw. A big thank you to Randy Luth and his team for generously supporting our match.

We had a great turnout today. The match vieo is on YouTube. Results are on PractiScore.

Thanks again to our awesome sponsors: Carbon Arms, VLTOR and LUTH-AR

Happen to have a link to more info on the match this Sunday?

Cost, gear, etc. Couldn't find it on the website.

Thanks!

Match fee is $15 for members, $17 for non-members.

Pretty much ANY detachable magazine semi-auto rifle will work; centerfire rifle calibers (.308, .223 etc.), pistol calibers (9mm, .45ACP etc.) or rimfire calibers; optical sights or iron sights. Pretty much WHATEVER rifle you bring, we can find an equipment division in which you can be competitive. An AR15 would be perfect. Bring enough magazines to carry at least 40 rounds onto every stage (a pair of 30-round mags is more than sufficient). No need for a sling, bipod, mag pouches, tactical vests etc. (though there is no problem using any of these items either). Also bring at least 150 rounds of ammo.

There will be 4 stages, each of which is shot against the clock. There is typically some movement, but you don't need to be an athlete - it is a shooting competition, not a foot race. Check out the video link in my post above to see what typical stages look like. Maximum distance is about 60 yards, so none of the shots are super-difficult.

If this is your first action rifle match, and you would like me to guide you through your first experience safely and enjoyably, I'd be happy to do so... just send me an IM/EM with your contact info.

REMINDER: Red Mountain Action Rifle match this afternoon.