Starting in Benchrest

rsrw

rsrw

New member
Folks I have been shorting Groundhog matches for a while and wanted to give Benchrest a shot. My issue is the I shoot a custom built .223. I have noted that most Benchrest rifles are 30BR and the like. My five shot groups at 100 yards are typically fairly small in the .16 to .12moa area, if that matters. My question is, can I compete at all with the .223 at 100 yards. I know with a smaller hole I don’t stand as good a chance of cutting a line. I don’t really expect to win anything, but would like to try it, mainly for fun. Any thoughts folks? I live in Central Maryland, if it matters.
 
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I was not really even sure if I could use a .223 as all the results I have looked at do not show one. So, a .223 is allowed in matches?
 
rsrw said:
Folks I have been shorting Groundhog matches for a while and wanted to give Benchrest a shot. My issue is the I shoot a custom built .223. I have noted that most Benchrest rifles are 30BR and the like. My five shot groups at 100 yards are typically fairly small in the .16 to .12moa area, if that matters. My question is, can I compete at all with the .223 at 100 yards. I know with a smaller hole I don’t stand as good a chance of cutting a line. I don’t really expect to win anything, but would like to try it, mainly for fun. Any thoughts folks? I live in Central Maryland, if it matters.
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Chuckle chuckle, I guess you have the World's most accurate 223 and shoot on the level of Tony Boyer.
 
Thank you for the curt reply. That is what I shoot. Unless I get some really random flier, they are rarely if ever above .18 or so. Don’t believe me, that’s your choice, I really don’t care and do not have to prove myself to you. I just wanted to know if a .223 is allowed to shoot and if it could be competitive at all against all the 30BR’s. Geez, I thought the Benchrest community was supposed to be such a friendly group.
 
rsrw said:
Thank you for the curt reply. That is what I shoot. Unless I get some really random flier, they are rarely if ever above .18 or so. Don’t believe me, that’s your choice, I really don’t care and do not have to prove myself to you. I just wanted to know if a .223 is allowed to shoot and if it could be competitive at all against all the 30BR’s. Geez, I thought the Benchrest community was supposed to be such a friendly group.
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If you stay with benchrest you will see. Your 223 is legal if it meets the rulebook as far as weight and stock design. Check the rule book. It will not be competitive unless you are doing small club shoots with mostly factory rifles.
Sorry, but the blunt truth might save you time and money.
 
Thank you, I was looking for brutally honest. All I want to do is some club shoots. If I like it, then I might have a 30BR built. For now, just for fun though. I just wanted to try something different. I will look at the rule book. Wish you well and thank you again
 
RSW,
Try to find a local match and see what they require. If there is a club match it is usually pretty casual and you can shoot what you brung. If it is a sanctioned match the gun and equipment will have to meet the rules of that sanctioning body. In most cases this would be IBS in your region and it looks like you are interested in score shooting.
Get out and find a match and check it out, it is a hoot competing in benchrest and you will meet some very good people.
You will run into skepticism with a 223 shooting .12-.18 groups as we have all been there and seen many come and go. They are a great way to start if they have a factory class to shoot in.
 
Thank you for the information. I’m going to try to root out some club shoots. I guess I can see how the info on the group size might be met with some skepticism. What I could kill myself for is spending the big bucks to have a custom .223 built, when all I need to do was say make it a 30BR, but at the time I did not know. Hindsight, you know! There is a sanctioned match not that far away from me tomorrow. I’m going to try to get down there to watch, if they will let me. I’ve never even seen a Benchrest match. Thanks for your input.
 
rsrw said:
Thank you, I was looking for brutally honest. All I want to do is some club shoots. If I like it, then I might have a 30BR built. For now, just for fun though. I just wanted to try something different. I will look at the rule book. Wish you well and thank you again
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rsrw, you have a private message.
 
rsrw said:
Thank you for the information. I’m going to try to root out some club shoots. I guess I can see how the info on the group size might be met with some skepticism. What I could kill myself for is spending the big bucks to have a custom .223 built, when all I need to do was say make it a 30BR, but at the time I did not know. Hindsight, you know! There is a sanctioned match not that far away from me tomorrow. I’m going to try to get down there to watch, if they will let me. I’ve never even seen a Benchrest match. Thanks for your input.
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Load 150+ rounds for your gun and go to that match. If the gun doesn't meet the rules they can still let you shoot head to head with the rest but not actually count your scores for the win or year end points. If it does meet the rules and it shoots like that, you'll be very competitive. You'll gain a lot of knowledge by shooting that you won't by simply watching, but either way..go and enjoy.

There may be a gun for sale there or someone there may know of one or more for sale. I have a couple of Pandas that I'm going through now that will be very reasonably priced very soon.
 
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Hunter said:
+1 (but you can probably get by, for a one-day shoot, with 100 rounds).
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Technically yes, but realistically, 100 is not enough for me. I shoot more sighters than most people do, though. Jmo, but I call 150 the minimum I'll go with. I understand that some can and do get by with less but I prefer to have 200 loaded. A lot depends on conditions. If you're lucky enough to have steady conditions, that hold..fire a sighter or two and run the target. But the ranges I shoot rarely give you that. It's one of the biggest differences between group and score shooting. Score takes more time to navigate a target and it's very difficult to find a condition that holds long enough to get all your shots downrange in. A little change that you think.."well, I can just just hold a tad for that"..are famous words to shooting poorly. At least for me. I never trust that I'm looking at the same thing that I was just before a switch comes along. I check it and myself on the sighter target. Sighters add up fast like that but it works for me.

This is for a typical 100-200 grand agg event.
 
i saw several hiccups in things you have said.
you said benchrest and then said small groups
then you said cutting a line...not an issue in GROUP shooting.
so group shooting or score shooting ?
have you ever shot 5 five shot targets on the same day and still averaged under .2 ?

describe your rifle and loads
 
223 and group

Hello, I just want to say that I shot a 223 for a season and a half. The club let me shoot with them. They were very helpful. I finally got my first real benchrest rifle. I think a you might do well at a group match. Michael
 
rsrw said:
Folks I have been shorting Groundhog matches for a while and wanted to give Benchrest a shot.
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Butch Lambert said:
If you stay with benchrest you will see....It will not be competitive unless you are doing small club shoots with mostly factory rifles.
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rsmithsr said:
i saw several hiccups in things you have said.
...

describe your rifle and loads
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What a great way to encourage someone to join the benchrest crowd. :(
 
If Butch is coaching him along, I'm sure he'll be fine but ultimately, he may want a mentor to take him under their wing for a while that is closer by. There are several in the Pa area that I'm sure will be happy to help get him up and going.

We've all been where he is when we got started and most of us had someone to help get started. People in this sport are great about that, generally.

That's why I think just going to the match is going to be very worthwhile to him or anyone looking to get their feet wet in this game. I still say that he or most anyone will learn more at their first match if they actually shoot it rather than spectate, though. Some matches even have loaner rifles available, with a little heads up before match day.

Show up and shoot! The rest will fall into place. Whatever you do, don't be afraid of shooting poorly. We've all been there and survived it. There's a pretty steep learning curve and a lot to take in. A good mentor is worth every cent that they typically don't charge you for.
 
mwezell said:
If Butch is coaching him along, I'm sure he'll be fine but ultimately, he may want a mentor to take him under their wing for a while that is closer by. There are several in the Pa area that I'm sure will be happy to help get him up and going.

We've all been where he is when we got started and most of us had someone to help get started. People in this sport are great about that, generally.

That's why I think just going to the match is going to be very worthwhile to him or anyone looking to get their feet wet in this game. I still say that he or most anyone will learn more at their first match if they actually shoot it rather than spectate, though. Some matches even have loaner rifles available, with a little heads up before match day.

Show up and shoot! The rest will fall into place. Whatever you do, don't be afraid of shooting poorly. We've all been there and survived it. There's a pretty steep learning curve and a lot to take in. A good mentor is worth every cent that they typically don't charge you for.
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Scott and I are talking off the forum. He has interest and I will help where I can. As Mike said a mentor would be great for him.
 
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