There is a saying out there that "slow is smooth and smooth is fast". Watching good shooters do this, I agree.
In my personal practice, I think I've mastered the slow part. Now, I need to work on smooth and not worry about fast.
This was a one gun match. Everyone I saw was using ARs, though it could be done just as easily with an AK.
The stages were all inspired by John Wick movies:
- High Table Highway
- The Catacombs
- Under The Table
- Nowhere to Run
- No Blood On Continental Grounds
- Dammit Perkins: Hallway Edition
- Continental Rooftop
- Guns, Lots of Guns
- Yeah, I thnking I'm zeroed
I took videos of all the stages, but Stage 3 for some reason:
For stage 4, I asked someone to take a video of me going through the stage.
Since I've never done a match like this, I elected to not push the pace and just try to hit everything on my own time. It was quite a bit of fun, I must admit, and I will try to shoot more of these if they are local. Having now done this once, I think I can comfortably go about 20% faster without losing accuracy.
Most of the shooting was pretty close, so it did not requie any precision. A couple of stages did involve plates somewhere between 80 and 175 yards. I did not expect that, so the gun I used was zeroed with Mk262 ammo, while I was shooting 55gr XM193. I prefer to not mess with the zero of this gun too much, so next time I will load 3 30round mags with 77gr ammo to use on the stages where that is required. Still, it did not slow me down too much. It took two shots to figure out where 55s were shooting and then I was good.
As is usually the case, the difficult part in a match like this comes down to speed and efficiency, not ultimate accuracy.
They have several divisions and I chose to shoot in the Tactical Optics one. That basically means you get to have one sighting system only, either an LPVO or prismatic or red dot with magnifier (single red dot is a different division). You are allowed magazines of no more than 30 rounds and you can not use any shooting support supplements (no bags, bipods, etc). You can have a sling, but on most stages it gets in the way. We only needed one for Stage 4 since it started with breeching a door with a provided shotgun.
The gun I used is the recently build AR-15 where I used Q's 1-5" 5.56 barrel that is 9.68" long. The handguard is Q's 9" OTP. The suppressor is also from Q: The Southpaw. The gun was not really broken in, but it is all broken in now. I saw several guns go down during the match due to dirt and/or mechanical issues (broken charging handle, for example), but I had zero reliability issues with mine. Most people were shooting unsupressed, but I would not change anything.
The optic I used was Primary Arms' new PLxC 1-8x24 RDB and it was absolutely excellent. It was rainy in the morning and overcast the rest of the day.
On 1x with that nuclear bright dot, it was stupid fast on target. However, for more distant targets it was nice to dial in to 3x or so.
Interestingly, I had to dial down the dot brightness as the match proceeded since it was a little too bright. On some of the more distant targets, the brightness got in the way a little. I shot one stage on 1x with the illumination turned off. I am not convinced it slowed me down much, but that could be due to me being new at this. Still, I was able to figure out the aiming point without any issues.
My original plan was to eventually transition this gun to an Elcan 4x with a piggybacked red dot, but now I am having some reservations about it. Both the PLxC and the Elcan use BDC reticles that do not work great with the reduced velocities out of a sub-10" barrel, but I can adapt them in a pinch, I suppose.
Given how light and compact the PLxC is, now that it has a diffractively illuminated reticle, it may very well be the best bang for the buck in the high end LPVO world. It still uses the center chevron that many do not like, but it seems to work fine for my purposes. The reticle is better (simpler) than on the previous FFP PLxC. It is somewhat similar to the original Meters PLxC reticle that is pretty good.
The eyepiece design on PLxC scopes is just spectacular. The eyepiece bezel around the image is barely visible at all and the scope is exceedingly easy to use.
Overall, this gun the way it is set up now, is rapidly becoming my favourite general purpose AR variant I own. I'll do a separate video on it at some point.
I did inadvertently learn what happens if you throw a gun with a blazing hot suppressor into a soft case.
We had to case the guns when walking from stage to stage. I think I need a new case...
Funny thing is that I have a suppressor cover for the Southpaw, but for some reason I do not recall now I pulled it off. It is gong back on.
The Q-cert OTP hanguard is just the right diameter for my hand and I appreciate the front grip that comes with it. With a short-ish 9" handguard, I can't C-clamp it with a nearly straight arm, so hook the bottom three fingers of my support hand on the front grip with the index finger pointing forward and the thumb on top of the handguard. The elbow is somewhat bent, but it is very easy to drive the gun that way and pull it a little bit back into my shoulder for a consistent hold during transitions.
Since I was worried about the 180 rule and concerned about my inexperience with running around with a gun, I did not try to push the pace at all and, in retrospect, that was the right move. I was not rushed at any point. I did not time out at any point. I did not have any accuracy issues. I did lose focus on one of the stages and forgot about three of the targets. I was more or less on point the rest of it.
This particular match happens twice a year at the Del Norte shooting range, so I will make sure they are on my calendar. While my primary interest with shooting sports is still with NRL Hutner and PRS stages, the faster tactical mataches are a nice diversion and offer a possibility of dragging my brother into it. I do not know if he has the patience for precision rifle, but he would definitely enjoy this match. I'll see if I can drag him into shooting the next one with me.
Another interesting thing is that one of the gentlemen in my squad turned out to be Parker Tomasi, the owner of Legacy Ranch. Legacy Ranch is a new-ish private shooting facility about 45 minute drive from my house. They are constantly expanding and, apparently, are planning to add a 1000 yard range to what they offer (currently, 450 yards is the max they have). Parker, aside from being an exceptionally capable shot, seemed like a stand up gentleman. I am going to go visit Legacy Ranch and see if I want to become a member.
Legacy Ranch could also be an interesting venue if I ever were to organize a shooting class or a match as a get together for those willing to travel. They do have classrooms available. Two of the owners are Scout snipers and they do not have any issues with guest instructors, so I can potentially invite someone like Phil Velayo or Tony Cowden or Frank Galli to come teach a class for us (assuming there is interest).
