Coal Canyon Precision Rifle Match – NRA Whittington Center

The Coal Canyon Precision Rifle Match (formerly the Sporting Rifle Match) is designed to test a rifleman’s skills shooting small (1 – 3 MOA) targets from approximately 200 to 900 yards in natural terrain, with what he/she can carry throughout the course.

The match format is 10 stages spread over a 1 mile distance and involves a minimum of 2 miles walking while carrying all gear. Each stage has 6 targets at varying distances to be engaged with only one shot each. Target distances are known to the shooter. Shooters must complete each stage’s target engagements within 3 minutes. With one point per hit, the maximum score is 60 points. See rules for additional details. Most stages accommodate prone position shooting, however, some may require elevated shooting positions, shooting sticks, etc.

Typical equipment used includes: a rifle capable of 1 MOA accuracy; rifle optics allowing precise hold-over and windage for small targets from 200 – 900 yards; shooting sticks and/or tripod; binoculars to spot for other shooters; and a backpack to carry clothing, shooting accessories, water, ammunition, and food.

Competitors may register for either Open Class or Novice Class. Here are the rules that apply:

- - Open Class shooters are allowed the standard 3 minutes to complete their engagements at each stage and are eligible for overall score cash awards.
  - Novice Class shooters are allowed 4 minutes to complete their engagements at each stage and are not eligible for overall score cash awards. There are two types of Novice Class shooters:
    - Shooters who have participated in less than 5 Coal Canyon Precision Rifle matches and who choose to shoot in the Novice Class.
    - Shooters who are less than 18 years old and who choose to shoot in the Novice Class
  - Any shooter that attains a match score of 30 or more is no longer eligible to shoot in the Novice Class.

We setup the match starting at 1:00 PM on Saturday (unless posted otherwise) and can always use the help of a few people if you want to come out and help. Our practice range is open after setup to registered competitors from 3:00-5:00 PM and again from 7:00-7:30 AM Sunday. Note that the start time of the Saturday practice session is approximate and may be delayed if additional time is required to complete match setup.

Preregistration for the match is required on Practiscore*. All registered competitors must also sign in at the match. Early sign in is available from 4:00 – 5:00 PM Saturday. Regular sign in is available from 6:45 – 7:15 AM on Sunday. Competitors that fail to sign in by 7:15 AM Sunday are subject to forfeiture of their requested squadding and/or spot in the match.

At 7:45 AM the gate is locked and the mandatory shooter’s meeting starts. The match begins at 8:00 AM and is usually finished by around 3:00 PM.

Coal Canyon Precision Rifle Match Rules and Target Chart can be downloaded from the Home Page under “Downloads”.

Squadding

Squadding may be requested on Practiscore, but the Match Director reserves the right to modify the squadding as required to enhance safety and match efficiency. Typically, we limit the number of new shooters to 2 and require at least one shooter with significant Sporting Rifle Match experience in each squad.

Sporting Rifle Match Rules – 3/1/20

Safety
- All rifles must be unloaded with actions open and detachable magazines removed at all times except as follows:
  - in the designated shooting area of each station under the direction of a range officer. “Range officer” is defined as a volunteer fellow competitor who assists the shooter with safety, spotting and scoring.
  - while walking on the trail between stations, the bolt may be closed on an empty chamber with no detachable magazine inserted.
- All rifles and other equipment used in competition must be serviceable and safe.
  - All rifles must have a properly functioning safety, subject to the discretion of the match director.
  - All rifles must be safely carried with the muzzle up or down.
  - At each station all rifles must be safely positioned in the holding area with muzzles pointed down-range and action open. “Holding Area” is defined as the area to the right or left of the shooting area (not behind), where the rifles can be safely stored before and after shooting the station.
  - When the shooter has finished shooting each station, both shooter and range officer will inspect the rifle to confirm that it is unloaded. It is the shooter’s responsibility to make sure that his rifle is safely unloaded.
  - The shooter is solely responsible for acting in a safe manner while on the shooting range.
- Absolutely no smoking is permitted at or near the match venue. Smoking by a competitor or their guests will result in an immediate match disqualification of the competitor.
Equipment
- Minimum caliber: .243 (6mm). Maximum caliber: .300 Mag. Maximum muzzle velocity 3000 fps.
- Match or hunting bullets only. No steel core, steel jacketed, armor piercing, incendiary or tracer bullets are permitted.
- The shooter may not change rifles during the match unless the rifle becomes unserviceable or unsafe. In such case, the rifle may either be repaired or replaced with another rifle of similar type and configuration. If the shooter misses his normal turn at any stations while repairing or replacing a rifle, all targets not engaged will be scored as misses.
- The shooter may use any shooting accessories deemed necessary, but they must be carried by the shooter in a consistent manner for the entire match. Additionally, the configuration of the rifle, with respect to attached shooting accessories, may only be changed on-the-clock and must be returned to the original configuration before shooting the next station.
  - In muddy conditions, the match director may elect to declare a “Mud Rule” to be in effect for a specific match. In such case, shooting mats may be laid out and adjusted off-the-clock as well as shared with others in the squad.
- Tripod mounted optics in excess of 15x are prohibited from use during the match.
Scoring
- Each target hit is awarded one point.
- All rounds fired (either intentional or unintentional) are scored.
- In the event a target is broken or becomes unusable, the target nearest to the broken target will be substituted.
- The spotter’s ruling on individual target scoring is final. No appeals or protests to the Match Director will be allowed.
- Each shooter is responsible to maintain an accurate record of his score.
Station Procedure
- Each target is to be engaged with one round only.
- The shooting area at each station is marked by a stake. The shooter must be close enough to the stake to touch it with a hand when engaging targets.
- The stake marking the shooting area may not be used for support.
- The shooters in each squad will rotate shooting order from station to station.
- Each shooter will have three minutes to engage the targets at each stage.
- The shooter will start standing with rifle loaded, safety on and the muzzle pointed up, down or toward the targets. The shooter’s pack and hand carried shooting accessories will start on the ground nearby. All shooting accessories must remain in an as-carried and fully undeployed condition until the start signal, except as follows:
  - Rifles must be unslung from the shooters body or removed from scabbard-type packs prior to loading.
  - Stools, binoculars, etc. may be removed from pack for the purpose of spotting and scoring, but must be returned to an as-carried and fully undeployed condition prior to the start signal if and when used as shooting accessories.

*Practiscore Link for all Coal Canyon Precision Rifle Match Events:

https://practiscore.com/clubs/sporting_rifle_match

Contact

If you have questions you may contact the Match Director, David McInnis at nmmi9100@gmail.com