Fit 360: Gun Run Night Ops 2025 & CLT Tourist

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Sunday, Nov 2:

In preparation for the following weekend's Gun Run Night Ops matches, Kevin and I met up at Coleman's for some training. It would be his first Gun Run, so I wanted to give him some good explanations of what to expect from a match flow and stage perspective.

He didn't have a full set of get of his own, so he borrowed a lot of his equipment. We got it set up so that he could start to get used to it and test it out.

We set up some mock stages, to get to know what typical stages might be like and to figure out how we'd work together and communicate.

Mock Stage 1

- One person shoots the 4-plate rack and another person shoots 4 poppers

- Once both are done, run up and each of you must shoot the orange pistol steel 3x, but not simultaneously.

Mock Stage 2

- From the left and right, shoot alternating hits on the poppers

- Then both tackle the 4-plate rack simultaneously

- End with a pistol hit per person on a popper with weak hand

Mock Stage 3

- Run up to the first line and shoot the circle popper (each must hit)

- Run up further and shoot the same circle popper again (each must hit)

- Run to the left side of the bay and alternate hits on the people poppers

Mock Stage 4:

- Alternate plates (2 plates per person) where you must hit... for each miss, your partner must run to the table and back

Mock Stage 5:

- Bound back with 2 hits on the paper A-zone from 3 different positions

(We re-ran this bounding forward, and we did this different times with rifle with dot, pistol, and rifle with laser)

Long Range

After this, we zeroed our precision rifles to get in some work on that platform.

At the wide bay, we ran some precision rifle mock stages, shooting at 400, 665, 695, and 1030yd (didn't get this last one) targets from triangle barricades, step barricades, rocks, and tank traps. I did OK most of the time... there wasn't much wind, fortunately. I'm slow, but my fundamentals are decent. Kevin also tested out the AR15 at 200-ish ranges.

He brought one of his younger guys from work that he's mentoring, and the kid got to shoot the farthest he's ever shot, which was cool.

Pistol Arcade

Afterwards, I went to the pistol arcade to try different trigger techniques (slapping), then I practiced draw and shoot, then Scott's drill... always pull back the slack as quickly as possible. It started to rain and get chilly and dark, which was a good sign to go hom.

Monday Nov 3:

PATHFINDER baseline assessment of 50/40 pushups, 83/76sit-ups, 15:07/17:00 2-mi run in the Saucony Vizpro. Then, I did a 2 mi strict-ish ruck in 28:14 with a 30#RPC

Wednesday, Nov 5:

Day 4 - Listen | BREATH & Home - Day 13 - Grow yoga with Adriene. My body needed this more than I realized!

Thursday, Nov 6:

Early morning Glute and Pec PT v2 in 22:34, "Trip" in 29:01, then 2 mi with a 40#WV in 41:06 afterwards, to try to squeeze in a a workout while not overdoing anything before the Night Ops Gun Runs this weekend.

NIGHT VISION GUN RUN

Kevin and I met up at VODTAC for the 5:30pm safety brief. We had a 8:10pm run time. Fortunately, it wasn't super cold this year.

The run started with a gear-less (other than NODS on the helmet) run around the pond, and once you're back at the start, you have to don all your gear and set off for the first stage.

Stage 1: (90s PAR)

- Pick a left and a right shooter with no further info

- Right shooter is shooter #1, who starts with rifle with 4 hits each on 4 cardboard, then puts down their rifle

- Shooter 1 switches to pistol and shoots 4 card suits in the sequence that Shooter 2 reads out from a cardboard paper (4. hits each on 4 suits with 1 decoy, which ends up being left to right anyways)

- Shooter 2 then goes to the barrel, loads rifle, and shoots a course of fire that Shooter 1 reads off from cardboard on the IBC (4 head and shoulder targets getting hit 4x each)

- If you don't pass the stage, your team must carry a single brick for the rest of the match, and if you leave it behind anywhere, it's a 1-hr penalty

Learnings/Outcomes: FAIL (only 1/18 pass)

- Kevin was shooter 1, and I was shooter 2, which worked out, since he got to shoot the most, and since he was a first-timer, I wanted him to get the most out of the experience

- Some people can only take in only one set of instructions at a time, while others can take a set... good to know!

- We timed out before I could even start going to the barrel

- We had seen people bringing bricks back to the start, so we made sure that we had some way to carry the brick, and Kevin had a dump pouch that he could use.

- Kevin shot pistol well, giving me confidence in his abilities.

We had a short run up to Stage 2 next.

Stage 2: (180s PAR, and the first time they've done bounding at night)

- 2x 12"x20" targets are at 100yd

- Shoot 3 on each target, from each of your positions

- Both start kneeling and loaded

- As soon as one person starts shooting, the buddy can move to their next position

Learnings/Outcomes: FAIL (4/18 pass)

- Kevin's IR/laser wasn't on a setting that allowed him to see the target well, so I had to hold up my gun to help him, which sapped my arm muscles... afterwards, he suggests resting the buttstock on top of my shoulder for next time

- On my turn, I used a whole mag on position 1, pretty much... I think I shot standing, and I wonder whether a different position would've been more stable

- Somehow on my reload at position 2, I ended up not having a mag in... I wonder what I did.

- The stage felt like it lasted a long time, and I almost wished it would end more quickly so that I could conserve ammo for the rest of the match, since I wasn't making much hitting progress

- I'm not even sure now if I was using passive or IR... I'd have to guess IR but I'm not sure... maybe it felt natural at the time?

- The left target was difficult to discern because of its color and the background

Next, we ran back towards the range and left into the forest trails. Kevin was realizing how challenging this type of night shooting could be and now understood why I had no expectations about being near the top of the pack.

Stage 3: (intent is to force passive shooting)

- Partner (me) reads instructions (allowed to use red light), and only they are allowed to use IR downrange

- The other person shoots targets according to the instructions and the IR provided by the partner, on targets such as left torso 2 hits, right diamond 3 hits, etc.

- At the end, the reading partner shoots the last target a certain number of times.

Learnings/Outcomes: FAIL (3/18 pass)

- After I read, I realized that Kevin didn't have enough ambient light to shoot without my IR, so once again, I was holding my rifle up to help him see and shoot.

- Before I could do that, though, I had to flip down my NODS to see where I was pointing, and I fumbled to find the button to do that, even though it seems so straightforward when I'm off the clock... need to learn my own gear!

- Kevin ended up having to have a way lower hold than he expected on the diamond, but he eventually figured it out. He said he needed to hole 2 plates low!

- I'm not even sure if we got to the second target... maybe started on that, at most

- This was also a very hard stage. We were realizing that the goal of this match might come down to running fast to salvage placement.

- I still felt like I hadn't shot at many targets yet, the way work ended up being divided.

We ran along some more trails to the next stage.

Stage 4:

- One shooter hits 2 pistol targets with alternating hits for 8 total hits

- Meanwhile, the other shooter applies a TQ on a log

- Once done, put a heavy duffle bag (130#) on a stretcher and team carry it over to a chemlight marking the second shooting lane

- Between the two of you, there's a need to shoot rifle at 2 targets alternating hits for 8 total hits

- Plus a need to shoot pistol at 2 targets alternating hits for 8 total hits

Learnings/Outcomes: FAIL (11/18 pass)

- Kevin wasn't sure for a while where the log was and lost time there. He felt comfortable applying a TQ in the dark, though

- I finished the first pistol array before he was done

- Once we put down the stretcher, it wasn't super clear where we were supposed to stand and shoot from and where to find the targets, so that also took a bit of time and moving around. The RO kept telling me to go left, left, left, and I kept moving right, right, right, haha... the things you do on the clock...

- Kevin's pistol light came off somehow while he was trying to shoot, so by the time I was done with rifle, I started to help him, after he used whatever mitigation

- We were close to finishing, but all the fumbles cost us precious time that we needed... next time... we'd get redemption the next night

We ran through a newly cut trail through the forest, which was still super puffy from having the dirt turned over, which was not stamped down yet. We had to tread carefully through that area.

Stage 5:

- One person shoots 3 torsos with 3. hits each on the left cone

- The other person shoots 4 plates with 3 hits each from the right cone

- Once both shooters are done, run up together to the front cone and shoot the plate rack together

Learnings/Outcomes: PASS in 44.41s (9/15 passers out of 18 overall)

- We finally passed one!

- It went reasonably well

Overall 3/18 on the run, 13/18 on the shoot, 8/18 overall... not bad, thanks to the run.

- It's wild how our brains shut off or exclude info once we're on the clock

- I think I lost a mag somewhere

- An offset IR light source vs one that's in line with your eye can help make seeing the target easier, Ellis says in the IG AAR... makes sense. Same concept as why I prefer a waist-mounted light vs a headlamp.

- As always, need to learn our own gear... settings, buttons, etc, ahead of the match.

- I'm thankful that Kevin was able to carry the brick like a champ!

- He's also a faster runner with kit than me, which is good.

- I used 33P and 38 rifle (30 of the rifle on stage 2, and 8 on the medical stage)

- I decided to use 147gr 9mm despite the extra weight, in case we came across dueling trees, spinners, or plate racks.

- We ran 2.45 mi in 69 min, including 6.5 min of wait time before the medical stage.

- I did use the Kiji through the forest in the last mile

- We had hopes of doing better on some of the stages the next night

We camped onsite overnight. It started raining after we had finished awards, which was good. The fire each night was nice for staying warm after our runs, too.

ASHEVILLE TOURIST

Catawba Falls

The next morning, we rucked Catawba Falls in the CCW direction. The leaves were a bit past peak, but there was still some good color. It was my first time there... I didn't realize there was such a nice waterfall close to Old Fort!

There's a long set of stairs that takes you to the top of the falls. I was wearing a 30#R, and Kevin was keeping a fast pace, so it was challenging! There were many false summits along the way to the top. The top of the tower had a nice view looking back towards the valley, though.

There was another nice waterfall up there to reward the effort, too.

The way down was steep in parts and covered in a bunch of fallen leaves.

We covered 3.5 mi in 1:23:45.

Folk Art Center

Next, we visited the Folk Art Center. There's a gallery on the top floor with a permanent collection plus artisan items for sale. There's a larger shop on the 1st floor. I've been here with my parents before, and I've been by myself after a long ruck back in 2018, but it's been a while.

We were quite hungry afterwards, so we went into Asheville for brunch.

Chestnut & Asheville

Kevin is a foodie, so we had a nice meal at Chestnut. I had an Asian-inspired catfish.

We walked around town afterwards for a bit.

On our way back, we did another hike at Kitsuma Peak, which is right along the interstate. There weren't really any views, though. There were mountain bikers, which was kind of nuts to see on such a steep trail. We covered 2 miles in 50:19.

We went back to the range for a nap before safety brief #2.

Thai & Black Mountain

Our run time was at 9:40, so we had time to go to a great Thai restaurant in Black Mountain between the brief and our run.

GUN RUN WHITE LIGHT

Gear Updates:

- This time, I brought one extra rifle mag, in case we got farther in some of the stages and I needed more ammo, after using 30 rounds on 2 targets from one position on stage 2 the night before.

- I stuck a handheld white light in my chest rig, in case it came in handy

Stage 1: FAIL (3/26 pass)

- Kevin's pistol shoot didn't go as well this time... he said his dot got loose somehow, so he missed a lot before he figured out what to hold. I'd need to plan to do more pistol shooting for the rest of the match as a mitigation

- He did blast through the cardboard rifle targets really quickly this time

- At least I got to the rifle bay this time, but I'm not sure that I got any rounds off before time started

Stage 2: FAIL (4/26 pass)

- Kevin had tried out his white light before the match on a close treeline, but that didn't turn out to be a good indication of how the light would do at 100yd.

- I ended up having to hold up my rifle light for him again

- There was lots of smoke when I was shooting this time... maybe from the humidity after the rain? It hadn't been an issue the night before. I did shift left and right, but maybe not enough? I ended up having to wait like 3s between shots. There was also no wind that night, which would've helped to move smoke along.

Stage 3: FAIL (5/26 pass)

- It made sense for Kevin to shoot rifle again, since for the white light edition, only the reader could use their white light, and my light was stronger than his.

- Kevin knew that he had to hold low for his first target this time

- We got farther this time, but I timed out while working on my target... it was hard to see, but I realized afterwards that it was because my glasses had fogged up, so I stopped using them the rest of the match.

Stage 4: PASS in 79.97 (8/19 that passed, out of 26 total)

- We got redemption on this stage

- Since Kevin's dot was loose, I shot pistol from both lanes.

- Kevin was fast on finding the log for the TQ this time and was done before I finished the first pistol array

Stage 5: PASS in 49.66 about 5s slower than under NODS (15/23 passers, out of 26 total)

- With Kevin's loose pistol dot, he stayed on the left array with the larger torso targets

- I think he finished before I got through my 4-plate rack on teh right

- He was fast on the plate rack, too, knocking most of them out before I did because I was slow on the mag change. His dot went back to a good place for this stage by itself.

Overall 14/26 in the shoot, 2/26 in the run, 6/26 overall - nice!

- We had another good running outcome, since I'm reasonably fast, but he's even faster.

- The shooting at this match was hard, between it being at night with night gear and having to find targets and fog and everything, plus the teamwork aspect.

- I do wonder why I was shooting standing so much under NODS and not using passive shooting as much as I normally do.

- I used 44 pistol and 25 rifle during the white light run.

- We finished in 62 minutes minus 3:15 of wait time.

CHARLOTTE

Right after the match, we drove back to Charlotte, so that we could spend a good chunk of Sunday exploring the town after a nap.

Museum of Illusions

It was cool to see the full museum, after only seeing the pop-up exhibit with my parents earlier. They hae some cool illusions there. There are some big room-sized one, along with many that are like pictures on the wall.