I'm actually oddly glad this current house has no 10 meter path to even set up an air rifle range. Probably could have done it from office to garage if I hadn't put a wall where I did. Might need to modify that a bit.

I have a SCATT that I use, along with a Compass Lake dedicated .22 upper for the service rifle.  

As I mostly shoot match rifle anymore (Tubb 2000 running a 6XC), I have an Eliseo AN-1 (Anschutz action in an Eliseo chassis) that is my primary trainer.  My oldest son (12) is shooting Service Rifle and uses the .22 upper a lot.

I like the SCATT and it gives an impressive amount of feedback, but I like the .22's as much.  The barrel dwell time of the .22 will really show if your followthrough sucks, or if you're doing something wonky as you're shooting.  At 50 yards on a reduced target, what might be a mid- or outer ring 10 with a centerfire could well be a 9 or an 8.  Could you set up a SCATT to do the same? Yes, but I enjoy live fire as well.

The .22 upper is great for the kiddo, helps him work through a lot of stuff (he'd developed a flinch).  Pretty sure he likes it more than the SCATT.

Here’s the formula that worked for me:

1) Take whatever AR15 you currently have that is the closest thing to a rules-compliant service rifle and go to your closest CMP-affiliated club and start shooting “reduced course” matches. You can shoot “out of competition” if your weapon is not rules-compliant.

The benefits are many: It exposes you to the national match course of fire which includes moving to the line and getting set up smoothly and quickly, establishing your position and getting your NPA on the target quickly, and all the other benefits of target practice. Because the whole match is shot at 100 or 200 yards it goes quickly. At my club it is a 2 hour affair from start to finish. $5 fee to participate.

This is where you can also find good mentors who will watch and coach you. After a few matches you’ll know who you want to get advice from and who you don’t.

Bring good ammo (fmj is not good ammo), a heavy glove, a sling, a mat, a notepad, a sturdy jacket/coat, and a spotting scope if you have one. I won my first matches wearing a Carhartt barn coat and a $5 harbor freight welding glove.

2)  dryfire. Dryfire like it is an obsession. Set up a place at home where you can setup/breakdown quickly so it isn’t a hassle to do it often. Make cards with black circles sized to be 6moa when you dryfire at them.

If you are dry firing with an optic it won’t focus on your indoor dryfire target. You need to change the depth of field by making an aperture to place on the objective, or better yet, change the focal point with a +0.125 diopter lens placed over the objective. Note that changing the depth of field and changing the focal length are not the same. Having the right focal length is better than just widening the depth of field with an aperture. Sometimes you have to do both if you don’t have enough flexibility with the distance to your dryfire targets.

3) Equipment priorities

Trigger - This is a big deal IMHO. A huge benefit of dryfire is training your eyeball and your finger to develop the ultimate relationship. You are going to reach a level of development where your conscious brain can just quietly step aside while your subconscious, your eyeball, and your finger shoot X’s and 10’s. To get the most out of this relationship you have to equip your finger with a quality trigger that is consistent.  And since you are going to devote time and energy to developing that muscle memory why not start off with the trigger you will want to keep forever? Why would you spend hundreds of hours developing muscle memory and then “upgrade” your trigger to one that feels different? Just buy a Geissele NM SR trigger and that variable has just been eliminated for life.

Sling - I like a nice leather 1907 sling. Hollis and Turner are my 2 favorite brands. The brand doesn’t matter and if you want to use a web or synthetic 1907 that’s fine. Just get a quality sling and start using it immediately.

Ammo - Handload or buy ammo made for match competition (like Creedmoor or Loader Monkey). Stick with Sierra or Berger bullets. There’s been enough trouble (even very recently) with Hornady that I won’t even touch them.

Barrel - With a good barrel and ammo your service rifle will shoot sub-moa. A lot of people will say “You don’t need a really accurate rifle until you become a better shooter”. I disagree with that somewhat. No, you don’t need a $5,000 rifle, but when you are starting out and trying to identify your issues it’s much easier to do so with an accurate weapon. You are working towards the goal of consistently shooting sub-2moa without artificial support. If you are shooting a 2moa rifle how are you ever going to know if the 7s and 8s were you or the rifle? You won’t. Get a quality service rifle barrel, rule-compliant rail, quality ammo, then benchrest it to show yourself it shoots sub-moa, and from then on you know that whatever the score is, you own it. There’s no blaming equipment, and identifying problems with your technique will be much easier.

Spotting scope and stand - Unfortunately this is one of the expensive areas. Reduced course matches don’t have target pullers who score each shot for you so you have to look through a spotting scope to see where your shots are hitting. You will also use your spotting scope to assist with wind calls (checking mirage) and for scoring duties in across the course matches.  I used a crap $150 Celestron spotter on a camera tripod for a year and got by just fine. Eventually you’ll want a nice spotter and a stand designed for position shooting.

Rifle Optic - You’re going to need an optic with turrets (unless you shoot irons) and you’ll be spinning those turrets a lot once you start shooting 600 yard matches. Budget scopes with turrets don’t hold up. The lowest cost optic I consider suitable is the gen1 Vortex Viper PST 1-4x (gen2 is not legal because 6x). I shoot a Nightforce now, but I went from zero to Distinguished with a Viper PST.


Training:
Beginners luck is real. You’ll have it until you gain enough experience to start getting inside your own head and overthinking things. So go at it hard early. When you’re new you don’t know who’s who, so you don’t feel intimidated competing next to a national champion. You’ll just be having fun and burning good neural pathways that will help you perform better when shooting under more stressful conditions later.

Dryfire is the key to everything. My goal has been 10 hours of dryfire for every hour on the range. In 2018 it was closer to 30 hours dryfire per hour of live-fire and it was worth every minute.

Calling your shots: Right from the very start, try to call every shot you take. You will develop this skill quickly and it will help your shooting in several ways. First, it will keep your focus on your sight picture. Second, it will enhance your follow through. Do it when dryfiring as well.


Doing the above, I went from my first match to P100 in 3 years.

I've been following this thread since it started.  I built a fairly capable NM rifle a couple months ago and have been dry firing at home.  The weather is finally nice enough to get out to a range and do some live fire.

I'm hoping to start shooting matches this year with the goal of going distinguished and a president's 100 tab eventually.  Some of these latest posts are motivating as fuck.

For follow-ups after this thread dies, arfcom has a Highpower Sub-forum, but it's hidden under the Training Forum.

I never understood why it is there, instead of under the Competitive Shooting forum.

That forum seems to be limited to 3 gun.

Yes. Which is stupid.

If they wanted it to be limited to 3 gun, maybe "The 3 Gun Forum"  would be a better name for it.  But since it is called the "Competitive Shooting" forum, it makes sense to -  now this is crazy, but bear with me-  stick all competitive shooting subs there.

Solid Advice airsix.  I will echo the dry fire comments, it is boring as hell, but it improves muscle memory and consistently getting a good NPA.  Dry firing IMO is what will give you the biggest score gains.  The matches are won on your feet, everybody can shoot sitting and prone.  Consistently score 96+ standing and you'll be in the ballgame.

A multi-National Match title holder once commented that shooters often focus on the wrong things and that if he shot a super score and had a red bandana in his back pocket, the stores would sell out of the same and the next day would see a multitude walking around the range with a red bandana in their back pocket.

Folks need to find the first 99% before they focus on the last 1%. That comes from practice, practice and practice with a little practice thrown in for good measure. It's the old adage "Train like you X and X like you train.".

Absolutely. But I forgot to mention wind. All of the above will make a shooter a hard-holder, but the ability to make accurate wind calls is critical. I’ve shot my fair share of fist-size 300 yard rapid strings that were inside 9s at 3:00/9:00 because I missed a wind call, or 2 Xs followed by 8 9s because I missed a wind shift during the reload.

My advice on that subject:
1) Make wind DOPE charts/tables for your ammo for 200, 300, 600. Mine are in 4mph increments to 20mph and angles of 30, 45, 60, and 90 degrees. I interpolate for angles/velocities in between.

2) Shoot on windy ranges. My home range is very windy and when I was green I hated it. I’d travel to matches hosted by sheltered ranges that had no wind and have a great time, but it wasn’t preparing me for the true test of a rifleman - shooting under pressure in poor conditions. So, when you look out the window on a match or practice morning and the weather is crap, instead of telling yourself “Weather sucks. I’m going to do something else today.” tell yourself that those are the best training conditions you could have hoped for. When you get to Perry and the wind is fishtailing at 20mph you’ll still feel at home when half the people there won’t.

3) Check the wind conditions before every slowfire shot, and during rapids reload. Every time. Treat ever single round you fire as if it is a 1-shot rifle match and that means its own conditions check and wind call.

4) When you make a call, give your sights a full adjustment for that call. Don’t pussy foot around with half value adjustments to “walk it in”. That’s just throwing points away and reinforcing the belief that you don’t trust yourself.


The above was my primary training focus last year and as a result I cleaned the target at 600 in my last 3 matches of the season. One of them was the NTI that hit a peak of 18mph full-value. Only 12 out of 900+ shooters managed that and I guarantee the thing those 12 all had in common was training in the wind. There was 3moa right windage on when I took my last shot. I never could have done that only practicing on calm sunny days.

Agree.  Wind and mirage reading comes with time on the range/gun.  It's not something you can sit in your back yard or basement and practice.  Once you figure it out, like you said you need to be aggressive and have confidence in your calls.

Got home to a box of goodies on my doorstep last night, but I was too tired to open it. Tonight I will!

He is 100% spot on.

No names mentioned but I was there when someone started the short lived rumor about weighing primers. Someone told someone else that was of the I better buy a red bandana set that "David Tubb weighs his primers."

This isn't service rifle but THIS is something a LOT of people do.

More than once I have used a mil/mil scope and used the mildots to figure clicks. Bang! An 8 at 4:30. Up so many, left so many. Bang! X.

The CMP shooters at the club used to have a sight in day for the hunters. A lot of the would go totally wide-eyed when you'd tell him to (for example) go 16 clicks to the left for a 3 O'clock shot four inches out with a quarter minute scope.

"Sixteen clicks! Try 3 or four!"

I'd say, "Do the math. four inches out at a quarter inch/click=16 clicks."

Most of them would be very dubious and adjust it about a quarter of that. The guys that listened were pleasantly surprised.

DO NOT be afraid to take a big step where a big step is needed.

Excellent advice

Happy that this thread is still going, lots of good advice.

Join a CMP affiliated club, or found one.  It's not hard to do.

CMP has used Daisy 853 air rifles for about $120 shipped.  The website says that it's intended for junior shooters, but in my experience they aren't really that picky and were selling them in the North Store cash and carry for a while.  If you are a CMP affiliated club member and have a kid, they'll probably sell you one. (And you SHOULD use it for training your kid)  

They also have a variety of new air rifles, and you can certainly find other sources.

The very best way to become a good offhand high power shooter is to shoot 10m air rifle all winter/when you can't get to a range.  CMP has a 10m target that simulates 200yd SR2 high power, for $15/250. They have vogel match .177 pellets for $73/5000.  So basically, for <$100 in consumables you can get a LOT of practice.

The first year I shot 10m air rifle all winter (even just 1/2 nights a week/maybe 100 pellets a night), my offhand scores bumped up nearly 10 points in the spring.  The long "lock time" of the air rifle makes you work, and is way better than dry firing.

I wish every scope had its adjustment per click engraved on it.  Not knowing for sure if you have 1/0.5/0.25 minute clicks causes a lot of this.

some very good advice here.

I grew up shooting air rifle and small bore. as an adult I have some in Small Bore Silhouette, 3 gun and Run N Gun's

practice...practice... practice.
live fire, dry fire in all your positions.

no matter what the shooting discipline, the concepts are the same.

conditions
practice
being self aware
making sure the firearm is nothing more than appendage of you.

when I was a kid, I got a chance to go to Colorado Springs to the training center and an instructor made a comment that has always stuck with me.  in your shooting courses and practice, you should be able to close your eyes and run it without ever opening your eyes.

that comes from nothing more than quality practice sessions.
range time. range time. range time.

just like retriever training or batting practice- set goals and plan your practice sessions.
set a goal of say 20 rounds. shoot the best 20 rounds you can inch out and stop. go home.
no bad habits. only solid shots and good form.

one day set a goal of 50 or 100 shots.

if you go out there and shoot 200-300 rounds more than likely your shooting will erode.

like others have said, 90% of the time, its the shooter not the gun.

as an instructor for the BSA, I teach this. 50% of the rifles now have scopes on them and the boys are so hyped to shoot one with the latest tech on it. I bought an old beat up Marlin single shot range rifle with the shittiest open sights in commercial production and make bets with the boys who shoot high scores with the scope/rifle combo's that I can best their score shooting that old gun. No one ever tells them that shooting a .22 rifle is a specialty of mine and I'm a master at it. so far in 5 years I've never been beat by anyone ( adult or Boy Scout) with that rifle.

10% of shooters are just naturally gifted masters of the craft. it doesn't matter what they shoot - rifles, pistols, bow's. they just have a gift.

90% are trained thru coaching and practice.

my son and his friends want to try Service Rifle and High Power Matches now and I told them to go to ever competition they can get to find someone to assist getting started and help coach them thru it.

never hesitate to get and take assistance from experienced shooters.
the shooting competitions are a competitive blessing. just like retriever games, you will find them to be some of the most helpful people anywhere. its a comaraderie of people who want to see success. the success of others only make the sports better.

listen to the people who actively want to assist you.

this is where women shine in the shooting sports. they will listen.

Soon.

Oh yeah, it is on like Donkey Kong

That scope mount looks really high.  Most think the sweet spot is only 1.25-1.35 inches in height above rail.

Same height as all my rifles. If it proves problematic I'll replace it.

I'm pretty new to all of this as well, but I think you'll find your head position is a lot lower when pulled into a sling than it would otherwise.  I like a 1/3 cowitness or even 1.93" mount on most of my ARs, but the Geissele NM match at 1.3" mount is comfortable with a shooting sling.

You will want the scope lower and much further forward. Use that 9 pound stock weight to your advantage.

Is this configuration legal?

MBT trigger, A1 stock and grip, and a selector with a weird protrusion.

Type out, and make copies of, a response you can hand to people detailing the marking are just cosmetic and the firearm is in no way, and never has been, select-fire.


If I were the Match Director, the selector would be a non-issue and anyone who brought it up would get laughed at.

SUPER thread!!!!!!

Tremendous amount of knowledge shared here.Maybe these pages could be tacked on/saved?

Unfortunately I never made it to Perry to compete for the President's 100 tab.  I made Hi-Master with an M1A and became distinguished (#653) with 38 points in 4 leg matches, an 8 pointer and three tens consecutively.  I'm confident I would have won one, but I never was able to make the trip.  I've won state and regional championships, but without going to Perry (at that time) one can't win one.

I don't know of any match director that would have a problem with it.

Thanks. I bought a ‘mil spec’ lpk, and assumed it would be.

Finished her at last. I was waiting and waiting for the stock to come from Fulton’s, turns out it kicked back my credit card for some reason.

I like this rifle.

You get a shooting jacket and gloves or you just going to rock rifle only?

Nice.  Your scope seems really far back, have you checked the eye relief while prone and slung up?

I'm guessing you're not a "nose to charging handle" guy.  That scope looks like it's sitting back a far ways.

Not yet. Just mocked up for now. Around the 15th things will get a lot less busy on the farm, and I'll have time to dial in some loads and fine tune the setup.

We'll see. I've never shot in a rifle competition before.

Correct, I don't usually shoot with my face nearly that far forward. We'll see where I put the scope after I get slung in.

As Sonoran_Tj said, you'll want to do that in prone.

For consistency I highly recommend the NTCH as a start. You want a consistent head position in both prone and offhand. Your head becomes another part of the system holding the rifle.

Just food for thought.

Thank you, I will.

I did my first one this year. I will go again.

I'm not sure if I'll get a match setup like you, weighted stock, etc but I'll still definitely go again.

Standing will humble you unless you're a massive stud

As an old man full of regret, if this is something you want to do, something very important to you, get off your ass and do it. I could have, my reserve unit started a team and provided ammo and rifles for matches and practice but it was a long way to travel and money was tight and my girlfriend wanted more time...

Don't get me wrong, the pussy was amazing but that was never in short supply and opportunities to shoot were limited.

My back was killing me one summer recently and I couldn't sit down to shoot off the bench (I can't shoot prone at all, neck won't allow it) so I decided to spend the summer shooting offhand. by the end of the summer I shot a 186 off hand with a .22 lr on a 100 yard reduced target. No sling, no jacket, no glove. Hell, I wasn't even wearing shoes. I kicked off my crocks to give me a better base. I (need) needed shoulder surgery on my left side, even then giving me hell.

I rejoice that things are as they are, I ended up in a pretty good place and I married well and have great kids, but my one big regret is not pursing the opportunities to shoot when I was younger. Shot F-class later, but no substitute. Body failed, even at that.

I'm only a month or two ahead of you in all of this, but I can say a purpose made jacket and glove help a lot.  I built my rifle in March and was dry firing and practicing in an old M65 field jacket and winter glove.  About a month ago I bought a used basic shooting jacket on ebay and a glove from Creedmoor sports and they are much much better than the M65 and winter glove.  I think I paid about $100 for the jacket and glove.  If I get serious about this shooting discipline I'll shell out for a hardback coat.

The jacket worn tight helps support my spine and diaphram when standing.  It has rubber pads on the elbows, shooting shoulder, and support side rib cage and bicep.  These help keep the sling in place and elbows on the ground for supported positions as well as help keep the support arm locked in place for off-hand.  The glove is thicker than my winter glove and covered in grippy rubber which majorly helps keep my hand on the rifle.


I'm in the middle of a move west but pretty soon I need to get to a shooting clinic or match.

On a related subject, who can tell me what these are?  If you've been on a service team, you can't answer.  

Most armed forces allow the wear of badges/medals earned in certain qualified tournaments, correct?

If I'm not mistaken a Distinguished Rifleman for example is a guy who has accrued a certain number of points in competition. More points = higher place.

Right.  Points are earned in Excellence-in-Competition matches.  The top 10% of non-Distinguished competitors earn points towards the badge.  Where you place within that 10% earns 6, 8, or 10 points.  Two notable exceptions are Introductory EIC matches that earn 4 points and the National Trophy Individual Match, which awards 10 points to all civilians in the top 10%.  The Distinguished Rifleman's Badge is awarded upon earning 30 points.

Oooh oooh ooh I know ! :)

Well I don’t have marksman or sharpshooter or expect rifle (not my MTOE assigned weapon, got the pistol one though lol ) or the international.distinguished. But I got the others. Miss being on the team, a lot. Best times I ever had. Dogs of War was a tough one.