Getting Started In Tactical Rifle Competition

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Getting Started In Tactical Rifle Competition

By Ed Shell This article is intended to help the shooter new to precision and tactical matches get started. There are many matches around the country with many different themes, so to begin, we need to define "tactical match" in our context and thus define our goals. For our purposes, "tactical rifle" would be precision rifle shooting under varying field conditions that would be common to military designated marksmen, police marksman and even hunting. The common themes to most of these matches are as follows: n accurate cold bore shot. !recision shooting under improvised field positions. !recision shooting at unknown distances "#$%&, often very long distances. !recision shooting under induced stress conditions, such as mild exertion, timed events "especially those re'uiring movement into position&, fire on command and similar techni'ues. (hooting steep departure angles from buildings, towers and)or mountains. *ngaging moving targets. +ifle manipulation drills, to include rapid reloading and)or maga,ine changes. *ngaging multiple targets. -old over)hold under stages. .arrying supplies throughout the day, including food, water, ammunition and shooting e'uipment. /n order to be prepared to accomplish the tasks above, we will need to examine the re'uirements for e'uipment, skills and physical conditioning. (ome of the things we0ll need to think about can be sub1ects of entire articles in themselves, so we may gloss over certain items in order not to become distracted from our overview. Safet! (afety is paramount, and safety ha,ards should always be immediately reported and corrected. The 2+ +ules of (afe 3un -andling always apply, and are extremely important at these matches, since the firing line is very often movable and we don0t always have a well defined "downrange". 4e should be especially vigilant with regard to mu,,le direction and treat every firearm as if it were loaded. n 5pen 6olt /ndicator ""56/"& or *mpty .hamber /ndicator ""*./"& is often mandatory for movement between stages, so you might as well get a few to keep in your pack. 3ood eye protection and ear protection are always re'uired e'uipment. *xtra earplugs are good to have, as is a small lens cleaning kit, especially in inclement weather. small first aid kit is nice to have, even if it0s extremely basic, consisting of only a few band7aids, antacids, some aspirin and an eye rinse. 8oleskin can be a very valuable item for matches that re'uire a lot of moving around, and can keep a minor hotspot from developing into an open blister. "#uipment *'uipment needs will vary with the distances involved, and with the widely varying courses of fire. The e'uipment discussion below is a start, and as you attend more matches and get a better idea of what works for you, you can develop and refine your own list.

Rifles 5ne thing that we do 25T want to do is get too sidetracked in chasing absolute accuracy. The use of field positions for the ma1ority of events will level the playing field considerably. /n most competitions, if there are stages where a heavy target gun capable of 9): 85 accuracy provides an advantage, as with the "group" exercises, there will be other stages where the weight and)or bulk of that rifle will be a liability, such as offhand positions or movers. nother consideration that is relevant to target7style rifles and their inherently tight tolerances is that we may need to shoot all day without the opportunity to clean, and a match may consist of ;< rounds to more than 9<< per day. /f we run tightly throated guns, or rifles with minimum headspace, we may find ourselves unable to finish the course of fire due to fouling or the debris inherent to field conditions. s long as we can install a scope and there is the capacity for multiple shots and good accuracy, there are many rifle styles and calibers that will work. 6ecause some events are limited to "military calibers", a .==> or .><? can be a very flexible choice, and to a lesser extent, the .><7<; and the .><< 4in8ag. .alibers larger and)or more powerful than the .><< 4inchester may provide an advantage at longer distances, but they are not usually welcome on steel targets. %istances where the very large calibers do show an advantage are becoming less and less common, and we may find ourselves carrying and shooting an unnecessarily heavy and hard kicking rifle that only helps us on a small percentage of the targets. /f the ma1ority of target distances are relatively short, perhaps inside ;<< yards, a match grade +79@ can be A*+B effective. 4hen distances become longer, the small bullet can be drifted in the wind rather easily and can also be 'uite difficult to spot. miss is often lost in the grass and one cannot correct their follow7up shot if we don0t know where the first one went. further consideration of the small bullet is that it may not be obvious when a distant steel plate is hit, and if we cannot tell it0s a hit, it will be counted as a miss. There are many reasons to start with a .><?, including the wide variety of match grade ammunition and bullets, relative economy, moderate recoil and it is permissible to use in almost every match out there. The larger caliber typically provides better wind resistance and is infinitely easier to see than a .==:, both the trace and the impact. 5nce we make the move to larger calibers, the precision semi7auto platform becomes less viable and more limited, and many semi7auto rifles will not provide the re'uired stability and precision. The +79< can be very accurate, but, when compared to a comparable bolt gun in the same caliber, it is heavy, bulky and difficult to carry. /t can also be difficult to get into very low positions sometimes re'uired. /ts main advantage becomes the timed or rapid fire stages, and even then it may not provide a big advantage, since the timed fire stages are usually set up for bolt guns anyway. /f the matches you plan to attend will allow non7military calibers, some of the ; mms ";C., .=:>, ;mm .rusader&, the ;.@ mms ".=;<, ;.@x@@, ;.@7=?:& and the D mms "D7<?, D4(8, Dx><<4(8, Dmm +em8ag& can be excellent choices, offering flat tra1ectories and excellent wind resistance. gain, we should remind ourselves that the e'uipment is going to become secondary to shooting skills in most well planned matches. To closely focus on a given setup because it gives us slightly better long range performance may sub1ect us to more weight, recoil or barrel erosion than we need to tolerate, in return for very little practical advantage. 4hatever caliber and rifle style is chosen, we will need a rifle)ammunition combination that will deliver accuracy of 9 85 or better. Tactical matches are not benchrest matches, and most targets are bigger than 9 85 , often closer to = 85 . shooter with strong position shooting skills and a solid understanding of his e'uipment, shooting a 9 85 rig will likely outperform a far more accurate rifle in the hands of a shooter who is not prepared.

$ptics 5ptics can also become the ob1ect of more concern than is necessary, and we can easily get caught up in too much magnification, weight and expense when the advantages are examined. / believe it safe to say that it is always sensible to buy the best glass we can afford, but beyond that we should remember that there are always tradeoffs. The first consideration when selecting a scope is going to be the reticle type, and we will almost certainly need either a "mil based" reticle "such as traditional mil dots, 3eneration // mil dots, the 8E+ or the T8+& or an "85 " based reticle. These reticles allow us to range targets, hold over or under to compensate for drop, lead movers and to measure corrections to hold our follow7up shots. n illuminated reticle is very helpful when night fire stages are anticipated. 4hile most matches do not seem to provide the opportunity for night fire, enough do that this feature is often worth considering. 2ext, we will need target turrets to provide precise and convenient ad1ustments to our elevation and wind. -aving good target style ad1ustments and being familiar with their operation is very important to being able to make first round hits. 8agnification is very sub1ective, and is greatly dependent on course of fire and shooter experience. 6are minimum magnification for shooting and ranging precision is probably 9<x. variable will provide flexibility to address close range shooting and movers, and yet still provide long range precision. The >.@79<x scopes provide a good compromise and a good 'uality variable that tops out at 9<x is sufficient for most events, unless we must use our scope reticle for long distance ranging. 8any events will have unknown distance ""#$%"& stages that re'uire the shooter to range the target. The importance of ranging precision increases with distance, as our tra1ectory becomes steeper. @F error at @<< yards may not hurt us too badly, but at 9,<<< yards, that same @F error will likely result in a complete miss. laser rangefinder "E+F& is an excellent tool for this task, but some matches do not allow these devices, and there are certain conditions under which a E+F will not work, such as intervening brush, precipitation, cluttered target area or extremely bright light. 4hile very experienced shooters can do extremely well ranging targets with a 9<x, the average shooter would probably be better served with more power for this activity. /f we find ourselves having to range targets with the reticle, slightly more magnification will usually render better measurement accuracy. The >.@79@x and :.@79:x scopes work well for this, and still provide sufficiently low magnification to be useful on movers and in low light. 8ore power, such as scopes in the @.@7==x or ;.@7=<x magnification range, can be great for very long range precision, but are often a little too much if the shooter is not experienced in scope use, and)or the rifle fit is not perfect. (earching for the target will waste valuable time and the smaller field of view associated with higher magnifications can make ac'uiring movers nearly impossible for those with less experience with higher powered scopes. There are often times when mirage will prevent use of full magnification, and when light levels drop, the higher powered scopes are the first to lose the target or reticle. nything bigger than a @.@7==x is probably going to be too much for the average tactical match, even in experienced hands.

%ata &oo' -aving accurate tra1ectory and wind data is critical to first round hits, and fast, convenient access to your data is very important. $eeping a data book is a good idea in any shooting discipline, because it provides us a central location to compile historic data on our rigs that we can refer to for our next shot. *ven more important, it is a way to log our successes and failures, in order to duplicate processes that work and to avoid repeating errors. !% s are becoming 'uite popular and many versions, such as the i!od, offer ballistic software applications. !% may replace tra1ectory tables, but cannot replace the data book for historic data and corrected figures. 4ith the ever7present possibility of battery or e'uipment failure, having backup tables is a good idea anyway. /f a !% is not carried, a compact calculator in the data book cover or in the rifle stock pack is an excellent accessory. /n addition to working mil formulas or cosine functions, this calculator is used to calculate tra1ectory and wind drift for shots that fall between data points. 5ne example is when a shot is ??@ yards and the data points are at ?@< and G<<. nother excellent addition to the data book system is a 8ildot 8aster. This slide rule device is able to directly convert target si,e and reticle subtensions into distances and so saves the manual calculations re'uired to convert milled targets into distances. /t can be used under certain circumstances to figure holdovers, and is also usable as a protractor to find departure angles for shots that are not level. Shooting (ccessories The long shots re'uired for many tactical style matches will place added emphasis on two aspects of rifle shooting, rifle cant and the shot0s departure angle. There are worthwhile accessories that will make dealing with these issues much simpler, especially while we are distracted with other circumstances. Eong shots over uneven terrain are sometimes needed:

rail or scope mounted level is extremely useful, especially in rough terrain where it is often difficult to find a truly hori,ontal or vertical reference. 4ith the shooter on a slope, the rifle on an angle and the target on yet another slope, it can be surprising how far off one can be and still look level. -aving the rifle7mounted level removes doubt and minimi,es the hori,ontal dispersion that accompanies canting the rifle. The departure angle is important when we encounter a combination of long distances and steep departure angles. (teep departure angles directly affect tra1ectory, but if ranges are short, the influence can often be discounted as too small to make a practical difference and overlooked. 4hen bullet drop increases with increasing distances, departure angle becomes extremely critical. rail mounted angle cosine indicator is 'uite convenient and an excellent way to solve this problem. 8ildot 8aster can also be used, but re'uires somewhat cumbersome manipulation and additional math steps. ngle fire opportunities can be down or up:

(ome sort of rifle support will be needed, and we would begin with a good shooting sling, as opposed to a carry strap. The basic and traditional 89G<D sling is the essence of the concept, where the sling is used to provide support in various shooting positions, and there are several good sling designs available that are moderni,ed variations of this theme. 4ith proper deployment, using the shooting sling is very steady and will be necessary in stages that re'uire sitting, kneeling or prone unsupported positions. /t is also handy to carry the rifle, but this is a function secondary to providing shooting support. #nless we plan to make all of our shots slung, some sort of forend support will be needed. 8any shooters use a rucksackH many others use a bipod. There is much to be said for either approach and there are times when one method or the other will present an advantage. /f a bipod is used, probably the most versatile style will be a ;"7G" swivel, notched leg model, which can be propped up on the ruck if a little more elevation is needed. (hooting sticks are also very practical for some circumstances, especially when we shoot from higher positions and the use of support is permitted. The use of sticks when sitting, kneeling or standing can make an incredible amount of difference. (ticks are also very good when shooting high departure angles, such as steep uphill shots. rear bag, emulating the traditional sand sock, is a great asset and probably well worth carrying. /n the prone position, with the rifle on a bipod and sand sock, it is possible to achieve excellent accuracy. The bag can also be used as a forward rest when a bipod or rock is too high. There are certain situations where a bag can be used over a rock, barricade, fence post or other improvised support. 4hen sitting, the bag can be used to provide support under a leg or behind the shooter to reduce muscle strain. 4eather is often a concern, and the further we move afield, the more prepared we should be for weather changes. n additional layer or two of light clothing that is easily put on and taken off can make a big difference in comfort, and often in shooting ability. Eightweight packable raingear is good to have for everything from morning dew to a windbreaker to afternoon thundershowers. $nee and)or elbow pads can be a burden, a luxury or critically important, depending upon terrain and what shooting or movement drills we will perform. (ee what courses of fire are expected and go from there.

good comfortable rucksack is needed to carry this gear, and our daily supply of ammunition, food, water, raingear, tools, lens cleaner and whatever else is deemed necessary. (ome matches take place near your vehicle and you won0t need to carry much, others will take you too far to return easily and the load grows, so your pack can be si,ed accordingly. /f the load is light and distances short, a vest can sometimes be used. /t is common to pack too much, so beware and give thought to each item that goes into the load you0ll be stuck with. /n all cases, training and personal preference will dictate what the individual feels necessary to drag along. 6asic gear for a day match:

)ecessar! S'ills certain level of physical conditioning is beneficial. There will often be stress7inducing activities. 4e0ll usually be walking various distances, carrying rifle and gear. The better shape we0re in, the easier and less stressful this will be, and the better our performance. (ome matches are more geared toward simulating actual field conditions than others, and it pays to find out what will be re'uired. 4e must have good basic marksmanship skills. !ractice in the basic shooting positions is suggested, and most field shots will be built upon these basic skills. 8any shots will be prone, many will not. 6eing able to assume solid shooting positions on uneven terrain and)or in unconventional surroundings will often be necessary. (hooters who do not at least become familiar with these modified positions may find themselves flustered and confused when forced to deviate from what is customary. /f we can practice our positions with some imagination and flexibility, we will be much better prepared for the interesting exercises the match directors may have planned for us. 9<< yard ".old 6ore (hot" "9" s'uare& and "3roup *xercise":

6eginning with prone, we should be able to shoot as low and as close to the ground as possible, such as in the -awkins position or using our sand sock under the forend. 2ormal prone supported, such as that used on a flat range on level ground, will often be used, as will prone unsupported, using only a sling. 4e should also work on some of our higher prone positions, such as shooting rather high angles with bipod legs extended or pack stood up on edge. 4e should also consider the effects of shooting over obstructions, where the shooter0s torso may be forced off the ground. *ven prone may not always be easy:

(itting positions are often employed, and the ability to achieve a solid position is very important. 4e will occasionally need to modify our sitting position, to accommodate obstacles or utili,e barricades. The use of our rear bag or pack is sometimes allowed, either as support for the upper body, or behind us as a leaning support. To be able to find a solid sitting position at various rifle heights or angles is a definite advantage, so do not confine practice to flat ground and level shots. (itting, with support:

The kneeling position, especially behind a barricade, is often encountered. /t can be difficult to find a good position with enough stability unless this position is well practiced.

$neeling with support:

(tanding unsupported or standing behind a barricade or fence post may be encountered. s smoothly as a heavy tactical rifle shoots from prone, bear in mind that it can be surprising 1ust how heavy that rifle can be at the end of a standing string of 9< shots. 4ork at strengthening the upper body and)or keeping rifle weight down. Eearn to find a comfortable position behind ob1ects, such as spreading the legs to reduce torso height in lieu of bending at the knees or waist. (tanding unsupported is often encountered:

6etween these basic positions, we will often find ourselves in a shooting position that defies description. (hots might be from the top of stepladders, from or across TAs, from elevated platforms or using a partner for support. (hooting across roof angles can be tricky, and creative use of pack, bipod and)or sand sock can make a difficult position relatively steady. 4hen faced with challenging positions, return to and draw upon your basic principles. +emember that solid support, firm stock pressure, good cheek weld, trigger control and follow through will be needed for a good shot, and work your improvised positions accordingly.

(ome improvised positions one might see:

4e will need to be able to operate our optics. 6eing able to dial on dope and return to ,ero reliably, as well as dialing out parallax are always at the top of the list. +anging is often important, and if you need to be at a certain magnification to do so, practice checking that setting. nother problem often seen is the failure to return to ,ero after making a shot. Try to develop good habits, such as returning your scope settings to ,ero before leaving the firing position. n index mark, such as with a felt7tip marker or paint pencil can be a huge help in the event of any confusion. 5pinions will vary, but most shooters prefer to dial all corrections so that the first shot is "on". 6y approaching it this way, we have a very clear idea of where our reticle was when the trigger breaks and can easily and precisely make any needed corrections, even if our first shot was a hit. !eripheral hits, while still counted as hits, should be noted and minor corrections made to our data. 2oting even minor errors allows us to constantly fine tune our data and to learn from our shots. This can be especially important to engaging multiple targets. 6y applying these minor corrections as we shoot, we can often prevent the next shot from being 1ust off the edge, even though it may only be a fraction of a minute away from our previous "peripheral& hit. The next important skill will likely be ranging the target with our reticles. 8ost matches will have at least some unknown distance work, and some matches are almost all #$%. (ome allow lasers, but many do not and reticle ranging is one of the skills a rifleman should have anyway. !ractice is the only way to become proficient, and the use of a laser rangefinder to verify our estimates is a great help. There are many resources for learning to range with a reticle and it is not necessary to expound here, but the greater precision we can muster at this phase, the better our results will be as we build our calculations on this critical measurement. (ome matches will re'uire that shots at multiple distances be made with one sight setting. This will re'uire the use of "hold7overs" and possibly "hold7unders". convenient way to prepare for this sort of challenge is to create several drop tables in our data book, based on various ,ero ranges. 4e then select the most appropriate ,ero range to the series of distances you will need to shoot. For example, a ,ero of ><< yards may be a good point to use if we expect to address targets between 9<< and @<< yards. $now what the drop will translate to in your reticle and it will be relatively straightforward to establish a ,ero and hold as needed.

This series of targets is an example of multiple targets that may be shot without making sight ad1ustments:

4ind is almost always a factor. /n the case of short distances and gentle bree,es, it can be minimal. /n the event of longer distances and heavier winds, it will usually make the difference between a hit and a wide miss. Eearning to dope the wind is a refined skill that takes much practice. pocket anemometer can be of great value, but always remember that it is only telling part of the story, and the winds "out there" are at least as important as those we feel at the firing point. 8any matches incorporate moving targets ""movers"& into the course of fire. (hooting movers re'uires that we lead the target anywhere from almost nothing, to several mils. Eearn how to calculate your lead based on the mover0s speed and your bullet0s time of flight. Summar! The growing sport of shooting tactical matches encompasses 'uite a few diverse courses of fire. 8uch of your opportunity will depend on your location and willingness to travel. This article has been geared toward helping one get started, but cannot cover all aspects. 4e all have differing experiences, and even among shooters at the same match there will be a wide range of opinions on how to shoot what stages and what to carry along. The very best thing one can do is find out what matches are available, read after action reports, look at the pictures and ask 'uestions. The first step is to simply enter and go. %o your best and have fun, and fine tune from there.

6eginning with a .== at eight years old, *d (hell has been shooting nearly all his life. -e was on the local :7%istrict +ifle Team in the 9G;<s, saw military service in the 9GD<s, has been hunting big and small game and shooting long range varmints throughout and now shoots long range precision rifle in several styles. .urrent interests include tactical)precision rifle competition, F7.lass matches, teaching marksmanship and coaching shooters new to long range.