Why:

Everyone has shot a .22 at 50yards but few are making hits at 300 yards. It is possible with some basic equipment and a bit of practice. It's fun to hear the ping of steel at 300 yards, without having invested a fortune in ammo and equipment. A great way to enter into the world of long range rifle shooting for those new to the sport. But even those who have shot rifles out to 1000+ yards enjoy the low cost training and  challenge of making long range hits with a .22, where wind calling is an art.

Match Descrition:

A match usually consists of 8 stages of reactive steel (or other reactive material such as golf tees/balls), with targets ranging in distance from 20 to 320 yards. Each stage may have some combination of 1 to 9 targets shot from 1 to 5 different positions, in 120 seconds (exmple: a 2" steel plate at 70 yards and a 4" steel plate at 140 yards are each shot at one time from 5 different positions off of a wooden baracade structure). Scoring is simple -- it is the number of hits you make.

Equipment:

Any quality bolt action .22 rifle with a 10 round magazine and a reaonable trigger will do the job (e.g., $250 Savage Mark II with accutrigger). What really makes a difference is having a good bipod, a shooting bag ("Game Changer") and a quality scope (something like a Vortex Venem or Viper in 4x16 power) with adjustable turrets and magnification so you can quickly adjust your point of aim. If you are unsure, come out to a match and talk to the guys shooting to see what they have.