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The Precision Rifle Series (PRS), founded in 2011, has evolved into one of the most competitive and fastest-growing shooting sports in the world. What started as a small grassroots series has exploded in popularity and gone global, with over 13,000 competitors shooting in PRS-sanctioned matches in 2024!
The PRS has always focused on long-range shooting in real-world field conditions. It operates much like NASCAR or the PGA FedEx Cup: competitors shoot matches throughout the season, earn points based on performance, and each year, the top-ranked shooters are invited to the PRS Finale to crown the PRS Season Champion. That framework hasn’t changed, but almost everything else has.
Explosive Growth in Participation & Matches
Back when I shot my first PRS match in 2015, the sport was still small. The brochure I picked up at SHOT Show 2014 listed just 12 matches for the entire season (see image). Originally, the only PRS matches were flagship, two-day matches that people would travel to from across the country to compete in. Those typically include around 200 shots over 18-22 stages, with typical target distances ranging from 300 to 1000 yards. We call those “Pro Series” matches today, and they are the pinnacle of long-range competition.
The PRS Pro Series originally was mainly in the central and eastern US, with the National Rifle League (NRL) dominating the western half. But since the NRL shifted to hunter-style matches, the PRS has expanded coast-to-coast – and even internationally. There are now PRS Pro Series matches across Europe, including in France, the UK, Norway, Sweden, Italy, and more.
Over 2,000 shooters competed in Pro Series matches in 2024 – and there are a record-breaking 58 Pro Series matches scheduled for 2025!
In 2017, the PRS added the Regional Series to make the sport more accessible to newer shooters and those who can’t travel nationwide. These are one-day matches held at local rifle clubs with 8-10 stages and target distances similar to Pro Series matches. Almost 7,000 shooters competed in PRS Regional Series matches in 2024, and there are over 150 regional matches scheduled for 2025!
In 2021, the PRS added the Rimfire Series. Stages at these matches are similar to the other matches, but you use rimfire rifles (22 LR) and typically shoot 25 to 200 yards. The ammo cost and some other equipment can be significantly less for rimfire, but the overall challenge is similar. Matches can either be one or two-day events, and there are still national championships and rankings. Over 4,000 shooters competed in the PRS Rimfire Series in 2024, and there are over 200 PRS Rimfire matches scheduled for 2025!
When you combine all of those different series, you get a clear picture of how staggering the growth of the PRS has been over the past decade. It seems to be growing in every direction!
Recently, the PRS has quietly gone global – with rising participation not just in Europe but Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and more. And this is just the beginning. As more international shooters enter the arena, the sport is poised to reach a whole new level. The growth we’ve seen so far might just be the tip of the iceberg!
Level of Competition Has Skyrocketed
While the growth in participation is impressive, the level of competition is what has truly exploded. Back in 2015, if you placed in the top 10 at a PRS match, you were among the best. Today, if that same shooter time-traveled from 2015 to now and shot a 2025 match, they’d be lucky to place in the top 50! The sport has evolved in every way.
A close friend of mine qualified for the PRS Finale in 2016 and finished in the top 100 that season, but then he got busy with a young family, work, and life and didn’t compete for several years. Last year, he dusted off his rifle and joined me for a PRS regional match. It was eye-opening how much the sport has advanced since 2016! While the changes have come gradually year by year, talking with him lately about rifles, gear, and match strategy has really highlighted just how far things have come.
Stages Have More Positions & Targets Have Shrunk
There are a couple of well-defined standard “skills stages,” and last year, we adjusted the most popular skills stage by adding 25% more shots and 25% more positions, changed it from 1 target to 2, and shrunk those targets by 20-40%. Oh, and the par time is typically still 90 seconds. And I’ll be honest – while they did increase the challenge, it’s rare for a good shooter to miss a single shot on that stage, and most pros finish in under 60 seconds. The PRS Skills Stage is simply a representation of how stages that were once challenging simply aren’t anymore, so match directors have to make the same kind of adjustments to every stage to separate the field. (Read Upgrades PRS Barricade Skills Stage)
Margins Of Victory Are Razor Thin
Take this stat: In 2024, over 60% of Pro Series matches were decided by 2 points or less. Here is a breakdown of how many points separated 1st from 2nd over the 41 regular season Pro Series matches in 2024.
7 matches ended up in a tie after two full days and shooting 200+ rounds! 10 years ago, there were plenty of matches that were decided by more than 5 points – but that is rare with the heavy hitters that show up at every match today.
In fact, it’s normal to see 10-15 shooters at every match who are capable of winning on any given weekend. The bar is just that high now.
More Elite-Level Shooters Are Competing In More Matches Than Ever
If you’ve never seen one of the top 25 pro shooters run a stage, you’re seriously missing out! What they can do with a rifle is unreal. They are very smooth and never look rushed – but then you realize they just cleaned a tough stage with 20 seconds to spare. Sure, the heavy rifles, sandbags, and modern gear help, but the skill level at the top feels almost superhuman!
While there used to be 12 pro matches all year, most of the elite shooters are traveling to 8-15 regular season Pro Series matches, plus the PRS Finale and the AG Cup. That means they are competing in 30 total days worth of pro-level matches each year!
Here is the number of matches that each of the guys who placed in the top 20 in the 2024 Open Division said they shot during the regular season in 2024:
Shooting just a handful of matches doesn’t cut it anymore. Most of these guys also shot the PRS Finale, AG Cup, and maybe even the IPRF World Championship! That means the average is over 13 pro-level rifle matches each year – which will turn great shooters into truly unbelievable shooters. That’s a serious investment of time, travel, and ammo. Like most sports, there are no shortcuts to the top – to achieve truly world-class performance, you have to put in the reps.
Here’s how two of the 10 ten shooters think about it: Nathan Toungate told me, “Yeah, the level of competition today is wild. Kahl Harmon and I talk a lot about random stuff, and we both agree that if you take 6-12 months off, it’s unlikely you’ll ever come back to the same level you left.”
What It Takes To Be A Top Shooter Today
Just qualifying for the PRS Finale today is tough! The PRS invites the top 150 shooters in the Open Division to the Finale, but even cracking that top 150 requires a serious commitment.
I checked the standings just before the 2024 finale, and the 150th shooter in the Open Division had 267.966 points. That same score would have put you in the top 50 entering the Finale back in 2017! In 2014, it would have landed you in the top 20!
Even the scores of those at the very top are rising. The chart below shows how many regular season points you needed to be ranked in the top 25 entering the Finale:
The chart below shows the number of shooters who entered the PRS Finale with a perfect score of 300 (meaning they won 3 regular season Pro Series matches). That puts them in the best place to win the coveted golden bullet with a good performance at the Finale.
At the PRS Finale, the 12 shooters with the highest season points are grouped together into Squad #1. In 2020, it took 293 points to be in Squad #1, but in the past two years, it took 297 and 298.3! You have to almost end the regular season with a perfect score to earn a spot in Squad #1 at the Finale!
In 2024, the golden bullet winner (Ben Gossett) entered the Finale with 297.2 points – but he had 23 other shooters breathing down his neck with higher season totals! Luckily, Ben had an epic performance at the 2024 Finale to secure the title of PRS Season Champ (read about it).
Final Thoughts
The PRS has come a long way since I became a member in 2016 and was issued PRS #1782. New members today are getting numbers above 20,000!
The sport is bigger, more competitive, and more accessible than ever before. It’s a great time to be involved in precision rifle shooting – but if you want to be one of the best, the bar keeps rising!
If you’re just getting started, don’t be discouraged. Every top shooter once started as a beginner. Just know that to separate yourself from the pack, you’ll need to train smart, shoot often, and – as Phil Velayo puts it – continually focus on improving by just 1%. That’s what makes the difference at the top.
I do enjoy reading this web page; it provides a memory, a vicarious thrill, of the few great shots I once craved. I stopped competitive shooting, however, when I realized that I was obsessing over which pricey little brown/green/camo pillow (sorry, I mean Barricade Bag) I “needed” to be competitive. Same with, you name it: the best tactical clothing, best hand loading tools/best sound suppression, and dope calculators I “needed”. Never mind the parade of rifles, scopes & etc. All to feed an industry that enriches best itself by attracting ever more “competitors” to the game who eventually overrun and suck the very heart out of it Same thing that happened to fly fishing and a lot of other “manly” pursuits I once enjoyed. I understand the thrill but am no longer to pay somebody their price to get it. So thanks for your articles. And the rest of please save your outrage and flames. This is just one guy’s view. YMMV.
Hey, Rick. I hear you. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It is sure easy to get overly focused on gear in this game. But, what I’ve noticed hanging around some of the top 20 shooters is that they very rarely change anything about their rifle, bag, or other gear. They might go 4 years without changing anything substantial on their rifle. Take the 2024 PRS Champion Ben Gossett for example. He is using a 6mm Dasher in a MPA BA Comp chassis, which was first released around 2015. I bet he’s been running that chassis since 2016/2017. I’m running the same Impact 737R action that I bought when they were first released with a serial number in the 100s.
But, lots of us like to tinker and try new things. Ultimately a new bag or gadget isn’t going to help anyone break into the top 150. Only discipline and practice can do that. The nut behind the gun is the weakest link in the system for almost all of us. I know that’s the truth for me! I shot my first big PRS match in 2015, and didn’t break into the top 150 until last year. I always thought that if I shot enough matches, that I was good enough to qualify for the finale. I just didn’t have the time to travel to a bunch of matches with young kids at home. Now my kids are 14 and 15, and have their own stuff going on some weekends … so last year I thought I’d make a run at it to see if I was right. It turns out, I was wrong. I wasn’t good enough to qualify for the finale … at least not as of December 2023. But I worked my butt off practicing, with a ton of dry-fire … and became a much, much better shooter. I did earn that invite to the 2024 Finale as one of the top 150 shooters in the Open Division and ended up finishing 99th on the season, which I’m very proud of. I’m now officially classified as a “Pro” shooter and I got to take my own “What The Pros Use” survey, which was pretty cool.
But, it wasn’t an equipment change that got me there. In fact, if you handed me the rifle I was using in 2020 – I would have finished about the same. Now, I’m not saying I could do that with the rifle I was using in 2015 … so I’m not saying that equipment doesn’t matter. We used to use 12 lb rifles to compete, and virtually nobody could finish in the top 100 with a 12 lb match rifle.
All of the guys at the top have spent a ridiculous amount of time behind a rifle. Like 7,000+ rounds per year and 30+ days competing at national level matches. I know some of the guys in the top 20 that go to the range 3 days a week to practice. Those guys are never thinking about what pricey little bag they’re using. They’re most likely using the same exact model they’ve used for the past 4 years.
Sounds like you’re happy with where you’re at, so don’t fix happy. I’m not trying to convince you otherwise. Just thought I’d share how my perspective of the gear race has changed as I’ve worked my way up to pro status. I’ve just noticed how differently we look at gear changes.
And I’ve never once thought this sport was getting overrun and new people “suck the very heart out of it.” Honestly, this is the most amazing community of people I’ve ever come across. I’ve competed in ELR and 3-Gun … and those communities are what you’d expect, but the PRS community is full of a bunch of good people who help each other. That isn’t the case in any other shooting discipline or sport I’ve ever come across. I think that’s why this has become the fastest growing shooting sport, because of that culture. I also think Ken Wheeler is a world-class leader who is doing a great job as the PRS owner/director. I’ve literally known every single PRS director since it started, because I’d interact with all of them on the “What The Pros Use” survey. While there were a lot of good people, Ken is not just an extremely nice guy, he’s an exceptional organizational leader. The most senior leader isn’t the only thing that matters in an organization, but it is certainly an important part of it. I couldn’t be more excited about the future of the PRS.
But, like you said … that’s just one guy’s view. YMMV. 😉 I do appreciate you sharing your perspective.
Thanks,
Cal
Thanks so much for your reply, Cal. First, congratulations on making Pro, a remarkable accomplishment and milestone. I can imagine that receiving that survey was a pretty proud, cool moment; certainly one that underscored your effort and commitment to the game. I think the last time I had a moment like that was winning the History award upon graduating from St. Paul The Apostle Grammar School in 1965. :-). (we all take our victories as we can, eh?)
Your dedication is exemplary as is your positive perspective on competition. I never really adjusted to competing, but instead always found myself torn between the quiet of solitary pursuit and the need to know where I stood among others. In any event, I still enjoy shooting, glad that the elemental pleasure of it never changed. I think what really got to me was getting caught up in the chase for some Holy Grail of an accessory instead of the pure pleasure of the shot. I give you joy of the satisfaction you find in the sport. And thank you for the evident time and effort of your reply.
Rick
I absolutely agree. Thats what I’ve been saying that it became a game of money or should I say pride.
It’s the best marketing game out there.
Infomercial sports.
I enjoy this site and whats happening in top product lines but at some point you have to say enough is enough.
If people will pay it they will keep going up to stupid.
Cal, thanks so much for your bar charts and chirpings, I have learnt a lot as a 73-year-old, lazy, BR shooter who heads for the pub at half-moa. Happen to be an acquaintance of Jeff Guerry, a humble and dedicted champ, his attitude inspires me. Keep driving the data, please! Des O’Neill, Tennessee.
Hey, Desmond! Thanks for the encouragement. Glad to hear that you appreciate all the charts! 😉
Jeff Guerry seems like a super nice guy. He’s certainly a fierce competitor. I heard him talk about how competitive he was at tennis growing up, and you can see he parlayed that competitive mindset into the PRS very well. I’ve also noticed how disciplined he is. I think it’d be impossible to be listed among the top 10 and not be an extremely disciplined person with very strong mental game. Jeff has those things for sure!
Thanks,
Cal
Thank you for the reply Cal. Ive read Siewert’s book and Bulletology articles. They are great. Most guys will glaze over quickly. He needs a Bubba editor, less Nerd like me. Us structural engineers often get lost in the weeds.