PRS European Pro Series: Ryan Charlton Shoots a Match in France

Posted by Ryan Charlton on 2024 Nov 27th

PRS European Pro Series: Ryan Charlton Shoots a Match in France

The UK is well known for its weather, and as it's been a pretty miserable Autumn, I decided to book a PRS Europe Pro Series match at Tautavel in the South Of France for a last chance of some warm winter sun this year! Traveling into Europe from the UK is relatively easy, even with firearms and ammo (though each country does things slightly differently). To enter France, I only needed my passport, UK Firearms Licence, and an invitation letter to confirm I was attending a sporting event. One big difference between France and the UK is that magazine capacity is limited to 10 rounds, so I had to leave my 12-round magazines home.

I elected to drive, which gave me an opportunity to experience one of my favorite means of transport, 'Le Shuttle,' which is a train service linking England to France for foot passengers and motor vehicles. You drive on the train in England, and 30 minutes later, you drive off in France, having been transported via the tunnel under the English Channel!

The Eurotunnel LeShuttle can get you from England to France in 30 minutes!

The drive to Tautavel is relatively simple, and French toll roads are some of the best surfaces I've driven on. I'd shave some time off the 15-hour journey by taking advantage of this. Unfortunately, heavy snowfall in northern France scuppered my idea. The roads had been cleared but not gritted, leaving the surface covered in patches of sheet ice, with hard-packed snow tram lines in the lane! So, rather than cruising along at 130 kilometers an hour (85mph) quite happily, the next 4 hours were spent keeping a safe distance from the vehicles in front at a very steady 40-50kph (25-30mph), being thankful that we were safe! The snow also ruined the promised romantic picnic for my wife and me as the picnic area was under snow, so we ate in the car! Having made it more than halfway down France, later than planned, we elected to sleep in the car rather than find a hotel to remain on schedule. After a good 6 hours of sleep, we began the final leg of the journey. The roads were as expected, and by driving a big diesel car, we were able to make good time through the "Massif Central" mountain highway, which included a very picturesque breakfast stop.

The range at Tautavel is a stunning place with a huge variety of targets.

The range at Tautavel was very scenic. Being close to the Spanish border at the foot of the Pyrenees, it's a mountainous area on the Mediterranean Coastline. I had not shot my 6BR for almost 2 months since the UK Finale and had already put my usual scope onto my rimfire. Therefore, I had a brand-new scope and mount, which I bore sighted and needed to zero-check. This was a simple affair, with the rifle and ammo doing what they usually do. I relaxed, and rather than spend time verifying drops further than the 100m zero board; I wanted to meet some of the other shooters before having an early night. This turned out to be an oversight!

Using my tripod for rear support.

Having received the matchbook the day before the course of fire was best described as "sporty." There was a lot of movement, small targets, 90-second par times, and no prone stages! As the ground is shared with multiple disciplines, none of the props are permanent, and stability would be my biggest challenge, along with the wind bouncing its way through the valley and cliff faces. My first stage was easily the most solid prop of the weekend: a thick, heavy telegraph pole with three targets to be engaged in different sequences from 4 positions! I missed one target for wind and timed out on my last shot, which was a solid enough start. However, I noticed more vertical dispersion on the plates than I was used to seeing. I put it down to probably being the wind's influence.

Spending the weekend with a great group of people is always enjoyable and the smiles say it all.

Throughout day one I struggled chasing odd elevation issues. As I'd planned to remain in France for work purposes, I'd limited the amount of gear I'd brought along, neglecting to bring my spare rifle and scope – oversight number 2. There was no opportunity to verify until the end of day one, so I spent the day running through my usual fault-finding process: I was making good shots, the muzzle brake was tight, MV was consistent, all the screws were at the correct torque, and I even created another profile in my Kestrel to eliminate data issues. When shooting each stage, I'd make corrections based on the previous shot, and I did not see a pattern in the POI, so my scores suffered badly.

My squad mate Javier, was a big help when trying to get the route of my issues on day 1.

With this in mind, I wanted to become the best squad mate I could be, offering snacks to my squad mates, spotting, sharing wind calls, offering advice, collecting brass, and taking the opportunity to improve my French and Spanish language skills! The vast majority of European shooters speak perfect English. With more travel plans in the pipeline, I wanted to improve my vocabulary… although, with the tricky wind, I'm not sure all of the words I learned are for the dinner table!

Spanish PRS Shooter Aleix Lari taking aim.

Day 2 began, and I had an epiphany! Remember that brand-new scope and mount? Due to the large eye box on the Kahles 328i, it needs to be mounted further forward than a typical scope, meaning the front ring was close to the erector assembly. In a last-ditch fault-finding check, I also realized I'd over-torqued the scope to 25in/lb instead of the recommended 22in/lb! I took a gamble and loosened the front ring before re-torquing to 15in/lb and using a paint pen to put witness marks on the screws in case they came loose. This turned out to be a masterstroke, and on my first stage, every bullet went where it should with a perfect waterline. Game on!

The rest of day 2 was more like my usual performance, and despite feeling tired, I climbed from 27th place up to 8th, still a little off the pace of the top shots. I was content having gone through the process of solving an issue on the fly and being able to share it so that others hopefully do not repeat my errors. I continued supporting my squad mates where possible and, by the end of the day, had made some great new friends from France and Spain.

French Shooter Marc “Froggy” Musso showing his flexibility on a low barricade position.

Squad mate Jorge from Spain with his T3 in an ACC Elite.

Javier from Spain and Marc from France enjoying themselves having shot the “Crazy Barricade” stage.

Belgian PRS shooter Bram steering his Oryx to a strong finish.

Semi permanent and inventive props were no issue for Pedro and his ACC Elite.

One thing worth noting is the French shooters do lunch fantastically. Unlike in the US, where lunch is typically provided at the match, here, the shooters bring their own food. With baguettes, cheese, and charcuterie platters on the firing line, it was a wonderful holiday-style picnic atmosphere during the middle of the day!

Overall match winner and Top Junior, Tom Mougel is one of Europe’s rising stars and one to watch in the future.

With the shooting complete, we gathered around to applaud the top shots of the weekend. There was some strong shooting from some of Europe's best. France's Dylan Capain came in 3rd, and Spain's Jose Enriq Calabuig Felipe came in 2nd. The stand-out performer was French shooter Tom Mougel, who was the top junior and top overall. Having shot with Tom at the UK finale and watching him shoot whilst RO'ing, it was no surprise to see him on the podium's top step. Being so young, he's definitely one to watch, as he has a natural talent and a strong drive to be the best shooter he can be!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ryan Charlton is a well-known member of the UK shooting community, having worked in the UK Gun Trade for over a decade. Ryan is a proficient rifle hunter who loves predator control at night. He has competed in Precision Rifle matches since 2019 and is known throughout the UK precision rifle community for his willingness to help new shooters. Ryan was awarded the first Outstanding Contribution Award for his role in growing the sport within the U.K. Ryan was part of the British team for both the Centrefire World Championship in France in 2022 and the Rimfire World Championship in Italy in 2023. He will be representing G.B. again in Colorado this year. He also has a regular column in the British shooting magazine Rifle Shooter, focusing on all things Precision Rifle.

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