Behind the Lens at the 2025 Precision Rifle 22LR World Championships

552 miles on the road. 5,368 in the air. More than 100 hours in motion. All to stand behind a camera for the final two days of the 2025 Precision Rifle 22LR World Championships. Presented by MDT. Governed by the International Precision Rifle Federation. Hosted by the Great Britain Precision Rifle Association.

Impact Scoring had been lined up well in advance, making sure every shot and score was tracked in real time so fans and competitors could follow along. My own commitment ran parallel, nearly a year in the making, because I wanted to capture more than numbers on a page. In the end, Left Edge Media provided the official match coverage. Andy was welcoming at the event, and I look forward to seeing what comes from his work.

My focus at Black Plague Precision was different. I set out to capture the heartbeat of the match. The crack of rifles rolling across the hills. The ring of steel carrying like a bell through the trees. The silence that stretched tight before a trigger broke. The way an entire squad leaned forward, eyes locked, when a shooter was down to their last round. The tension was alive, thick enough to feel in your chest, breaking in an instant with a hit or a miss. That was what I wanted to bring home through my cameras. This was never just about taking pictures. Alongside still photography and full-length video, I will be rolling out highlight shorts throughout the year. Each one is meant to give context to the World Championships. Not just names on a podium, but what it felt like to walk the stages, to stand on the line, and to live the intensity of the match.

Understanding Rimfire

To an outsider, rimfire competition can look like controlled chaos. Squads hustling from stage to stage. Timers barking. Steel ringing from deep in the woods. Shooters dropping into awkward positions, fighting the clock and the wind at the same time. Positional shooting off barricades. Rapid fire under pressure. Precision pushed to the edge of what a .22 LR can do. Targets no bigger than a golf ball, stretched beyond 300 yards. Every impact feels like a small victory.

At the Worlds, that chaos took on a bigger shape. Squads looked like a local match, but the jerseys told the real story. Flags from across the globe. Colors clashing and mixing on the line. Shooters spotting for each other even while chasing the same podium. Rivals calling out corrections for competitors who might beat them. At most world-level sports, that would never happen. In rimfire, it is the culture.

That culture is the hook. Rimfire is accessible. Ammunition is affordable, rifles forgiving enough for newcomers. But the discipline is not easy. It demands the same wind reading, positional skill, and mental sharpness as any long-range game. For many, it is the gateway into precision shooting. For others, it is where they stay. Watching it unfold at the Worlds made the reason for its growth obvious. A community that competes hard, celebrates harder, and never forgets to cheer for one another.

Day 1 (Day 3): First Impressions

Climbing out of the car after the drive, I arrived at the clubhouse just as Day 3 of the championship was beginning. The morning air was cool, the kind that wakes you up but hints it will not last. Sponsors had their tents lined up on one side, rifles and banners catching the first light. On the other side sat the clubhouse and the after-party tent that would fill later that night. The faint crack of rifles carried from just up the hill, a reminder that the match was already alive above us.

I started the climb, following the sound. With every step the noise grew sharper. Rifles cracked in the trees above, and the voices of Range Officers cut through the air, “impact” or “miss” , the real soundtrack of a precision match. When I crested the rise, the whole scene opened up. A towering MDT structure anchored the range, with shooters hammering targets and stages threading into the woods like something out of Jurassic Park.

At the top, I stopped to set up my gear. Batteries swapped, cards checked, lenses locked in. The weight of the cameras settled. From there I began at the top, knowing I could work my way down and catch as many shooters as possible. Each squad brought its own energy, rhythm, and personalities. Moving stage to stage, I found myself suddenly alongside the best rimfire competitors in the world. This is beyond exciting. Many of them I knew from podcasts, online coverage, or standings. Names I had followed for years were now right in front of me, rifles in hand, locked in. It was surreal, realizing I was in the middle of a world championship not as a spectator, but as someone responsible for capturing it.

The stages themselves told stories. Stage 19, “Big Log Business,” forced shooters to brace against massive timber and fire uphill. Stage 18, the Leupold stage, stood bold under its steel sign. Stage 15, “Hodnet Highrise,” quickly became my favorite. Small and awkward, but the light cutting through giant letters made it perfect for filming.

For me, there was no easing in. From the moment I arrived it was nonstop. Chasing angles. Balancing stills with video. Scrambling through brush that clawed at my legs. Climbing for vantage points to get a better shot. Weaving through squads to stay one step ahead of the action. By the afternoon I had lived on four bottles of water and adrenaline alone. Gear packed. Hotel. Reflection. Two hours of dumping footage. My Day 1 ended while the championship pressed on.

Day 2 (Day 4): The Final Push

The second morning felt different. With the hotel only minutes away, I was rested and ready, not running on fumes. The grounds were already alive when I arrived. Vendors like Bergara, AIM, and Victory Optics drew a steady flow of shooters and spectators, adding a layer of community that does not always get noticed but matters. Without their support, championships like this do not happen.

Out in the woods, the match had shifted. The women had wrapped up their divisions the day before, leaving rosters now dominated by youth. Watching them was one of the highlights of my trip. In a sport where teenagers can go head-to-head with seasoned adults and win, you are reminded just how sharp and capable they are. Their flexibility, their willingness to attack a stage, and the fearlessness that comes with youth makes them dangerous competitors. As a coach, seeing that firsthand was inspiring. The future of precision shooting is not coming, it is already here, and these young shooters proved it.

The day moved quickly. Squads rotated, scores tightened, and the atmosphere grew heavier. Some shooters carried themselves with the relief of being done. Others still had points on the line, and it showed in their focus. Each shot felt magnified. The ROs calling “impact” drew waves of cheers. A missed shot or timeout left silence that seemed to hang a little longer than it had earlier in the week. By this point every round carried weight.

As the afternoon light filtered through the trees and the match drew to its close, I made my way to the Kahles stage. Shadows stretched across the course and the last squads gathered for their runs. Two final squads remained, shooters I admired, and the air felt heavy with the knowledge that this was the end. I let myself pause between frames. Watching the body language at the line. The whispered self-talk. The small rituals before the shot. These were not just more rounds. They were the last rounds of the World Championships.

Then the final rifle cracked. The RO called “impact.” And it was over.

I lowered the camera and let myself take it in. Four days of competition, months of planning, and years of training for the shooters on that course, all compressed into those final moments. For me, it was a privilege to stand there, to capture the intensity, the camaraderie, and the heart of this community.

But once the rifles were cased and the stages quiet, everyone was waiting for the same thing. Who stood on top. Who claimed the podium. Who left the 2025 Precision Rifle 22LR World Championships as World Champion.

Conclusion

The 2025 Precision Rifle 22LR World Championships was more than a match, it was a gathering of the best rimfire shooters in the world and a showcase of what makes this sport special: intensity on the line, laughter between squads, youth shooters proving the future is already here, and a community that knows how to compete hard while still cheering for one another. For me, it was a privilege to stand behind the cameras and try to capture not just the scores but the heartbeat of the event, the moments that numbers cannot record. In the end what everyone wants to know is who stood on top, and the full results can be found through Impact Scoring here: 2025 PR22 World Championships Results.

For those who want to see the event through my eyes, every photo and video from the match is available here:

2025 PR22 World Championships Media

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