| Getting started in competitve shooting...
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If you are like many new competitive shooters, you are coming to this game later in life. Some of you have been shooting since you were children via 4H, Boy/Girl Scouts, Junior shooting programs, High School teams, ROTC and various other early introductions to the shooting sports and are looking to get back in to competitive shooting. If you are more like me, you grew up hunting and plinking; maybe you shot a round of skeet or sporting clays but, you were not fully aware of the competitve shooting games. Believe me, there are many. From where ever you are coming, welcome! Attending a match is a quick, easy and sure way to get advice and direction. Just walk up and ask questions. | |
| At NSSC, we concentrate on: Cross Course, Mid Range and Long Range Those three simple categories will expand to include a myriad of different rifles, classes and entry points. See the 'different rifle types' page to get a little more into that. Check our Schedule for the different dates and events. | |
| Where you begin, may depend on the type of rifle you already own; An easy point of entry is Cross Course shooting with a standard Service Rifle - Think basic AR-15 with the standard iron (peep) sights. in general... There is a class where a good hunting rifle will be competitive at Mid Range (600 yds) if shot well. F/TR would allow for that if your rifle is a .308 or .223. If you have another caliber, you could enter as an F-Open, Match Rifle, Any/Any or Tactical... FClass is shot from a bipod or front rest and a sandbag rear. All the other rifles will be shot with a sling only (nothing touching the ground except your body parts). Some of the more elaborate and generally available rifles will fall into a Match Rifle or Any/Any rifle configuration. If you are interested in PALMA, that is a more specific type of rifle... You may have some knowledge of the sport already or maybe a friend that shoots competitively and this will serve as your guide. You may be able to borrow equipment to enter a match to see how it all works... There is also very good used equipment available. Asking questions will reveal a lot of hardware available. The NRA rules describe the different rifles in detail and it is not to hard to figure it out... when in doubt, ask questions. Go to the 'different rifle types' page for more detail and pictures of various rifles. | |
| Reloading: If you are not reloading your own ammunition; you will find this to be an interesting aspect of the shooting sports. If you are planning to shoot 600 yards and beyond: 800, 900, 1000 yards, you really need to reload. Reloading is the only way you can control the consistency of your ammunition. For cross course shooting, you can get by with good factory ammo as you are shooting 200, 300 and 600 yards. Long Range is a different world and requires a different level of commitment. | |
