Frequently Asked Questions
 

Here we try to give a little more information for competitors that might be starting out and don't know where to get information, or for the seasoned competitor looking for clarification on something.  As always, if you have a question, reach out to the Match Directors for help.

Example Stage

Stages can differ in the required shooting positions, barricades used, time allotted, and with target sizes, distances, or engagement order.  The intent is to test shooters on a variety of skills, including: creating stable positions, moving between positions, having the correct ballistics, reading the wind, and mental aspects like shooting under pressure, memory, focus.  

In the following example from November 2022: the shooter has 120 seconds and 12 rounds to engage the 2 steel targets, at 75 yards, from each of the tips of a tank trap, and finally from a rope position at the bottom of the tank trap.  2 shots at the 2”inch target, and then 1 shot at the 1” target.

Example Stage

Scoring

Each shooter is scored individually.  For each stage, the available points are defined in the Stage Description.  In general, an impact is worth points, and a miss is worth zero.  There is always one "tie-breaker" stage, in which points are also earned by finishing with time remaining.  At the end of the stage, the points are totaled and that score is given to the shooter.  At the end of the match, all of the stages are added up and the sum is the shooter’s total match score. 
The shooters are then placed in order by class, from highest to lowest.  The participant with the highest score wins!  Often, but not always, there will be a “bonus stage” designed by your match director in addition to the official NRL22 stages for the month.  These scores will count for the local match but will not be part of the score submission to the NRL22 for the official course of fire.

Prizes!

Monthly matches usually do not have trophies or prizes; however, anytime we are able to get sponsor donations, prizes will be given out randomly to all shooters present after the match.  Additionally, the winners of each division at each match are entered into a drawing that happens every month on the NRL YouTube channel.  Each participant who does not win their division at the match is also entered into the “random” drawings for the month so all participants have a chance at winning some great prizes from the amazing sponsors of the NRL22 league.

Match Rules

All Official NRL22 rules will be followed.

Any rules that are specific to the LC&SA match will be provided by the Match Director (MD) at the beginning of the match.  Some of our matches will have dedicated Range Officers (ROs) to enforce the rules.  Occasionally we may ask the shooters and their squads to act as their own ROs and scorekeepers.

Rules for individual stages are published in a 1-page document called the Stage Description.  This will define all of the required information for the stage, such as the target sizes and distances, the time allowed, round count, stage procedure, scoring structure, and if there are any gear restrictions for the stage.

Division Overview

See the official rules for specific division rules, or contact the Match Directors with questions.

Open

Other than having to be .22 LR with a removable magazine, everything else pretty much goes!  All equipment is permitted here, and one can expect to see rifle and optic combos well over the Base Division MSRP limits.  If you don’t fit into another division, this is where you’ll be shooting.

Base

Instead of having lists of approved rifle models, the requirement is that your rifle be .22 LR with a removable magazine, and that the MSRP of your rifle and scope together be less than $1300.  All base division rifles must be inspected and approved by the Match Director. 

This is the division where practically anyone with a stock rifle can just show up and shoot.

Ladies

Ladies Division is, as you probably guessed, for the ladies. Equipment restrictions match Open Division and/or Air Rifle Division.  Women are not required to shoot in this division.

Young Guns

This Division is specifically for shooters ages 17 and younger, and equipment restrictions match Open Division and/or Air Rifle Division.  All young guns must be chaperoned by a parent or guardian.  Shooters 17 and under are not required to shoot in this division.

OG (Old Guns) 

This Division is specifically for shooters ages  60 and over.  Equipment restrictions match Open Division and/or Air Rifle Division.  Shooters 60 and over are not required to shoot in this division.

Adaptive

Shooters having special needs/consideration that severely limit their ability to participate in the match as written.  See the current rules for examples (Section 5-B-8).   Prior discussion with the Match Directors is required for any Adaptive Division shooter.

Air Rifle

Caliber must be .35 or lower, and pellet/slugs cannot weigh more than 85 grains.  Projectiles must be mass produced, and air tanks may not be tethered.  BB’s, or other non-lead projectiles, are not permitted.

Gear

Recommended gear; not everything is required to compete, but it all sure helps!

Rifle

Any .22 LR rifle capable of at least 2-3 MOA should be good enough to complete.  While semi-auto 10/22’s are extremely common in Base Class, most find that a bolt action is best for the sport.  Bolt guns are “generally” more reliable and accurate, and because this sport is frequently not scored on time, the faster speed of a semi-auto is rarely required.  Note: Rifles must have a removable magazine, tube fed rifles are not permitted.

Optic

Scopes with a First Focal Plane (FFP) reticle are highly recommended which also have the following features: hold-over type reticles, exposed turrets that are easy to quickly adjust, and adjustable parallax that goes down to 25 yds.  The most popular magnifications are in the 3-18x - 6-24x range, with many competitors rarely going below 9x during a match.

Magazines

Bring as many as you like, but you’ll need at least two 10-round magazines as it’s not uncommon for stages to require a mag change.  You are welcome to use 15, 20, or even 25-round magazines, but you'll still need two of them.

Bipods

Highly recommended, but not required.

Support Bag

The purpose of the bag is for use as a rear support when shooting from the prone position, or for front support when shooting from a barricade, such as tip of a tank trap.  If you don't have a bipod, then your support bad could be used for front support.

Ammo

We recommend target ammo, which tends to be subsonic, but whatever shoots the best in your rifle is what you should be using. 

Eye and Ear Protection

While it's common for people to shoot suppressed, not everyone uses a silencer, so hearing protection is mandatory.  Eye protection is also required.  

DOPE Chart/Ballistic Calculator 

At the match (and even before), each target distance will be given to you.  You are going to need a way to solve for the bullet drop at each range for your ammo, from your rifle.  The most common type of solver is a ballistics app for your phone or on the internet.  
Some commonly used apps include Ballistic AE, Kestrel LiNK Ballistics, and JBM Ballistics.

Reading Wind
You can watch the trees move, use a Kestrel wind meter, or anything in between.

Barrel Break-in

Just like centerfire rifles, your 22 barrel needs to be seasoned to perform its best.

Seasoning

As you shoot, the bullets lay down a coating of lead and bullet lubricant in the rifling.  It fills in small imperfections in the bore and provides a smooth surface for the bullet to travel across. Seasoning builds slowly from the chamber and can take up to 1,000 rounds to reach the muzzle.

During the seasoning process, you may encounter wild velocity spikes and fluctuating accuracy because the bullet will begin its travel through a smooth, lubricated surface and then suddenly hit the unseasoned portion on its way to the muzzle.

Once fully seasoned, the rifle will reach its accuracy potential, and become predictable.  It's at this point that you want to take care of the seasoning, and not remove it while cleaning.

Cleaning

Precision .22 barrels need to be cleaned, but not the same way as centerfire rifles!

Carbon Ring

The greatest enemy to accuracy in a precision chambered 22, is the carbon ring.  The carbon ring is very hard and acts as a constriction that squeezes the bullet during chambering.  Once it gets squeezed by the carbon ring, it will no longer engage the rifling correctly, resulting in reduced accuracy.

Frequency

The carbon ring will start to show a noticeable effect on accuracy after only a few hundred rounds (depending upon your chamber specs); therefore, one should be cleaning in 300+/- round intervals to minimize the carbon ring impact.  Adjust as necessary based on your chamber.  Tight match chambers will need to be cleaned more often than loose general purpose chambers.

Method
When cleaning a 22 barrel, the focus should be to remove the carbon ring while not removing the barrel seasoning.  We recommend the following process:

Step 1:  
Saturate a bore mop with a carbon solvent such as Bore Tech C4.  Insert into the chamber and let it soak for 10-15 mins, occasionally rotating the mop.  After letting the solvent work, remove the mop.  Note- While the chamber is soaking, this is a good time to clean your bolt and wipe down the rest of your rifle/magazines.

Step 1a:
If you haven't been following a 300+/- round cleaning schedule, you'll have to work harder to remove the carbon ring.  Insert a nylon bore brush into the chamber and rotate it to scrub the carbon ring out.  You may need to repeat Steps 1 and 1a until it is removed.

Step 2:
Saturate a patch with your desired cleaning solvent and run it down the barrel once to remove fouling debris.  Follow that up with a few dry patches.  Only use a barrel brush if the bore is exceptionally dirty, and then only use a nylon brush, never metal.

Ammunition
Due to myriad options, this is not an exhaustive list, just some places to start.  Note that the reported Ballistics Coefficients are pulled from the internet, verify them with your own data!

Aguila: Target Competition
40 grain, 10800 fps, round nose lead bullet: G1 of 0.173

ELEY:  Tenex leads a list of 11 different match-grade options
40 grain, 1085 fps, flat nose lead bullet: G1 of 0.150

Federal: Gold Medal Match
40 grain, 1050 fps, round nose lead bullet: G1 of 0.138

Lapua: Midas+, Center-X, & Long Range

40 grain, 1106 fps, round nose lead bullet: G1 of 0.172

Norma: Match-22
43 grain, 1082 fps, round nose lead bullet

RWS: Rifle Match leads a list of 12 match-grade options
40 grain, 1083 fps, round nose lead bullet: G1 of 0.096

SK: Rifle Match leads a list of 8 different match-grade options 
40 grain, 1073 fps, round nose lead bullet: G1 of 0.172

Wolf: Match Target & Match Target Extra
40 grain, 1050 fps, round nose lead bullet: G1 of 0.140
Manufactured by ELEY, and rebranded by Wolf.

CCI: Standard Velocity

40 grain, 1070 fps, round nose lead bullet: G1 of 0.123
Generally regarded as the most accurate readily available (and cost effective) non-match grade ammunition available for precision shooting.  Especially if your rifle doesn't have a match chamber.

Classification

General LC&SA Range Rules

We run a cold range.  This means firearms remain unloaded until instructed to load on the firing line.  When you arrive, rack your empty firearm at any of the designated rifle racks behind the firing line.  Do not touch your firearm again until you are on the firing line and instructed to.  You may load magazines at any time.

Firearm safety rules are to be followed at all times:

Always treat all firearms as though they are loaded.

Always keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction.

Always keep your finger out of the trigger guard until ready to shoot.

Always be sure of your target and what’s beyond it.