I looked around in several different subgroups on the site and didn't see any threads specific to NRL22 COF discussion.

I'm looking for a thread where people talk about the latest course of fire, strategies for shooting it, etc.

I noticed the February COF is published.  I printed it out and looked it over.  Looks like the first stage is weak side only.  Off a 55 gallon drum and cinder blocks.

What's the best position to use off the cinder blocks?  Bipod legs fully extended and kneeling?  It seems like they will be too high to shoot prone comfortably.

I personally am going bipod on the cinder blocks.

Having tried it both ways, what made you decide on the bipod?  I didn't have any cinder blocks handy, but I did try a similar sized cardboard box, and kneeling with the bipod felt more natural.  I need to work on sitting.

Never mind, watched a little further into it for the explanation.  

I was a little worried when you were prone and your foot was so close to the DSLR tripod.  

Looks like a nice range to shoot at too.

Are the courses of fire run under a timer that factors into scoring - typically, sometimes, ever?

Is the shooter's body position dictated, or just the barricade?

How many rounds are typically needed for a single stage?


P.S. - I am jealous, OCABJ.  That's quite the rig, especially the spotting scope,... err,... I mean, telescopic sight.  ;-)

NRL22 stages have always been 120 sec. Unless there's something specific about stage, it's usually just the barricade that is dictated.

NRL22 stages are usually 10 rounds. Sometimes 12 or more.

The “standard” stage is 10 rounds in two minutes. They more recently started doing a stage or two the require 12 rounds ( a magazine change after 10 usually)
It is up to the shooter how to approach a stage in regards to what position to use

Also in the last year they add a tie breaker stage where you get extra points based on finishing the stage in under 2 minutes

Fun and challenging

So it also looks like there is a bit of "gaming it" where people get 15 round mags to get an edge over everyone with 10 rounders so you don't have to do a change on those 12 round stages.  

The 12 round stages probably were originally intended to force a mag change.  In that case, if I were designing such a stage, I would specify no more than 10 rounds can be loaded in the mags at the start of the stage.

LOL!  I have two rimfire rifles.  

One is a single shot.  The other can take a 5 round magazine, of which I own exactly one.  At >$150/magazine, and rarity to boot, it is unlikely I will buy more.

Oh well, I am just not prepared for NRL22.  

It's supposed to be affordable training for centerfire precision rifle.  But I guess a lot of people run 10/22s.  I have a couple of high-end 10/22s that I could use, but having to toggle the safety every time I change position and calling "safe!" would take some getting used to.

Lots of magazine options with a 10/22.

My Savage came with a 5 rounder.  I bought a couple extras, and a couple of 10 rounders too.  Lost a 5 rounder at the range, sadly.

The weak side stage for this month's shoot will be challenging for me since I never shoot that way.  But that's why I want to do these, to get practice and improve.

Yes, but if you do that, what's to stop them from plugging in a 40 rounder?

I think you'd be better off saying load no more than ten.  If anyone misses, they have to do a mag change.  A 12 rounder let's you miss twice without a mag change.

I guess it's less important on stages that don't give you a point bonus for time left on the clock.

They better fire 11 and tac reload.

Yes, I own mine for that very reason, too: practice for centefire, especially standing/offhand, especially with iron sights.  As such, it is almost identical to my centerfire rifle - stock adjustments (ergonomics), sights, trigger.

Allowing the rifle to morph into a scoped, benchrest rifle for the "Tack Driver" game was done without compromising its ability to work as a trainer (scope and bipod are removable).

It cannot morph into a magazine fed rifle.

Looks like the March COF is posted.  

It also looks like another tough match!  The ladder is my least favorite so far.  I haven't shot on the tank trap yet so that will be a new experience.  

The first stage using 5 different barricades is going to be a challenge too.  

But getting back to the ladder stage, you take 2 shots and then have to change rungs, 2 shots, change rungs, etc.  I think the best strategy for this stage will be to pick the two rungs you feel most comfortable shooting from and use them.  

Bottom rung with a big rear bag is pretty stable, but second from the top standing feels pretty relaxed.  I think maybe kneeling using a big bag as a brace between right knee and elbow might be pretty solid too.  So the strategy is which 2 rungs are going to be both stable AND fast to get into position.

I think I timed out on the ladder stage this month.  Watched a YouTube video on some ladder strategies for more stability.

Anyone else go through the March COF yet to get ideas?

2nd and 3rd lowest rungs. You don't want to use the lowest because odds are you're going to have to shoot it prone.

Looks like the April COF is posted.

More tank trap this month, and this will be my first time on the rooftop.  Also looks like a sling might be a good accessory to use this time as well.

I have been wanting to shoot a NRL22 match for a while now.  There's a fairly new range about 90 minutes away that is all about PRS, and they started doing NRL last year, or the year before maybe, I don't know.  But they go out to 1200 yards I believe, and I saw mention that they've run the 22s out to 400 yards!  

Anyway, I happen to have a decent rig for it.  My Savage FV-SR, Boyd stock, bi-pod, little drop compensating scope.  I even have a couple bags.  I built it as a 'sniper rifle' clone, and to be a host for my Sparrow suppressor, not even knowing that 22PRS is a thing.  It's never seen a target beyond 50 yds.  

But I have to admit, I'm pretty intimidated!  I've shot lots of 3 gun, USPSA and steel challenge in various divisions, bowling pins, all kinds of outlaw matches, but these NRL matches just look...frustratingly difficult and humbling!

Anyway, my current plan is to try it this month on the 28th.  Figured I won't know how it is till I actually try it, right?

I need to look up the May COF.  Or not...maybe as a n00b I should just show up and shoot it blind instead of looking at in advance and psyching myself out?

Don't plan to do well the first few times out.  I've been to a few matches and I am still working out the kinks in my gear and every match has a new and unexpected barricade.  

But, don't let that deter you!  It is loads of fun to go shoot these matches.  And even just going through the COF you will become a better shooter and take those skills home to use on a hunt or to the range to impress your friends, teach your kids, etc.

All of the targets and stages are realistically sized for the distances.  The target package goes down to 1/4" but so far the only time I've seen one that small was at 35 yards and it looked big in the scope.  Also using much more than 10x magnification makes it hard to pick up your targets because of the narrow field of view.  You need enough magnification to see the targets well, but also enough FOV to acquire them quickly.  10x seems to be the sweet spot for most stages.

If you don't have a mill reticle and just have a BDC reticle, you'll at least want target turrets to be able to dial dope on the fly.

Get a ballistic app for your phone too.  I use Strelok Pro and it's great.  You can even save a target/reticle diagram for each stage in a COF.  See this one below for a stage with a lot of different  target distances.  This is unusual for a COF in my limited experience, but it shows what strelok can do.

You can print these and stick them in a wrist band or dope card holder along with your holdover.  This was for one of the March stages.

But seriously don't let anything deter you from trying this.  It's way too much fun to miss out on.  I have been shooting an FVSR and just CCI std velocity and it's been plenty accurate enough.  My misses haven't been due to the gun, they've been due to poor position building, getting in too much of a hurry, and not reading the wind.

One of the other shooters gave me good advice.  Slow down and make hits, because running out of time and missing one or two is better than finishing with time left over and missing three or four.

I need to get the latest COF and sign up for the new season so I can actually see how I rank nationally.  With a bigger pool of shooters, I am less likely to be dead last.

Attached File

I’ve been shooting NRL22 for 6 months now. I really enjoy it and use it as practice for other high power rifle series I compete in. The only thing I don’t like is that the COF is given! Every other match I shoot, you show up and perform. Since there is no COF for may, I hope we just show up and shoot like any other match and see who really can adapt vs gamers who need a month to figure out how to shoot the script.

Agree, no COF or stage prep, would be nice to see the difference in scores.

I've been shooting this game for a while (not every month, though) with an air rifle.  My wind and elevation hold-overs are on the order of three to four times that of the .22 rimfire.  It's amusing to me when folks are talking about holding off in terms of minutea, while mine are in mils.  But, at 60 now, I do often shoot a stage or three using the "O.G" adaptation, or a blend between the normal and "O.G."

The local club is more about inclusiveness rather than going strictly by the book.  If you show up with a single-shot rifle, you will be given a bit more time than the two minutes as one example.

The game is quite challenging, and fun when it is not below 20 degrees F. with 15 to 20 mph winds.  We've been there and done that, but still held out and shot.

ETA: I can illustrate the airgun challenge with respect to that no-wind hold for the .22 rimfire posted above.  With a 75 yard zero, my pellet will strike two mils above the cross hairs at 50, and at 100 it will be 2.5 mils below.  At 25 yards I have to hold an additional half mil lower than 50.  I just lob pellets into space for the long range stuff, and occasionally hit targets at 200 yards.  Oh, and the wind almost never stops blowing at the local range with 7 mph being about as calm as it will get.

The reason they publish the COF in advance is so that the people who go out the day before and help set up the targets and barricades don't get an unfair advantage.  If you made it secret until match day, then the match director and whoever helped set up couldn't participate in the match because they would have an advantage over the rest of the shooters.

By publishing the COF, it gives everyone a chance to practice beforehand.  

I do agree about the gamers making it difficult for someone to walk in off the street with an off the shelf rifle and be competitive.

If the rules say "any bag" people will show up with a 2 foot long duffel bag stuffed tight with bean bag fill and use it as a chair.  In a game where anything that isn't expressly excluded is allowed, people will find all kinds of ways to skirt the rules, or exploit loopholes the rule makers didn't think of.

If I had my way I'd make a few changes to make it harder to exploit the rules.  Every shooting competition I ever participated in became an "arms race" where people were constantly buying new gear to gain an advantage.  With a group of shooters of similar abilities, it then becomes a spending contest instead of a contest of skill.

The base class is a good idea, but I'd like to see things like gun (rail) mounted bags go away for both base and open class.  And I'd like to see a 3 bag limit for both classes, along with a bag size limit, like all 3 bags have to be able to fit inside a 5 gallon bucket together with no pushing on them, and no part of them sticking out above the rim. Also no bags attached to your body at the start of the timer.  You want to wear a bag, put it on while you're on the clock.

That would leave room for a pump pillow and a fortune cookie or schmedium game changer, etc along with a small squeeze bag while keeping it from getting crazy with bean bag chairs.

Once you start seeing gear that nobody would lug around hunting or into battle, you get so far removed from reality that it makes it less useful as a supplement to your training.  It's like in 3 gun where you have these shotshell caddies and magazine tubes that extend a foot past the end of the barrel.  Yes, the rules don't expressly forbid them, but that's because never in a million years did the people making the rules expect anyone to show up with a 5 foot long shotgun and 25 rounds of shells on their belt.

And then once the gamer gear starts showing up at matches, then you start seeing stages designed to be challenging even with the fancy gear.  And that leaves the guys who walk in off the street with their plinking .22, duck shotgun or EDC pistol without any hope of being competitive.  Advantages should be gained through skill and practice, not through gear and rule exploits.

Okay I guess that's enough complaining.

But even with the gamers it is still loads of fun and worth participating.

Curious to know what caliber and type of pellets you're shooting?  Diabolo pellets or slugs?

I think the difference between pellets and .22lr at these ranges is probably like the difference between centerfire and .22lr out to 400 yards or so.

It's definitely made me a much better .22 shooter and I have a far better understanding of what to expect from the cartridge at typical ranges.  Before I started shooting NRL22 I used to just sort of guess at holdover or when plinking at longer ranges, walk the bullets onto the target looking at dust clouds where the misses hit the berm.  

I much prefer the more scientific approach using a ballistics calculator and being able to dial or holdover and make hits.

I've got a basic Sweet 22 2-7x with the windage, elevation and parallax knobs.  So I can dial from 25-200 yards nice and quick, for different bullet weights.  I'm actually pretty curious to see how well it works 'in real life' at the range at real distances in Not Off A Bench shooting positions.

And yes, now that I'm pushing 50, my 'Gotta Be The Best Ever!' competitive drive is about gone.  I just go to shoot and have fun for a day.  Those days are too few and far for me to get all stressed out worrying about my placement and scores and all that.  (It's actually been a rather relaxing mental discovery!)

I am mildly concerned about seeing the tiny targets with bifocals. But the scope is pretty nice, so guess I'll find out!  I had a bit of a challenging shoot at an AK match a year ago.  Combine crappy irons, small black targets, and 150+ yards = lots of misses!  (Is it misses if you're just kind of slinging rounds at the berm cause you can't actually see the target in the first place?   )

Haha I am having the same struggles with bifocals!  I need to be able to see the level bubble, markings on the turrets, and dope cards up close, and also the targets far away.  There's just no easy way around it.

I have a Sweet .22 scope lying around somewhere with the different turrets for different bullet weights.  It might be worth a try.

The matches I've been to all had paper targets set up at the same distances as the steel for the actual COF so you can show up a little early and get your dope for the conditions.  If you aren't using a first focal plane scope I would definitely take the time to get the dope and write it down for each stage.  You're going to find that some stages where there are multiple distances but not a lot of position changes, you might do better dialing elevation, but other stages where it's only 2 distances you might dial for one of them and just hold over for the other so you can make better use of your time changing positions.

I shoot a .25 with pellets.  The few slugs I've tried just do not group anywhere near as well.  Also, there is data from others who have found that slugs do better once you shoot past 150 yards.  Our club uses the up to 100 yard version of the COF, but will put additional targets out further but are limited to 350 meters (the farthest impact on berm the range).

I don't know if it's part of the rules.  It's just how they run it and I never questioned it.  Nevertheless, everyone there has the opportunity to use them,  so at least for that particular club it doesn't give anyone an advantage.  Maybe it might help the top 5 percent score a little better nationnally, but it would be hard to measure the effect, if any.  

Some people have very windy ranges all the time, some people have very calm ranges all the time. But when they go to state and national championships, they will all shoot the same targets in the same conditions.

That said, one click either way isn't what makes or breaks it for me, and I am far too green for it to make a difference.  My 2 biggest faults are rushing through the stages and not building solid positions for those middle height barricades that are too short to stand and too tall to kneel.

I let people shoot on the steel targets setup for the stages during zeroing period. NRL22 is designed to be entry-level and meant for new and less than experience shooters so letting them confirm dope is well within the spirit of the sport.

This is also in the NRL22 Rulebook (2022-2023 Season):



Furthermore, I don't cut off people when time expires and give them the option to finish shooting the rest of the rounds saved (for no score, of course), just so they can get more experience. Basically, I do what I can to get new shooters and to keep them coming back.

NRL shooters, do you have issues/drama with the match director?

I ask because our NRL is a shitshow of drama.   Competes with a similar program, full of drama too.

Mine has been great so far.  The whole group is friendly and welcoming.  Eager to help you out, offer to loan their gear even when you don't ask, etc.