Next match I shoot will be next weekend in Larkspur, CO.
https://nrlhunter.org/match/battle-of-rattlesnake-butte/
After that, I will stick around Colorado Springs for a few more days to visit the Space Symposium. https://www.spacesymposium.org/
If you are around Colorado Springs, I'll be around most of the week of April 7th.

The only way I can go out to shoot these matches is to combine them with work trips or family trips.
Given that constraint, this is likely the last match I shoot between now and BOTC in Wyoming. It would be nice to do one in May somewhere, but I am a little concerned my wife's patience is wearing thin.

After BOTC in June, I'll be trying to focus a little more on semi-autos (maybe Quantified Performance if I can find a convenient match) until we get to the hunting season.

I do not yet know what that will look like since the results of the New Mexico draw won't be out for a little but, but I do intend to have a Mule Deer hunt in Montana last week of October.

As is often the case, I am basing my reviews on the different hunts and matches planned for this year and on the requests from the supporters here.

For the match in Colorado, after some consideration, I will stick with shooting my 308. I considered doing it with the 6.5PRC, but decided to stick the suppressed 308 for now. In California, I kept it at 12lbs. This time around, I'll get it up to about 15lbs in weight.

The weather is promising to be cold and snowy, but at least they changed it from "rain and snow" to just "snow". With my luck, by the time we get to the weekend, it will become "rain, snow, hale, thunder, lightning, flash floods and mud slides", so I am packing accordingly.

The current plan it set up as follows:

Q Fix with 24" 308Win barrel (normal model is 16" https://alnk.to/cwTMiav, but I have an after market Proof barrel)
Q Trash Panda suppressor https://alnk.to/28T4qGa
MDT Ckyepod Triple Pull https://alnk.to/a45ayLF
Tangent Theta 7-35x56 scope https://alnk.to/8tQlJqT
Area 419 scope mount https://alnk.to/aeZVxBr
Leica Geovid Pro AB+ 10x42 LRF bino https://alnk.to/apUGwqn
MDT Peanut glass filled bag https://alnk.to/esY75ci
Cole-Tac flat bag with backbone frame https://alnk.to/3J7Tfrg
Telson inverted leg tripod https://telsonoptics.com/shop/tripod-ballhead-combo/?ref=llkqsdus

I'll be shooting AAC's 175gr ammo again. https://alnk.to/44Xpd6X It is loaded for them by Hornady and uses, best I can tell, Hornady's Aeromatch bullet. I think that bullet is a carbon copy of the 175gr SMK and my data seems to prove it out. Hopefully, AB will have the custom curves for this bullet eventually. That will tell us how close it is to the SMK.

I did some inventory and I do have some Hornady-labeled 308 ammo and it appears a bit more consistent than the AAC labeled stuff. The difference is not huge though.

So far, I have successfully managed to avoid reloading for this, but I do have a couple of projects coming up that involve reloading (more on that in a future post).

Given my experience during previous matches and general paranoia, I plan to make sure I have some spares.

The only other LRF Bino I have on hand is Meopta Optika LR, but a friend of mine asked to borrow it for this same match (his LRF bino is being repaired), so I will set up my Impact 4000 on the rifle for backup distance estimation. Depending on how much snow we get, I might be doing range estimation with the reticle some of the time anyway.

Cold weather often does bad things to battery powered devices. The remedy, of sorts, is to use rechargeable batteries. Under warm conditions, they have less capacity than non-rechargeable ones, but they cells used internally are of a different type. They experience less of a voltage drop in cold temperature. I have some rechargeable CR123 and CR2 batteries here just for that reason.

Now, I just need to work out what other spare equipment to take. Since I am driving both ways for this one, I am not as space limited.

For a scope, I think I will set up one of the 44mm scopes I am currently testing, perhaps Delta Stryker 3.5-21x44, since I am working on finalizing that review anyway and like the scope.

Last match, my tripod crapped out on me, so I will definitely bring a spare. Perhaps, this is the time to dust off the Spartan Precision tripod (https://alnk.to/3U2EeJp) I normally hunt with. It is reasonably light and compact. I also have a lightweight bipod from Spartan that use the same attachment and will work as a spare https://alnk.to/fwsEYFk

Beyond that, I think I am reasonably well set. I do not want to drag two rifles with me.

I have been practicing building up my shooting position on the clock. That has been centered around Phil Velayo's Chaos drill. It is frustrating and I am not convinced there is a ton of improvement, but I am definitely not getting worse. I suppose I will settle for that.