Battle Of Breakneck After Action Report
After dinner the night of the Battle of Breakneck I went back to my camper and started working on my range cards for the next day. I knew there was a good chance the match would be cancelled the second day, but I wanted to make sure that I was ready to shoot if the weather improved. As I was checking the stages that I hadn't shot yet, I also took some time to write some notes in the match book. I wanted to make sure that I remembered what went well and what could have been improved for the next big match. I wanted to share some of my thoughts on gear and shooting the stages. Hopefully spending some time thinking about the stages and writing it will not only help other shooters, but help cement it in my mind as well.
Stage Visualization-
When I did the match workup (Battle of Breakneck Match Workup) Rick Reeves mentioned using binoculars to scan the targets and visualize transition between the targets. The idea is to reduce the amount of time searching for targets while under the clock. This is something that I did during the match for some stages, but not all. There were a number of stages where I would break out my binoculars, a cheap set of Bushnell's, and scan the targets as I waited to shoot.
A lot of the stages I didn't bother, however. Sometimes it was because I was lazy, sometimes because I could see the targets with the naked eye, and towards the end of the day, some stages I just didn't want to bother getting the binoculars out in the rain and cleaning them. I doubt that the binoculars would have changed my score a whole lot, but I did make several mistakes that they may have helped with.
In the PRS tie-breaker stage, there were three targets to be engaged, with the total time for the stage used as a tie-breaker. I hit all of the targets, but I spent longer than I should have finding the targets in the scope. This was a stage that I could see the targets without magnification, so I didn't bother using the binoculars. The way the targets were placed near a couple different small ridge lines, it was easy to follow the wrong ridge in the scope.
Another one that threw me off was the one that was "moon" themed. Again, I thought I could see all the target stands with the naked eye. When I fired at the last target I missed anyway, but found out shortly after shooting that I had actually shot at the last target from the next stage. I don't know that I would have hit it if I was aiming at the right target, but I certainly didn't like that I had engaged the wrong target!
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| Breakneck match book after rain soaked through my pack |
Stage Visualization-
When I did the match workup (Battle of Breakneck Match Workup) Rick Reeves mentioned using binoculars to scan the targets and visualize transition between the targets. The idea is to reduce the amount of time searching for targets while under the clock. This is something that I did during the match for some stages, but not all. There were a number of stages where I would break out my binoculars, a cheap set of Bushnell's, and scan the targets as I waited to shoot.
A lot of the stages I didn't bother, however. Sometimes it was because I was lazy, sometimes because I could see the targets with the naked eye, and towards the end of the day, some stages I just didn't want to bother getting the binoculars out in the rain and cleaning them. I doubt that the binoculars would have changed my score a whole lot, but I did make several mistakes that they may have helped with.
In the PRS tie-breaker stage, there were three targets to be engaged, with the total time for the stage used as a tie-breaker. I hit all of the targets, but I spent longer than I should have finding the targets in the scope. This was a stage that I could see the targets without magnification, so I didn't bother using the binoculars. The way the targets were placed near a couple different small ridge lines, it was easy to follow the wrong ridge in the scope.
Another one that threw me off was the one that was "moon" themed. Again, I thought I could see all the target stands with the naked eye. When I fired at the last target I missed anyway, but found out shortly after shooting that I had actually shot at the last target from the next stage. I don't know that I would have hit it if I was aiming at the right target, but I certainly didn't like that I had engaged the wrong target!
Inclement Weather-
In general, PRS matches take months and months of planning, set-up, and coordination between the match directors, land owners, sponsors and shooters. With so much time, effort and money going into setting these matches up, and the fact that the competitors will often travel hundreds of miles to attend, it is pretty rare to have the matches cancelled due to weather.
With that said, it is worth paying attention to the forecast for the match and making sure that the clothing you bring is adequate for any of the weather you might encounter. I wouldn't necessarily be prepared for a blizzard in Texas in August, but for Breakneck, the forecast called for low temperatures, high winds, rain and possibly snow.
If you read my match report (Battle of Breakneck Match Report), I did get cold and wet by the end of the day, but for the most part I was comfortable for the majority of the day. I could have had a better rain layer, and I really needed better gloves. But, dressing how I might for a hunting trip or backpacking trip helped me to keep shooting throughout the day and for all but the last couple stages I was concentrating more on the shooting than the weather.
I heard of other shooters walking away before completing all of the stages, which I can understand if they weren't dressed for the weather. Even though I got zeros on some of the stages, I at least attempted all of the stages. If you go to a big match and are unable to complete it due to weather or clothing choices, it's on you. This can go the same for hot weather matches. While I live in Colorado and would certainly not be comfortable with the weather in August in Texas, I would still try to plan my clothing, food and water to be able to be as comfortable as possible in the heat.
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| Looking towards the briefing area the day after the match. |
MIL vs MOA-
The Leupold Mark IV scope that I was using had MOA turrets and a MIL based TMR reticle. I've read many articles and thoughts about which to use and many people say that while each has advantages, it doesn't matter which you use, just make sure the reticle and turrets match. Well, mine don't. So I did make some plans to accommodate the difference, some of which actually worked very well.
First off, at the local matches I had been creating drop charts based on Density Altitude and using MOA adjustments for wind and elevation. The MOA elevation worked just find with the turrets, I could dial the elevation as I needed to, without any issues. The problem with windage, was that I didn't want to dial windage, I wanted to use holds for windage. I started having a hard time calculating how many MILS I should hold off if, for example, my dope said that I needed 1.7 MOA of adjustment at 450 yards.
Since I use the JBM website to create my drop charts, I decided to try one of the settings that I hadn't used before. I generated a drop chart using MOA values for elevation and MIL values for windage. This allowed me to continue to dial the elevation, but have a windage adjustment that matched the reticle for wind holds. This actually ended up working very well. With 20MPH+ winds at Breakneck, I was very glad that I wasn't trying to do math in my head to convert a wind hold for 20 MPH at 900 yards while on the fly. I simply wrote the 10 MPH wind hold value for each target distance on my range cards, then multiplied by the 10 MPH as necessary to get my wind value.
Another benefit of using the MIL windage values was the fact that nearly every other shooter I talked to was using MIL reticles and scopes. Almost all of the shooters were using 6mm or 6.5mm rifles, while the different cartridges don't have the exact same drop and wind values, they are generally somewhat similar, especially compared to the 308 that I used to shoot. This allowed me to talk about wind holds with other shooters in MIL measurements and be speaking a very similar language. If my 10 MPH wind hold was 1 MIL and another shooter was talking about using a 2 MIL hold, I could be reasonably sure that the winds were right around 20 MPH and 2 MILs would be very close for me as well. As I shot throughout the day, we would share wind holds on many of the stages and that definitely helped on several of them.
Multi-Revolution Turrets-
I ran into an issue with one of the longer stages, where I did the math in my head for something like 22 MOA of adjustments, but when I started into the second revolution I only dialed an additional six MOA, putting me at 21 MOA. I quickly realized my mistake and corrected, but only after firing a round and missing way, way low. Had I not made this mistake I would have probably had time to engage another target on that stage. Whenever I upgrade this scope, I plan to find something that has more adjustment range per revolution, or at the very least, clear markings between revolutions.
Zero Stop-
Closely related to the revolutions of the turret is the convenience of a zero-stop. These stop the revolution of the turrets either at your zero, or just below it. With the Leupold scope there are hash marks to delineate between revolutions. While these work great at the square range, during the stress of a competition, or inclement weather, they can be hard to read.
I didn't have an issue at Breakneck, but at the local Cheyenne Mountain Match this last weekend I engaged the 800 yard target with about 17.5 MOA of adjustment. I thought I adjusted back to zero, but when I next shot at the 300 yard targets I was about 15 MOA high! I actually checked the hash marks, was sure that I was on the right revolution and wasted another shot. A zero stop sure would have been convenient!
Equipment Race-
One of the things that I have thought about leading up to the competition and again after, is what how much of a difference would more expensive equipment make? If you haven't already read it, check out my post on switching to the 260 Remington shortly before the match (My First PRS Match- A New Caliber). I do think that the 260 helped me, with a flatter trajectory and less wind drift. But, what else could have helped me?
As I looked at some of the equipment that other competitors were using, I quickly noticed that I had some of the most basic, inexpensive gear there. Having said that, there were many people that finished much lower than me with gear that cost thousands of dollars more.
First off, I know you may be thinking that quality doesn't come cheap. I agree! There is no doubt in my mind that some of those custom built rifles, with high end actions, barrels and stocks, topped with a $3,000 scope will shoot groups well inside what my own rifle will. If you can afford the best, you might as well buy it! But, for those of use with less discretionary funds, a more basic set-up doesn't necessarily equate a last place finish.
I think that a gun capable of 1 MOA or a little better, a decent scope with a max magnification of somewhere between 14-25, a stock that fits you, a couple 10 round magazines and a couple of rear bags would be enough to get you started with local matches and even enough to take to a PRS match. Sure, a high end custom rifle with a high end scope is even better, but don't feel like you have to have the best before you can even start.
I was definitely guilty of feeling like I had to have the perfect set of gear before I could even try out my first match. I think that finding a local match and shooting it with what you have will help teach you more about the gear you have and what the advantages and shortcomings are. Another big advantage of going to the matches first is that you can talk to other competitors in your area, shooting the matches you want to shoot and find out what gear they have, why they chose it and what they tried but didn't like. A lot of guys will even let you get behind their rifles to see how the stock fits you, what the scope looks like, or even let you fire a few rounds through it.
Summary-
This post ended up being larger than I thought it would. This doesn't actually cover all of the notes that I made about the match, but it does cover the bigger points that I thought about. Hopefully this will help someone out there deciding about whether or not they are ready to start competing. I am still new to precision rifle competition, so I am certainly not claiming to be an expert. I just want to pass on some of the lessons that I have learned over the last few months.
What are some of the lessons that you have learned shooting matches? If you haven't shot one yet, what is holding you back? Let me know in the comments below, I would love to hear your thoughts about it.
If you want to read the other posts in the series, check out the links below:
My First PRS Match- A New Caliber
Battle of Breakneck Match Workup
Battle of Breakneck Match Report
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