Scope magnification for Practical Rifle matches

[andaloodaya]

Hi all,

New shooter here. My wife and I are thinking of starting to compete in some Practical Rifle matches at our local range.

The Rimfire matches are at swinging steel targets from 25m to 125m (5 rounds L-R per station). Centrefire is a mixture of paper targets and animal silhouettes (e.g. chicken, turkey, ram, pig) from 200m to 470m (3 rounds L-R per station).

We'll have a 22lr and a .223 available to use. Just wondering what scope magnification ranges would be ideal for each rifle / match? Going round in circles on some of the more common ranges e.g. 2x7 v 3x9 v 4x12 - don't know if I am overthinking things!

To be honest my biggest conundrum is probably for the 22lr - for the Rimfire matches I'm trying to balance needing to acquire the closer targets quickly and also being able to see (and see shot placement on) the further targets with my ageing eyes.

Any advice would be much appreciated

[SCJ429]

You could start with a fixed power 12x on your 22 and then get more magnification when you feel you need it. you could start with more magnification but it takes a bit of practice to get onto your target.

[Boundry Rider]

These Lynx scopes are very good.
http://www.lynxoptics.com.au/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_68&product_id=92
I have one of these on my .22LR for pest control, I have heard they’re popular for .22 competition use due to being able to focus down to 15Y.
I do use the sunshade on the objective lens (they’re very long maybe 5”) and a rubber eyeshroud at the ocular. The shade is due to light spill as I shoot mostly avian in trees, and the shroud is because the ocular lens is very flush with the tube is susceptible to reflection.

[Larry]

I have been shooting a few of these lately and I have always tended to overmag my scopes as I dont have great eyes anymore and I was shooting paper at long range. I think the scope on the rifle I used was a 6-18 and I had it set on 18 upon the start command I shouldered the rifle and couldn't see a thing poor preparation the parallax was way out and the mag on full. I quickly wound back the mag to acquire the target and finished the stage with the parallax so bad the gongs could hardly be made out. I would opt for a 4-16 or something along those lines. dont forget you can still get tiny KYL targets at 50 yrds.

[bladeracer]

You could start with a fixed power 12x on your 22 and then get more magnification when you feel you need it. you could start with more magnification but it takes a bit of practice to get onto your target.

Fixed 12-power is going to make 25m target acquisition less than ideal I think. And still be on the low end for longer ranges.
I would go 4x at the bottom and in the 18x to 32x for the top end.
For practical competition I think a good reticle is important, so you can make holds on the fly, either a BDC or a grid, and side-focus parallax adjustment.
4.5-18x with a BDC works fine for me to bang 120mm gongs out to 200m just using BDC hold-overs. Getting down to the tiny "Know Your Limits" targets though you'd want to dial those in I think, I don't have a set of those yet. 18x is also getting near the top of what I can comfortably shoot both eyes open.

[andaloodaya]

Thanks guys, some great suggestions there and really helps to get the benefit of your experiences - much appreciated!

[Larry]

12 mag would or could still be too much. Most of these matches are held at pistol ranges and you may find a stage that is only 10-15 yards 6 mag the bottom end of my scope was just low enough to not only see them but give enough field of view to acquire the next target without too much fuss. They are great fun matches get out there and shoot them.

[in2anity]

At 300m, we have figure12 (torso-sized) targets on sticks exposing randomly within a 6 foot region, for approximately 4-second exposures, i.e. single snap timings. A crucial tip once given to me for this course of fire, was "never go over 14x magnification". The reason being, it is difficult to orient and acquire the target quickly, with excessive zoom.

A video paints a thousand words:

https://youtu.be/fKNpA4xASBA

Nevertheless, if the target is static, or even on a target frame going up and down (with no horizontal shift), more zoom can yield more precision...

[SCJ429]

You could start with a fixed power 12x on your 22 and then get more magnification when you feel you need it. you could start with more magnification but it takes a bit of practice to get onto your target.

Fixed 12-power is going to make 25m target acquisition less than ideal I think. And still on the low end for longer ranges.
I would go 4x at the bottom and in the 18x to 32x for the top end.
For practical competition I think a good reticle is important, so you can make holds on the fly, either a BDC or a grid, and side-focus parallax adjustment.
4.5-18x with a BDC works fine for me to bang 120mm gongs out to 200m just using BDC hold-overs. Getting down to the tiny "Know Your Limits" targets though you'd want to dial those in I think, I don't have a set of those yet. 18x is also getting near the top of what I can comfortably shoot both eyes open.

I used a 25x Leupold on my rimfire for Metallic Silhouette and didn't have any issues finding my target. Never done any Practical Matches but I would think that scope weight could be an issue.

[in2anity]

I used a 25x Leupold on my rimfire for Metallic Silhouette and didn't have any issues finding my target. Never done any Practical Matches but I would think that scope weight could be an issue.

It depends on the course of fire and the definition of "practical rifle matches". In MS you have (correction)30 seconds per shot - that is a whole lot of time, furthermore you have time to rest your arms between breaks; I agree more is better specifically for MS (having done it myself). But for service rifle, alerts, rapids and snaps, I can assure you, too much magnification is detrimental. Imagine flushing out some pigs and having only a 3 second window to acquire and break - good luck using a 25x.

[Gamerancher]

Just wondering what silhouette matches you shot in that have a 15 sec/shot time allowance?
Scoped MS you get 2&1/2 minutes for a bank of 5 targets, lever action you get 2 minutes for a bank of 5, BPCR 5 minutes per bank.

[Larry]

In the PRS or NRL22 matches I have shot it has been a 2 min time limit for a stage of 15 to 20 targets spread across several positions time is def a big factor and quick and accurate shooting is required.

[in2anity]

Scoped MS you get 2&1/2 minutes for a bank of 5 targets.

Sorry my error, screwed up my math - this was the timings - 2.5min / bank, so basically 30 secs / shot. It was a while ago now - RMS at Silverdale, back when it was still being run. But 30secs even further illustrates my point, and that is you have a lot of time to pull really nice breaks, unlike other disciplines mentioned. Also being able to put the rifle down between shots is a really huge point of difference, compared with SR and PSR.

[in2anity]

In the PRS or NRL22 matches I have shot it has been a 2 min time limit for a stage of 15 to 20 targets spread across several positions time is def a big factor and quick and accurate shooting is required.

Yes Larry, a rapid fire SR detail is 50secs for x10, not time to dilly-dally, once you factor in the cycle. Approx 4 secs to settle then break, 1 second cycle. This kind of speed demands only moderate magnification - too much and acquisition eats into your time.

Overall, I just think it's important to figure the specific comp you wanna shoot, and work back from there.

[bladeracer]

I used a 25x Leupold on my rimfire for Metallic Silhouette and didn't have any issues finding my target. Never done any Practical Matches but I would think that scope weight could be an issue.

It depends on the course of fire and the definition of "practical rifle matches". In MS you have (correction)30 seconds per shot - that is a whole lot of time, furthermore you have time to rest your arms between breaks; I agree more is better specifically for MS (having done it myself). But for service rifle, alerts, rapids and snaps, I can assure you, too much magnification is detrimental. Imagine flushing out some pigs and having only a 3 second window to acquire and break - good luck using a 25x.

Does anybody class Silhouette as practical shooting? It's simple static target shooting at fixed distances as far as I can tell.
Practical is more about engaging randomised targets and distances on the clock?

[in2anity]

Does anybody class Silhouette as practical shooting? It's simple static target shooting at fixed distances as far as I can tell.
Practical is more about engaging randomised targets and distances on the clock?

hmm divisive question Blade. Just my view, but I see practical shooting as any sort of shooting that practices a shooting skill transferable to a real world practical (random/dynamic) setting, and is not an obvious gear-race. For example F-class or Target Rifle (as much as I love them) are not really what I'd call "practical" shooting, considering the static targets and copious amount of heavy gear.... On the contrary Service Rifle (3-position) or Metallic Silhouette gives you real-world adaptable skills. Just my take - very subjective.

[bladeracer]

Does anybody class Silhouette as practical shooting? It's simple static target shooting at fixed distances as far as I can tell.
Practical is more about engaging randomised targets and distances on the clock?

hmm divisive question Blade. Just my view, but I see practical shooting as any sort of shooting that practices a shooting skill transferable to a real world practical (random/dynamic) setting, and is not an obvious gear-race. For example F-class or Target Rifle (as much as I love them) are not really what I'd call "practical" shooting, considering the static targets and copious amount of heavy gear.... On the contrary Service Rifle (3-position) or Metallic Silhouette gives you real-world adaptable skills. Just my take - very subjective.

That's pretty much what I consider the purpose of all shooting, otherwise there's no reason to bother
If you need a jacket, glove, sling, blinder, etc then it is not "practical" in any way at all.

Silhouette is great for honing your shooting skills, but if it were supposed to relate to hunting we'd be scoring only vital zone hits, not the vague outline of the animal, and the targets would be better blended into the background rather than high-contrast. The real beauty of using the "animal" shapes is to learn the effect that irregular shaped targets have on your sight picture with iron sights, particularly when much of your target is hidden behind the sights. With scopes I can't see any value to using non-symmetrical shapes as the entire target is clearly visible. I brought my half-scale steels back to the house last night as the wooden stands are shot to pieces and I need to replace them.