The Gun Run
Designated Marksmen Edition
Coleman’s Creek 10-18-25
Last weekend I had the “pleasure” of competing with my family in a DMR style Run and Gun event put on by The Gun Run, at Coleman’s Creek range Ellerbe, North Carolina. For anyone not familiar with a Run and Gun (also called tactical biathlon), it’s a course that usually covers 5-12KM of varying terrain with shooting stages along the route. Generally, the stages are blind, meaning you don’t get a walk through and may not even see the targets until you are on the clock, and you must carry everything you may need with you. There is no re-supply. Some stages may have staged firearms; all have some form of props and/or real-world shooting positions.
BLUF:
This was a very challenging course, as intended. It was extremely well run. The route was well marked and easy to follow. The ROs had their stage briefs rehearsed and consistent. All the shooting props and staged weapons worked all day. Stages with longer engagements or obscure targets had two ROs on glass to spot and call. Very well thought out and executed.
The Course:
This was roughly a 7KM course (My Garmin recorded 4.43 miles) with six stages. As mentioned, the course was well laid out, utilizing range roads and natural terrain to get the quads and calves burning. This being a Designated Marksmen inspired event, some of the stages stretched out to around 600 yards. Par times were what I would consider “tight” on a few stages, most had multiple shooting positions and there was opportunity to collect intel along the way to help eliminate a little run time.
(Me, 30 seconds before stepping off)
Stage One:
We started off at the clubhouse, running about .3 miles to some intel posted just off trail. From the intel, it was a quick run to a two-story shoot house type range. The stage started by staging the rifle on the 2nd story, then getting the stage brief on the ground floor. Fairly straight forward stage, use intel to unlock a door, go into a hallway and recover a staged pistol. Then, engage an enemy combatant before going outside, around the building to climb to the 2nd story. Once there we drew our pistol and engaged an array of pistol targets before recovering the rifle to engage an enemy commander at around 300 yards, who had body armor on.
This was a neat stage, using 2-liter soda bottles to simulate an enemy combatant and I will say the staged Desert Eagle made quick work of it. Nothing like starting the day covered in Dr. Pepper, sweat and dust. The enemy Commander was a reduced IPSC with a SAPI plate sized hole cut into the torso. At this distance the target was significantly more difficult than a C zone IPSC, as all other rifle targets would be today. There was no berm or visible backdrop to spot impacts upon missing so we had to spot our own trace or find another way to figure out the distance and wind.
(Dakota aerating some sprite / Engaging enemy commander on stage 1)
Stage two:
It was about .5 miles to stage two. This was rifle only. We staged our rifle while standing behind an array of large tarps that were ground level to about 10’ high. This completely blocked any view of the targets. On this stage, there was a magnet on a rope that would open a small section of the tarp in which we would shoot through once we were ready. To keep the stress level up, the RO had the stage map with the target locations and distances in his hand. When ready, the RO started the clock and showed you the course map. You could look as long as you like but once you move the magnet to open the shooting port the map was taken away and you had to find the three targets between 110-330 yards and engage each three times in sequential order.
Finding the targets was tough. They were free standing in a sea of weeds and in the shadows deep in a tree line, spaced out in a manner that you could not see two targets in the scope at the same time. I had to move my body left and right substantially to transition between the far left and far-right targets. I think it took me about 20 seconds to understand the course map, then another 60 seconds to find all three targets before engaging. Fun stage with lessons learned. I started on 15X and after the first shot dropped down to 3.5 x to shoot the remainder of the stage. The lower power made finding the targets while transitioning faster and they were close enough that 3.5x was plenty. This was a lesson I should have taken to heart, as it bit me later.
(Dakota about to start her par time stage 2)
Stage Three:
The movement to stage three was the toughest of the course. It was about a mile, up a few decent hills and then a pretty good climb to the top of the property before dropping down into the stage. This stage was rifle only and consisted of three shooting positions and six targets from what I would estimate at 200-500 or so yards. We had to shoot each target twice to neutralize and at least one target must be neutralized from each position. The ROs on this stage had a stage map with the target locations and the target order that we could study, as well as a couple spotting scopes set up for us to locate the targets before we started. We had every opportunity to find the targets and understand which target was which in the shooting order, and it made no difference. At least not for me.
I made the same mistake as stage two, having my scope magnification too high. I was able to find and neutralize the first target from a rooftop in a decent time, but upon moving to the 2nd shooting position, a fence gate, I could not find target two. Being dialed up with a restricted field of view, having an unstable position and having a couple targets close to one another had me shooting targets #3 and #5 instead of target #2 until I timed out. I never made it to the rock outcropping. My first DNF of the day.
(this pic is deceiving; this hill is no joke/ Two of stage 3 shooting positions)
Stage Four:
It was more hills to stage four, maybe .3 miles away. We got our stage brief and were allowed to use our scope while the ROs helped us find the long-range target. This stage was both pistol and rifle, which started with us staging our rifle on a short (3’) hitching post. We were to draw and engage three gongs about 20 yards away, once each, then repeat for a total of three engagements per gong. Once on the rifle there were three diamond plates lined up about 120 yards away. We shot each once before moving to a 5’ tall hitching post. From the 5’ post we could shoot from any point on or in the post or from a staged tripod with a shooting bag to engage a steel torso at about 575 yards. Once the long-range target was hit once we re-engaged the three diamonds from the 5’ post (not visible from the shooting bag) and then one more shot on the long-range target to end the stage.
I made it to the last long-range target before timing out. Learning my lesson from stage two and three, I had the scope backed down to around 8x so finding the targets wasn’t as bad as before, but I failed to use the staged bag so my unstable position from the top of the 5’ post had me wasting a lot of shots on the initial engagement of the long-range target. I should have transitioned to the bag for the far target and then stood back up to shoot the diamonds. DNF #2, I walked away disappointed and frustrated with myself. Stupid mistakes are killing me, and I was way more tired than I thought I should be at this point.
(Dakota shooting stage four)
Stage Five:
It was another 3.-.4 mile movement to stage five. Thankfully, we got a little rest as most of this movement was downhill. Stage five was pistol only, so we rested the rifle and got the stage brief. Pretty straight forward stage. We ran 40 yards down range, around a barrel and then back to the start line where we had to low crawl under a picnic table, then stand to put two shots on a full sized IPSC at 50 yards. After hitting the IPSC we ran down range to the barrel and we engaged a dueling tree and the IPSC which were at about our 10 and 2 o’clock position. We had to flip a plate, then shoot the IPSC twice before engaging the 2nd plate, repeating until all six plates were flipped at which point we shot the IPSC twice to end the stage.
This was a fun stage that presented a couple unexpected challenges. The first was the range was covered in moon dust. I’m glad I had a closed emitter red dot as the lenses were covered with dust that had to be cleared to see the site. I’m not sure how I would have fared with an open emitter. The second challenge was the plates on the tree. The center plate had to be shot on the very edge of the plate to get it to flip. I moved off and then back onto that plate three times before it finally flipped. This ate up time and forced a reload that all added time. Very fun stage.
(Dakota, about to slam her head into the table)
Stage Six:
Movement from stage five to stage six was another .3 miles. Thankfully, Stage six faced the opposite direction of all the other stages, so the sun was finally at our backs. This stage was a fast stage, with high consequences. We started standing and engaged three IPSC cardboard targets with two shots each at about 15 yards. At that point there was a C zone steel IPSC at about 75 yards that had to be hit twice, and the final shot was a roughly 2.5”-3” gong at about 75 yard and that target was all or nothing. A single shot was allowed at the final target and if you missed it you DNF’d the stage. Par time was generous on this stage, and I used more of it than I should have on that last target, but I’ll eat an extra 5-7 seconds over another DNF. Another fast and fun stage before the final run back to the range house.
(Dakota shooting stage 6)
The Final Push:
It was about a mile back to the start/finish line. The last .4 miles was a decent climb to the table where we showed a clear rifle and got our run time. My daughter finished us up for the day about 1530 hrs and shortly after Ellis drew tickets for the prize table. Match winner got first pick then everyone who stayed had an opportunity to take something off the table in random order.
(Konnor coming into the finish line)
The sponsors were Vortex, Leofoto, Cole-Tac, Arisaka Defense, Magpul, Holosun, Lok Grips, American Defense Manufacturing, Greg’s Grips (some beautiful 1911 grips) and Athena Target Systems. Appalachian Syndicate also had some neat swag on the table. I’d like to thank each and every one of them for generously supporting this event. I’d also like to thank Ellis for organizing the match and all the exceptional ROs for helping us when we were struggling and for their consistent preparedness of their stages. They kept things moving and lighthearted through a demanding event. I’d like to thank the folks at Coleman’s Creek for the use of their beautiful facility. Anyone in the area into long range or field style practical shooting owes it to themselves to set up a visit. It’s an amazing facility from pistol bays to ranges out to 1 mile. Lastly, I’d like to thank my family for coming out to support and participate in my middle-aged madness. This was a truly amazing, shared experience for my family. We’re already planning our next Gun Run event. ( thegunrun.us )
Post Event Lessons Learned:
I trained for the run portion for a couple months before the match, but I failed to train on hills, and they kicked my ass. I would normally not walk on a course, but I found myself walking a substantial portion of this course. I consider this a personal failure as it was avoidable.
Make sure your kit works. I know this sounds obvious, but I ran this with a new rifle that has had some ammo issues. I thought it was sorted the weekend prior and during the match it loaded and shot fine, but the last round stuck in the chamber every stage. This forced me to mortar the final round out of the rifle to show clear. Four of the six stages a bullet stuck in the lands, dumping powder all through my breach and receivers. I had to assemble a cleaning rod, punch the bullet out, wipe out the action, then show the RO’s clear before collecting my bag, disassembling and packing the cleaning rod back up, oiling the BCG and getting back on the course. This alone added a huge amount of run time, which was unbelievably frustrating as this was 100% self-induced.
The scope I used was heavy and though I generally like to zoom into a target, it was more than I needed for this match. I could have shot a 6x or 10X and been fine. The red dot was also raised 10mm to clear the elevation turret and it took me a couple seconds to find the dot on stage six. All of this would have been obvious if I had time to train with this rig before the event, but I didn’t. I really wanted this thing to work but wishing it doesn’t make it so. I should have carried a sorted rifle; it would have saved me a ton of time and frustration.
