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2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

I would like to shoot this match one day. I'll be at the Rifles Only Bash this year. Maybe next year. Have fun, all!
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

Any pics from this? I wish I could have gone.
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

Today was one field stage, two assault stages, and the first night stage. Some very tough shooting.

We got some photo and video but no time to process/post it now-- we got back from the range around 8:45pm.

-z
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

Congratulations to MSgt. Hoser Freeman and retired LEO Mike Dowd who won the the match using (among other equipment) our Scope Levers. Congratulations to them for winning this extreme test of rifle marksmanship.

Congrats to Zak, Ray, & Shane for putting on what I'm told was quite a test of rifle marksmanship, we were proud to sponsor it.
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

The match turned out quite well , good stages and shooting flow . We were always on schedule or ahead and there were no back ups . The prize table was nice . And it would seem that the Logan curse is broken .

The Zoomie and Lake Cop shot quite well , nice work .
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

We're all back from the match and the feedback I've gotten so far has been very positive. One of the best compliments I got was from a guy who has been shooting 3Gun and Long-range for decades longer than I have - on Sunday when it was done: "I'm really excited about this match -- I want to shoot it again right now!" (paraphrased)

I hope some of the competitors can post their impressions of the match.

Results http://competition-dynamics.com/thunder-beast-team-challenge-2011/scores.pdf

We have some photo and video that I'll get up soon.
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

For those of you who didn't make it, the following should give you a flavor for what this match was about:

Match Info Packet
http://competition-dynamics.com/thunder-beast-team-challenge-2011/handout.pdf

Map
http://competition-dynamics.com/thunder-beast-team-challenge-2011/map.jpg

Field 1, 2, 3: You had an hour to follow a rugged cross-country trail marked by ribbons and shoot five shooting stations. At each shoot station the carbine shooter had to hit 3 targets before the rifle shooter could engage his (one shot each only for rifle). Rifle hits gained points; bonus points for finishing early. Approx trail distance 0.5-1.25 miles each.

Assault 1, 2, 3: These were held in the numerous, long, and deep gullies that cover much of the BSR property. On Assault 1, you crested a short saddle point into an open field with an central mound that marked a fault line and then engaged a bunch of carbine targets approx 30-40 yards away in the hillside and brush/trees. On Assault 2, each team member had to clear a Byzantine set of fingers which were almost cave-like, and then retrieve a painted stake. Upon return, the other team member did the same to a second area. On Assault 3, there was an approx 120 yard long run down a deep and narrow gully with targets littered on each side, many of them hidden if you were running too fast.

Teamwork: Rifle shooter had 5 6" targest at 300 yards to hit once each. Each time he missed the carbine shooter had to hit 3 8-10" targets at 200 yards before the rifle shooter could engage again. Shot from short tower.

Night 1: 10 "figures" were downrange at 100 yards. 6 had cardboard-color faces and 2 had white (no-shoot) faces. Rifle shooter had two minutes to shoot the 6 shoot targets (1 point each). Each no-shoot hit was -3. No lighting permitted; targets were lit by military-style strobe light approx 2 yards in front of them.

Night 2: four targets, 400, 280, 230, 160 (approx). Carbine shooter had to shoot them in reverse order, par time one minute.

Field 1-3 were worth 200 match points; Assault 1-3 100; the rest were 50.

Here are the photos I have uploaded right now-

Assault 3










 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

This has got to be one of the funnest and toughest matches I have ever shot.

Mike and I finished each field course completely drenched in sweat and heart pounding. Trying to find that wall of how hard to push movement and still being able to settle in to shoot was a great challenge.

The night stages were deceptively tough and the assault stages were brutal and fun.

The prize table was awesome. Hard to imagine it was all set up well into well after most all companies had done their budgets for the year. Huge thanks to all the companies that supported this match and us shooters.

The scoring was perfect. No issues, no drama.

I cant wait for next year. Bring it.
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

This was by far the best match I've ever been to and the best test of a rifleman that I've seen. My partner and I had issues since we had never met before the shooters meeting on Thursday. We finally got our shit together on Sunday and didn't time out like we did on the first two field stages. Being my first field type match this was quite the eye opener in using optics to ID distant targets. I found it especially difficult on the morning that we were the first ones out dealing with the morning shadows.

As the carbine shooter I was a little saddened by the way the field stages were scored. I was only able to keep from loosing us points vs making us points. I would have appreciated a way to make us additional points such as making hits on more than 3 targets per shoot position... Something along the lines of a bonus target for the carbine shooter so I could make points vs only being able to keep the points we had for making my hits.

Assault 3 was by far my favorite assault stage. It required good communication and was a good test of safe weapon handling.

The carbine night shoot was also a lot fun and a little more exciting for me since it was a chance to make additional points on my own. It was great to be able to engage targets at that distance at night and I was very happy to pick up all 4 available points.

Thanks for putting it on and keeping it running on time. I'll be using the 20% off coupon for Spin Drift for some spring resetting targets to train up for next year! Looking forward to other matches like this in the future.
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

FCB, great comments!

BTW, the carbine shooter could earn points on the field stages by: making his hits fast for the time bonus points; working effectively as a team to speed up the rifle shooting (time bonus points again); and aiding the rifle shooter to make his hits (ie managing distances, dope, wind calls, etc).

There was a wide range of teams' effectiveness, ranging from what was practically two guys shooting the courses of fire separately with almost no useful communication, to very effective teamwork that sped up the team as a whole and helped the rifle shooter to make more hits.
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

Right... the points where there for those finishing on time or ahead. Unfortunately our middle name was SLOW so that was out. The speed that we needed to operate at was also an eye opener. It turned out to be one really fast hour! Not ever working with my partner before was a huge issue, since "TEAM" was the primary word in the name of the match.

The other huge issue for me was the fact that this was no 3-Gun match. Sure I can shoot targets out to 400-500 yards with my carbine, but finding them in open terrain was an issue for me. Big learning experience but lots of fun!

Thanks again!
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

I have to say that I learned a lot at this match. I was the RO on Field Stage 2, Night 2 and Assault 2. I saw some awesome teamwork and some non-existant. I had several teams full on run from shooting station to shooting station only to get on station and blunder and finish out time wise at like 50 minutes. The team that won the match finished the stage in 33:25(fastest of the match I think), never ran and only dropped 2 rifles targets on the stage. Smooth fast shooting with great communication on station and a brisk walk from station to station.AWESOME!!
I'll get a few vids up soon
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

First of all, Zak and Ray did a fantastic job with this match. I’ve been shooting 3-gun and long range rifle matches since the early 90’s and this one ranks right up at the top.

I got to shoot the match before working as an RO on Field Course 2 and Assault Stage 1. I learned a lot while shooting the courses, but even more while ROing.

On the field courses, the teams that were smooth and efficient were the most effective and ultimately the fastest. Speed of motion did not necessarily add up to a good elapsed time. Some of the shooting positions proved to be very challenging, but none were contrived or unreasonable. As usual, the ability to judge the wind and make the appropriate adjustments was critical.

Each of the assault stages required different kinds of problem solving. I worked Assault Stage 1 which was set in a wide gully. The course quickly opened up into a large area to shoot from with mostly lateral movement required. The target array was spread out on the far side of the gully with lots of intervening terrain and vegetation. The targets were not difficult to see, but some teams moved too quickly or failed to use the full width of the shooting area which resulted in missed targets.

There were several teams that really did pretty well with this match, but Hoser and Mike really put it together well. Congrats to all of them. Can't wait to see the rest of the pics and vids.
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

We are lucky in Colorado (Wyoming/Northern New Mexico area) to have venues such as the Blue Steel Ranch. We are also lucky we have persons (Thunderbeast/Competition Dynamics team) who are willing to take the time to organize and run such matches. No square range shooting here folks and you better be in shape. If you have shot Steel Safari, this was like Steel Safari on speed with super cool side matches thrown in for fun. Organized well, no drama, super quick scoring, and an amazing prize table. Thank you Zak, Ray, Dave, Loraine, Jeff, all of the ROs, my teammate, and all of the sponsors who stepped up late in the season. It was a great time!
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Zak Smith</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm working on a "Cross Fit" sponsor for next year... </div></div>

grrrrrrrrrrr
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

Looks like an awesome match Zak. Here's hoping I can make it next year. Sat in court for 6 hours and then the judge dismissed that case...oh well.

Great Vids RJ and Sky!
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

This match was awesome. Thanks to the Sponsors, Zak, Ray, all the other Match Staff / ROs, and Dave & Lorraine for making the match possible.

The sponsors really came through; the prize table was incredible!

Looking forward to it next year.
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

I think we ended up with over $35k on the prize table. Our prize director will correct me if I'm wrong. Not bad for 38 shooters and like 4 months notice.
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

This was my first team match and I had a blast. Thanks to my partner Ryan. Zak and Ray for putting on a great match. Thanks to all that volunteered. All the RO's were great. Thanks to the Wheelers for the use of their facility. Thanks to all the sponsors for supporting the sport. I'll be back!
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

My partner and I shot this as our first match ever... We were green, but learned a lot, and had a great time. I wish we could have RO'ed, I'm sure we would have learned more!

Both the assault and rifle stages were fantastic, and we got to shoot in a variety of conditions ranging from sun, shadows, wind, rain...

We left with big smiles, and a list of things to figure out so we can be more effective in the future.

If you get a crossfit sponsor, I propose 10 burpees at the shoot location for each missed rifle or carbine shot, and timing out on the course results in penalties for any unengaged targets, even stations you've not made it to... That would put a capital F on fitness!

Great match! Do you have the date figured out for next year?
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

I had the opportunity to shoot this match and than work as an RO. It was awesome! The different stages all went super smooth and were a blast to shoot. Whether it was the night stages, the field stages or one of the assault courses, each one presented its own unique challenge. Me and my teammate learned a ton from shooting the match!

As an RO I had the opportunity to watch a lot of the teams shoot the various events. I was amazed by how much I learned by watching teams compete. I was able to see how the good teams worked so quickly and smoothly together vs the teams that showed a breakdown in their teamwork.

The match ran super smooth and it was a blast just to be out there shooting and ROing!

Mike and Hoser kicked some serious ass!!
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

I am so there in 2012..... I can not wait.

Zak and Ray Thanks it was EPIC. I get more excited everyday that passes, time to get out and work on what I learned.

If some of you have never done anything like this before DO IT, they put on a great match and make even the newest shooters feel welcome.
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

Mike, Hoser, hats off, you guys rocked it!

Staff, you guys did a great job and worked hard on this one. Thank you.

Sponsors, you really stepped up. No one went away empty handed. USO, got another order headed your way!

Thanks!

Shane
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

Once again always a good time at the Blue Steel Ranch. Want to thank the RO'S, Zack, Ray, and the Wheelers for allowing this match to take place on there ranch. Prize table was sweet to say the least. Had a great time and enjoyed the diversity that the match presented. Definitely return for this match.

Thanks again
 
Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

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Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

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Re: 2011 THUNDER BEAST TEAM CHALLENGE

Zak,

You should have our teams application today!!!

Looking forward to another challenging match. My partner and I are shooting the WTRC this year as well so at least we'll see each other once before your match. Hopefully our team work improves some... It's painful being long distance shooting partners.