Intro to Competition

Whether you are a plinker, a hunter, or just interested in proficiency, come compete with us! Competition is a great way to improve your marksmanship skills and reinforce safe, responsible firearm handling. The links below are to articles and are meant to peak your interest in some type of competitive shooting discipline (at least those hosted by PCGC). There is a lot more information that can be provided so reach out to us by completing the contact form found at this link. We would like you to join us or at least come out, watch a (portion of) a match, and come back and shoot with us. If there is enough interest, a “basics of competition” clinic can also be arranged. Be sure to check out the schedule of matches for currently planned events and check the homepage for new announcements.

Parents read this article about why a teen-aged female loves to compete.

Hunters read this article for an example of how competition improved the skills of these hunters.

An overview of shooting fundamentals – for both rifle and pistol – is found here. Looking to improve your skills? Read this article for general tips; this article for quick tips; this article for offhand (standing) shooting; this article from the 2012 F/TR Champion; and finally, the three part series on “Climbing the Highpower Ladder from Marksman to Master and More”: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. If you are shooting an iron sight on your service rifle, read this article. If you need info on how to transform your iron sight service rifle to a flat-top upper for a scope, read this article.

Finally, know the rules for the competition(s) you participate in. Links to the sanctioning body rulebooks are here: NRA and CMP. The rulebooks go into detail about how a match is run, what the competitor’s responsibilities are, what can and cannot be challenged, what type of gear is allowed, and the particulars about the rifle/pistol used in the discipline.

PCGC hosts monthly matches for both highpower and mid-range prone. Additionally, smallbore rifle (.22 LR) prone matches (50 and 100 yards) are held 8-10 months out of the year. Finally, bullseye (aka precision) pistol matches (25 and 50 yards) are currently held three times a year in conjunction with big championship matches. If you have interest in a competitive discipline not listed/described, let us know.

Smallbore rifle (.22 rimfire caliber) can be shoot in multiple positions (standing, sitting or kneeling, and/or prone) or off a rest (some type of bag and/or a bipod). PCGC only runs smallbore prone matches at this time.

The highpower aka across the course (XTC) matches are fired with either service rifles or match rifles. The course of fire is as follows: slow-fire standing at 200 yards, rapid-fire sitting at 200-yards, rapid-fire prone at 300 yards, and slow-fire prone at 600 yards. This article provides an overview of XTC competitions and this an overview of the positions. The following articles describe these types of rifles: Service Rifle, Match Rifle

Mid-Range (MR) Prone matches are fired with service rifles, match rifles, Palma rifle, tactical rifle, and F-class rifles. The latter three rifle types are described here: Palma Rifle, Tactical Rifle, F-Class Rifle. The course of fire is slow-fire prone at 300, 500, and/or 600 yards. Some interesting facts about F-Class shooting are found here.

Both the XTC and MR prone matches require operating targets in the pits. Learn about what it means to be in the pits (where the targets are pulled and scored) by reading this article. A guide to pit scoring (aka marking targets) is here.

An overview of bullseye pistol competition is found here. Again, reach out to us by completing the contact form found at this link.