Cheyenne Mountain Precision Match Report

It's 8:30 in the morning on the south side of Colorado Springs.  The weather is surprisingly mild for late January in Colorado.  The sun is already up and there are hardly any clouds in the sky.  I just finished checking in at the front office of the Cheyenne Mountain Shooting Complex and work my way to range number 1.  There is a row of high end rifles set out along the firing line already.  I sign in and work my way to the south end of the firing line where the other shooters are already discussing distances and locations of steel targets. 

The Cheyenne Mountain Shooting Complex is nestled between I-25 on the east side and Fort Carson on the west.  Many of the shooters from the day were either stationed at, or associated with Fort Carson.  We were also reminded of the proximity of the base as we could see Blackhawk helicopters taking off and landing at various times throughout the day. 

Back to the steel targets, I get a briefing on how the day will progress.  While I have grown up shooting and hunting, I have only just started dipping my toes in the long distance precision rifle competition world.  This is only the second match I have ever shot.  We are told that we will be shooting two separate strings of fire from each of four different positions.  We will start shooting prone from a bipod and rear bag, move to prone from a backpack, then shoot from a tripod or shooting sticks and finish up with a mystery position that wouldn't be announced until later. 

I brought with me a Remington factory rifle in 308 Winchester.  While not the best rifle on the line, it has been serving well as a starter gun for these matches.  The rifle started life as a Varmint model with a 26" heavy barrel.  I put it into a Bell and Carlson Tactical Medalist stock.  I modified the stock recently to accept the Magpul Hunter Bottom Metal and AICS style magazines.  The barrel was threaded 5/8x24 and wears a Silencerco ASR muzzle brake, which accepts my Omega suppressor.  It is topped off with a Leupold MKIV 4-14 scope.  I am shooting Hornady A-Max bullets loaded with Varget to about 2700 fps. 

From each shooting position we will shoot in groups of five.  Each person will take five shots at steel targets set at the 300 yard line.  The targets are marked "A" through "E" and decrease in size.  I don't have the exact dimensions, but would estimate that the targets started at about 8" and decreased in size to around 3"x4."  After each shooter engaged the five 300 yard targets, the shooter would move on to targets at various distances.  The second string consisted of steel targets marked number 1-5 at 205, 340, 400, 506 and 670 yards. 

These targets started in front of the 300 yard targets, then proceeded to the top of the 300 yard berm and then up a valley to the left of the main range.  To make things even more interesting, there was a bonus target at about 800 yards that you could only shoot at if you hit all five targets in your string. 

I brought a range card with me that was set for my ammo with the approximate weather conditions that were forecasted for the match.  Although I have shot this load for awhile, I have not had much opportunity to confirm my drops at distance.  I shot a similar match at 300 yards the week before and knew that at least my 300 yard drop was correct.  I decided that instead of scanning the list and trying to find my adjustments on the fly, I would use some hi-tech gear (my hand) to write a range card with my specific come-ups for the match.  I wrote down all of the distances and the corresponding MOA scope adjustments that I would need.  While a lot of the other guys were running arm bands, small white boards, or other specific devices for their dope, my hand notes worked well throughout the match.  Towards the end some of the numbers were starting to fade, but I was still able to read them without a problem for the duration of the match.  I could definitely see running into a problem if the weather was hot and I was sweating, or if there was rain or snow.  I'm already considering my alternatives!

Shooting  from the prone we were actually laying on metal picnic tables.  Fortunately the tables were quite stable and allowed a better view of the targets than we would have been able to get from the ground.  Again my 300 yard dope was right on and I hit targets A through D without a problem.  Target E would prove to evade me throughout the entire match.  The small size and the fact that it was partially obscured by grass low to the ground would prove too much for me to connect. 

When my turn came to shoot the longer targets I was growing more and more concerned with my un-tested drop chart.  The further targets were located in tall grass and most of the time the spotters were not able to tell where the bullets impacted if they missed the target.  I was worried that my data would be off and I wouldn't be able to tell where to adjust.  Fortunately, the wind was almost non-existent that first round and I just followed the dope values I had planned ahead.  To my surprise, as I progressed through each shot, I could see the steel swing and heard the spotter calling out impacts.  I connected with all five targets and heard the spotter yell "Bonus!"  By hitting all five I had earned the opportunity to shoot at the 800 yard target. While the dope isn't on the photo of my hand above, I had written it down later and dialed in the required 22.75 MOA of corrections and fired. 

My shot missed and the spotter couldn't call where it went.

Although I missed the bonus target I was very relieved to know that the rest of my dope appeared to be right on. 

This was the second match that I used the Magpul Hunter Bottom Metal and Magpul AICS pattern mags.  It was definitely a benefit to have the magazines.  I saw a couple guys single feeding rounds, which worked, but it was much better to have the rounds ready to go and not have to worry about using up time feeding the next round.  Overall the Magpul magazines and bottom metal worked very well, you can read my previous post on the install here: Magpul Bottom Metal.  I'm definitely looking forward to picking up a couple 10 round magazines when Magpul releases them.

The next position we shot from was a prone position with the front of the rifle supported by a backpack.  We could still use a rear bag to support the butt of the rifle.  I didn't do quite as well from this position.  As I moved away from the bipod and rear bag I could definitely see some of my inexperience start to show.  In hindsight though, I never ran out of time to shoot my strings, so for the next time I will try to concentrate on taking just a little bit longer to build a stable firing platform as I transition between targets. 

The next firing position was from either shooting sticks or a tripod.  You couldn't be prone, but anything between a low seated position and standing was okay.  I had shot the previous week with a cheap pair of shooting sticks.  They provided some support, but they were too narrow for the stock on this rifle.  (They were designed for a narrow hunting style stock.)  For this match I took my camera tripod and put on a leather shooting bag from an adjustable rest.  I then kneeled on my left leg, placed my right foot on the ground and put my sand sock on my right knee to rest the butt of the rifle on.  The position was quite stable from up and down motion, but I still got a lot of left a right movement as I would breathe.  Overall it was a lot more stable than the shooting sticks had been previously, but I will need to figure out a way to support the rear of the rifle a little better. 

The tripod was definitely my weakest position, resulting in more misses than the other positions. 

At last it was time for the final position.  In honor of Fort Carson and thanks to the availability of a range owned vehicle, we shot from the hood of a Humvee for the final stage.  Since only one shooter at a time was able to go, we fired all ten rounds as one string.  We started again with five rounds at the 300 yard berm, then progressed from 200 to 670 yards for the next five.  The Humvee turned out to be a stable position for a bipod and rear bag.  Unfortunately I think I rushed this stage more than I needed to.  By the time I shot this stage the wind was swirling around and there was a fair amount of mirage.  I definitely could have taken a little more time to get a more solid shooting position and be sure of my wind hold offs.  Although I missed a couple targets, I was happy that I had at least hit the final 670 yard target.



This is the only the second precision rifle match that I have ever shot, but I've definitely enjoyed shooting them.  I hope to continue to shoot these local matches, then start moving up to the NRA Whittington Center Sporting Rifle Match and then eventually try out some larger Precision Rifle Series type matches.

This video is from the February 2016 match at the Cheyenne Mountain Shooting complex.