The inaugural Mid-Atlantic Precision Challenge, held last weekend at the sprawling Appalachian Training Grounds outside Asheville, NC, saw PRS veteran Mark Jones emerge victorious, masterfully navigating relentless and highly localized wind shifts across 18 unforgiving stages. Jones, running his familiar Impact Precision 737R chambered in 6GT, paired with a 26-inch Bartlein M40 contour barrel and a Nightforce ATACR 7-35x56 Mil-XT in a Manners PRS-TC stock, demonstrated an unparalleled ability to read the tricky mountain thermals and rapidly adjust his DOPE.
Conditions were brutal from the outset. Early morning fog gave way to brilliant sunshine, but the real challenge was the wind: a swirling beast ranging from 5 to 20 MPH, frequently changing direction by 90 degrees or more between target arrays, even within the same stage. Density altitude swings were also significant, from 3,500 feet early on to over 5,000 feet by midday, demanding constant vigilance in ballistic calculations. Temperatures hovered in the mid-70s, but the psychological pressure of missing a critical wind call was palpable.
Notable stages included "The Ridge Runner," a timed 10-shot string engaging steel out to 1200 yards from an unstable rooftop barricade, where wind direction often reversed mid-string. Another demanding test was "The Canyon Crosser," requiring impacts on 1.5 MOA targets at 800 and 950 yards from a modified tank trap, necessitating perfect balance and a seamless transition between targets while managing a full-value crosswind. Jones’s meticulous pre-match truing, leveraging a MagnetoSpeed V3 for consistent velocity readings (SD often sub-5 FPS), clearly paid dividends. His ability to apply precise spin drift and Coriolis corrections, alongside his primary wind hold, set him apart.
What ultimately separated Jones and the rest of the top five from the pack was consistency in wind calls and an unwavering commitment to fundamental positional shooting. Many competitors struggled to maintain their wind holds through recoil, or failed to account for localized gusts that appeared only in the vicinity of the target. Jones’s methodical approach, often taking extra seconds to verify his wind flag interpretations or observe mirage boil, minimized costly misses. His disciplined follow-through and ability to break clean shots from demanding positions, particularly off unconventional supports like tire stacks and culverts, showcased the depth of his experience. The Mid-Atlantic Precision Challenge certainly lived up to its name, pushing every competitor to the absolute edge of their capabilities.
