GBF Operation Contact 2024

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Monday, Jul 22:

Yoga for Hamstrings & Upper Back Love | Yoga for Back Pain with Adriene

Tuesday, Jul 23:

Glute and pec PT v2 in 28:17, HDT IR17-18.1.2 (core & legs) in 41:46

Wednesday, Jul 24:

100 rounds of dryfire with the Ruger Precision Rifle, alternating double high kneeling on a wobbly high stool and standing on a stable bannister.

- practiced my shot process with dialing before moving

- practiced doing wind holds left and right, to get used to using stadia

My old rifle felt light compared to the newer one, almost as if it was an AR in comparison.

The Vortex bubble level was also much more intuitive than the electronic Send-it level.

GBF OPERATION CONTACT

GBF expanded into the tactical event space last December with Operation Shooter.  This would be their summer event, which would be more team tactics oriented, and a little less competition-oriented, although they'd still be scoring some events.

This event started on Friday evening, instead of Saturday morning.  You had to stay onsite, so that you could get a more immersive experience, as opposed to a little vacation day trip where you went back to a hotel every night.

Friday Night Nav

The first event was a night navigation exercise, which was briefed at 9pm.  We were split up into teams of three.  We were shown three points on a map of the Sawmill Training Complex grounds, which we could takes notes on.  When we found each flag, we had to take a selfie.  Once we found all three points, we could return to the lodge.  

Before we left at 10pm, we had to load up our rucks with 50# dry, bring a rifle, and cover our faces, necks, and hands with camo paint.  I volunteered to be the team leader for our group, since I had done the December event and have been here before.  One of the guys had also been here before, and knew some of the route, which was nice.  We decided to go on the slightly longer, safer road-based route, vs a possible trail that would go along the creek, since it was more obvious where the road led.  At the creek point, we came across the teams that had gone the shorter way, which was pretty much all the other teams, and then we went back to get the bus point on the power line.  The third point was at the back gate of the property, and although we had been last place before, we made up about half the spots in the field by bushwhacking from the back gate back to the lodge.  

We finished in less than 90 minutes, which meant we got to shower and then sleep for about 4 hours.

Saturday Morning PT

At 5:30am, we met for an hour of body weight PT and relays.  I wore MACV2s, which was good for protection against the dew, but they were heavy to sprint in.

Event 1: Endurance

After breakfast, we had our first real event, "The Endurance", which was similar to one we had done in December (the one where I got my face bloody).

We had to ruck 2.3 miles with 25#, with 3 mags of pistol and 3x10R, plus the weapons.  We went along the road to the back gate and back, instead of through the creek like last time.  The surprise was that when we got back to the lodge, we were told to drop our gear and repeat the movement but slick.  

Once you got back from the run, it was time to kit up for the shoot.  From 50yd, you have 1 min to shoot 10 standing rifle at the red chest bullseye, mag change to 10 kneeling a the red chest bullseye, mag change to 10 prone at the red head bullseye.

We were allowed to remove the ruck on the clock if we wanted to.  I chose to do that, to try to help with my shooting.  

Last year, I had tons of time left but made zero hits, so this time, I focused on getting fewer but quality shots off.  I was excited to get 4 hits this year... that's not a lot, out of the 20 that I attempted and the 30 possible, but that was actually tied for second.  The best person made 5 shots, one other person made 4 I think, and many made 2, 1, or 0.  

Event 2: Assemble & Assassinate

With 3 full mags of rifle and pistol but no ruck, we had to run to the top floor of the connex, fire on 4 targets with 3 shots each, then run down to range 5.  You had maximum of 1 mag of rifle to engage the connex targets.  

At range 5, you stripped and reassembled pistol and had to make 12 hits alternating on left and right targets.  Then, run to range 8, strip and reassemble rifle, and shoot at 5 targets L->R, 3x through.

Rifle from the connex wasn't easy and I went through the full mag with 1 hit that I still had pending.  

Pistol was ok on the left target, but missed more on the right one for some reason (used 20 rounds).

I used 25 rounds at the rifle assembly stage.

I had the fastest time by 30s at the time, and maybe one other person beat me in the end, but there were some disputes about wait times, so that was unclear.  Fortunately, this wasn't a scored stage, so it didn't matter.  Gregg likes to make it ambiguous about which stages are scored, so that we always try our best.

Rotation 1: Dry Fire

With rifle and no mags, we practiced bouding in pairs and in two pairs.

I learned about the benefits of running in high port so that if you fall, you fall into prone, with the gun pointed at the target, vs muzzle down.  

It's also a good idea to zig zag as you bound forward, so that you're a harder target.  Just be sure not to bound into your buddy's line of fire.  

Also, it's good to change mags before leaving your safe spot.  You don't want want to get caught running dry when you're supposed to be covering your buddy.

Rotation 2: Rest

Rotation 3: Run & Arcade (my name for it)

With pistol and up to 4 full mags, run 1 mile, for time.

On the beep, shoot at a 6 plate rack at about 15yd, and then a 6-arm Texas Star at about 10yd.

I ran at about a 9:15/mi pace.  I had an aluminum mag stuck in a rifle mag holder, but that was so light that it jumped out during my run.  Lesson learned.  Fortunately, I still had 3 other mags.  I just had to not miss as much.

I braced for the plate rack but not for the star, which was oriented a bit higher.  It was fine, since the targets weren't as far away as they were last year.

The Carry

With a 25#R, rifle, pistol, and 3 mags/caliber, carry your buddy with your full kit and their full kit.  It ended up working out ok, even with all the extra weight.

Afterwards, go prone, load, and shoot L->R on 3 targets, 3x through.

Run up to the first block and shoot at a red steel 3x.

Run up further to the second red circle steel and shoot it 3x too.

I was perfect on rifle but used 9 rounds for my 6 pistol hits, due to heavy breathing.  I was pretty efficient with my movements and prep, though.

Optional Live Fire Contact Drill 5-5:30pm

With a 25#R, rifle, and rifle mags, on "Contact", fire 6 rounds at a big white circle steel.

Move to the first barrel and go prone, and shoot the second steel target once.

Low crawl forward to the second barrel and shoot at the 3rd steel 2x.

Low crawl aaaaalllll the way to the left side of the bay, and from the 3rd barrel, shoot the 4th steel 3x.

Low crawl forward some more and shoot the 5th steel 4x.

Low crawling is fatiguing!

Maintain muzzle discipline as you low crawl with your hot gun.  

Second Optional Drill

No ruck, but drag a cinder block, with only the first 2 barrels in play, to change it up

Rappelling @ 7:30pm

Always a cool experience!  I had to go single rope to make it easy enough for my low body weight to go down with gravity.  If you're light, you have to make bigger throws with your right hand, almost to the point where your arm is upwards like the Statue of Liberty.

I was a bit braver with big bounds this time.  

Night Nav #2

We went out in pairs of our choosing this time.  It was originally going to be an individual exercise, but they decided it would be safer in pairs.

We had four points to find, named after Gregg's adorable dogs.  We got to take a picture of the map this time, to use as we navigated.

We only had to carry 20# for women, 30# for men, plus the rifle.  The rifle is always fun to carry at night.

Teams were told to go to different points first, so that it wasn't a big "follow the leader".

We took the long range trail this time.  We looked at the wrong turn onto the long range the first time, but went further and found the point at the next turn.  

We got the next point further on the long range.

Then, we found a trail back to the road with the bus, and then we found the one by the pond.

We covered 2.85 miles at a 19:18 pace, which wasn't bad.  We finished at 11:10pm.

Fake Sunday Morning PT

My partner and I were the only ones who thought Gregg was serious about there being 5:30am PT in the morning.  We were already to go, but we were the only ones there.  I had a good time stretching, though.

Live Fire Contact Drills

We finished the event with live fire contact drills.

We first did dry fire bounding in pairs.

Then, we did live fire bounding in pairs.

We did lateral break contact drills in sets of 2 pairs, first dry, then live.

We did just the break contact part live at the end, with smoke grenades.

You can go prone vs kneeling while bounding, based on the terrain and your visibility of the target.

Go high port on runs, to avoid flagging guys to your left, especially.

The "rule of dispersion" says go forward of your buddy no further than you are laterally away.

Can Cannon

AC got to borrow a "Can Cannon", which was decorated based on current events.  It was fun.

It's even cooler if you can get it to impact against something, so we made some attempts on that.

And after we were all done for the day, we made use of the cans.

What an epic weekend.  Too bad I can't do this for a living!

Learnings:

- Reload on the move or before moving, to not run dry

- Good efficiency in movements

- Go high port to avoid flagging, and to enable falling into prone if it happens

- Good calm under pressure

- Good pacing on physical events

- Good squeeing in all the rest I could, while still making the most of the weekend

- Nice having the option to shower between events

- I can still clean up my pistol shooting

- I still don't know my long distance rifle holds

Such a fun weekend... you get to do some stuff you don't normally get to do.

Rendezvous with Destiny @ Alliance Outdoors

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Sunday, Jul 14:

Glute and pec PT v1 in 32:12, HDT 18.1.2 (CORE) in 36:20.  Afterwards, I did a trail ruck at Iswa Nature Preserve with 50# in the v2 rucker for the first time this season, wearing Garmont T8s.  I went slowly, but my glute bugged me towards the end, so I didn't do any more loops.

Monday, Jul 15:

Yoga for Butt & Thighs & Bride of Plankenspine Yoga for Back Pain with Adriene, since my right glute and right back were sore today.

Tuesday, Jul 16:

18A "Upper Body Prep" in 28:41, "Upper Push / Chin-up" in 37:30 not terrible

Tuesday, Jul 18:

Waxhaw Ruck Club Workout

- Warmup lap with a 30#R

- 50 BW V-ups 

- 25 min AMRAP with [5/side front rack lunges, 5/side OH lunges, 5 thrusters] with a 30#SB

- 50 BW V-ups

- Cooldown lap with ruck and SB

Finisher back at the office gym

15 min Climb Peloton ride with Ben Alldis with 5 miles in 17:50, including the warmup and cooldown, in MACV2s since I still had them on

RENDEZVOUS WITH DESTINY

This match was this year's version of the "Sniper's Unknown" match, which we had attended the past two years.  They have really creative stages.  

Day Before

It was my first time at this range.  It's small, but they have a few bays, interesting structures to shoot from, and the ability to stretch out.

We didn't go early enough for zeroing, since it's a long drive out there, there wasn't a special tune-up or class day, and we didn't want to burn too many vacation days.

We packed up our gear the night before the event.  We'd need to carry everything we wanted for the day, as the rule for this event.  We wouldn't have to walk far, since it was a small place, but we wouldn't be going back to our cars for anything, and each person would only use a single long range gun and our pistol.  We also brought tripods, which came in handy.

We shared an AirBNB with another team, which was fun.  They're really good at competing, so it's great to be able to learn from how they prepare.

Day One

The match would be run based on tee times, where, once you start, you just keep going from one stage to the next, hopefully, with minimal downtime before you can shoot your next stage.  Most of the time, we attend matches where you're in squads, and every squad starts at a different stage, and you rotate through that way.  We got an early tee time, which was fantastic.  Later in the day, if there are delays, those can compound.  You're also finished earlier and out of the heat of the day.  A downside to going early is that if there are lessons learned in how the stages are run and they make changes on the fly, you may be in the guinea pig / growing pain portion of the day, and later teams may benefit from improvements.  It's meant to be equal and fair, but there are always tradeoffs.

We got match briefs, but only in the minutes before our tee time, for example.  They were supposed to be emailed out earlier, but that didn't happen, so we didn't have as much time to spend on detailed planning.

Stage 1: Spider

- 5 min PAR

- No LRFs allowed; you must mil your targets

- Shoot 2 rounds hit or miss, near->far, at 

• 8" circle
• 6" circle
• 365m (400yd target) 
• 10" circle
• 12" tall torso
• 12x20" square

- Both team members run to some jerry cans and back

- Repeat if you have time

The RO told us ahead of time that it would be difficult to see all of the targets from some downed concrete pipes, so our plan was to set up in the area between the RO spotting scope and the pipes.

He also showed us an approximate range diagram with no distances, at the beginning.

Outcome/Learnings: 1/24 pts, 18/31

- The plan going in was for me to mil and SB to look up ranges.  I'd shoot the target, and then we'd go on to the next target

- It was difficult to mil with the wobble of the Gamechanger on the ball head of the tripod.  Looking back, it would've helped to clip in.

- SB said that she could see the targets from the pipes when I asked, so I moved there, hoping for less wobble, but I couldn't really see them from the height that the gun was at, so I had to spend time moving back

- I got my second hit on target, after yanking the first shot

- I milled 0.4 for the second target on the left, which corresponded to 411yd, so that must've been target 3

- Only afterwards, I remembered the diagram from the RO

- After we finished for the day, we came back to watch other teams shoot this stage.  One clever team did tripod rear with tripod front.  It was slow, but probably worth it.

Stage 2: "T" of "Two"

- 5 min PAR time

- From the second floor platform, simulshot on the "T" of "Two", on the lone target at the back of the range (it used to have a pair, but the second one was gone, supposedly)... both must hit to move on

- Repeat

- Go downstairs to the doorway, and shoot at 670m (740yd) at 2 targets (no simulshot this time, despite what Ortiz had suggested in the morning brief) and at a 450m (495yd) set of 2 targets

Outcome/Learnings: 0/24 pts, 19/31

- the plan was for me to count from 5->2, since "6" is too long of a word to be useful for cadence

- the brief was very unclear, and there were no answers from the ROs... they assumed that we had the briefs ahead of time, but probably didn't know about the email situation

- SB saw a big target with a stripe and thought that that was our lone target, even though it wasn't the farthest back one.  We shot at it, but it wasn't it.  We also knew that the range went as far as 8XX, and that one was 6XX, so it couldn't be right.  I should've insisted.

- Even if we had gotten to the next set of targets, there were many targets on the berms, and there was no indication of which ones we were supposed to shoot at, so it would've been a messy situation anyways.  Other early tee time teams that did make it that far wasted a ton of time because of this.  Later on, ROs ended up giving teams far more help on identifying the targets.

Stage 3: Target Detection

- 6 min PAR

- Targets are 5 concealed "animals", ranging from 100-512yd... a ram a goat, wolf, 2 beavers, Ortiz says... 1 point per target

- You can engage from a door (added because that was the only place where you could see some of the targets) and 2 windows

Outcome/Learnings: 2/5 pts, 17/31

- I found and shot the 540yd coyote on the berm

- SB saw a "yoda" (cowboy), ranged it at a little closer than 100yd, and it was indeed one of the targets

- We missed the targets on the right that you'd need to be in the door to see.  I had gotten the coyote from there, but I could've gotten the coyote from the windows, too, so I should've known to keep looking from the door, at the extreme portions of the range.

- Stages 2 and 3 were held in the same location, which meant that they couldn't be run simultaneously, which probably led to backups later in the day, if I had to guess.

Stage 4: Contact Front

- 5 min PAR

- start in the car, with gear in the truck bed

- on "Contact Front", rifle shooter goes behind the car, and pistol shooter shoots 6 plates on a rack

- pistol shooter moves behind the truck whiel the rifle shooter goes back to their door with their rifle 

- rifle shooter shoots 5 movers from their door (can't be in/on car)

Outcome/Learnings: 8/11 pts, 18/31

- I got 6 shots in 8 rounds at the 30yd target, missing #4 2x for some reason

- I braced on the gamechanger in the window and did well

- The first mover came out from close left and booked it back to his friends in the back of the bay

- I could only try to help SB laze from the back right of the car, since I couldn't see the movers from anywhere else behind the car.

- SB had to juggle lazing and also setting up her gun in the hinge of the door

- I tried lazing the back berm at 595 and estimated 550 for the farthest target, to help her

- She ran out of ammo since they were movers, and fortunately, we shoot the same gun and caliber, so I tossed her one of my mags, and she caught it one-handed and kept going

- There had been one target that kept popping up and down, that would've been nice to keep nailing for points

- Taller competitors were able to look over the top of the front of the truck to laze, which gave them an advantage over me.  

Stage 5: Covert Entry

- 5 min PAR time

- You get 2 min to try to enter the connex, before they will help you get in.  You can use the provided lock pick set, or climb up a spool to get to the second floor and then go down the stairs back into the first floor

- From the square port or window, shoot at 5 movers, but once your barrel breaks the plane of the port, after 5s, you must reset.

Outcome/Learnings: 1/5 pts, 22/31

- I tried to learn lock picking, but it's hard.  When I saw the spool, that was the obvious choice for covert entry.  I went up first and collected the gear, before SB came up

- tripod seemed like an obvious way to avoid the 5s rule

- SB had less space to work with, since she had stairs right behind her port (some other teams went onto the stairs!)

- targets were difficult to range... I did range a close guy at 98yd and dialed back doewn to 0 from the 3XXyd one that I had been working with, although I ended up hitting a 3XXyd guy with my 100yd dope later on

- SB spent most of her time trying to re-range targets to get a good range based on what happened in the previous stage, but never got to shoot again before running out of time... I just kept sending rounds downrange.  No regrets

Stage 6: ISR

- Use a drone operator to locate targets corresponding to pictures on teh wall, between NAI2 and NAI3.

- Shoot the targets in the order of the pictures.

Outcome/Learnings: 0/8 pts, 22/31

- We were never able to find the first shape out on the range, but we saw a few others.  It turned out, like I suspected, that it was one of the closer ones.

- The plan was for SB to work with teh drone operator and for me to shoot

- She asked me to help her look after a while, though

- I should've helped to guide the drone based on where I could see the drone above different potential targets

- It's tough when stages require you to shoot targets in a specific sequence, if you can't ever find the first target... there's luck involved

Day 1 Overall

- It was great to be finished with Day 1 after only a couple of hours

- We stuck around to watch other teams afterwards

- In the evening, back at the AirBNB, we zeroed our WMLRFs using visible laser on a tree, and offsetting it 0.3-0.4L and 0.7-0.8U vs the reticle.  The MARS-LC has a nice laser, and it clicks when you make adjustments to the windage and elevation

- We played with thermals as the sun set and saw deer and turkeys, which was cool.  Cars in driveways were different temps based on how long it had been since they had been used, too

- We practiced clipping in on tripods, to see how much better than was for stability vs using a bag on a ballhead... it was nice.

- We studied stage briefs for the next day... one in particular was perplexing with how scoring worked based on the # of targets

- Our plan for the next day was for me to insist more, if I felt strongly about something, and for us to use tripods even more.

Day Two

Stage 7: Chaos

- 5 min PAR

- Targets 1->4 and 5->8 were posted on the first floor

- Shooter 1 shoots 1->4, 2 hits each, hit to move on, from downstairs

- Shooter 2 shoots 5->8, 2 hits each, hit to move on, from upstairs

- ROs only give a thumbs up/down, with no verbal confirmation, and he's visible on the far left by the front of the connex

Outcome/Learnings: 2/8 pts, 9/31

- SB found the "@" target first, and later, the "9".  She talked me onto the "9", which was our first target, ranged it at ~6XX, and I shot it 2/2 times.

- The 200yd target was gigantic, and I hit it 2/2 times.  There was a video of us shooting at this target, and I was up off the gun, looking for RO confirmation, even before I finished pulling the trigger, it seemed.

- I saw something like a "K" through the weeds on the back berm.  SB didn't see it, but I lazed it with the impact, using the berm that it seemed to be on.  I shot at it about 5x but seemed to be dancing all around it.  SB guessed that my range could be off, and I asked her to come and range it, but she also got 715.

- Tripod rear worked out well.

Stage 8: Straps

- 5 min PAR

- Neutralize the 4 movers using straps to support your gun, either with 1 to vitals or 2 to other places

- After 2 min, you'll be allowed to move to the rail

Outcome/Learnings: 4/4 pts, 8/31

- After SB ranged, I set up and started to shoot from the strap, with the gun on a gitlite Schmedium GC and tripod rear

- SB joined in, before I made any hits.  The strap wobbled as she set up, even with running the bolt, so I left the strap so that she, as the better mover shooter, could engage, and I'd range for her.

- I did ok at ranging, since the second floor made the targets on the ground easy to laze, at 300, 400, 450, 500ish

- Once 2 minutes elapsed, SB had 1-2 neutralized already

- We both went to eht rail and got the rest, with 90s left

- Maybe at future mover stages, I can start off ranging while SB shoots

- SB used her heavy fill bag all day today and loved it on the strap

- Another trick would be to use the far end of the strap for max stability

- Some teams could even game it and barely use the strap, putting most of their weight on the tripod, technically

- It was so nice to finally clean a stage

Stage 9: Spotty Comms

- 5 min PAR

- Radio Team Operator uses a range card in a small room downstairs with limited visibility of the range, to guide their partner onto targets, shooting in a specific target order

- Shooter is upstairs on a bannister, shooting out of a window

Outcome/Learnings: 0/6 pts, 20/31

- I heard SB say "to the left of TRPs 5 & 6", and the first one that I came across was a circle on a berm at 675 yards.  I hit it after an initial miss, but no call was given because it was the wrong target.

- I didn't see targets anywhere else nearby

- I started looking at other targets the same distance as TRP6 and saw a torso, but I didn't have enough time to range and shoot it.... it was the wrong target anyways, so it wouldn't have mattered.

- The correct first target ended up being a circle on the far left of the berm... to be fair, the range card was cut off and unclear.  "Far left" would've been a better cue than "back", though.

- Lesson: don't talk about extraneous info that may confuse things, especially on radio comms, where key words may cut in and out.  Focus on the relevant info, and be concise.

- If I had a clue on which way to start looking or to point my gun as I set up my gun, that would've been handy, vs setting up first, and then getting the first instructions after.  She had been waiting for me to set up, but I had been waiting for her instructions.  In the meantime, I had been searching to get my bearings at least, though.

Stage 10: "HVT"

- 5 min PAR

- Kill 1 HVT (2pts) + 5 Security robots (1 pt ea)

Outcome/Learnings: 6/7 pts, 18/31 

- I started on a close guy who was moving, but then I saw the HVT in the back.  He was static, with other static guys.  I asked SB to range him.  After being unsuccessful at the close guy

- I got the HVT after a few shots.  He pendulumed every few seconds, but predictably, and he was fairly static.

- We started to shoot the others, who started moving once engaged.

- We got the 5th guy at the last moment, but completely missed out on one more guy who was on the left behind some trees

- On my first shot on the far group, I had forgotten to dial based on the dope SB had just given me... dope!

Stage 11: Exfil

- 3:30 PAR

- Bring 4 rounds of rifle and 2 mags of pistol per person

- On beep, team gets out of the car and makes 4 hits on teh same circle steel from behind their respective car doors, not for score, only for completion

- Run up to the Seedo, and the first person shoots at least 2/tgt on 5x self-healing targets, with 2 points per head shot or 1 point per chest, with top 4 hits/tgt counting at the ned

- Touch the barrel at the far end and run back to tag in your partner, who repeats (ok to just shoot in the general direction of the targets)

- once back, shoot at a rifle target 1x

Outcome/Learnings: 40/41 pts, 10/31 

- I got 3/4 on the first steel

- SB ran first, since she got to the Seedo first

- On SB's run, she chose not to take the 4th shot on one of the targets, to continue running to the last target while doing a mag change 

- I watched as she went, and therefore knew this, but she told me on her way back anyways.... that meant that I had one target to really get

- I should've maybe been looking for the rifle target instead, during this time, though

- She did range as I ran, but her high HR from the run make that more challenging... she lazed 600yd, but it was actually 525yd

- On my run, I noticed A-zone outlines and wondered whether we had to make A-zone hits and sometimes added shots there to be safe, which ate up extra time.  I wasn't the only one who wondered this, since our friends did, too, since they had gotten burned in the past for not making A-zone hits when it was actually required.

- When I got back, SB went to the road for a prone shot, vs setting up on the Seedo which was wobbly, which took more time, but it's all about tradeoffs.  

- I had been setting up for rifle, too, in case it was needed, but we ran out of time before she broke her shot.  The target had been in her sights, but it was the wrong dope anyways.

Afterwards

- After we were done, we got slushies and went back to the house for showers and to pack up

- We went back to the range.

- While waiting for results, we compared ranging with the Sig Kilo 10Ks (vibrant, able to give fast solutions), vs Furies (targets don't stand out as well in the sprinkling rain)... it was definitely easier to see the "K" target from the Chaos stage from the 2nd floor vs the first floor.

Overall: 18/31

- I need to get more familiar with my 90 degree send-it level.  IT's still not intuitive for me.

- I need to practice more tripod rear with the pick-up-to-set method, to avoid having legs collapse

- Brandon suggests thinking about the next step before moving, to get faster.

- Go for speed on gross movements, but slow down once you're in the reticle

- Focus on concise, relevant info in comms, with words on what to do (not what not to do)

It was fun spending the weekend with the crew!  Even though some of the stages didn't work out that well for us, they were fun, we got to do some cool and unique things, and we learned a lot.