Josh Botha

///The quiet work yields the loudest results/// • • • **"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." — Psalm 34:18** A few weeks ago I shot the Snake River PRS match sponsored by @lone_peak_arms . Huge thank you to the match directors, @brianneace3 and Seth for putting on an incredible event this past weekend. The stages were technical and demanding, and they are two of my absolute favorite MDs. I got lucky and pulled out a Tac win, but learned a lot of valuable lessons at this event. The level of competition in this community continues to push me to be better every time I get behind the glass. Despite the win, I’ve realized the importance of stepping back for a moment. I’m taking some time to slow down, return to the basics, and reconnect with the people who truly care about me. It’s easy to get lost in the grind, but finding the fun in shooting and my other hobbies again is the priority right now. Sometimes you have to step back and see the forrest for the trees. Looking forward to what’s next on the calendar. Make sure to check out the upcoming @bcprecisionrifle matches on 9 May, and I’ll see many of you at the MDT Midsummer Madness PRS Pro Series Qualifier on 13/14 June! #precisionrifle #PRS #tacticaldivision #longrange #boltgun

𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐩. 𝟏𝟖𝟏 Josh Botha showed up to his first precision rifle match with a blind-magazine .204 Ruger and no idea what he was doing. A decade later, he’s a four-time Team Canada World Championship competitor. In this episode @bader.trav & @jbotha_ dig into the mental game of competitive shooting, the NRL Hunter format, wind reading, barriers to entry for new PRS shooters, the role of faith in business and life, and why one person stepping up can change everything. 🎙️Listen to Ep 181 wherever you get your podcasts. #thesilvercorepodcast

///🌵🐍 ARIZONA/// • • • Proverbs 19:21 NIV "Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails." I booked a slightly last minute trip to shoot the Berger Precision Challenge at @parabellumshootingclub near Kingman, Arizona and boy am I happy that I went. Huge thank you to Richard and Rob for running an efficient and fun match and @bergerbullets for title sponsoring it. The team at Parabellum has built an incredible facility and thanks for having us out there and showing incredible hospitality Tim, Jolene and Dillon! I'm pleased with my performance and bounce back after an abysmal start to the year in Texas, and while I had a rougher day two than my stellar day one performance, I'm excited to be returning home with hardware! The 175gr @noslerinc #rdf kicked some butt and tracked true, even though my rimfire training kicked in and I was making corrections every single shot! I've got some stuff to work out on the relaoding bench and a few stages I'd like to have back, but there's still plenty of time until the IPRF world championships. Next match will be the @mdttac21 Barrel Burner up in the PNW at Least Farm and I can't wait! Thank you to everyone who made this trip one to remember and I'm so fortunate to have spent so much time with incredible people! God is good and he remains faithful ✝️ 📸: @camdynpowers // @watchtowerprecision #precisionrifle #tactical #hoboswithguns #thematchhasalreadystarted

///TRANSITION/// • • • 2025 was ultimately a year of transition for me, in a lot of ways. I haven't had a good chance to stop and wrap up all of the amazing things that happened in the year; I never posted about being able to shoot my first @precisionrifleseries #finale at @w.a.r._rifles hosted by @geissele , I haven't posted at all about the KRG windbreaker match hosted by @shocking300 and I haven't taken the time to reflect on all of the amazing memories made with some of the best humans I know. A lot happened; plenty of travel throughout the year to California, Idaho, Washington, and then over to Europe and the UK! Thousands of rounds fired in both centrefire and rimfire, with incredible squads of super fun people from all over the world. A silver team medal at the @precisionriflefederation world championship this year in the UK was the highlight. God showed his faithfulness and stood by me, even when I wasn't aware of it and guided me through some of the hardest transitions of my life and I am forever grateful. Psalms 100:5 NIV [5] For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. I couldn't have done half of this without the help of my sponsors: @mdttac21 @vortex.canada @noslerinc @internationalbarrels @wiebadgear @gobigtactical I'm excited and ready for 2026 and the first match of the year is this weekend already at Gravestone in TX, where I'll be running my #308 to get ready for the 2026 World Championship! #transition #changeisntalwaysbad #shoottogether

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/// BURNOUT /// • • • How do YOU deal with it? Is it avoidable or just what we all feel at the end of a long year? This is a topic of conversation I feel like I've been having a lot recently and it's a hard reality to face. Coming to terms with the fact that what you do, supposedly for fun, isn't always a stress relief or a good time spent with friends. Competition will always be stressful, I get that, and it induces fatigue, but how do you balance still enjoying what you're doing while constantly pushing yourself to be better? I appreciate the sacrifice champions have to make to be the pinnacle of their sport, but damn it can be taxing to get to that point. Are we better off just enjoying the stories and the friends we've made along the way? I'm not here to complain and make excuses for recent poor performances, I want to see the sport grow and retain shooters rather than burning us all out and churning new waves of competitors every 3-5 years. I suppose discipline and training to always be improving are a consequence of any competitive hobby, even if the only competition is your own struggle. Either way, have a good off season friends and I'll catch you on the range. #burnout #mental #competetiveshooting #competitionshooting #precisionrifle #staysharp #prs #precision #mentalmanagement #stayhungry #drive #discipline #thematchhasalreadystarted

/// Rimfire Finale 2025 /// • • • Just when I thought I was done with rimfire... I get hit with the SUPRISE SHAWTY! Huge thanks to @blammenterprises and @jahymer for putting on this year's @precisionrifleseries #rimfire finale in Nampa, Idaho! The targets were sized for a lot more wind than we got, so being on top of your game and making every, single shot count was imperative. The guys in the top 10 absolutely smashed it and dropped so few shots over a grueling 2 days that it's hard to believe! I was really happy with my performance and minus only a handful of stages, there isn't much I would do differently! I got to shoot with an awesome squad of Canadians and some incredible *south* Canadians (aka Americans) that put up with us for two days straight. We also got to mentor a youth shooter through his first finale match and you absolutely killed it Casey, I'm so proud of you buddy! The highlight of the match for me was being able to clean a 2 array KYL at 90° from each other in changeable wind conditions! I really felt as if I was seeing so much this match and making tiny micro-corrections through my @vortex.canada Razor Gen III! That thing is insane for watching @eley_ltd match go downrange. This good result of 37th overall and 95% of the winners score really helps set me up for the 2027 @precisionriflecanada World's Rimfire team, so I guess I'm not done with the little guns yet 🤠 Catch you guys at the Pro Series finale in a few weeks and I'll see if I can pull out a better result! 📷: @ordnancelocker // @impactscoring #competitionshooting #precision #rifle #shoottogether #whenwinningmatters #nosler #vortexoptics #sniper #longrange #ifyoucantbesafebedeadly #mdt #tactical #thematchhasalreadystarted #owniteveryday #moderndayrifleman #beproficient #training #getoutandshoot #competetiveshooting #prs

/// 🥈2nd Open Men's Team 2025 /// • • • I know I'm probably the last person to post about this and it's been weeks since the event, but I finally have the time to sit, think, and process everything that happened. I am so extremely proud of the whole of our 2025 @precisionriflecanada team and we went to England to show the world that we are dedicated, we are serious and that we came to play, which landed us 3rd as a country, 2nd as a men's open team and 3rd as a ladies open team! To say that my heart was full of pride and admiration for the work put in by the team doesn't describe it well enough. Huge congratulations to @womfat for his dominant performance to secure 3rd overall and you truly are such a pillar in this sport buddy! My personal performance was the best showing I've had a world shoot to date and I finished 5th in Canada, 37th in my division and 55th in the world! I definitely have a lot to work on and progress has already started being made but I can't wait to start the qualification process all over again and fight for my place on the 2027 national team alongside many of you again! Over the last few weeks, life has thrown a lot my way and much has changed however this experience was special, memorable, and something that will live with me forever. So much good has come out of the last little while and I wanted to take this moment to recognize everyone that has helped get me to this position and help me through some tough times. I can't list you all, but special mentions go to @ryansteacy1 for the mental management and picking me up when I was literally down, @theryancharlton , @mrstheryancharlton and Joe for the comradery and friendship despite being on opposite sides of the world, @mabae @eboon @bryan_snow68 and @lisahertay for being great travel buddies and forming the west coast squad! My whole English family for supporting me and being there ❤️ This was a trip to remember, a match to treasure and learn from, and just the beginning of something amazing! I'll see you guys out at matches again soon as I prep for the @precisionrifleseries #rimfire finale in Idaho in 2 weeks! O' Canada 🇨🇦 We did you proud!

///🐗 2025 MDT CALIFORNIA HUNTER 🐗/// • • 📌 California 🗓️ April, 2025 As we count down to the 2025 @precisionriflefederation world cup of #rimfire I'm going to try to do a better job of capturing the matches that have led me to this point so far this year. The @mdttac21 @nrlhunter match along with the @mdt_rocky_mountain_nrlhunter are two of the matches on the calendar each year that are non-negotiable! They're both extremely challenging, incredibly fun and rewarding in their own way. @ryan_mcle and I shot as a team for the second time, first time of the year at this match and while fighting a few problems, managed to pull out a 6th place in a lineup of some of the best teams in the sport! Thank you so much to @dan_bertocchini and Brandon for organizing, setting up and running the match, you guys do a phenomenal match every year! Lessons from this match: time management, gear management, the importance of further preparation and snap wind calls. Positives: incredible target finding, top notch teammate communication, rapid position building for stable positions. The countdown for the world's is on now and we still have some matches to review and recap! #mdt #nosler #ibibarrels #wiebad #whenwinningmatters #shoottogether #teamwork #nrlhunter #precision #rifle #shooting #hunt #outdoor #travel #hoboswithguns #teammdt #65creedmoor #getoutandshoot #owniteveryday #thematchhasalreadystarted #ifyoucantbesafebedeadly #longrange

/// 🐍 SNAKE RIVER PRS 2025 /// • • • Man I'm behind on match posts but it's been a busy spring so far! The season really kicked off with the @precisionrifleseries Snake River match in Idaho hosted by @brianneace3 and Seth. Those two put on some of my absolute favourite matches and this year's event didn't disappoint! Wind 🌬️, rain 🌧️ and rocks 🪨 summarize just about every one of their matches and we had a killer squad with @ryan_mcle , @dan_bertocchini , @mabae , Kahl and Alex! Shooting ahead of Kahl was a challenge to ensure I provided him the best information possible, but he also helped coach me through a bunch of mental mistakes and helped me keep my head in the game when I blew some stages. Definitely a rocky start to the year, but the first match with the @noslerinc 115gr #RDF was solid and adding the @vortex.canada #defender red dot to the top of my main optic really helped with quick target acquisition! Lessons learned and the year picked up after this one! #precisionrifle #6dasher #longrange #shooting #competition #prs #mdtchassis #vortexoptics #internationalbarrels #wiebad #triggertech

/// BLIND SPOTS /// • • • It never ceases to amaze me how competition can uncover mental blocks, blind spots and training scars. I shot the @precisionrifleseries #rimfire finale and achieved my highest ever finish at a two day national level match to date; 14th out of 252 of some of the most talented rimfire competitors in the world! This should also secure my spot on the 2025 @precisionriflecanada national team 💪 The realizations that I had at this match were awesome and I started to understand the power of the self image (read "mental marksmanship" by Keith and Linda if you haven't already)! HUGE finish to the season and a massive confidence booster going into next year for sure, but I couldn't have done it without all the amazing support from so many people and brands who put their faith in me ❤️ I'm a little sad that I have to miss the national centrefire finale this weekend, but I'm working on becoming a real Canadian and have to surrender my passport! Good luck down there #teamMDT and I know you'll smash it! It was super fun to travel with and learn from @mabae , @bryan_snow68 and Galen and I hope we get to shoot more together soon. Our squad was a bunch of PNW heavy hitters including @dmtargets , @ron4rei and @brady_blammenterprises as well as some other awesome shooters who kept the pressure on. It was super fun to see a lot of our East coast Canadians too and I'm so proud of @cappo.prs for his awesome finish, @womfat for his killer season and all the other dudes for showing up and proving that Canadians know how to shoot at the highest levels! Can't wait to shoot alongside many of you next year in the UK. Finally, a huge shoutout to @jessadawn for supporting me as I fly to the middle of nowhere to shoot stuff and @ordnancelocker for always making me look good 😊 #sendit #rifletraining #moderndayrifleman #fueledbynature  #ar15 #ak47 #2a #556nato #rifle #shooting #precisionriflejunkie #precisionrifleseries #precisionrifleshooting #precisionrifle #65creedmoor #mdtchassis #mdt #boltaction #shoottogether #thisroundsonme #ifyoucantbesafebedeadly #thematchhasalreadystarted #owniteveryday #hunt #hunting #riflesdaily #rifleholics #rifle