LRSS Moose Jaw
So I finally managed to hit my first Rimfire PRS match. It was the inaugural Long Range Steel Slayers match called the “Battle of Hoth”, near Moose Jaw, SK. The stages were well thought out and there was something simple and challenging for every skill level. Twenty stages over two days from 7am to 3pm and probably 2 km of walking with your kit – not all at once but 20 to 150 meters at a time. I had a great time in spite of the mud!
I elected to field a Ruger 10/22 in a wood stock and topped with a Vortex Diamondback Tactical 4-16×44, a Harris bipod, and a Mapleseed sling. Boy am I glad I had a sling. Not just for carrying the rifle, but for a couple of stages – the biathlon comes to mind – being able to sling up made getting accurate shots off much easier and faster! I also rounded out my kit with a small rear bag that I had attached to the sling. Completing my loadout was a small pack with water, coffee and some snacks, in addition to spare magazines, ammunition etc.
Prior to the event, I knew that I would be challenged in both my speed and accuracy, as all the stages would be timed. I would like to think that I prepared myself for the humbling I would receive – boy-howdy, was I ever! I think I wound up 12th overall… firmly placing me in the bottom of the heap!
I will be honest here and own up to a few things: on at least four stages I scored zero because I messed up resetting my elevation, on two stages I hit most of the targets but netted a 3 or 4 out of 10 because I didn’t shoot the targets in the correct order, two other stages were spent taking too much time unlocking my phone so that I could see my stage notes and netted me a 2 out of 12, as I only managed to shoot at four targets in the allotted time and still missed 50 percent of them!!!
Man there is a lot of kit that a fella might find handy in these types of shoots. Support bags, tripods, bipods, etc. And oh my goodness, the rifles and optics we saw on the line… Even the fella shooting a Savage MKII had an Athlon Cronus! There were a couple Rim-X rifles, Bergara B14-Rs, at least one rebarrelled CZ, and optics ranged from $450 to $3000+. The difference between open and production only seems to be the size of your Visa bill!
Here’s the one thing that surprised me: the extent to which I hurt the morning of day two, and then again the day after. I am the proud recipient of multiple Mapleseed Rifleman patches – and you generally have a few aches and strains after a Mapleseed event. It’s just the way it goes, bending and contorting into a solid shooting position. It was way worse for me at this LRSS match! Maybe I’m just out of practice. It is the first match of the year for me, after all…
I’m already prepping for my next event. These are the things I’ve come up with during my lessons learned deliberations:
I need more cant on my scope rail. Plans are to upgrade from a 20MOA to a 40MOA. I had a couple stages where I was holding 3-10 Mils in my reticle after maxing out the scope’s internal adjustment.
Longer bi-pod. I ran a 6-9” Harris, and I think a 9”to 12/15” might be a better fit for this type of game given some of the obstacles and positions we were required to navigate.
Some sort of barricade bag. I saw lots and lots of support bags at this event. Some really expensive, some not so expensive. I have access to a sewing machine, so I’m gunna give it a go making something suitable that doesn’t require negotiations with the household minister of finance.
A dope card and holder of some sort. I saw many guys running a quarterback wrist band, and a couple guys using masking tape. Masking tape is cheap, which appeals to me. I cannot rely on my mobile device to be my note pad, so a different option is going to be necessary if I intend to continue this Tomfoolery. Masking tape and a sharpie marker is easy and cheap. A roll of good quality tape runs $9-10, and will last several seasons (I’m selective in my focused frugality).
Some sort of note taking device. The every day cell phone will work, but something as simple as a note pad with a couple of pens will be more than sufficient and in fact, practical and undeniably reliable. So long as I remember to take it along.
It became evident that I need to learn how to take a second prior to acknowledging “shooter ready”, that I need to check my parallax and turret setting. Also during the stage, checking my bubble level – I now know that 50% of my unexplained misses were due to one or a combination of these. Taking an extra 20 to 30 seconds before accepting the engage command is sure to improve my downrange results.
Final thoughts: what a great way to spend the day! Great people, great location, and I had a blast. Totally worth the 200 rounds of ammo. I’m currently debating if I should get a better scope rail and keep running a stock Ruger or if I should squander the child’s college fund. I’m honest enough with myself to know that no matter what I spend on gear I’m not good or competitive enough to finish in the top 50 percent, but its a cheap way to spend a weekend with like minded people!
Big Shout out to Ryan Kristy for creating the Long Range Steel Slayers League and hosting this event. Any sponsor big or small is what makes these events possible, so a shout out and a Thank you to the fine people at Go Big Tactical, Vortex Optics, Apex Optics, Precision Zone, US Optics, Oryx Chassis, Prairie Precision Steel, MDT, Hornady, Leupold, and more! These generous sponsors show up time after time with their support for these events that we live for! Thank you!
-John-
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