Photo courtesy of Jill Peck Match Photos
The Long Range Shooting Experience (LRSE) match was held at the cool facilities of RockCastle in Kentucky and was the brainchild of three of the sports best match directors and competitors. Ryan Castle, Scott Satterlee and Bryan Morgan. The weekend weather wasn’t too promising so I brought some rain gear and bug spray. From the first step into facility, Misty Morgan had everything planned out to a tee. She is wife of Bryan Morgan, one of the match directors. After Misty got us signed in, we checked into our room which was part of the entry fee. I think this made it part of the cool factor of the match was that all the competitors stayed at the facilities so it was nice to hang out with everyone. I had double duties at the match as I also work for Armageddon Gear and we brought our infamous “Meat Wagon” to the match. We had it loaded down with gear to sell & think we almost sold out on the first day! We had a shooters meeting that evening to go over safety, squads and to answer any general questions.
Photo courtesy of Jill Peck Match Photos
The first day of the match started early at 7 a.m. With Jake in hand, my Ashbury Precision Ordnance 6.5 Creedmoor with Bushnell Elite XRS 4.5-30 ready, we were off. We were squaded with a great group of guys who made the match fun. I always use Hornady 140gr AMAX factory loads in my competitions. They are extremely consistent and I have never had a problem with them. Our squad started on stage “Field Fire 1”. You had 6 IPSC target of varying sizes which must be engaged from close to far. Targets ranged from 423 yrds out to 1064yrds. You had a max of 12 rounds with 2 minutes to complete course of fire (COF). Each stage, you had a generous amount of time to complete COF. I started this match off great. It is such a confidence booster to hear each hit on steel. Since the weather man was calling for some rough weather on Sunday, the match directors decided to push through the day and complete as many stages as possible. One of the most unique, difficult stages was the “Loop Holes”. The scenario was all set up in an old barn. You had a target out at 175 yrds. You had 5 different positions to shoot from with two shots from each position inside the barn. What was really cool about this stage, was that you shot between the boards that make up the exterior of the building. This is an old barn, so just with age and weather, there were spacing between the boards that you were able to shoot through. A really really cool stage. After we shot 4 stages, everyone met back up at the lodge. Our 2nd half of the day was spent on the ridge, which was quite the ride. Luckily we had a 4WD that helped us get there. Mud and tires spinning……ah, what a wonderful day. Once we got to the next 4 stages, you had to literally walk up the side of a mountain (ß-yes, it was a mountain to me). At the top, the stages were all set up in a row on this ridge that overlooked another valley and ridge line. Each stage had its own difficulty and distance. The only thing that really got me on these stages were ticks. I had just jumped down in prone position, had my target in my crosshairs and suddenly felt something crawling up my arm. I glanced down and just about freaked. Two BIG ticks were crawling on my forearm. I’m sure I was making was whimpering sounds as me and bugs just do not get along at all. After I made my shots I flung those ticks off my arm. Honestly, I don’t remember how I did on that stage.
Photo courtesy of Jill Peck Match Photos
Due to bad weather coming in the next day, all the competitors shot another 4 stages that evening which made 12 stages shot on day 1. The last 4 stages included a mover stage and a TYL stage where you shot the large target first on the TYL rack at 457 yrds, then had to stand in an off hand position to engage another target (117 yrds) and once hit, jump back down in prone and shoot the 2nd target on KYL stand and so forth. At the end of day one you can imagine that Jake required a little maintenance. Fortunately, with my new addition of Hoppes #9, I got him oiled in all the right places in anticipation of a very wet next day. I now carry with me in my range bag the Hoppes #9 Universal Field Kit. This little kit is just awesome! 
Day two started with rain. Luckily we only had 4 stages to complete. I didn’t score well on my first two stages but gained traction back on the Hostage target. I was worried about the glass being fogged in my scope, but with the excellent RainGuard technology that Bushnell uses, I had no fogs or drips to worry about. It was definitely a great match. And yes, the rumors are true, I beat my Husband in this match! Thanks again to the match directors, Ryan Castle, Scott Satterlee Bryan Morgan (and Misty Morgan) for putting on such a smooth running, fun match. Big thanks to the all the R.O.’s who took time out of their weekend to be here. Congrats to Isaac Frank who took the top spot. And big Thank You to my sweet Husband who taught me everything about long range shooting. Huge heartfelt thanks to Ashbury Precision Ordnance, Bushnell Tactical, Hoppes #9, Armageddon Gear, Spuhr mounts, Wiebad bags, and Gungoddess.com, who all stand behind me and help me become a better shooter.
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