PRS in Central Europe

This year was interesting and important for fans of Dynamic Precision Shooting in our country and in the surrounding countries with the launch of the PRS (Precision Rifle Shooting) series in Central Europe. It was started by members of the Precision Rifle Team RDA in Slovakia as the Slovak series, and during the season this series expanded to include the Austrian and Czech branches. And all this as part of the PRS International world series.

What exactly is PRS? This is Dynamic Precision Shooting - ie precision shooting at long distances, from different positions and within the time limit.

In our country in Central Europe in addition to "target shooting" various "tactical" disciplines with a precision rifle are also widespread. But in the vast majority of cases it is shooting at paper targets and also in the vast majority it is shooting prone. And due to the possibilities of shooting ranges these competitions are usually at a distance of up to 300 meters. These competitions are attended not only by civilians, but of course by shooters from the armed forces. Some are reserved for them only. Some of them even have different "tactical" disciplines such as camouflage and the like - but only in multi-day events (and there are unfortunately not enough for civilian shooters). I wrote about one top event of this type here… Unfortunately, these competitions are decreasing significantly.

But the PRS is just a little different. It is about shooting itself without added disciplines. They also shoot mostly on metal targets, which allows everything to go very fast. Both the rotation of shooters and the evaluation of results. In addition, the conditions for organizing a PRS race are distances greater than 300 meters (of course, some targets are even closer, but there are not many). They also shoot in a short time. If the time expires before the shooter solves all the targets, then only the hits achieved count to him. If he solves everyone in the limit, the time achieved is also recorded. The results are decided by the number of interventions and, in case of agreement, by a shorter time. It's easy, fast and fair…

The sizes of the targets and thus the difficulty of their hits range from 1 to 4 MOA - but mostly around 2-3 MOA. Distances in the USA from 50 to 1.000 meters (exceptionally even over 1.000 meters). There are relatively just few in prone position but most of the shooting is from different positions with some kind of support of the rifle.

In the Slovakia / Austria / Czech series (in which anyone can compete and there were shooters from several other countries) the distances ranged from 90 to 485 meters and the size of targets from 0.75 (which was really difficult) to 3.9 MOA. 26 out of a total of 45 targets were fired from prone but it was only 13 regular prone (just very fast) - in other cases it was a ramp (difficult to use the bipod) or some other monkey business…

From the short video is clear that weapons that achieve an accuracy of around ¾ to 1 MOA are sufficient for this series. Which are really common weapons that many shooters have here… F-class accuracy is not needed here - it's more about the ability of the shooters than the perfect equipment. However, the equipment is good to have adapted to this dynamic way of shooting.

The picture shows 3x Tikka T3 in different stocks, Remington 700, Victrix and Blaser R93. Of these weapons, the Remington 700 ranked the highest, which paradoxically has the cheapest riflescope (other riflescopes are doubly or even more expensive). Expensive equipment does not guarantee a great result but it can make a job easier for a good shooter.

However what is very important in PRS is the selection of a suitable caliber. In this article I did caliber statistics at two international competitions (one of which was PRS) of Dynamic Precision Shooting. The data reflect the equipment of the shooters in our country and in the surrounding countries.

The fact is that when it comes to PRS and similar competitions - the calibers with a small recoil have been dominating for several years. In the US in the PRS for the last two years, registered shooters have used the following calibers:

307 - 6,5 Creedmoor

258 - 6mm Dasher

212 - 6mm Creedmoor

158 - 6mm GT

132 - 6mm BR

110 - 6mm BRA

69 - .308 Winchester (in the statistics there are also weapons in the "tactical division" which is limited to .223 and .308 only)

53 - 6XC

42 - 6,5x47 Lapua

37 - 6x47 Lapua

Which means that 6mm calibers dominate in the ratio of 960/349 to 6.5mm… In the final of 2021 all the top 10 shooters used 6mm caliber.

In this video you can see the stage which is fired prone but it is not a classic prone shooting as we are used to.… It is necessary to hit an A4 target twice at 343 and 420 meters (the target size is approximately 2.1 and 1.7 MOA). I had the microphone on me so I commented on it a bit… I missed the first and had to reshoot once and I only had about 2.5 seconds until the limit.

Positions other than prone may look like this for example. And it's a typical example. Two targets were fired from the pallet - the first at a distance of 315 meters (1.7 MOA) and the second 362 meters (2 MOA). Equipment and shooting technique, of course, play a role here.

PRS competitions usually have 8-12 stages. Each is usually for 6-8 hits. Mostly there is no limited number of rounds but the time is limiting. Times are around 90 seconds but this varies according to difficulty. Each stage has a description and distances of the targets and basically all the necessary information. Which doesn't mean that you can't screw it completely... ...because - as we know - the timer beep acts like a neuralyzer from the MIB…

Very interesting stage where you shoot from the tower. However, it is necessary to climb to the top, all within the time limit. But as soon as the timer beeps even we - the older and overweight ones - will climb the ladder as if we were young...

The picture shows "the memory helper". Here the shooter shoots three targets at distances of 228 meters (2.4 MOA), 320 meters (1.6 MOA) and 392 meters (1.8 MOA).

In PRS corrections between targets are usually not made by "dialing" but by "hold over" using the reticle. Modern reticles allow this relatively well and the difference in speed is clear… Reliable optics with a good reticle are the basis here. Surprisingly optical quality is not so crucial - so even with suitable optics in the middle class you can win.

What I have to emphasize is the overall atmosphere and a really professional approach and the work of the organizers - which is simply at the highest level. Thorough and thoughtful preparation and a lot of well-done work cannot be overlooked. Of course, thanks to that, the atmosphere was excellent in all the matches and all the shooters really enjoyed it.

The level of organization and competitions in this series was such that the US PRS invited top 3 shooter of the season to the world finals in New Mexico. Coincidentally they were shooters from each of the three countries that participated in this series (Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia). In the end, however, none of them took part in this final because it was not possible due to Covid travel restrictions…

Here is a slightly longer video where all the stages are as they were, on the first match of the series. I'm wearing a microphone so I comment on it sometimes. It is also worth mentioning that it is very easy to know how I breathe (sometimes I wheeze… I mean, always…). No deep inhales and exhales, but on the contrary an effort to calm the breath and pulse.

Terms, categories and other news are already ready for the 2022 season and will be announced soon. I am not afraid that the high level of the organization will not be maintained and I am sure that this season will be worth it again. I can recommend PRS to anyone who wants a little more (or something a little different) than just prone shooting at paper targets.

It's a challenge…

It's action…

It's exciting…

It's funny…

And now we have it too - YES!