From the rifle build to shots on steel at the Best in Texas, a lot’s gone into getting ready for Rifles Only.

Jacob was one of the first people to hold precision rifle shooting events back in the mid ’90s, and the south Texas club match scene is world renown and one of the healthiest in the country. While it’s known for being one of the most challenging matches in PRS and the NRL, it is much more than that. When not hosting PRS competitions, Rifles Only primarily serves as the premiere training facility for many elite military and law enforcement units from around the world. It is a place that influenced generational change in precision rifle shooting and the place where modern precision rifle competition was born. A lot of precision shooters first developed their foundational skills at Rifles Only. Ryan Hey is one of them. As a result, as he proceeded through the gates and passed the entry sign, for Ryan it was more like showing up to a family reunion than just a competition.

With some questionable weather breaking just in time, the environment provided a beautiful Texas February day with normal winds and conditions for day one of the Rifles Only competition. Before any shots were taken, Jacob made time to start from the beginning where he always does, with safety coming first. He is known for setting the standard for safety, and making sure that everyone understands that, no matter how good one is on their best day, things can happen when you’re not laser focused on keeping things safe for everyone. As a result, if you swept someone with your muzzle, it was an automatic match disqualification. Harsh, but a sign of how serious Jacob takes holding a safe event.

After making sure everyone was ready to live the safety brief, it was time to head to the course where a set of eight typical Rifles Only stages were prepared for day one. These consisted of dynamic stages that required shots to be taken from the support side at 100-yard paper targets. That meant if you were right eye dominant, you shot from your left and vice versa, staying true to Bynum’s methods of hammering down on the fundamentals. These shorter stages required a lot of positional work as well, including kneeling, standing, and sitting. Mixing in some longer shots, and it created a great, but frustration-inducing course of fire. One stage that took the intensity up a notch was the “all-or-nothing” stage. Shooters had the choice between a Know Your Limits target at 400-yards or taking a 1000-yard shot, where a miss was a zero for the stage but a hit earned you full points.

What does it take to find success at Rifles Only? Complete mastery of your rifle, your body, and your mind. Basic fundamentals and shot processes are a given, with the added requirements of being able to shoot from both strong and support sides, smoothness and speed in magazine change drills, and the ability to hit moving targets are some of the keys to making it out of this match with your pride intact. It also paid to take your time at Rifles Only, no matter how much you thought you had things suitcased.

After the match, Jacob announced the scores, thanked his staff and the Range Officers who volunteered their time, and recognized the sponsors who made this vent possible and donated to the prize table. At that point, the smoker had already been going for hours, and Jacob’s brother-in-law, James, served up some of the best South Texas brisket one could ask for. Everyone took the opportunity to wind down, catch up with their fellow competitors, and enjoy some good food before heading home. In addition to the range and training company, the Bynum’s own the co-located Wild Horse Distillery and produce rum and other spirits on the property. A few folks who were family—or “almost family”—stayed the night and opened a few bottles of Wild Horse’s best to enjoy around the fire pits. In the end, Rifles Only is a an extremely challenging competition, and it will test anyone who steps onto the line; it’s also one of the few times a year this unique crowd gets to see one another and do what they love to do so much in a great event that’s run by such great people.

We’ve gone from start-to-finish on what it looks like to be a professional precision rifle shooter, and while the Road to Rifles Only may be over, the 2020 PRS and NRL seasons are just getting re-started. Looking ahead, there are some interesting and demanding matches on the schedule, and due to this unique moment for the country, Ryan has taken some time to adjust his training and thought processes based on what he’s learned from Rifles Only. While spending more time than usual at home, he’s had a lot more time than ever to get some dry firing in, which is probably the most beneficial form of practice there is. He’s also made a few weight adjustments for better rifle balance, optimized his round load, and he’s added a new training regimen that includes support side shooting with an eye patch.

At the same time, back down in southern Texas, Jacob Bynum is planning one of the most ambitious events in the history of precision rifle competition for September of next year. The Assassin’s Way competition will be a three-week, high-risk and high-reward, winner-takes-all match…and by taking all, we’re talking about a half of a million dollars. The thing that will separate this from other matches will be the requirement that competitors will complete their stages without the aid of electronics. There will be no range finders or GPS, and The Assassin’s Way will push competitor to the limits of individual skills and gear with its focus on the fundamentals. Find out more at Rifles Only.com.