TRAINING LEAD-UP
Monday, Nov 25:
18A "Upper Body Prep" in 23:30 & "Upper Push / Chin-up" in 38:39
plus board games with the fam
Tuesday, Nov 26:
Trip to Blackstone, to get used to shooting pistol without my WML in preparation for the Mammoth Sniper Challenge, where it's important to minimize excess gear weight as long as it doesn't harm shooting performance too much. Also adjusted my red dot zero a bit.
Wednesday, Nov 27:
Glute and pec PT v2 in 26:33, HDT 31.1.2 (CORE) in 34:50
Finished zeroing my dot at Blackstone.
SB got me my own warmie! His name is Cole, because he's black and warm like coal.
Thursday, Nov 28:
1.5 mile ruck at Iswa Nature Preserve with the family before T-day dinner, wearing a 30#RPC and Garmont T8s
Friday, Nov 29:
4 miles in 56:19 around the neighborhood with 50# in the V2 rucker and MACV1s
1 mile at Camp North End later that day with my family, wearing a 30#RPC and Garmont T8s. It's a neat place. I hope the businesses there can survive.
We went to Heist afterwards for pizza and beer.
Coleman's visit to re-zero with the real optic with proper rings.
I did a bit of positional work at the zero range. The lightweight gun needs to freely recoil, almost, if you want to avoid putting shot-yanking pressure on it with your body.
I took it out to a real bay, too, to try it out on some 446yd steel for the first time.
After the trip to Coleman's, I squeezed in 6 miles before going out to dinner with the fam, with 50# in the v2 rucker, wearing Salomon XA Comps, in 1:27:38. Mammoth is quickly approaching!
Sunday, Dec 1:
Restorative Yoga | Gratitude & 10 min Yoga for Beginners with Adriene - needed it today after the recent rucks!
Explored uptown with the fam and ran into a little pre-game play area for kids before a Panther's game. I've never been to one of the games before, but it looked exciting!
Monday, Dec 2:
18A "Dynamic Warmup" in 31:04 nose breathed as specified, then "Kettlebell" in 36:07
Wednesday, Dec 4:
Tried 17 round mags on the CZP10C for the first time... loved the solid feel of them.
My RD was loose, so I tightened it, though the screw didn't seem to move. I hope it wouldn't affect my performance at Operation Shooter coming up.
Thursday, Dec 5:
Zeroed my rifles (one with an LPVO and one with a red dot) and confirmed that the pistol red dot was still holding zero.
GBF OPERATION SHOOTER 2024
Back for more fun! This year, hopefully, I wouldn't have to go to urgent care!
The event starts Saturday (vs Friday night for Op Contact), but you go pretty hard all weekend, with little sleep. I did choose to stay onsite Friday night, so that I'd get more sleep before the event, vs driving in way early in the morning on Saturday and then getting very little rest the remainder of the weekend.
On IG, Gregg posted a route that we were supposed to learn for the weekend. He was going to delete the message before the event, too. People who arrived early had a chance to practice the route and scope it out ahead of time, if they wanted to, but I didn't go early enough for there to be daylight.
At these events, you don't know which ones will end up being for score vs which ones won't, which makes it interesting, but the best plan is probably still to always give it your all.
Even though we did this event last year, Gregg still changes things up enough so that it's still a new experience for everyone, while still testing a similar set of physical and shooting competencies.
Event 1: The Endurance
Back at HQ, make 10 impacts from standing, from kneeling, and from prone, on circle targets at 100yd with rifle, with a mag change between each position.
Go back out and repeat pistol and rifle at "tire town".
Come back to HQ, and shoot a plate rack at ~15yd, then run to the finish line.
You can bring or as little or as much ammo as you want. Running out seems like a very bad idea, but you don't want a crazy amount that weighs you down. You didn't know the sizes of the targets ahead of time, so you didn't know how hard the shots would be and how much extra you'd need to bring to account for misses.
Better to be safe than sorry... I brought 4 mags of rifle and 3 mags of pistol. I used 43 rifle, due to messy standing and kneeling shots at HQ, and I used 15 pistol (plus 3 mandatory ejections during clearing).
I did make a wrong turn on my first trip back. Things do look different when you go one direction vs the other... what seems obvious in one direction (ex: exiting a trail) may not be obvious coming back, if the trail isn't a very pronounced one. That ate up a little time... don't get complacent!
Event 2: Gunslinger
After a little break (I was very hungry and thirsty), it was time for event 2.
The way GBF's tactical events work, they are paced like operations... you get briefed, you get a little prep time, you go to the mission and work hard, and then you get a little downtime, then repeat.
This one would all take place in one bay, and we'd be able to watch everyone else shoot.
Start prone, facing away from the plate racks, with a 25#R and a pistol in the holster.
On the beep, get up, turn around, and run up to the left plate rack behind hte barrel. Hit each plate, but after each shot (not after each hit, but after each shot), you must re-holster and re-draw. This tests your drawing skills (and careful holstering).
Move to the next plate rack, and after each plate hit (hit this time), change mags (no need to clear brefore changing), and move on to the next plate. Once complete, holster and run back to the table where you started.
You do need a lot of mental focus to remember when to holster, when to change mags, etc... it can sometimes take a second. That's an interesting way to mix mental acuity under stress into the comp.
I shot ok... 3 misses on rack 2, but fortunately, the penalty is less severe for missing on the second plate rack, since you're not having to reholster, and you can just shoot again (if you can remember!).
(Photo Credit: Jay Knickerbocker)
It was fascinating watching others shoot. You can tell who's new to competing. The newbies try to go fast and just end up being really fast at missing, and they end up spending a ton of time reholstering and trying again, only to miss again. Kills their time.
The three with the fastest times got to shoot a side-match. I was just outside of it, though. It involved doing burpees and shooting, at a farther distance.
Brass Pickup 1
Gregg had us help out with brass cleaup. Sawmill even threw in a free t-shirt for the winning team of the three teams. We won! I am good at picking up things.
Event 3: Calm in Chaos
From prone with a mag in and empty chamber, and no ruck unless you want to use it as support, you have 2 min max to shoot at a cardboard IPSC, going for the A-zone, with 3x10, changing mags while in prone, at about 100yd.
I was strategic about my lane to help with target acquisition. I chose my point of aim based on my 36yd zero, and aimed for middle, knowing my round would go up a bit to hit the A-zone by the time it got to the cardboard.
I got credit for 28 rounds, but I could see an oblong keyholed shot, so my score really should've been a 29, but that was a very good score anyways, so NBD.
It was interesting looking at everyone's prone position.
I didn't use a support bag, especially not my ruck, since you have to have something really fluffy or else at the exact perfect height for it to be that helpful.
The top 6 had a side match, shooting on a TTG target. You got 20s and wanted to try to get 3 rounds in each of 4 circles, with no penalty for misses and as much ammo as you wanted. 20s is not a lot, for 12 good shots. You really have to balance precision and speed. I ended up beating second place by 2 hits, though!
After the side match, everyone got to shoot a bit more on their target for practice. I decided to experiment with 50gr Federal JHP. It actually did ok. I had a nice group of 12, plus 4 that were a bit higher, during the 3x10s windows where we were allowed to shoot.
Event 4: Commando Climb
With a minimum 21# ruck plus rifle and pistol, climb the rope to the top and say your name long enough to receive an acknowledgement (or do 15 burpees with no rifle after an attempt on the rope). Complete the Texas star with 6 arms, then run back to the rope.
I had 23# in my ruck... I just used that, vs trying to swap things in and out to try to hit 21# exactly.
My feet ended up slipping twice going up the rope. Fortunately, my arms were locked in well enough to not fall.
(Photo Credit: Jay Knickerbocker)
I only missed 2x on the star, not bad.
After completing the star, I thought for a moment that I was done and started to pick up my ejected round before someone reminded me that I still had to run back to the rope.
Optional Rappelling
Very cool whenever we get a chance to rappel.
This time, though, the rope or something must've been different. I started with a single rope and an ATC, and I went down painfully slowly because I don't weight that much.
They let me try again with a figure 8, which should be a little faster, but I was still very slow.
I may need to add a ruck or something next time. It's not quite the same, going down a couple feet at a time.
Brass Contest 2
There was no free t-shirt on the line this time, but the losing team would have to either just have their team go for a cold plunge in the pond, or they had the option to bring the whole class along.
My team won again, but fortunately, the losing negotiated and were able to just have a couple members of their team do the plunge, and they spared the rest of the class from it, though some of the guys from other teams wanted to give it a try, too.
After this, we had free time until about 1am, which gave us about to 7 hours to eat, shower, and rest. Wonderful!
Event 5: The Cas Evac (Casualty Evacuation)
We split up into 2 teams.
Navigate to tire town with your team of 8, with a 25#R and guns but no ammo. White light is OK.
At tire town, tell the staff how you'd treat the casualty situation they present tot you.
Load the casualty (85#SB) onto the cloth litter, and bring it back to HQ.
The losing team supposedly gets another cold plunge the next day.
We went out strong and got there first, although not long after answering the questions and starting to leave, we get passed. There was still a lot of ground to cover, though, so we were just going to keep being efficient with our swaps and work together well.
The team in front missed the same turn that I had missed on my first ruck, and fortunately, someone on our team noticed. That was our chance to get ahead! It was a lucky break, and we capitalized on it.
Event 6: The Run
We got some rest before our 5:45am briefing.
The next event would purely be physical (and mental).
Meet at the back gate, for a run back to HQ, but on your way back, close to the end, you get to do the cold swim that the losing team had done the previous day.
You want to go with minimal clothes, so that you're less weighed down and can dry faster afterwards.
I didn't have a headlamp, but it would've been nice to have on in the dark trails. I ended up swimming with a modified freestyle with my head above the water, anyways. Having my head in the water would've made it even more cold.
It was tough swimming! I lost steam about halfway through but kept pushing on despite the fatigue.
I was pretty happy with my running pace, though, and no hesitation diving in. The faster you get in, the less time you have to worry about how cold it's going to be, and the faster you swim, the faster you get out.
Event 7: The Tower
With a 25# rifle, guns, and as much or as little ammo as you want, run to the base of the connex structure and use pistol to shoot 3 small steel (card suits) with 1 hit each.
Pick up a 85#SB and carry it to the top of the connex.
Shoot 5 blue steel at 100-150yd, 1x each.
Go down the ladder 1 flight, and from the balcony, shoot the same 5 targets 1x each again.
Run to the ground floor, drop the SB, and run back to the start point and shoot the stop plate.
The SB seemed intimidating, with all the stairs that had to be climbed. I know from experience that even a 60#SB plus the ruck can be quite challenging. I'm probably more familiar with SBs than most, though, so I knew I'd get through it, even if it was slowly.
When I got to the top of the connex, after matching feet every step to get up, including on the tricky ladder on the last floor, I started shooting, but wasn't hitting. I went through a full mag of 77gr and only managed to make 2-3 hits out of the 5 required for that floor alone! I had to run all the way back down and back up (I left the SB) to get another mag. The rest of it went slightly better, but that was a disaster.
(Photo Credit: Jay Knickerbocker)
People wondered whether my optic had gotten knocked. I went to get more ammo to check my zero. It was off. I re-zeroed, and then I realized that one of the QD levers wasn't all the way down. I clamped it back down, and I ended up having to pretty much undo the change in zero to get back to where I was.
They did allow me a re-shoot, in which I made all the rifle shots without missing. That was good... it showed that it was truly an issue with the optic mounting, and not me being really bad at shooting.
Event 8: Eggsploitation
With rifle and no mag in, low crawl about 25yd and shoot 5 eggs on strings, and crawl back, with a 25# ruck and as much ammo as you want. There's an 8 min time cap.
I ran out of gas on the low crawl about halfway out, but I kept up slow forward progress after that. Low crawling with a ruck is so much more challenging than low crawling slick.
The eggs weren't very easy to hit, which I guess makes sense based on the group size that I was getting on the cardboard. I held at the bottom of the egg based on my zero and went for precision, vs the spray-and-pray technique that one of the Sawmill cadres said that he preferred.
I used 22 rounds.
I started to low crawl back, backwards, since my forward muscles were all smoked. Gregg had me turn around, even though I feel like I'd go faster backwards, haha.
(Photo Credit: Jay Knickerbocker)
Final: Ammo Resupply
The final event would only be for the top 5 per gender. There happened to be 5 girls total.
With a 25# ruck and rifle with 3x30 rifle rounds, take a tire up and down the berms stealthily (being low up and down hill and semi-crawling, but OK to carry on the flats) to the third berm, where a SB awaits.
From the SB position, shoot the 36-50yd big steel IPSC with 10 hits, 3x, with mag changes in between.
Drag the 115#SB over 2 berms (for women) or 3 berms (for men) and get back to the start.
The berms were so steep that you were nearly upright, anyways. You can drag heavy stuff by putting squatting leg muscles into it, and then it becomes like a dead lift. The SB was tough but doable.
I got second among the women. This was still just for points, for the total event weekend score, so it wasn't an all-or-nothing.
The SB itself made for a good shooting rest, and the target was generously sized, so you could let it rip.
(Photo Credit: Jay Knickerbocker)
During the guy's run, a dog started to run along the berm that the guys were shooting from, so we had to call a cease fire. Silly, lucky-to-be-alive dog!
Results
I got 1st for the females (with Lauren not far behind, I'm sure) and 5th overall.
I liked I how I paced the event and led during the team cas evac challenge.
I should stay more focused during the rucks and not miss turns.
Another great weekend at the Sawmill, shooting with and competing with some awesome people who aren't afraid of a challenge!
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