Highpower Rifle

Highpower Rifle covers several different styles of matches that generally follow the most recently published National Rifle Association (NRA)  NRA High Power Rifle Rule Book and NRA F-Class Rule Book or Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) CMP Highpower Rifle Competition Rules.  Almost any rifle can be used, generally up to .35 caliber. While the rules don’t allow muzzle brakes, the club does allow those to shoot in a club/tactical class and scores don’t count for classification. NEW for 2025: NRA now allows matches fired using Suppressors in some rifle categories to count towards classification scores! Use the NRA Competitor Classification Lookup or CMP Competitor Number Lookup to check your current classification. If you want to borrow a rifle for a match, match directors may be able to arrange that. Please don’t be intimidated that you need a lot of specialized expensive equipment. You can even use your hunting rifle, shooting as many rounds as you feel comfortable, and have a fun time while improving your skills. Check out this video to see how little gear you actually need, which other participants are happy to share with you:

Table of Contents

F-Class Precision Rifle

There are few better ways to dial in the precision of your shooting system and fundamentals than competing against others to see who can rack up the most points in a 1/2 MOA X-Ring. Any errors in your technique and wind reading become obvious. Does your point of impact shift as your barrel heats up? You’ll know after shooting 20 rounds in 20 minutes! Some matches are 20 rounds at 600 yards on weekday evenings and others are longer 60 round matches that may have stages at 300, 500 and 600 yards. F-Class matches are held at the JBER Pendeau range in the Small Arms Complex east of the Glenn Highway. 300-600 yards is considered “Mid-Range”.

The club tries to schedule at least one “Long-Range” match each month during the shooting season, fired at 1000 yards at Upper Susitna Shooters Association near Talkeetna, JBER Grezelka range in Anchorage, and Kenai’s Snowshoe Gun Club.

We’ll be using the Shotmarker electronic target scoring systems for our full distance matches. No more pulling targets in the pits! Please review this manual (especially pages 2, 7-10,13,15-17) to get an idea how the system is setup and how the app works in a web browser. Club provides electronic tablets for shooters and scorers: Shotmarker Manual April 2020

If you are a new shooter, review this document, but keep in mind the information about scoring and pit duty will not be the same with our use of electronic targets. We usually only shooting at 600 yards so relay switches will be less complicated as well: What to Expect at your First F-Class Match. Use the Contact Us form if you have any questions or suggestions to improve the information on this site. My goal is that there are no surprises when you come to your first match. 

We try strive to run matches efficiently. Each match we learn things we can do a little better and then update the: Mid Range F-Class Match Playbook

Below are the Match Programs:

Match Program BRSP Precision Tactical 300 Yard Fun

Match Program Mid-Range Prone 20rd NRA

Match Program Mid-Range Prone 40rd NRA

Match Program Kenai NRA Long Range

Match Program Kenai NRA Long Range State Championship

Match Program USSA NRA Long Range

Match Program JBER NRA Long Range 40rd

JBER F Class match. Craig Parker scoring for Marc Taylor with Robert Delong
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Prone Rifle

Prone Rifle shooters compete along side the F-class shooters at Mid-range or Long-range. The main difference is the prone rifle shooters use a sling (note exception below) instead of a front rest or bipod and rear bag. Consequently they have a more generous 1 MOA X-Ring and 2 MOA 10-Ring on their targets. The position and equipment is generally the same as that used in the prone position of NRA Highpower Rifle XTC match.

Starting in 2018 the NRA added a new class of rifle that competes in the Prone Rifle category: NRA Mid Range (Prone) Tactical Rifle (AR) (Rule 3.3.3). This can be thought of as “prone service rifle with a bipod and scope (up to 16x)”. See section 23 of the NRA High Power Rifle Rule Book for more details.

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NRA and CMP Highpower Rifle

Often called “Across the Course” (XTC or OTC), the classic NRA or CMP sanctioned Highpower match consists of 4 stages: Standing slow fire at 200 yards, Sitting rapid fire at 200 yards, Prone rapid fire at 300 yards, and Prone slow fire at 600 yards. The course may also be shot at reduced distances. Here is an excellent introduction to the basics of highpower shooting: Highpower-Basics. Also see the video at the top of this page for an example of shooting most of the stages with minimal gear and a basic AR platform carbine.

Here are the Match Programs:

Match Program Highpower BRSP 200 Yard Reduced NRA

CMP Non EIC High Power Rifle Match Program

CMP Service Rifle EIC

Excellence In Competition (EIC) matches are a more challenging version of traditional XTC matches. They must be fired at the full distance (200, 300, and 600 yards), no sighting shots are allowed and the rapid fire stages must be started from the standing position. These matches are often referred to as “Leg” matches and are fired on the road to winning the Distinguished Rifleman Badge. Any rifle can be fired but only those competitors using service rifles meeting the criteria set in the CMP Highpower rifle rule book  are eligible to win Leg points. You can practice for these matches and obtain approximate sight settings by shooting our traditional matches at Birchwood and JBER.

Here is the Match Program:

CMP Service Rifle EIC Match Program

CMP Vintage and Military Rifle

These are fun matches shot at reduced ranges at Birchwood Shooting Park. The type of rifles used and match program generally follow the CMP Games Competition Rules for Rifle and Pistol.

Here are the Match Programs:

CMP Vintage and Modern Rifle Program

BRSP Vintage and Modern Rifle Program

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Highpower Shooting Positions

Below are a couple of recommended YouTube videos describing the Prone, Sitting and Standing Highpower shooting positions.

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Pulling Targets in the Pits (Reference Only)

Note: Now that we have Shotmarker Electronic Target Systems, pulling targets in pits would only be needed if we had unexpected failure of the target system or if you go to large matches outside Alaska like Camp Perry National Trophy Rifle Matches. Below information is for reference:

Highpower matches (other than reduced size targets at 100 or 200 yards) require pulling targets and marking shot values in the pits. Below are a few YouTube videos that do a good job of explaining the process. Our range is slightly different. The main exceptions are:

  • You can’t see the impact of your shot in a target berm.
  • You have to face the center of your target to hear the bullet travel overhead, then you pull the target down.
  • We usually run 3 relays instead of 4, so you are working alone pulling the target, pasting the old shot hole, moving spotter to new shot hole and moving the scoring disk.
  • Some guys have brought Pam cooking spray for the target carriers and that does make them go up and down easier.
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