Thread: ORC Practical Rifle Match

Assuming the plan comes together (and keep in mind this event is a few months away yet) then everyone should start each distance on the know your limits targets i.e everyone starts with the 40cm square target at each distance. Doing it this way will hopefully mean everyone can start each distance with a hit!

@Gillie are all stages at known distances or is a range finder recommended?

You mention having an Ecat would be an advantage and say some matches require 10 rounds+.
Do you recommend having a minimum amount of magazines for us bolt action plebs? (Eg, 3x 5 rounds, 2x 6 rounds, 4 x 3 round etc).

Hi @Beetroot
Yes stages are at know distances. No range finder will be required.

I have been able to complete every stage so far with my sako and a single 5 shot mag except for the "Dive, dive, dive" stage shown on the video. If you have a bolt action that feeds well through the action you'll be fine (except for the "dive, dive, dive" stage...). If i had to recommend a bolt action magazine then i would say 2x5shot mags or a 10shot mag would be absolutely fine. I am currently trying to source a 10 shot mag for my sako but as the videos show i am not the fastest shooter either.

Overall it is my firm believe that the stages have been set such that a good shooter with a bolt action will beat an average shooter with an e-cat semi.

Does your mag hold five or do you mean 4+1?

My Sako mag holds 5.

I should point out also that, assuming you didn't miss, only about a third of the stages have a minimum round count higher than 5 with the dive, dive, dive stage having the highest minimum round count of 10. The additional allowed rounds are only there so you can make up for a miss!

I have set unlimited round count stages and stages with higher recommended round counts to ensure all firearms that might turn up can be used to their utmost potential i.e. the advantage with an e-cat semi is the ability to load up the magazine and by limiting the round count to less than 7 I remove this advantage. Of course I am attempting to balance the e-cat semi advantage by increasing the distances (out to 400m), by reducing some target sizes, and in one or two stages penalising misses. Again this is the first time we have run this event and so I expect we will learn a few lessons and based off my stage testing it wouldn't surprise me if this event turns out to be easier than we had anticipated.

The event is modelled off the US PRS style of shooting competitions.

Still working on the detail on this stage so what you see here might not be the actual stage on the day.
I was shooting at a 12" square target at 527m and made all my hits - although once again i shot a bit slow.

Are there any positions left for people to enter?

Hi @Beetroot, yep still places available

@Gillie might be a silly question, but are you allowed to use a different rifles for different stages? I have two similar rifles that are both mostly untested, would be good to give them both a go.

@Beetroot, not a very common question. Swapping between rifles as you go is not really the intent of the event. Also the rules state you would be required to start each stage with both rifles, all ammunition, any bags, packs, etc. up off the ground.
I wouldn't stop you competing with more than one rifle but I would likely be encouraging the rules to be followed with you - particularly if you were doing well and were in contention to win it overall. I try and ensure they guys who are in to win it compete on a level playing field.

Given there is limited entry spots and assuming we get close to filling all those spots again it wasn't our intention to allow people to pay two entry fees and compete twice with different rifles.

Originally Posted by Gillie

Hi @Beetroot
Yes stages are at know distances. No range finder will be required.

I have been able to complete every stage so far with my sako and a single 5 shot mag except for the "Dive, dive, dive" stage shown on the video. If you have a bolt action that feeds well through the action you'll be fine (except for the "dive, dive, dive" stage...). If i had to recommend a bolt action magazine then i would say 2x5shot mags or a 10shot mag would be absolutely fine. I am currently trying to source a 10 shot mag for my sako but as the videos show i am not the fastest shooter either.

Overall it is my firm believe that the stages have been set such that a good shooter with a bolt action will beat an average shooter with an e-cat semi.

The solution:

The mag thing is my only concern. I don't own a mag fed rifle. Not sure how competitive I'd be with a four plus one blind mag.

I do not think that using a 4 shot internal magazine feed bolt action rifle will be the main determining factor of how well you do on the day - 4 hits will still beat 3 hits and 10 misses...

We see a few people think that it is important to get all your shots away within the time limit... it is more important to hit the shots you do get away

A couple more stage descriptions...

Match 7 – Drama, Drama!
Distance: 300m
Time Limit: 90 seconds
Round Count: 5
Description: Standing start with all gear off the ground, magazine loaded, and bolt open. On the start command the competitor shall fire at the two standalone targets until both are hit once only. Once both standalone targets have been hit the competitor can choose to fire at the “hostage” target. Each hit on an orange “hostage” target is worth 5 points for a maximum match score of 25 points. Each white target hit shall be worth -10 points. Competitor may choose not to shoot at the “hostage” targets.

Match 11 – Dead Men Tell No Tales!
Distance: 400m
Time limit: 90 seconds
Round Count: Unlimited (minimum 7 rounds, 20 rounds recommended)
Description: Standing start with all gear off the ground, magazine loaded, and bolt open. On the start command the competitor shall hit all the “Drama, Drama” match targets (7 targets in all, some partially obscured). Each target hit is worth 4 points for a maximum match score of 28 points.