How You Approach Each PRS Stage Matters

30 Jun How You Approach Each PRS Stage Matters

How you approach a stage can set you up for success or waste time. Thankfully, Morgun King has taken the time to run through his process with Anarchy Outdoors, so you can up your game and perform your best at PRS matches.

Morgun King’s Stage Process: DOPE, Rifle, Scope, Wind

As a PRS National Champion, Morgun King has a process he goes through at every stage during a match. Simply put, his PRS stage process consists of four things: DOPE, rifle, scope, and wind.

Find Your DOPE: Data On Personal Equipment

DOPE stands for Data On Personal Equipment. Morgun’s first step to finding his DOPE is checking every target. He first scans from left to right until he finds the target(s), then slowly zooms out and finds landmarks along the way, so he can quickly find them again when it’s his turn to shoot. He also ranges all the target distances to ensure there aren’t any outliers.

To find his DOPE, Morgun checks the wind speed with an Elite Kestrel. He then puts his wind speeds into target card (an inputting target data tool only found on the Elite Kestrel models). Morgun then uses the wind and range data he found to calculate his DOPE for the stage. Lastly, he writes this stage info on his arm dope board for quick referencing.

Set Up Your Rifle

After his DOPE is taken care of, Morgun makes sure he has the equipment he needs for the stage ready for his turn to shoot. In the demo stage, he was doing with us in the above video, he needed a tripod to lean on and a plate bag for gun stability.

Set Up Your Scope

Once the rifle is ready, Morgan dials his scope for the stage. He typically goes through a checklist in his mind to make sure his elevation, parallax, diopter, and magnification are ready. Whether you want to dial or hold is up to you. Typically, if Morgan decides to dial, he also writes down his holds for the stage so he can easily change his mind if needed.

Check the Wind

Checking wind right before shooting allows you to ensure it hasn’t changed since the initial check. If the wind is the same, you’re good to shoot. If it has changed, you need to make a mental note of what needs to change to account for the wind. After the final wind check, Morgun opens the caps on his scope and rifle, adds his mag to the gun, finds his landmark, and takes the shot.

Morgun’s Post Shot Process

After Morgun has shot the stage, he still isn’t done with his process. He has specific things he does every time after shooting to help him prepare for the next stage.

Returning Everything to Zero

First, he closes the caps on his scope. Then he returns his turrets to zero and wipes down his DOPE card, which helps him prepare for setup at the next stage.

Reloading Mag & Placement

After staging his rifle, he loads another mag. Morgun likes to have a mag in his front pocket ready for the upcoming stage and one on his hip, just in case.

Why It’s Important to Have a Process at Matches

Going through a step-by-step process aids shooters in three ways. It helps the shooter save time, relax, and improve their cadence throughout the match.

A Time-saving Approach

First, a systematic stage approach helps the shooter save time. If you have a set procedure every time you approach a stage, you can work on decreasing the time it takes to get ready for the shot.

 Checklists and Relaxation

The second thing a checklist does is help you relax and work through the nerves/excitement of competitive shooting. If you have gone through your practiced process, it reduces anxiety over being ready to take the shot when your turn comes.

Improves Cadence Throughout the Match

Lastly, a systematic approach to each stage increases the shooter’s cadence or rhythm, which is ideal for PRS shooting. You want to ensure that you are doing everything the same each time. Otherwise, you will have different results at each stage. Sometimes you will be ready, and other times you will be scrambling and taking more time setting up than you need, which will bleed into the time you have to shoot.

Honestly, following Morgun King’s stage approach routine to a tee isn’t the key to success. The key is finding a rhythm and repeatable process that works for you. Applying a repeatable procedure at each stage will improve your PRS experience.