The Real World Sniper Sniper Challenge presented by Dark Corner Concepts is a two day competition held at the Bridle Iron South facility in Refugio, TX. Every year the best of the best gather in South Texas to put their skills to the test in the superbowl of sniper competitions. Known for its mind blowing prize table, including the ATRO-20 Rifle Scope, world class facilities, and incredible food, the Real World Sniper Challenge is arguably the best shooting competition in the world. This year, in addition to fielding a team, Accufire Technology was the title sponsor. We would like to thank Nick Gough for letting us be a part of this event that we look forward to every year.

Enter the Accufire Shooting Team

Josh Cavalier and Ken Decker of Team Accufire competed together for the first time at the 2023 Real World Sniper Challenge. Some might say that this was a fools errand, but the two veteran gunmen worked well together and fell into an easy rhythm. They shot well, but not well enough to surpass the insane talent in the field this year.

The  competition was split into two weekends to accommodate various schedules. There were nine teams present for this iteration including the 2023 International Sniper Competition champions, Instructors from several Special Operations shooting schools, active duty sniper teams, and long time competitors from across the industry. Team Accufire took 8th place. Nothing to write home about, but the point spread was close and our team is hungry to get back on the range, fine tune the team dynamic, and take another run at the title.

Not for the Ordinary

The Real World Sniper Challenge home page states up front that this event is not for the casual shooter. Real World replicates actual combat conditions as closely as possible. It is a physically strenuous, mentally challenging crucible that requires competitors to analyze scenarios on the fly.  The snipers must make snap judgments that can be the difference between the winners podium and “better luck next year.”

The Mogadishu Mile

One stage that stood out to our team was the Mogadishu Mile where competitors have 36 minutes to complete seven stages. Teams move down the course from stage to stage, shooting each scenario while keeping track of the time remaining. The targets are all unknown distance which forces the shooters to decide between taking the time to range each target to increase the likelihood of a hit, or eyeballing the distance for a faster initial shot with a lower probability of success. Teams live or die by their ability to make the right call.

Our Teams Loadout

All things considered our team had a great time. Both shooters were slinging 6.5 Creedmoor platforms with the Advanced Tactical Rifle Optic ATRO-20 rifle scope. Ken ran a Terminus Zeus action on a Kinetic Research Group Whiskey 3 chassis with a TACOM HQ Structured Barrel chambered by Red Beard Gunworks. Cav got his Carlos Hathcock on with a Defiance Machine Deviant Tactical Action, Manners Composite Stocks T5A Stock, chambered and assembled by Accurate Ordnance. Cav did his up close work with a Triarc TRI-11 sporting the Accufire Pistol Combat Optic, which was, in our humble and completely unbiased opinion, the best pistol set up at the match.

ATRO-20 Rifle Scope, QSO, and Digital Spotting Scope Donated

 We provided eight different rifle optics and eight red dot sights for the prize table including the Advanced Tactical Rifle Optic (ATRO-20) Rifle Scope and the Quick Standard Optic (QSO), as well as one Omnis Digital Spotting Scope. The competition was a first class event and it gave us the opportunity to showcase our optics to some of the best shooters in the world.