Let us form one body, one heart, and defend to the last warrior our country, our homes, our liberty, and the graves of our fathers.
- Tecumseh -
Today I went to the range to compete although, if I'm totally honest, I wasn't feeling very enthused. Nonetheless, I shrugged it off took ownership and gathered my kit and off I went to the range. Being a lazy bugger isn't my style.
It was a run and gun handgun event today and there were about seventy competitors who enjoyed the event. There were some great shooting stages, a very fun one in particular on the village complex involving room-clearing, 'hostage'-situations and a load of strategy was required. It was 32 rounds and from start to finish I completed it in 21.86 seconds including the running, magazine changing and shooting. The fastest, a former 1 Commando (1st Cdo Regt) Major, was a time of 18.47 seconds but I was happy with my time considering most were in the 25-30 second area.
I've been having issues with my legs lately, nothing too serious (I hope) based around some operations I've had. So, I went to the range today and decided to take it easy, which is difficult for me, and I generally managed to do so. I operated at about 80% I guess. It was enough for a top ten finish (tenth) so I was pleased. I was pretty accurate today, a by-product of going a little more slowly, and I was content.
Anyway, earlier today someone asked me about my equipment so I thought I'd show a little which is the purpose of this post. All the images were taken today after the event with the exception of the cleaning image.
Above is my most basic kit for days like today. The event was not a major event and as such didn't really mean much to me at all. In these cases I generally take as little as possible emptying tool kits and things I just won't need from my pack. If I was to have an issue I'd simply pack up and go home to work it out. At an event that matters I'd take all of that gear with me so I could solve potential issues and keep operating rather than withdraw.
Above is my range bag with a green towel attached and on the right side is a pair of UV-rated sleeves I pull on, the same as the white ones in the image at the top; I prefer them than sunblock. There's also my Salomon shoes, holster rig and gun rain-cover in the top row. Next is my Uplula speed loader, Oakleys and 5.11 shooting glasses, ear plugs, gun oil, hand grippy stuff, magazine cleaning brush, magazines and my CZ Shadow 2 9mm semi-automatic. Like I said - Basic.
I use a Double Alpha competition holster rig. This is not a rig one would use in the field.
It's designed for a fast draw of the firearm and magazines, to cover the trigger when holstered and to lock the handgun in place when one is not in a stage competing. One threads the inned belt with loop-velcro through one's shorts or trouser loops then the outer belt, which carries the holder and magazine pouches, with the hook-velcro, is attached to the inner. One can run around and do anything with it without fear of it coming off.
Above you see the outer belt with firearm and magazines in place. The hook-velcro runs right around it's length on the inside. You can also see the movable magazine pouches and how they attach.
In the larger photo above you can see how the Double Alpha holster covers the trigger and that small silver lock-mechanism just below it which locks and unlocks the firearm.
I carry six magazines for a total of sixty rounds and they slot into magnetised pouches for easy access. In a shooting stage one would change magazines on the run, very quickly hopefully. The expended mag is dumped from the mag-well and left on the ground and the new one slammed in - Time is always of the essence.
The round silver thing is a strong magnet which is situated on the very back of the belt designed to hold a mag also. I have one to the front as well, above lower left photo. All of these pouches and magnets are able to be moved and set as the shooter prefers as is the holster itself. There are regulations to placement though.
Above is me wearing the rig with firearm holstered, and with the rain cover on also.
Remember, this is a very basic kit designed for use at shooting events that don't really matter too much, just range-days like today. When I travel and compete everything comes with me.
Top row left to right:
Middle row left to right:
Above bottom row left to right:
That's about it today. I mean, I could keep talking and explaining equipment and why it's required or desired but this is already a long, and probably boring, post. There's so much I've left out, the obvious being the actual rounds, although I knew this would be a reasonably long post as it was so yeah, I made it shorter.
However lastly, after one goes shooting there's always something that has to happen, unless the operator is a lazy bastard, which I am not. I refer to cleaning. Can I be honest and say I've never really liked this aspect? It's a smelly and messy fucken job. I'm good at it though, all legit operators need to be - guns don't work so well when dirty - so I'm diligent.
After shooting today I felt good to be honest, better than the reluctant shooter I was at the beginning. Keeping my skills sharp is important to me and there's nothing like range-time to do so. I drew quickly, got my grip right every time, acquired targets and got the first round off quickly and I hit the intended targets too. Overall, a pretty good day.
If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to drop them below. I'm happy to clarify things if there's something you want to know.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind
All of the photos are my own
