I Joined the PRS Podcast: Unpublished Tunnel Tests & What Really Matters

Cal October 16, 2026 Reference Leave a comment

I recently sat down with Ken Wheeler on the Precision Rifle Series Podcast, and we covered a lot of ground! We talked about how Precision Rifle Blog got started, what I’ve learned from testing equipment and surveying the top shooters, and a couple of experiments in my underground range that I still haven’t published.

The episode was published this week, and they named it “What the Data Says Actually Matters in Precision Rifle Shooting.”

If you follow PRB for research, you haven’t seen a few things from this conversation in an article yet. Here are two that might get your attention.

A Preview of Two Unpublished Tests

Powder humidity and muzzle velocity. After I published my powder temperature sensitivity test, both Austin Orgain and Austin Buschman independently suggested I research humidity’s impact. Those are two of the most accomplished shooters on the planet, so I followed their advice! We’re talking about moisture in the powder itself and its effect on muzzle velocity. I explain what I tested and why the results got my attention. It was another one of those projects that started as a simple question and ended up taking far more time and equipment than I planned! That discussion starts around 40 min.

A bag between the rifle and a rear tripod. New bags like AG’s Rear Admiral Tripod Rear Support Bag can make it easy to get steady. But does a steady sight picture tell the whole story about how the rifle will shoot? After a conversation with Chad Heckler at a match, I tested that setup in my enclosed, 100-yard range. We talk about group size, the way the rifle is supported, and why it is worth checking your own setup. If you’re interested in group size and whether changing rear support can move your point of impact, you’ll want to hear this discussion. It starts around 43 min.

I’ll save the detailed results for the full write-ups. In the podcast, you can hear what prompted those tests and some of what I found.

We Also Talk About…

How PRB started. It began as a place to organize what I was learning and trying to make it easier on the next guy. We also get into my early match experiences, including finishing next to last. The only guy I beat was the friend I brought with me!
The research behind the articles. From scope field tests and muzzle brakes to the What The Pros Use surveys, we talk about how I approach testing and what those different kinds of data can tell us.
Getting better as a competitor. We discuss dry-fire practice, what I’ve learned from top shooters, and the cost of constantly changing equipment.
Keeping reloading in perspective. We cover components, virgin brass, neck tension, and how much attention some of those details deserve.
What match data might teach us next. Interesting questions that go beyond the final standings, including how shooters recover after a bad stage.

Watch or Listen

Watch the video on Apple Podcasts

You can also find the episode on:

A quick note for the YouTube crowd: The PRS account is currently in YouTube “time out”, so you won’t find this one there yet. They should be able to start publishing again there soon.

Use another podcast app? Here are the show’s links to the other platforms.

Thanks to Ken for having me on. I sure enjoyed the conversation!

Give it a listen, then let me know: Which of those tunnel tests would you like me to write up first?

Show Notes

In this episode, Cal Zant shares the story behind Precision Rifle Blog and how his search for reliable long-range shooting information grew into one of the sport’s most trusted sources of independent data.

Cal walks through his journey from hunting and early rifle matches to PRS competition, ELR shooting, and conducting detailed field tests on scopes, rangefinding binoculars, muzzle brakes, barrels, ammunition, and reloading components.

The conversation also covers several surprising and previously unpublished tests, including how powder humidity can affect velocity and whether using a rear tripod bag can change group size.

They also discuss what top PRS shooters actually use, why constantly changing equipment may hurt more than it helps, the value of dry-fire practice, common reloading myths, virgin brass, neck tension, load development, and which details truly matter for precision rifle performance.

It’s a data-driven conversation about testing assumptions, separating measurable performance from marketing claims, and helping shooters make better decisions.

Precision Rifle Podcasts – 4 Podcasts Hosted by Top 10 Shooters

Have you ever been at a match, and you saw a shooter there you respect – and you wished you could see what was going on in his head? What does he think about before a stage? What is he thinking about as he takes each shot? Why is he running that bag? How does he practice? What helped him make the leap from a mid-pack shooter to the guy who consistently goes home with trophies? Over the past couple of years, a few of the very best precision rifle competitors have started publishing podcasts. It would be extremely rare in any sport for the guys at the absolute pinnacle of the sport to take the time to host a podcast and openly share their knowledge, approach, and mindset with the rest of their community - but, we are fortunate in the precision rifle world for that to be true. Over the past few months, I’ve learned more from these podcasts than anywhere else, so I naturally want to share those with my readers so you can benefit from them, too!