The Rifle Ranch 4/18 Recap

A huge shout-out to The Rifle Ranch in Macksville, KS. A fellow 1K+ regular and I recently made the drive to Macksville for a Precision Rifle Series Midwest Region Qualifier match. As I always say at the range, “If you want to be competitive at matches or just become a better shooter, you should be shooting at other venues”. The venue that the Rifle Ranch guys have established in Macksville for regional PRS matches is excellent. The challenging terrain, detailed course of fire, props, target sizes, sequences, and unpredictable wind provided the perfect environment for fostering shooter growth.

The Rifle Ranch PRS Regional Qualifier Match 4/18/26 was my third match in four weeks and the third since building an open division rifle and deciding to take competing seriously again.  This was also the first match I reloaded ammo for since 2017. Due to a packed schedule, I ended up showing up to the match with an unzeroed rifle and no data beyond 100 yards on my ammo. I strongly advise against this if you expect a good performance. However I was lucky everything aligned, which is a testament to Hornady’s 4Dof ballistic calculator and their projectiles.

I missed opportunities on two stages when I decided to go against my gut for stage strategy, even after watching multiple shooters struggle ahead of me. Following the Gregory, SD match last weekend, I had identified specific areas of my game that I need to improve upon. The course of fire, the terrain, and the wind conditions at The Rifle Ranch created the perfect scenario to work on those areas.

I had a solid overall performance on Saturday. I felt the most confident I’ve ever been with this rifle setup. Positionally, I know that if I execute my stage strategy and maintain conscious trigger control, the positional stages translate to easy points for me. My primary goal for the weekend was to slow down, watch the conditions, stick to my cadence, and pause after firing to absorb what I just saw. I maintained this focus throughout the day, and my performance reflected it.

The 1K+ group represented well in Kansas yesterday. Shaun had a strong performance, securing 2nd place by winning the tiebreaker stage against two other shooters and me. I challenge all of you to get out and shoot at different venues.  Go find the holes in your abilities, acknowledge them, and work through them to be better.