Rifle & Shotgun

Hi everyone. There going to be some changes to the Rifle Shotgun match starting with the June 13, 2009 match. These changes include:

5) The match is going multigun. Bay 2 and Long range will require both a rifle and a shotgun.

6) Next months match will be three gun -- a least some pistol on one stage. Ergo -- bring your pistol next month.

7) Richard Bhella is going to "normalize" the scores making each stage worth 100 points. This will reduce the bias towards the long range stage.

We are going to try to put on stages similar to the stages at the SMM3G three gun match. For those of you who have shot or RO'd the SMM3G, please try to help the other shooters who have not. Remember, range safety is everybody's business.

Rifle Shotgun Match Description

Our Rifle/Shotgun match is held on the second Saturday of each month unless noted on Rio Salado web site calendar. This is a practical shooting match design to be shot with rifles and shotguns. Sign up time is from 7:00am to 9 with at new shooters briefing starting at 8:00am. No score cards will be sold after 9am. A mandatory safety briefing will be given to all new shooters.

Open Bolt Indicators are now required

We offer the following classes depending on the type of rifle/shotgun you are shooting: Open Class, Tactical Scope, Tactical Iron, and He-Man class. This is a "fun match" and no prizes are awarded. We shoot two stages of rifle and two stages with shotgun. Targets used are IPSC style paper, steel plates, poppers, LaRue, and Flagman reactive targets. The courses of fire are challenging and require movement from shooting positions.

The cost for the match is $10/member or $15/non-member. This will allow you to shoot all 4 stages once each. If you are only shooting one gun, either rifle or shotgun, the cost $5/member or $10/non-member. This will only allow you one run for the 2 stages of that one gun. You can elect to shoot any of the 4 stages again up to a maximum of 5 runs per-stage as you go. The cost is $1 for each extra run, commonly refer to as "buck a run".

Rifles & Shotguns commonly used:
AR-15, M1A, AR-10, FN-FAL, Mini 14, AK-47, M1, etc. or any safe center fire rifle with a minimum caliber of 223. No AP or tracer ammo.

Shotguns commonly used (auto or pump) are the Remington 1100, 870, Benelli, Mossburg 500, etc. with a minimum of 20ga. For ammo you will need about 50-75 rounds of bird shot, no larger than #4 shot. You will also need 10-15 shotgun slugs, but will most likely only shoot around 4-8. For rifle ammo bring 100+ rounds. Keep in mind that if you want to shoot a stage more than once bring plenty of extra ammo. You may use any type of magazine pouches or shotgun shell belt to hold extra ammo. Elbow and kneepads are recommended on some courses of fire.

Safety Note: ALL rifles/shotguns must be carried or stored in one of the following conditions. Carry with muzzle up if not in a gun case. Keep actions open and safety on. An Open Bolt Indicator is also required. We highly recommend the use of soft gun cases when carrying your rifle/shotgun between stages. Store rifle/shotgun in the gun racks provided on each stage or on the range tables pointed into the side berms. Eye protection is mandatory while on Rio Salado Range at ALL times. Hearing protection is required while shooting.

Come on out and take a look. This is a fun and exciting shooting sport. If you have any question feel free to contact me.

For those of you who shoot the Rifle/Shotgun match make note of the following:

Starting in the September the match fee will go to $10. If only shooting one gun $5.

The use of Open Bolt Indicator (O.B.I.) will also start. These are yellow plastic flags that are place in the chamber to show the firearm chamber is empty and open. You are welcome to get your own O.B.I. and we will have some for sale at $1 each at the match. The use of O.B.I. will be required only when a firearm is not in a bag or case.

Start time is still 8AM all year round. Sign-up usually starts around 7:30. We will start shooting as soon as the range setup has been completed and you are given the word to start.

The August 30th SubGun match will be combined with a Rifle/Shotgun match. There will be four stages. You can shoot all four with your SubGun or shoot two with a rifle and use a shotgun for the other two.

Starting this year the Rifle/Shotgun match will offer ONE free run, on any one stage, to all current Rio Salado members. This free run is to be shot after you have completed all stages. It does NOT count for score, but our way of giving something back to the club members.

For those who shoot the monthly Rifle/Shotgun match you may have noticed a increase of competitors over the years. Do to the larger numbers attending we would like to continue providing a quality match and have everyone finish shooting within a timely manner.

At present we host four stages of fire, two with rifle and two with shotgun. We also offer four additional runs that can be made on each stage if a competitor chooses to shoot them for practice. These are commonly refer to as "buck a run". One of the problems we are encountering lately is competitors bunching up on a stage, shooting the stage multiple times, before they have shot the whole match first.

Starting in 2006 each competitors will shoot all four stages (1-4 any order) once each before making any extra practice runs. For those shooting only one gun, get a score in on each of the two stages and then go back to make any extra runs. Also new for '06, All shooting will STOP at 12:30. We will make a "last call" announcement at noon and then make ready to break down the stages. This give you 4 1/2 hours to complete the match and shoot any extra runs if you so desire.

The Rifle/Shotgun match starts at 8am -ALL YEAR ROUND- Sign up time is from 7:45 to 9am. NO score cards will be sold after 9am.

Your first run on any given stage counts for your match score. Any extra runs are for practice only.

Pick up your BRASS and shotgun SHELLS. Put it in the buckets provided if you don't want it.

Match Director Notes - 6/8/09