I was tasked with representing TNVC at the Nightforce Precision Tactical 2-Gun competition this last weekend 8-27-28-2016 in Raton, NM.  The range was the NRA Whittington Center which covers more than 30,000 acres with over 17 ranges.  Their property is so large in fact that you couldn’t even get to the area we were shooting on from the Whittington center.  You had to get back on the highway go North one exit and travel West along a mountain road for about 7 miles.  Friday, the day before the shoot, they had the range open for people to get a zero and check DOPE.  
MDH-2067 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-4232 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-2077 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-2089 by Highway0311, on Flickr

I had arranged to stay at the NRA Whittington center in their “Competitor Housing”  The rooms were adequate.  This is the cheapest way to stay in the area at only $44 a night for two beds.  The bathrooms and showers are community and you’ll need to bring your own soap, shampoo, and towels.  The beds were decent but I found them to be very hard so I might suggest a mattress topper if you have one available.  There’s a TV and tables and couches in the main living area and there are multiple kitchens and refrigerators in different sections of the housing.  
Picture of the WHittington Center Entrance.

I’ve never really been a “Precision Shooter”  so I was a bit unprepared on what to bring to this event.  I was also shooting a bolt gun that I had never shot before with the exception of the Zero on Friday.  Along the way I found out that besides having two accurate guns, with accurate ammo, and quality scopes, there are a few other things you’ll need to maximize your success.  Shooting bags of different shapes and sizes are a necessity.  Dope charts on your wrist, especially those you can draw on.  Many of the guys made impromptu range cards with dope on them for a quick reference of which target to shoot at and what their adjustments were.  This helped them to A) communicate to the RO trying to call hits what they were shooting at and B) not get lost on what target they’re looking at.  More than once something would go wrong and I would all of a sudden forget which target was which distance.  Tripods/shooting sticks.  More than once it was difficult or near impossible to get a good shooting position without this equipment available.  Binoculars may seem obvious but I didn’t have a pair and had to constantly ask to borrow a pair from my squadmates so that I could find the targets before we began shooting.  If I had not had access to Bino’s I would have had a very hard time.  

All the stages were laid out Friday with distances, with the longest shot at 875 Yds.  Each stage had a par time of 5 minutes.  There was no incentive to finish early as each stage was based off of available points.  Each Precision Rifle (PR) target was worth 2 point for a first round hit or 1 point for a second round hit 0 points for any hits after the first two.  Each AR steel target was worth 1 point, Paper required two hits with each A/B worth .5 point Each C zone worth .25 point and D’s, misses worth 0 points. Finally Clay targets were worth 1 point.  The paper targets were exceptionally small but most of them were very close.  I think the farthest the paper targets were on any stage was about 25 yards.  There was some confusion on Clay targets as the first stage I was told that they must burst and couldn’t simply have a small hole in them.   On another stage I was told that was fine.  This did cause me to spend a little extra time on a stage than I would have liked.  

You had to carry both rifles and your pack with all gear including food and water all day.  Also how you started the day was how you were supposed to finish.  So if you wanted a shooting bag to be clipped on the outside of your pack on a D-ring you needed to have it that way all day.  Want tripods in your hand at the start of the stage?  Better have them that way while walking between stages and beginning each stage.  Most stages you started with your backpack on and your precision rifle slung or in your pack.  So you either had to shoot with your pack on or run forward abandon it and then run back.  
MDH-2115 by Highway0311, on Flickr

Stage 3 was my first stage of the day.  We started with the AR by engaging 4 paper and two clays on the way up to a shooting position where we then engaged steel targets at 175, 200, 235, and 250.  I scored accurate hits and got all available AR points here.  We then engaged with our precision rifle at targets at 250, 295, 375, 460, and 530.  I missed all of these targets.  So I finished with a total of 10 points out of a possible 20.  
MDH-2072 by Highway0311, on Flickr

Stage 4 was up next.  You started standing and would move from the left side of the walkway you were on to the right.  There are “T Targets” at 70, 85, and 105.  While that’s not very far these plates were roughly 1” in diameter.  Making them fairly hard to hit.  You then had larger AR steel at 190, 260, 340, and 400.  In total I hit 8 of the available 10 hits with AR.  You then moved all the way to the right and had to be within arm’s reach of the PR marker and engage PR targets at 265, 400, 495, 560, and 630.  Once again having not figured things out with this rifle and ammo I got 0 hits.
MDH-4258 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-4271 by Highway0311, on Flickr

Stage 5 was a pretty fun stage.  You started with the AR and engaged 4 clays from your starting position and then three papers each at stations 2 and 3.  Then moving to the PR station you were to engage steel at 540, 555, 580, 590, and 605.  I got one 2nd round hit at 590 with the PR.  I also had about 5 charlies on this stage resulting in a 9.75 for the stage.  But at least I finally got a PR hit.  
MDH-4279 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-4302 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-4299 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-2073 by Highway0311, on Flickr
                                             
Stage 1 was a nice long walk back from stage 5.  This stage had you starting with your PR and with your AR and pack grounded.  PR targets were at 300, 430, 460, 550, and 625.  After successfully missing all of these targets as well I grabbed my AR and tried to finish the stage as quickly as possible before time ran out.  I ended with a 7.75 for the stage.  So far my worst score.  
MDH-4331 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-4336 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-4339 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-4345 by Highway0311, on Flickr

Stage 2 was next and I for whatever reason felt good about this stage.  Starting with your AR in hand and your pack and PR “In carry condition” you went along a path shooting paper and clay targets Then grounded your PR and pack and continued shooting longer distance AR targets at 150, 250, and 315.  I hit all clays and steels but got 3 C’s on paper.  I then switched to PR and got a 1st round hit at 475 and second round hit at 540.  This concluded the first day.  

That night we got together at the Whittington center for some excellent taco’s courtesy of the match.  There were some announcements made and overall people talked to each other about the match.  The next morning I was up early and got to take in the view of the rising sun.  


Day 2 Stage 8 was our first stage of the day.  There were a few more inclines to climb on this side of the range but overall no big deal.  This was a fun stage and my highest scoring of the match.  Starting off with your PR in hand and your pack and AR grounded.  We engaged targets at 330, 400, 475, 550, and 730.  I made two first round hits on the PR giving me 4 points.  After missing the other shots (Which I’m told were fairly close) I ditched the PR and grabbed my AR.  After a short movement down a Steep incline I engaged paper and clays on the way down to a 75 yard target that I at first had a hard time seeing.  I scored perfect on this and got 10 out of 10 points.  Giving me an overall score of 14.
MDH-4356 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-4363 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-4364 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-4370 by Highway0311, on Flickr
MDH-2075 by Highway0311, on Flickr

Stage 9 was my second highest scoring stage and my best for PR.  Starting off with PR and pack on your back you engaged paper targets from the start position then moving forward you abandoned the pack and PR and shot at steel targets at 100 (T target) 175 (T Target) and then regular swingers at 220, and 380.  On paper I got 6 A’s and 2 C’s I got the T targets and the 380 Yd target but had a hard time seeing the 220.  After several rounds fired at the 220 I abandoned it.  I grabbed the PR and pack and ran to the PR position where I took a sitting position and used my pack in my lap for stabilization.  I got two first round hits and 1 second round hit.  Giving me a total of 13.5 for the stage.  If it weren’t for the two C zone hits I would have had a 14 again.  
https://rm3gun.smugmug.com/Nightforce-PrecisionTactical-2/i-c7j5VN5/A
https://rm3gun.smugmug.com/Nightforce-PrecisionTactical-2/i-5BQ3WwJ/A
https://rm3gun.smugmug.com/Nightforce-PrecisionTactical-2/i-KQd9JzR/A

Stage 10 My scoring fell off again.  It took me too long to find the first AR target at 350.  Then moving down to the second position I was making good time but forgot the T target at 50 yards.  Third position I did ok at shooting the 350 but again I had a hard time seeing it from my original position and had to move.  After that I abandoned the AR and went to precision.  From there I had a lot of issues with the bolt gun.  For some reason the first round wouldn’t chamber and as I pulled the bolt back the next round started coming up and it essentially created a double feed so I had to pull the mag out and clear it then reload.  After that once again I had a hard time finding a good position to stay in for all the targets and had to keep moving.  I missed 410 but hit 475 and 490 with second round hits.  I then got lost on my targets and started using the wrong holds so I was holding under on one target and over on the other.  Before I could engage anymore I ran out of time.  The result was a 9.25.  By far my most frustrating round.  Especially because I left so many points on the table by forgetting the 50 yard target and then getting flustered after having problems with the bolt gun.
MDH-2076 by Highway0311, on Flickr

Stage 6 was the long walk back to the beginning.  We took a quick break for lunch before starting the stage.  For the AR you start off by shooting 4 paper targets on the way up to an uneven log shooting position Once there I abandoned the pack and readied the PR.  I then got out the AR and shot all available steel which included a T target at 75, then standard swingers at 120, 160, 170, and 190.  I then abandoned the AR and grabbed the PR and loaded it.  Engaging at 320, 406, 436, 590, and 690.  I had some close misses but ultimately missed every target.  
MDH-2074 by Highway0311, on Flickr

Stage 7 was a very tough stage.  Your first position was with the PR and you had to shoot over a stack of logs.  This was very difficult to do as you had to stay within arm’s reach of a post that was behind the logs.  I was able to get the rifle onto the logs and stay in a seated position while using my pack for rear stability.  This stage was probably the toughest in that the closest target was 300 yards and was probably a 3” plate.  Then you had targets at 350, 370, 390, and 390.  I was able to score first round hits on all targets with the exception of the 300 yard target.  Giving me 8 points.  But when transitioning to the AR I was unable to get a good position to see the targets well and only got 1 hit.  I believe it was the 370 yd target.  Giving me a total of 9 points for the stage.  I didn’t feel too bad when I saw the highest score for our squad was only 10 points.  Looking at everyone’s final scores no one got the full 20 points for this stage and few scored over 10.  It also felt good to finally make a decent amount of hits with my PR even if I did mess up my AR shots.  Had I watched a few other guys shoot I probably would have realized the AR position I had picked out wouldn’t work and would have gotten a few more hits.

Post-match we gathered at the Whittington center shotgun center/cafeteria.  The prize table was absolutely stacked.  Collin, who won the match, won by 1.5 points over Tyler from the AMU team.  Of all the prizes he picked the PVS-14 to take home.  Which was pretty cool to see.  Even I at my lowly position of 33 got a nice Geissle trigger, $100 cert for Double Tap Ammo, 1 positional rear shooting rest combo set from No Name Tactical, $50 Gift certificate to Rocky Mountain Targets, a Badger Ordnance Badger Bone, Some Hodgdon Rifle Powder, and a set of Hornady Ballistic Bands.  
MDH-4431 by Highway0311, on Flickr

https://nightforce.smugmug.com/2016-Nightforce-Precision/i-XN8XC7K/A

Prizes

Overall I really enjoyed the match.  It was well run and organized for a 1st year match.  You were able to have lunch delivered to you on your stage for an affordable price.  The RO’s had a good grasp of what was going on.  The rules were easy to follow and there wasn’t a whole bunch of range lawyering and hissy fits that I’ve seen at other matches.  I haven’t been to a whole lot of precision matches, but if you’ve done 3 gun and want to get out and use your bolt gun this is a great match to do it in.  While you did have to carry all your stuff all day it wasn’t all that crazy as far as exertion or pace.  Some of the guys shooting out there were easily in their 50’s and seemed to be doing just fine.  The air is a bit thinner at that altitude than I’m used to but it wasn’t a huge deal.  It’s always nice to visit the Midwest if you aren’t from there it’s nice to view the mountains.  Overall even the best shooters scored 185 out of a possible 200 So I’d say it’s a pretty tough match even though it was somewhat simplistic.  Note I didn’t say easy.  Even the better shooters I was with said that, though the match wasn’t complicated in its approach, there was still a high level of skill required.  Special thanks to JJ and Denise Johnson of Johnson 3-Gun, and Sean Murphy of Nightforce for making this happen.  Also All smugmug photo's are property of either Wayne Dayberry or Denise Johnson.  Unfortunately I couldn't get them to embed in the post.
https://nightforce.smugmug.com/2016-Nightforce-Precision/i-j6dQ972/A
https://nightforce.smugmug.com/2016-Nightforce-Precision/i-9PC6VvQ/A

My Photo's from the match.
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Wayne Dayberry's photo's
https://nightforce.smugmug.com/2016-Nightforce-Precision

Denise's Photo's
https://rm3gun.smugmug.com/Nightforce-PrecisionTactical-2

Nightforce Precision Tactical 2-Rifle Match Facebook Page.