I don't think there is really a guide out there or any one real good source. I'd do a lot of reading on long-range.com. Do you have a rifle or are you going to buy or build something? I wouldn't buy anything until you go to a couple of matches and figure out exactly what you want to do, and how seriously you want to pursue it.
Here is a list of things just off the top of my head that would get you started. Some of them may be relevant for you, some may not, but other people may be interested. You wont find some of this stuff on other board unless you dig pretty deep. I've probably left out a lot of stuff, but I'm sure others will chime in.
Rifle with a scope. A varmint rifle with a heavy barrel would work well, but you could also use a semi auto like an AR varmint rig. If you have a regular scope base, you should be ok if you are shooting to 600 yards, but it is really best to get an angled base. The angled base gives you about 20 minutes of extra elevation, but what it really does is allow your scope to maximize the windage it has. As you get toward the top of your elevation adjustment, you start to run out of windage because the scope body is round and not square.
Yellow Open Bolt Indicator - They are like $3 and you can get one at your first match.
Bipod or rest
Rear sandbag
ground cloth - poncho will work
Something to cushion your shoulder - A shooting jacket or one of those PAST shoulder pads will work well. Even one of the old cheap jackets offers enough padding to make 66 shots enjoyable. Without padding 66 shots of any center fire rifle can be unpleasant.
spotting scope or pair of binoculars. After you shoot, you have to score the next guy and the binos/spotting scope are needed since you can't see the scoring disc without optics.
lawn chair with a back to sit in. You can get by with a camp stool, but at the end of the day it is hard on your back.
Lunch & something to drink.
Eye and ear protection for shooting and pulling pits.
A couple of pencils
small notebook
Rain gear
A 3X600 is three twenty shot matches. Bring at least 66 rounds. You will get two sighters for each string. Better to just bring 80 rounds.
Before the match
Load some decent ammo or buy it. Only use match grade bullets. Try and stick with stuff with a boattail.
You need to be on paper for your first shot at 600yds. If you don't have a 600 yard zero, get a solid zero at 100 yards or possibly 50 yards. Get your notebook out and record your sight settings so you can go back to them if need be.
Once you do that you can get the come ups with a program and make adjustments from those basic short range zeros. Use an
online ballistics program to predict what they are and then figure out how high you should be shooting at 100 yards for a 600 yard zero. If you have not chronographed your ammo, you need to make a guess on how fast it is going for the calculator to work. Your reloading manual should give you a ball park idea on the velocity. If you are shooting factory ammo, go to their website and look at their tables to figure out how fast the stuff is going. Also pay attention to the reference rifle they use to generate the velocity. If your barrel is 26 inches and they used a 24 inch barrel you will be shooting a little faster. I use about 25 FPS for each inch or barrel length to come up with a decent guess.
Here is an example. If I want to get a 600 yard zero with my .308 rifle shooting 168s at 2726 fps, I should zero the rifle so that I'm hitting 16.1 inches high at 100 yards. Just make sure to bring a tape measure/yard stick and a marker to the range when you zero.
If you are not able to do that try this. Although I have not personally tested these, but they look right.
This formula works for 5.56mm, 7.62mm and .30/06. It will get you on paper and a lot of the time in the black. Caliber, bullet or velocity doesn't matter.
You normally have to touch up the elevation at 600 but the 200 and 300 comeups are usually in the 10 and X rings no matter what rifle you are shooting.
• From a 100 yard zero come up 2 minutes for 200 yards.
• From a 200 yard zero come up 3 minutes for 300 yards.
• From a 300 yard zero come up 7 minutes for 500 yards.
• From a 300 yard zero come up 12 minutes for 600 yards.
• From a 500 yard zero come up 5 minutes for 600 yards.
Show up early
Show up about 40 minutes early and sign in and pay your money. You will need to fill out an
SR-1 Card. Tell the guy that you have never done this before, but let them know you have a good zero. If you don't hit paper in your first couple of shots, some of the ranges may ask you to stop shooting. Ask them to squad you with someone experienced. They will tell you what relay you are on and what point you are shooting at. Ask them where you should go (to the pits or the firing line).
In the Pits
When you go to the pits, let the person next to you know you are new and need some help. Bring your chair and your eye and ear protection to the pits. You will have to lug the targets out of the shed and put them up on the frame so make sure you remember what point you are on. You may even have to reface the target, just ask them which target to put up. The new F-class targets are smaller than the sling shooters use so all the F-class shooters are typically on the same points. Pay attention to what you are doing while you are pulling and try and give decent pit service.
If the shots are going into the 10 & x ring, it shouldn't take more than 8 or 9 seconds to pull it, mark it, score it, past the hole, and run it back up. If they are all over the place that is something else and don't worry about it. Pit duty is something to take seriously.
They are in the process of changing things, but the values are indicated on the target with scoring disks. Here is where the scoring disks go.
The old system
This is the new system
Getting Ready to Shoot
Up on the firing line, find who you are squadded with and introduce yourself and let them know you are new. You can sometimes place some of your gear like your mat and spotting scope up on the line before your relay is called. Your gear goes to the right of the point marker. They will formally call you to the line and let you know that you can handle your rifle. They will give you a three minute preparation period where you can dry fire your rifle and fiddle with the sights. The targets will be exposed during this time. At the end of the three minutes they will pull the targets down and you will be told you are going to start the match. When the targets come up you will have 22 minutes for 2 sighters and 20 shots for record. Make sure your scorer has your score card and is behind you. Sometimes they wander off. Ask your scorer to call out the shots as he marks them down on the card. It helps everyone keep track of just how many shots have been taken. In some instances they just call you to the line and tell you that you are going to be given "block time" of 25 minutes. That just means that when the targets come up, you can shoot at them. They are just cutting out the wasted time with the formality of pulling them and running them back up. What ever you do,
don't shoot until you hear other people start shooting. It can save you a lot of embarrassment/humiliation.
The Wind
If you are shooting in New England, unless it is really blowing or you are shooting something wimpy, you should be on paper even if you don't make any windage correction. The best thing to do is just ask someone. Tell them what you are shooting for a load and how much do they think it is worth. Put that on the rifle and shoot your two sighters. If your two sighters are close together, you will want to make adjustments to center your shots up in the X ring. Don't worry too much about it. Just concentrate on shooting good shots and figuring out what is going on at the match. Lots of new shooters get scared by the wind and think they are being blown all over creation, but they are just shooting them all over the place.
More to follow--