'The true Soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because He loves what is behind him.' -G. K. Chesterton

11 January 2014

Multi Gun Match AAR - Budget 3 Gun

Well, it went off without a hitch. Mostly. I did have one failure to feed on a brand new 42 round P-Mag on the very first stage. After that we had no equipment malfunctions. I shot well and so did The Principal. He also had a blast and is even now planning his own 3 Gun On A Budget strategy. I think it's safe to say he's hooked. Of course this was only a 2 Gun but the term applies in this case.

Stage 1 was the Shoot House. Here I am shooting the outside targets and steel. I'd show some of me shooting inside but I was...well, inside where the DO (Official Multi Gun Photographer) couldn't get a shot.

The it was off to Stage 2 where we shot these
From this. Distance was about 125 yards.
Then it was jump down (or climb arthriticly down in my case) and run across the road
To where we again shot a slew of steel with a handgun. Not much sport, they just sit there acting all screw you guys and nonchalant and stuff. Good eating though. Tastes like chicken.

Stage 3 was the long range stage. The red steel is at 50, 75 and 100 yards. Way off in the upper center of the picture you can see three white and red swingers at 225, 260 and 280 yards.
But first some handgun 'cause you can't have a Multi Gun match without the Multi. The day started off cold but by this point both it and I were warming up and I'd started peeling off layers.
The intermediate shooting position where we engaged the 50, 75 and 100 yard steel. I decided to show off by shooting them all standing offhand unsupported where everyone else used the sandbags as a rest. Hit all 4 first time too. You can also see one of the aspects that make this kind of shooting so much fun. Prior to engaging the steel we had to shoot those 3 paper targets in the foreground at about 15 yards. Makes scope magnification selection both a challenge and something to plan for.
From there it was the 3 long shots. I paid for my arrogance on the earlier shots here. I'm still getting used to the new Vortex optic and it took me a few shots to figure out my corrections. I had to walk the short shot onto the target. Once I rang that bell the other 2 longer shots went down quickly though. I do love my new glass! It was worth every penny I paid for it.

Stage 4. If you read through my Hard As Hell write up you may recognize that contraption as the Slide For Life. We shot steel at about 100 yards. Then...
Down the slide we went. Note please the excellent muzzle discipline if not the execrable form.
We shot a few more targets with the rifle
Then grounded it and ran the rest with the pistol

And that was it for the day. We got on the range at 0800 and left just after 2. A long day but a pleasurable one. And one that saw a brand new participant and enthusiast, my brother in law, The Principal. I'm really psyched to have a new shooting partner. What worked? Really everything. The glass needs a little fine tuning and I can see a real need to free float the rifle barrel but overall I am both pleased and content. Everything worked as expected if not better.

The match was pretty simple and straight forward. A See it, Shoot it Kinda thing. My favorite. Afterwards we repaired to the Red Robin for a fine repast compleat with tales of derring do, obfuscations, fanciful excuses, enhancements and general ribald story telling. The serfs were not amused.

The best part of the day was that my daughter, grandchildren and MIL got to see us both compete. That was awesome. We'll be discussing it for days. To those who have a morbid streak of curiosity, no I did not win (really, who was expecting anything else? Hands? No one? Good, I see you've all been paying proper attention to the subject of these missives. Namely my own bumbling self). Nor did The Principal but we both finished respectably and had a ton of fun. At this point in my life those two things are exactly what I expect from my hobbies.

I'm scheduled for another match later this month, weather, health and disposable income allowing.


Six


8 comments:

Keads said...

Great write up! Fantastic Six! Congrats to you. I have never done anything like that!

Six said...

Thanks Keads. I highly recommend it. Keeps the blood flowing!!

Murphy's Law said...

That was great. I'm gonna nafta find something like that around here and take some of your awesomeness aura with me.

Monkeywrangler said...

Looks like you had a good time, Six. Glad it went off without a hitch. So, what exactly was the malf you had on the first stage? Do you know the cause yet?

Did Lu enjoy watching the fun? She takes some good pics of you. When will Lu do a match?

Rev. Paul said...

That looks like a lot of fun. There's nothing remotely like it up here, but it's great to read your account. Thanks for sharing!

Six said...

ML, you'd be awesome at it. I highly recommend finding a good club and giving it a whirl. I've had a ball so far. I think you may even have a gun or two that would work :) It seems to scratch an itch I can't quite explain.

Thanks MW. I really did. I don't know exactly. The brand new P-Mag simply refused to load a round. It shot 3 rounds and then the fourth went in angled and froze everything up. Took me 45 seconds or so to clear it and get the rifle running again. Luckily I brought 3 others that worked perfectly so I could continue. I've put that mag aside as a trainer only but at some point I'll break it down for a look see. As for Lu. She likes to watch and help but competition just isn't in her. I think she's getting her satisfaction watching and helping me. She loves to shoot but I don't think she'll ever compete and that's Ok. Just having her along to share with me makes it feel like we're doing it together.

Thanks Rev. It's too bad there's not something similar up there because I think you'd enjoy the experience and be good at it. It seems like general gunnies, with wide experience and skills take right to the sport.

Old NFO said...

Nicely done Sir! Things ARE coming together for ya!!!

Six said...

Thanks NFO! It feels like it. I'm getting the equipment and experience mix to the point where it's starting to feel a lot more natural. I have to think less about the physical manipulation and movement and have more time to concentrate on shooting the course. I know you understand what I'm talking about. It's the melding of training and materiel into a cohesive whole. I feel good.