Are you ready for the ultimate in precision shooting? Merely three mm is the difference between first and 10th place. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Bench-Rest shooting.

When I first entered the arena of competitive shooting, I did so by delving into this sport.

I recall traveling 14 hours one way to an event and being only one out of 500 shooters. I was a little fish in a big flipping ocean. What excites me about this sport? It’s as much about brainpower as it is about pure skill.

“I don’t think you can have a low IQ and get too far in this sport.”

Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty.

The rifle is fired from a stable bench. Yes, I know I’m Mr. Obvious. The winners are decided by precisely measuring the size of a group of shots. Remember when I said three mm could be the difference between first and 10th? I wasn’t kidding.

You are allowed to use a front rest, a rear bag, and an assortment of wind flags. The firing courses are challenging.

There is a wide array of participants in terms of age. I recall being next to a kid so young. His feet didn’t touch the ground while sitting on his stool. (That kid beat the tar out of me.)

The distances range from 100 up to 1000 yards. The designs of the rifles and ammo are so precise it could make a SpaceX engineer blush.

Most people do not realize I was a competitor in this sport for the first four years of my career

I believe everyone has learned something from this discipline. “If you haven’t learned from those shooters, you probably have been beaten by somebody who did.” I now shoot at F-class, and 95% of my reloading practices were derived from this sport.

Shooting Sports Explained

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