CHECK-IN AND ZERO DAY
I was so excited to be able to shoot the match this year, and not just volunteer at it. Volunteering was a great and educational experience, but it's always fun to be in the action. The appeal of this match was the opportunity to shoot at Government Training Institute, which a range and overall military / first responder training facility built on the grounds of a decommissioned never-live nuclear facility. I had never gotten a chance to shoot there before, but the pictures look epic.
SB and I drove down to Barnwell, SC, to check in, then zero. They have specific gear requirements at this event... max 10x magnification on one optic, and a gas gun chambered in either 5.56 or .308. I had put together a 16" AR with a Razor 1-10X for this match. I had been wanting to get something in the 10x range anyways to see my hits/misses better at TTG, so this gave me a good excuse to "pull the trigger" on the optic purchase. We opted for the slick division, since carrying all of the gun and ammo weight would be plenty, and we weren't out to set any records at this match, and we weren't training for any heavy rucking + shooting type event... we wanted to focus more on the shooting aspect here.
The zero bay didn't give us ideal conditions. To see the targets (which the participants had to somewhat cobble together themselves), we had to shoot from a trailer platform. It was wobbly, especially with the other teams that were all shooting and putting weight on the same platform. The platform was at 94 yards... that part you can account for a bit, but it was another thing. I ended up shooting 10 rounds, tending right and low. I did adjust and slip my turret, but I didn't end up confirming after. There was so much movement that I'd probably end up chasing shifts, anyways. SB's zero was fine, and she only adjusted windage.
We went with our favorite - Mexican food, for dinner, and we finalized packing at night.
DAY 1
On the first day of TTG SC, you shoot 6 blind stages with your squad. On the second day, they'd post tee times based on everyone's rankings, and you'd do one continuous timed movement with shooting stages along the way. The PAR times for day 1 would all be 5 min long. At traditional TTG events, there can be some pretty heavy or cardio-heavy work mixed in to the stages, but here, the physical aspects were more about moving to shooting positions with all your gear quickly. Some of the movements were decently long in relation to the 5 min PAR time.
Stage 5: KYL
- start touching the barrel, and on the beep, run up the stairs and go to the shooting position next to the canopy
- pistol is an infinite round count and is worth 1 point per hit with 2 hits max allowed per shooter per target on 5 steel. You are allowed to skip hits and move on to rifle, unloading and showing clear when you're done with pistol.
- For rifle, you get 10 rounds max to spend on whichever of your assigned KYL plates you want, where each plate is worth 1->5 points depending on the size. You must call your target and have the RO acknowledge it before you shoot. The rifle must be in contact with the metal barrier.
- Turns out we each have our own spotter, so we can do both pistol and rifle portions simultaneously, if we want.
Learnings/Outcomes: 34/43 overall, 11/14 slick division
- SB got all her pistol shots, bracing from her tripod
- I had a tripod but braced on the metal barrier once I started struggling with misses on the small targets. I skipped 2-3 shots, after SB suggested that we switch over to rifle instead of spending too much time on pistol
- SB ranged my KYL rack at 385, though some other teams got 360-380, and another team said that they were hitting with 440 dope.
- I didd hold a bit for wind
- I started on #3 based on where my wobble zone seemed to be, but I missed. I also missed on #2. I got a hit on #1, then I might've tried #2 again and missed again, and then I went back to #1, but probably after time had ended.
- With the low barricade, I shot seated. We had to shoot from it, and it seemed way too low to make tripod rear work well.
- SB made some hits but didn't get credit for all of them because she didn't quite get the target numbering situation, unfortunately.
Stage 6: Platform
- unlimited ammo allowed
- Run down the stairs, along the grass under the tube, then up a staircase.
- Shoot pistol, 1 shooter at a time, with 2 hits on 5 steel, then drop mag for 1 hit on the black clearing target. Reloading and retrying allowed.
- Other shooter repeats the pistol sequence.
- For rifle, shoot 6 silhouettes with hostage takers (body shots on the hostage are fine and count), where both shooters must hit the target before you can move on to a different one. Primary shoots from a rope, and secondary shoots from anywhere on the platform.
Learnings/Outcomes: 35/43 overall, 10/14 division
- this was a time+ stage, where FTEs were 30s and misses were 20s
- I went left to right on the pistol steel, which meant going back to the far left for the clearing target... it felt more natural to me for whatever reason, though SB went the sensible R->L.
- I had a few misses on pistol and needed to hold low
- I had to re-try on the pistol clearing target, which eats up time because of the reload, but with a 20s penalty, I figured it was worth it, though it took away from time that we could use on rifle, although rifle shots do take longer, too. The key is to not miss the HVT shots.
- I shot off the rope for pistol for stability
- I shot 23 pistol, and 11 would've been clean.
- I went to the right side of the platform since I was there first
- I placed the rifle directly on the rope (no bag) with tripod rear, but my choice of being on the right side of the small platform meant that I didn't have much space to work with for the tripod, and one of its legs was not grounded well... looking back, if I was going to do tripod rear, I should've moved to the left, although that takes time, too, probably worth it, though
- My first shot was bad, and I had to reposition the tripod, which was hard.
- Talk-ons were a struggle... could've been me with auditory exclusion... I wasn't clear on where along the one big tree line the first target we were going for was.
- The closest of the three in a row that we saw and went for was 220yd. We never got to the second one before time was up, but despite looking like it was right behind the first one, it was actually 100yd behind.
- We got 11 FTEs.
Stage 4: Car Alley
- time plus with 20s/miss, 30s/FTE
- There's 6 steel out there to hit
- On the beep, locate the intel at 2 positions to get info about the shooting sequence
- A map shows you the location of the intel, and you get 30s to review this map
- A shooter can do either sequence but can't do both
- One shooter goes at a time, and you can abandon a sequence, but if you do, you can't go back
- If you mess up the order of the sequence anywhere along the way, you have to restart.
(Map showing location of intel)
(The intel from the two sides)
(Shooting position and targets)
Learnings/Outcomes: 7/43 overall, 4/14 division
- We did good intel gathering... our plan was for SB to get the close intel, and I'd get the far one.
- There was not much to record, so I wrote it alll
- We filled in each others' blanks once we got back together
- I needed to have my bipod legs all the way up to get high enough to get into the port
- Both of the mags I pulled out had issues chambering.... I wonder if a round had slid forward a bit
- I missed the first shot on #4 but hit it the second time
- I had an initial miss on #6 and asked for SB to confirm the range, and she realized that she hadn't ranged it correctly the first time. I knew my shot was good, which was why I asked. The new range worked.
- I shot 7 rounds and hit my 4 targets.
- Soon after I finished but before SB could swap in, time ran out.
<We all went back to our cars for a lunch break, before swapping range areas>
Stage 2: Blue Falcon
- There are 5 arrays with 2 targets each... a circle for primary and a square for secondary, spaced 1-3m apart
- Go to the shoot area with orange paint marking 2 positions - prone and window
- Engage the same array, only one shooter at a time, infinite tries, then move to the next array
- After all arrays are done, you can switch positions and repeat the course of fire, as may times as you can before time is up
- If you skip, you can't go back to an array until you switch positions
- 3 points/completed array, 1 point per partial array neutralization
Learnings/Outcomes: 35/43 overall, 10/14 division
- Got the first array after I asked SB to talk me on to it in relation to the fallen tree
- Next, I see one in a ditch to the left, though SB doesn't catch that I call it a ditch, which causes issues when I refer to it as a ditch later
- I see another array along the tree line and tell her to go up from the ditch and to the right along the tree line in front of the green tree
- She doesn't see it, so I explain a different way... 3x the distance between the targets (30m) to the right above the ditch along the treeline, though she thinks I mean 3x the distance between the two arrays, so she goes way to the right side of the range fan and shoots that, but since I had already shot the green tree treeline array, we had to finish that one unless we said skip, so that hit didn't count. SB encouraged me to shoot at her array, but that didn't count either, since we had to finish the first one or skip, and nothing on the second array had counted yet. I saw the array she was working on because there was a flasher on that target that was going off.
- Our plan had been for me to go prone and for SB to use the window, since she's taller
- SB's lower magnification had meant that she couldn't see the green tree that I was talking about on the tree line. It turns out that quite a few other teams had this same issue and conversation, too, since we were all restricted to 10x for one shooter.
- We ended up with 3+3+1 = 7 points. I shot 5 rounds.
Stage 3: Reset Plates
- Time+ with 20s/miss and 30s/FTE
- Infinite round count
- Primary has 5x circles to the left of the reset plate, and secondary has 5x squares to the right of the reset plate
- Move to the shoot area.
- Primary starts with the orange reset plate in the center of the range. Once you get a hit after as many tries as necessary, you get 1 attempt at any of your designated targets. You must call your target for the spotter beforehand, including for the reset plate.
- Secondary then must hit the reset plate to earn their one shot on their target of choice.
- Alternate doing the reset plate and shot between the two shooters, until you neutralize all targets. If one person finishes first, the other person can keep going until they finish
- You can shoot from the mats or the rails.
Learnings/Outcomes: 37/43 overall, 13/14 division
- It took us a while to even find the range fan. Originally, the match was going to have big blade banners marking each stage's range fans. The wind blew them down, so they replaced the flags with cones that had painted wooden sticks in them. With the limited options on safe shooting directions while hosting 6 simultaneous stages with rotating squads, they had to be creative with range fan setup, but that meant that sometimes, your fans could be at big angles off to the side of your shooting position
- Once we found the range fan, it took us a while to find the reset target
- After I shot the rest target, SB said she saw my targets, but I looked and saw slanted IPSCs, not circles
- I finally saw one of mine at the base of a tree... I ranged it myself and shot and missed... it turns out I would've needed 2 mile of wind, based on what a guy who tried 3x ended up needing. I couldn't retry without shooting the reset plate, though, and that would be after SB got her turn
- SB shot the reset target. She saw her firs target, but no hit before time was up
- This was a frustrating stage because finding the range fan and reset target took so long.
- You forget about needing to hold for wind, and even if you remember, it can be hard to judge the wind, when you're shooting from an indoor location out through a window!
Stage 1: Domination
- Secondary and Primary each get 10 rounds to spend on their rifle
- There's 5 steel (squares or circles) worth 1-5 points, based on a sign at the base of each target
- Start at the red beam and go outside, onto the balcony
- From position 1 on the rail between 2 orange marks, you must earn 12 points as a team before you can move on to position 2, where your points reset to 0, aternating shooters, 1 shot each
- From position 2 on the catwalk, use any remaining rounds to get 12 more points, alternating shooters, 1 shot each
- Call your target for the spotters
Learnings/Outcomes: 31/43 overall, 10/14 division
- Cleaned in 234.56, which the RO appreciated the numeric beauty of
- We chose to go for #3, a 285yd target that I found, since it was only a little smaller than the #2 target that SB found and was worth 1 more point each time.
- I ended up earning all the points on this stage, since SB could never figure out her wind hold. I was hitting just inside left edge, so I told her 1/2 plate left based on the caliber difference
- I did yank 1 shot from position #2 as it became harder to control the wobble, especially because for the first time this match, I kept my ruck on while shooting, since we'd be moving positions and I wanted my gear close to me
- I used the rail, no tripod
- Target acquisition after recoil was hard sometimes and took too long
- SB started to just let rounds go quickly to give me more time to get my hits
- I ended up with 1 round left
- SB should've actually loaded 11 rounds based on the requirement that she eject a round to clear in between positions... fortunately, we didn't end up needing that round
<Overnight, we had to leave our ammo with the staff, since we need to carry all gear for the weekend>
DAY 2
They had briefs hourly, which was nice... it wasn't like they had 1 brief and you had to go super early and wait for a long time... we were able to have a nice leisurely breakfast after sleeping in longer than the teams who were ranked higher. We were in the second to last brief group, which meant that we weren't at the very bottom, at least.
We got our brief, and then we waited around in the holding area, waiting for our turn. As part of the brief, we saw a map of the ruck route, which would be marked with orange flags, too. As it got closer to our turn to go, each team would be given a printout of the stage briefings, which gave us time to review everything and get a sense of what would be going on.
The ruck route would be about 4 miles. One of the miles would involve running through the hallways of a big, dark building, which would be fun. It wasn't continuous running, since you'd stop along the way for different shooting stages. We'd also be doing more stairs at the other building, like we had yesterday. The last stage would be at the "zero bay".
Total, our run plus shooting ended up being 1:36:35. It felt more like 3 miles of effort, though.
The building's route was marked well enough, even though it can feel like a maze with all the corridors at times. There was only one time where I had to try a door that made it seem like we were supposed to go through it based on something spray painted on it, but it must've been leftover from a different event.
I ended up slinging my rifle like an AR while moving. On ladders, tripods like to get snagged, whether you're going up and a bar wedges between the tripod and your bag, or going down, and the bar grabs your ballhead. I wore my headlamp the normal way, without a cap, because around the neck, the bino holder gets in the way of the light.
For the run, we were 33/43 overall, 11/14 division.
Stage 7: Pipe Alley
- time+ with 20s/miss and 30s/FTE
- Run to the edge of the roof and shoot at one of 10 steel at a time
- Both shooters must hit before you can move on to the next target
- You're not allowed to skip
Learnings/Outcomes: 37/42 overall, 11/14 division
- I appreciated how meticulous this RO was with giving the stage brief. He clearly and methodically enunciated every word, highlighting key points with his intonation.
- I found and shot, then SB shot, one next to the sedan
- RO#2 didn't notice when SB hit and was saying something after SB shot the next target, but RO#1 knew what was going on and corrected him
- I had to move to the other side of SB to see the target fully on #2
- We ended up accidentally simulshooting target #3, 2x... we should've probably gotten credit the first time, since there was no splash from misses... the brief said nothing about 1 shooter at a time, which made this possible
- We shot pretty well, but the one RO situation made it a bit messy despite the good RO
Stage 10: Rooftop
- time+ with 20s/miss and 30s/FTE
- infinite rounds
- primary has 4x33% IPSCs, secondary has 4x full-sized IPSCs
- on beep, shoot your targets 1x each. you can go simultaneously. you must ID your target to your spotter
Learnings/Outcomes: 36/43 overall, 13/14 division
- I had to adjust my bipods back down after initially having them higher... I had been worried about the lip of the edge of the balcony and wanted to make sure I was over that... but shooting at a downward angle, you want low bipod legs. I needed to go down to have enough bag height available.
- SB saw and ranged mine on a berm
- I confirmed that one that she saw was hers, because I knew it was big enough to be a full-sized IPSC at that visual distnace.
- Afterwards, I told her about another one of hers on the left end of the front tree line. She had seen that one but hadn't been sure if it was hers
- We spent the rest of the time searching for other targets but never found anymore, after doing the first few really quickly
Stage 8: (Angus) Tower Inception
- primary and secondary each get 9 rounds only
- primary has 3x circles, secondary has 3x squares
- on go, run to and climb up the ladder to the crow's nest... you're allowed to use the entire platform if you want
- one person shoots their first target with 3 attempts, then the next person finds theirs and shoots with three attempts... repeat until all 3 targets per person are done
- you get 3 points for 1st round impacts, 1 point for 2nd and 3rd round impacts
Learnings/Outcomes: 19/43 overall, 6/14 division
- We had extra wait time for the staff to fix a flasher that was stuck blinking on
- I found my first target, ranged on the treeline... SB didnt' see it, but I shot 3x and hit it every time
- SB was getting prone for her shot while I was working, and she proactively told me she'd shtop moving just before my third shot
- SB got all of hers
- I scanned to the right of my first target and saw one of SB's targets... it'd take time to talk her on, since she didn't know where my first target was
- I scanned to the left of my first target and saw another one of mine. With 10s left on the timer (which both of us remembered to start every single stage... a first), I rushed a shot and missed, and there wasn't time for another... in this case, having a timer might've hurt, vs not knowing and doing a good shot at a normal pace... timers can be a double-edged sword
Stage 9: (Angus) Through a Loop
- time+ with 20s/miss and 30s/FTE
- infinite rounds
- primary shoots 4x torsos, secondary shoots 4x squares
- on go, primary shoots from under scaffolding, and secondary shoots from the right window
- both can shoot at the same time, and you must hit the target 2x for it to be neutralized
Learnings/Outcomes: 41/43 overall, 13/14 division
- as I was getting ready to set up on the near side of the scaffolding, the RO clarified that I have to go inside it
- Once I did, finding the range fan was tough with the angle... I saw one cone on the left, but it wasn't clear whether that was the left limit or the right limit until I found the other cone that SB talked me onto to the right... it was in the middle of the field, though to the right side of where I could see out of my window
- Ranging was hard because there was a wire hanging in front of the window, plus there was vegetation between the target and me
- I found squares along the way but didn't tell SB about them, since I heard her already working on targets
- I'm not sure that I even broke a shot before time was up
- SB shot one square, then another, but forgot she had to shoot 2x to neutralize, so she got us zero points
- She saw big square targets that were hard to range, and she spotted small squares without t-posts that were easier to range... she went for the small ones.
Stage 11: Pistol Only
- time+ with 5s/miss, 10s/FTE, 2.5s/FTN, 10s/NS, 45s for failure to complete spinner tree, or star
- Shooter 1 starts in the red box in bay 1, hot
- Shooter 2 starts in the red box in bay 2, cold
- On the beep, shooter 1 shoots the TX star and 11 PCLS cardboards (2 hits anywhere or 1A-zone), plus the stop plate with a cold gun
- Tag in shooter 2, who shoots the dueling tree, 7 steel of different sizes and distances, then meets shooter 1 to team up on the spinner
Learnings/Outcomes: 24/43 overall, 7/14 division
- multiple teams were waiting to go when we arrived
- the strategy was for me to go first
- the TX star was ok... some misses, but the thing wasn't too far or too hard
- I was too slow on cardboard... too accurate given 2 on was good enough
- during the mag change, I dropped the mag then decided to pick it up because they said retain all gear, although other teams were dropping mags in place... maybe they were talking about rifles and rucks? If I was going to retain, though, I should've kept it in my hand vs dropping it on the ground and picking it back up
- I missed on the small stop plate 2x and chose to reload and retry, thinking we'd have time because other teams had finished
- I hadn't noticed in the brief that misses were only 5s for this stage, though... I would've skipped
- SB said the dueling tree was tough for her. She'd reset her arms to try to resolve the issues
- I didn't see that happen, since I was busy jamming my mags in preparation for the spinner that we never got to.
- She didn't get to all the knock-downs, which is unfortunate, given my retries on the stop plate eating up time that she could've spent on those targets
Overall 37/43 overall, 12/14 division
- We brought sooooo much extra ammo! I shot 40/250R, 88/250P (vs 120R/120P in the comms)
- Bring tools like a hex bit next time... I had to hand-tighten it with a hard plastic chip I found on the ground in the 2-intel stage, when SB's Arca rail came loose... her OBI link also got loose
- Good to wear the headlamp normal when also wearing a bino harness
- Probably only need 1 tripod next time... I pretty much always took mine out and set it up, but I only ever used it once on the second stage of the match
- SB wants to use a taller ruck next time to hold more of the tripod
- I did like how the RRS ballhead cover helped to keep my tripod more in place
- Good use of the Windy app for wind direction and speeds, especially as much as we were in buildings
- Good leaving the kestrel behind and just estimating the DDA
- Good remembering to turn on timers every stage
- Fun match, interesting stages!
