Default.mp3
Established
I heard the OK Run 'n' Gun get mentioned on the podcast, so I figured this might be of interest. If the AAR section isn't the right place for it, feel free to move it. This is a slightly modified version of my post in the OK Run 'n' Gun thread over on pistol-forum: https://pistol-forum.com/showthread...ould-you-do-it&p=402339&viewfull=1#post402339
FOG, LOKNLOD, bratch, and SLG were all active participants in the PF thread, so we all met up in the morning, with the exception of FOG, whom we met during the final announcement.
This was my first biathlon event ever. I had previously participated in two OCRs, both in approximately the 10k length, and had just finished the 2016 Houston Marathon at a 12:15 pace. I have had over 120 hours of formal pistol training from various well-reputed instructors, and 12 hours of formal rifle training. Training for the event was mostly just what was done in preparation for the marathon (primarily long runs, which was done mostly for the mental side of things rather than physical improvement) and several 10k runs with kit on. I had attempted to establish dope for 500 yards, but was stymied by 20 MPH wind and uncertain target distances on the occasion I was able to get out to a long range range.
I wore an Outdoor Research Ignitor short sleeve shirt, OR Ferrosi Pants, Under Armour Boxerjocks, Smartwool PhD Run Light Mini Socks, Arc'teryx H·150 Riggers Belt and Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 GTX. PPE used were Oakley M-Frames 3.0, MSA Sordin Supreme Pro-X with gel earpads and OC Tactical headband, and OR Firemark gloves. I wore the eye pro throughout the entirety of the course, while the ear pro was slipped through my suspenders during the run. A Suunto Ambit2 Sapphire was used to navigate (since FOG got lost last year) and to keep track of wait times.
My pistol was my H&K P30LS with the Grayguns Reduced Reset Carry Perfection Package carried in condition 1, with X400 Ultra - Green lasers/lights mounted with the DG-11 and zeroed for 25 yards. Sights were the Trijicon RMR RM06 mounted by L&M Precision, with Dawson Precision suppressor height tritium front sights and Ameriglo suppressor height rear sight mounted behind the RMR. Lube was SLiP2000 EWL, magazines were modified with Taylor Freelance Border Special +5 magazine extensions with the included Wolff springs.
My rifle was an AR-15; the upper was a PWS MK110 Mod 1 (with a Surefire SFMB-556 and AXTS Raptor), while I personally put together the lower (AXTS AX556 lower with mostly LWRC small parts, Vltor A5 RE, Slash's Heavy Buffers A5 with custom weights, Geissele SD-C, Magpul CTR, IKH SLAP, BCM Mod 1 Grip, BAD ASS, Sprinco Green Spring). Accessories on the rifle were as follows: Surefire M600 Ultra with an SR07 on an IWC Keymod Thorntail, Aimpoint T-2 2MOA on a GDI MT6-OSM with TD iO, EOTech G33, Magpul MBUS Pro, SOB QD Bitch sling, Surefire SOCOM556-RC, Warsport Suppressor Sock, and Magpul rail ladders. Lube was FIREClean, magazines used were Lancer AWMs, with Magpuls mounted sideways. Zero was for 100 yards.
I used a TYR Tactical XFrame Brokos belt with their Assaulter's Base Belt-Tail and Emdom-MM Battle Suspenders; I removed the soft armor insert for the run. Attached to the battle belt, from the left side moving counter-clockwise, were ITW FastMag Pistol, ITW Gen3 FastMag, another FastMag with a FastMag Pistol mounted on top of it, BFG Ten-Speed Single M4 Magazine Pouch, a Gear Keeper retractable pistol lanyard, the Safariland 6004 on a UFA, and the Dark Angel Medical D.A.R.K.. I carried a total of 90 rounds of Federal XM193, 58 rounds of Remington UMC 9mm 115 gr., and no water.
The pistol was carried in the 6004, which was mounted as a super-high, single-strap drop leg. The rifle was slung over my back, stock at my left shoulder, ejection port out, muzzle facing down and right (rear sweep), with the sling tightened as much as possible.
The day started in the low 30s °F, with registration starting at approximately 0800. After registration, I bummed around with the PF crowd until the event started; LOKNLOD was slated to start very early, while Bratch, his friend, and I were middling, with SLG more toward the end. After LOKNLOD left, we sat around and were lectured by SLG on the wonders of the low-carb, high-fat diet (http://realmealrevolution.com/); most of us also were eating a bit at that point (I had a Mountain House Blueberry and Granola meal). By chance, Bratch's friend went to the restroom and learned that our bunch of three was like 5 minutes from go time, so we scrambled to get our stuff ready; this was probably around ~1045, though my recollection could be totally off. I believe each runner's start was separated by about 5 minutes.
At my time of start, it felt like it was in the mid 50s °F. I was able to run all the way to the first station, which was approximately 2.5 miles on a gravel road with gentle hills; I would guess that I was probably making a good 11:30 to 12:00 pace. I also ran into LOKNLOD on this stretch, where he cryptically warned me to "watch out for the slippery parts".
After that, I changed into fresh, normal clothes (with the exception of my muddy Salomons), and ate the meal provided by the event (a very basic Frito pie). We sat around enjoying the weather (a fine mid 60s °F) and each other's company until the award ceremony. It was at the award ceremony that we finally linked up with FOG, as we were not able to figure out which bearded white male he was (there was one guy that Bratch, SLG, and LOKNLOD all asked on separate occasions as to whether or not he was FOG). Some of the door prizes given out were actually quite nice, such as an NFA trust or a half-case of Gold Dots. Bratch took 3rd, while SLG took first.
Gear-wise, I had only a few issues, most of which I was already aware of and was willing to deal with. Running a suppressed shorty as my gun was a conscious decision to use my go-to rifle; besides the excessive drop on the 500 yard range, the only other issues I had was the magnifier mount rubbing my back raw, and the sling rubbing my neck raw, both of which I was aware was going to be a consequence. I probably should have worn a real running shirt for slightly better wicking/ventilation; I have had issues overheating running in mid 60s °F at night with running shorts and shirt, so throwing on kit and pants and running during the day only made it worse. I remain unsure about my decision to not run with water, not because of hydration issues, but because I could have poured the water on myself to cool down. The only unexpected major problem was my sling catching on my RipShears, and thus getting cut up; not enough to affect the run, but I did end up replacing it once I got home. The other unexpected problem was quite minor; one of the rounds popped out of the magazine and into the TenSpeed pouch when I played musical chairs with the mags to find the mag with the most rounds and put it into the front-most FastMag.
I was somewhat disappointed in my running, as I was hoping to be able to run the whole way with zero walking, but that did not occur; I probably walked about ~20% of the course? My rifle shooting was abysmal, and I hope to be able to do much better than next time, though I was pleasantly surprised that I did not DQ out of the 500 yard shot. According to the official scoring (http://www.okrunngun.com/#!scores/c1x9v) I placed very low on the running. However, the recorded time doesn't really make sense, as one of the guys I know I passed (the person that placed 1st in the Mil-surp challenge) somehow has a lower run time than me. Bratch and I were separated by 2 numbers in terms of run order (with me ahead), and he never lapped me, yet he somehow had almost half my recorded time, and I doubt he waited over 60 minutes longer at the stations than me. Rather disappointing that I do not know my real score, but whatevs.
Overall, I expended 75 rounds of rifle for what was suppose to be a 36 hit course of fire, and 31 rounds of pistol for what was suppose to be an 18 hit course of fire. No malfunctions occurred.
For those of you interested in attending, the hotel in Pawnee, the Pecan Grove Motel, was rather rinky dink, but it was clean, cheap, very close to the event, and had free, albeit slow, WiFi. I would stay there again for my next event. It's also within spitting distance of Click's Steakhouse, which was absolutely delicious and fairly priced.
The event itself I thought was decently organized, although there were some areas that could have been improved. As SLG noted, a staggered registration time would have been nice, as some of the people starting late would be sitting around for hours before they start. Also, there was some over-reliance on the fact that they were running a cold range, as I saw some poor muzzle discipline during some of the waits at the station. Also, as previously mentioned, some of the scoring seemed like it could use some double checking.
Overall, a very fun event, and one I would recommend for those can make it out there, at least for winter; I'm still undecided if I'm masochistic enough to try for the summer one, too.
FOG, LOKNLOD, bratch, and SLG were all active participants in the PF thread, so we all met up in the morning, with the exception of FOG, whom we met during the final announcement.
This was my first biathlon event ever. I had previously participated in two OCRs, both in approximately the 10k length, and had just finished the 2016 Houston Marathon at a 12:15 pace. I have had over 120 hours of formal pistol training from various well-reputed instructors, and 12 hours of formal rifle training. Training for the event was mostly just what was done in preparation for the marathon (primarily long runs, which was done mostly for the mental side of things rather than physical improvement) and several 10k runs with kit on. I had attempted to establish dope for 500 yards, but was stymied by 20 MPH wind and uncertain target distances on the occasion I was able to get out to a long range range.
I wore an Outdoor Research Ignitor short sleeve shirt, OR Ferrosi Pants, Under Armour Boxerjocks, Smartwool PhD Run Light Mini Socks, Arc'teryx H·150 Riggers Belt and Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 GTX. PPE used were Oakley M-Frames 3.0, MSA Sordin Supreme Pro-X with gel earpads and OC Tactical headband, and OR Firemark gloves. I wore the eye pro throughout the entirety of the course, while the ear pro was slipped through my suspenders during the run. A Suunto Ambit2 Sapphire was used to navigate (since FOG got lost last year) and to keep track of wait times.
My pistol was my H&K P30LS with the Grayguns Reduced Reset Carry Perfection Package carried in condition 1, with X400 Ultra - Green lasers/lights mounted with the DG-11 and zeroed for 25 yards. Sights were the Trijicon RMR RM06 mounted by L&M Precision, with Dawson Precision suppressor height tritium front sights and Ameriglo suppressor height rear sight mounted behind the RMR. Lube was SLiP2000 EWL, magazines were modified with Taylor Freelance Border Special +5 magazine extensions with the included Wolff springs.
My rifle was an AR-15; the upper was a PWS MK110 Mod 1 (with a Surefire SFMB-556 and AXTS Raptor), while I personally put together the lower (AXTS AX556 lower with mostly LWRC small parts, Vltor A5 RE, Slash's Heavy Buffers A5 with custom weights, Geissele SD-C, Magpul CTR, IKH SLAP, BCM Mod 1 Grip, BAD ASS, Sprinco Green Spring). Accessories on the rifle were as follows: Surefire M600 Ultra with an SR07 on an IWC Keymod Thorntail, Aimpoint T-2 2MOA on a GDI MT6-OSM with TD iO, EOTech G33, Magpul MBUS Pro, SOB QD Bitch sling, Surefire SOCOM556-RC, Warsport Suppressor Sock, and Magpul rail ladders. Lube was FIREClean, magazines used were Lancer AWMs, with Magpuls mounted sideways. Zero was for 100 yards.
I used a TYR Tactical XFrame Brokos belt with their Assaulter's Base Belt-Tail and Emdom-MM Battle Suspenders; I removed the soft armor insert for the run. Attached to the battle belt, from the left side moving counter-clockwise, were ITW FastMag Pistol, ITW Gen3 FastMag, another FastMag with a FastMag Pistol mounted on top of it, BFG Ten-Speed Single M4 Magazine Pouch, a Gear Keeper retractable pistol lanyard, the Safariland 6004 on a UFA, and the Dark Angel Medical D.A.R.K.. I carried a total of 90 rounds of Federal XM193, 58 rounds of Remington UMC 9mm 115 gr., and no water.
The pistol was carried in the 6004, which was mounted as a super-high, single-strap drop leg. The rifle was slung over my back, stock at my left shoulder, ejection port out, muzzle facing down and right (rear sweep), with the sling tightened as much as possible.
The day started in the low 30s °F, with registration starting at approximately 0800. After registration, I bummed around with the PF crowd until the event started; LOKNLOD was slated to start very early, while Bratch, his friend, and I were middling, with SLG more toward the end. After LOKNLOD left, we sat around and were lectured by SLG on the wonders of the low-carb, high-fat diet (http://realmealrevolution.com/); most of us also were eating a bit at that point (I had a Mountain House Blueberry and Granola meal). By chance, Bratch's friend went to the restroom and learned that our bunch of three was like 5 minutes from go time, so we scrambled to get our stuff ready; this was probably around ~1045, though my recollection could be totally off. I believe each runner's start was separated by about 5 minutes.
At my time of start, it felt like it was in the mid 50s °F. I was able to run all the way to the first station, which was approximately 2.5 miles on a gravel road with gentle hills; I would guess that I was probably making a good 11:30 to 12:00 pace. I also ran into LOKNLOD on this stretch, where he cryptically warned me to "watch out for the slippery parts".
There was no wait for this station. I was relatively slow with my shotgun manipulations, as I have had almost zero exposure to that platform; still, one of the easiest stages, objectively, as I was still fairly fresh and the pistol targets were quite large. Afterwards, I advanced to the next stage, and was running on a wooded trail, with one small creek crossing.
There was a bit of a wait for this station; I recall it being around 10 to 15 minutes, and I believe Bratch and his friend ran into me at this stage during the wait. I did not have too much trouble with this stage. I then advanced to the next stage, still on a wooded path. During this juncture, there was another creek crossing, followed by a steep embankment; here, I managed to drop my ear pro into the creek, which seemed like an annoyance, but turned out to be a blessing, as it helped cool me off when I donned the ear pro.
This was probably the longest or second longest wait I had, at 25 to 30 minutes, which gave me some time to catch my breath. This was also the shooting stage I was most worried about. Luckily, there was little to no wind at that point, so I started out by trying to walk my rounds in. Unfortunately, my first attempt to do that failed miserably, and I wound up sending a round over the berm, which forced the RSOs to call a ceasefire to correct me (no calls on where the shots landed were provided beyond that); on my second attempt to walk, after I figured out where to hold, I surprised my self by ringing the steel 3 times in 4 shots. I shot this stage with a magazine monopod and with some sling tension. Then, it was off to the next stage, which was fairly rough terrain, with yet another creek crossing, lots of vegetation to contend with, steep embankments that had me pause to do some route-finding, etc.
There was almost no wait here. I did terrible at this stage, as I was holding slightly too high at the start, and the fatigue in my arms prevented me from going with fast follow-up shots, as I was shooting off hand. After finishing this stage, I then headed back toward the road, for a ~1.5 mile run back toward the start on the gravel road. Here, I was starting to overheat, and ended up walking the uphill portions, while jogging the flats and downhills; I ran into SLG on his way out on this portion of the trail.
There was another long wait here, rivaling (if not exceeding) Stage 2's wait. The barrier here was a VTAC target, which happened to be placed on the crest of a small hill, so many people had problems with reaching the top slot; the RSOs provided a cinderblock to stand on if needed, which wasn't exactly the most stable shooting platform. Several of the ports were in poor shape, most likely due to damage from muzzle brakes. This was by far my worse stage, as I was simply unable to get that first port for the longest time. Eventually, I got frustrated and just rammed my whole rifle as far through the port as possible, and got my hits then. The next couple of ports were also extremely aggravating, until I finally decided to use my magnifier, and then I suddenly started getting first shot hits.
There was no wait at this stage. I did not do as well as I had hoped, mainly because the 5th plate somehow eluded me for a good 6 rounds or more. I also managed to faceplant after finishing the stage; I was all kitted up and leaving for the next stage, and then tripped over one of the guidelines, breaking the fall with my face (not really).
As SLG noted, the 20mm ammo can was fairly light, until one started to climb up the hill to Stage 5. Then, it seemed infinitely heavy.
Again, no wait. I had trouble with the last target, due to the wind that had picked up. Afterwards, it was the final home stretch. Near the end, there was a mud pit of sorts; some of the smarter runners just went around it. I tried to test how deep the mud was, and ended up with my right leg ankle deep in it, so I was pot committed at that point, and just powered through it; I didn't mind, as I had brought fresh socks and shoes (or so I thought; I forgot the shoes at the hotel). I eventually made it to the finish, and turned in my card.
After that, I changed into fresh, normal clothes (with the exception of my muddy Salomons), and ate the meal provided by the event (a very basic Frito pie). We sat around enjoying the weather (a fine mid 60s °F) and each other's company until the award ceremony. It was at the award ceremony that we finally linked up with FOG, as we were not able to figure out which bearded white male he was (there was one guy that Bratch, SLG, and LOKNLOD all asked on separate occasions as to whether or not he was FOG). Some of the door prizes given out were actually quite nice, such as an NFA trust or a half-case of Gold Dots. Bratch took 3rd, while SLG took first.
Gear-wise, I had only a few issues, most of which I was already aware of and was willing to deal with. Running a suppressed shorty as my gun was a conscious decision to use my go-to rifle; besides the excessive drop on the 500 yard range, the only other issues I had was the magnifier mount rubbing my back raw, and the sling rubbing my neck raw, both of which I was aware was going to be a consequence. I probably should have worn a real running shirt for slightly better wicking/ventilation; I have had issues overheating running in mid 60s °F at night with running shorts and shirt, so throwing on kit and pants and running during the day only made it worse. I remain unsure about my decision to not run with water, not because of hydration issues, but because I could have poured the water on myself to cool down. The only unexpected major problem was my sling catching on my RipShears, and thus getting cut up; not enough to affect the run, but I did end up replacing it once I got home. The other unexpected problem was quite minor; one of the rounds popped out of the magazine and into the TenSpeed pouch when I played musical chairs with the mags to find the mag with the most rounds and put it into the front-most FastMag.
I was somewhat disappointed in my running, as I was hoping to be able to run the whole way with zero walking, but that did not occur; I probably walked about ~20% of the course? My rifle shooting was abysmal, and I hope to be able to do much better than next time, though I was pleasantly surprised that I did not DQ out of the 500 yard shot. According to the official scoring (http://www.okrunngun.com/#!scores/c1x9v) I placed very low on the running. However, the recorded time doesn't really make sense, as one of the guys I know I passed (the person that placed 1st in the Mil-surp challenge) somehow has a lower run time than me. Bratch and I were separated by 2 numbers in terms of run order (with me ahead), and he never lapped me, yet he somehow had almost half my recorded time, and I doubt he waited over 60 minutes longer at the stations than me. Rather disappointing that I do not know my real score, but whatevs.
Overall, I expended 75 rounds of rifle for what was suppose to be a 36 hit course of fire, and 31 rounds of pistol for what was suppose to be an 18 hit course of fire. No malfunctions occurred.
For those of you interested in attending, the hotel in Pawnee, the Pecan Grove Motel, was rather rinky dink, but it was clean, cheap, very close to the event, and had free, albeit slow, WiFi. I would stay there again for my next event. It's also within spitting distance of Click's Steakhouse, which was absolutely delicious and fairly priced.
The event itself I thought was decently organized, although there were some areas that could have been improved. As SLG noted, a staggered registration time would have been nice, as some of the people starting late would be sitting around for hours before they start. Also, there was some over-reliance on the fact that they were running a cold range, as I saw some poor muzzle discipline during some of the waits at the station. Also, as previously mentioned, some of the scoring seemed like it could use some double checking.
Overall, a very fun event, and one I would recommend for those can make it out there, at least for winter; I'm still undecided if I'm masochistic enough to try for the summer one, too.
