Inaugural Team Sniper match in Piru Jan 17 2026. 3rd overall finish

2026 started with an event not only new to SoCal Long Range club, but new to me as well with a team sniper match. I picked up former student Matt Park for his first ever long range match, the stages were blind with shorter-than-ideal par times, and once we got in a groove with communication and organization managed to pull off 3rd place overall. Immediately I learned that the stage details needed to be culled for important details for targets and sequencing rapidly as to not waste time. Every stage had the gas gun shoot first which meant Matt as the least experienced shooter on our team, both for long range competition and the range/targets, carried the initial burden but we were able to set egos aside in favor of communication, and a couple times it was simply more efficient for me to grab his rifle and point it where it needed to go to aid in target acquisition. All in, neither of us hated each other by the time it was over and only got better as the day went on. 3rd overall was completely acceptable to me considering the disparity in experience between the two of us, and I’m excited for the next opportunity to get out there.