This is for my AAR from the spring PMG match.
Id like to take the time to thank Mike the land owner for the use of his land to hold this event. Id also like to thank the RO's who gave their time to stand out in the sun just as much as we did. And lastly Ryan, Scott, and Tom for holding the match itself.
Day one started with a ride from the main parking spot to an offsite pasture with rolling hills and minimum trees in other words it was shadeless for the most part. We started out being split off into two squads, Tom split the main squad down the middle flip flopping which teams went where. I was hoping that he would have split it more towards the middle making a top and bottom half so all of us that were together could shoot together, but flip flopping broke our group up a little. Our group started off with the barricade stage. First target off a wobbly stack of tires at 600 plus hidden in some trees. In hind sight we might should have skipped this to get us over to the other barricades a little earlier and have more time on them. The barricades were at a height that was a little too short for a good standing position and a little too tall for a kneeling position. We were limited in the number of rounds we were allowed to shoot, 3 targets, and 4 rounds per person were allowed. Then off to stage 2, a test yourself type deal where you had to hit the target before you could move to the next one. 4 targets, 4 rounds per shooter. My partner and I did ok on this, partner way better than I ... From there we went over to a different spot and shot the know your limits stage. My partner took the first shot and went high over the first target so he was done shooting, I shot next and stopped after the first 3 targets were hit and didnt attempt the 4th as I wanted to put SOME points on the board for us and not a 0 like some teams did. When we walked to the spot where the KYL was set up we could see a shady area along the tree line and everyone kinda piled into it. We also noticed the other squad of shooters all on a line under some form of cover wether it was netting or a canopy some shade was there. Now it is our turn to get under the shade and shoot ... I dont remember much of that other than there were a LOT of targets scattered all over the place and shooting that was about working with your partner and transitioning from target to target in the order they specified. Some was short transitions some were longer, it made sense to remember where your targets were and back your power down on the scope so you had a larger field of view ..... (something that I learned, just cause it goes to 22 doesnt mean you need to keep it there ... although thats where it ranges right). The partner and I put some points on the board on that stage, not as many as we could have but still put a few. There were a few target issues but all and all it went fairly smooth. I kinda liked the target issues giving myself and the partner a few more minutes to work on things.
From there we drove back to the main parking area and had some lunch. After lunch we went off with Scott who took us to another pasture and on to area 2. First stage we shot was a dueling tree ... but we werent dueling. It was more pass the plate back and forth. To score points one partner was to shoot the plate to the opposite side and the other shooter had to pass it back. We scored a couple of points but no where near what we needed to cause some dumbass was a round out and shooting WAY low. I wont mention any names but his initials are THE Shithead. From the dueling tree we moved over and had the rescue stage where we had to drag a stretcher with weight on it to the first shooting position where you engaged 2 targets, a short and a long. Now the targets were hung from fire hose and when hit reacted A LOT so there was no denying wether a target was hit or not. BUT that being said it also took time for the targets to quit moving for a good solid aiming point for the next shot to be taken as each team member had to shoot both then long and the short before moving, so basically 2 targets for 4 rounds at each shooting position. Once done shooting grab the stretcher and move up to the next position and again engage the 2 targets, both shooters shooting the near and far target to score points. There were 4 total shooting positions on this one and movement of maybe 60 yards. From there it was off to the 100 yard line where we shot paper and a chance at a 100 certificate from Accusport. From there we went to another stage with 4 targets .... 3 of them at roughly 275 to 250 and then one out at 750 I think. There was a platform to shoot off of on a round hay bale protector set on its side. So it was fairly stable but still had some wobble. For this one my partner and I decided that I was going to stand off the table with our spotting scope and solely spot, while he did the shooting. We both didnt want to be on the table as we figured that it would help keep the shake factor out of things if only one of us we trying to combat their movements. We did fairly well on this picked up a couple points to keep us in the hunt. The hunt for last I think it was. After that we moved to 2 more stages. This one had some shade thank god. By this time I was close to 100 degrees standing out in the field and I was feeling it thats for sure. While here we had to wait a bit for our impact area to kinda clear out of a slower group that was behind just a little but not a big deal gave me time to recover and get ready since there was a lot more movement on one of these stages. First up was shooting out of the prone on at a known distance. My partner and I laid down to shoot We were limited in rounds so I figured Id let my partner shoot a couple more than I since I wasnt feeling all that confident. Well he was all over the place and couldnt settle down. I fired the first round, he gave me a correction and I then went 3 for 3 with the last remaining rounds I had to shoot. Should have went the other way on this one but you live and learn. Next up was the leap frog stage. First shooter moved from the start spot to the first firing position, at that point shooter 2 could take off from the start line to the second spot. They said go and I took off and hit the first spot and took 2 shots at the two targets I had and got them both, one for one, I took off from there down to the end to take on the last two remaining targets from the chopper...... as I am getting to my partners initial firing position he is now starting to move to the chopper as well. I am hollering the dope we need on our rifles for the last shots .... I make it to the chopper very winded and cant settle down to pick up any points but my partner does and its all good. That was the end of day one.
Day two we arrive at the main parking area and then head out from there .... first shots are at 1100.....Called shoot the GAP ... GAP put up a check for 500 bucks to the winner of this stage, the most hits in the shortest amount of time .... ARP was leading after he got done .. 4 hits in 14.73 seconds. My partner never got on for whatever reason ... seems there was a forcefield on the target as he was dropping in 100 yards short .... I shot a round and made a correction in elevation and I should have made a windage correction as well, I couldnt see my impact to make one originally. I fired 2 rounds and hollared at George if he could give me a correction but he couldnt. Last round I put a minute of left wind on it and IMPACT. So I went 1 for 4 at 1100. Afterwards George says "I see you put some left windage on it. and your other two went in the same spot just about 18 inches right, but same elevation." After that was a milling/shooting stage. We royally screwed the pooch on this one and took for granted what others were giving us for a distance in order to save time for more shooting. We didnt pick up and points there. After that it was off to the woods where we got a break from the sun which was friggin hot by the way. Here you moved about 25 yards thru the woods to get into the final firing point and had 3 targets a 12 inch circle, 6 inch circle and a 3 inch I belive was the small one. These targets again were hung on color coded fire hose and you had to call your target before firing. 12 rounds total were allowed between the 2 shooters. We split it up 6 rounds a piece. We picked up some decent points but were kinda forced to shoot other targets while the ones we hit stopped moving. From there it was off to the last stage in that area where we were huddled under a pop up to gain some shade. This stage consisted of a Big Dog Steel coyote target and 3 of the headhunter targets. You had to shoot the coyote before shooting the head targets ... well we picked up 0 points, we couldnt hit that friggin dog to save our lives. Over it, under it, over it, under it, over it, under it was the way it went for us. Next up is a ride back to the main parking are where we went acrossed the street to shoot the bus stage and the final stage of the match for us. Bus stage consisted of 6 4 inch targets at 129 yards in bus windows. 30 seconds to make your rifle hot and 8 seconds to shoot it. Well someone decided to run just a 10 round mag and it swoll just a little bit and couldnt get it inserted in the 30 second time and that kinda blew him big time, he should have used the 18 round mag he had been using all day earlier and had no problems. So we didnt pick up as much as we should have there. And then for the final stage. It had a little movement but not a whole lot.... maybe 50 yards. Move to the first barricade and shoot in 2 postions, a standing and a kneeling. From there move up the the low barricade and shoot a single target there. then move up to a sitting or kneeling position. We had some leg ententions that attached to our bipods just for this sitting or kneeling stage .. they worked great. From there it was up to a partner assisted position. Being as rotund as I am I told my partner I would just flop on the ground and he could shoot off me fairly stable almost prone. So I flop, I hear my partner put the mag in his gun and the RO call TIME. We picked up points here.
There is an overview of the match ... now things I would do different. I think the next time I am going to run my 3 gun AR with a 2.5x10 on it ... I dont think that I would be under gunned and I am very comfortable with it. Most of the shots were under 700 yards and the longer shots I think that I could have let my partner shoot. I need some long sleeve breathable shirts to wear my arms are TOASTED. Also need to pick up a schmegah or however the damn things are spelled. Soaking them in water and wearing them over your head is a brilliant idea. On the movement stages I think the best is to have a mag for each position and a way to carry it on your person readilly accessable. Get into position, shoot, drop the mag and who cares where it goes, get to the next position and grab new mag and dump it when you need to move. No fumbling with mags till on your way back when all you do is pick them up. B.A. Custom Kydex was a sponsor and put a certificate out for EVERY shooter to recieve a mag pouch just for the purpose of knowing where your mags are and having them easilly accessable. As owner of B.A.CK I hope that yall will use the certificates as its something to put in your toolbox of stuff and help you do better.
Things ran pretty smoothly. But there are some things that I would like to see for the next match. This being a team match I didnt feel as if there was much working together I felt it was very much single shooter oriented with the only team bit about it is that the scores were combined. Its a precision match .... I think Id like to see more teamwork as in one person doing the shooting while the other is spotting, make a couple of the targets smaller so if a correction needs to be made to get on it that it can be done and the shooters work together to get the shot made. Id like to see the shot restrictions be lifted ... give us a time limit and let us shoot till we cant in the amount of time. Dont just say here are 4 targets you have 5 rounds. Give us the 4 targets but you have unlimited rounds, in x amount of time. Id like to see some more shade. I know that we could drive trucks pretty close to the shooting but a large tent that we could congregate under as a squad boosts morale between the shooters if we can socailize as well. There was water available in each of the main RO's vehicles. But I think that a 5 gallon water cooler set out would have been more inviting than a styrofoam cooler stuk in the truck with bottled water in it. I was never short on water due to my whole team that was there shooting but I think water coolers would have been nice and cheaper than the bottled water.
All in all I had a great time and cant really think of anything that Id would do drastically different other than the couple of things I mentioned. There is my AAR, feel free to add to this or take from this, if there was stuff I missed put it in the thread.
And once again THANK YOU for all involved, land owner, match directors, RO's and sponsors.
Id like to take the time to thank Mike the land owner for the use of his land to hold this event. Id also like to thank the RO's who gave their time to stand out in the sun just as much as we did. And lastly Ryan, Scott, and Tom for holding the match itself.
Day one started with a ride from the main parking spot to an offsite pasture with rolling hills and minimum trees in other words it was shadeless for the most part. We started out being split off into two squads, Tom split the main squad down the middle flip flopping which teams went where. I was hoping that he would have split it more towards the middle making a top and bottom half so all of us that were together could shoot together, but flip flopping broke our group up a little. Our group started off with the barricade stage. First target off a wobbly stack of tires at 600 plus hidden in some trees. In hind sight we might should have skipped this to get us over to the other barricades a little earlier and have more time on them. The barricades were at a height that was a little too short for a good standing position and a little too tall for a kneeling position. We were limited in the number of rounds we were allowed to shoot, 3 targets, and 4 rounds per person were allowed. Then off to stage 2, a test yourself type deal where you had to hit the target before you could move to the next one. 4 targets, 4 rounds per shooter. My partner and I did ok on this, partner way better than I ... From there we went over to a different spot and shot the know your limits stage. My partner took the first shot and went high over the first target so he was done shooting, I shot next and stopped after the first 3 targets were hit and didnt attempt the 4th as I wanted to put SOME points on the board for us and not a 0 like some teams did. When we walked to the spot where the KYL was set up we could see a shady area along the tree line and everyone kinda piled into it. We also noticed the other squad of shooters all on a line under some form of cover wether it was netting or a canopy some shade was there. Now it is our turn to get under the shade and shoot ... I dont remember much of that other than there were a LOT of targets scattered all over the place and shooting that was about working with your partner and transitioning from target to target in the order they specified. Some was short transitions some were longer, it made sense to remember where your targets were and back your power down on the scope so you had a larger field of view ..... (something that I learned, just cause it goes to 22 doesnt mean you need to keep it there ... although thats where it ranges right). The partner and I put some points on the board on that stage, not as many as we could have but still put a few. There were a few target issues but all and all it went fairly smooth. I kinda liked the target issues giving myself and the partner a few more minutes to work on things.
From there we drove back to the main parking area and had some lunch. After lunch we went off with Scott who took us to another pasture and on to area 2. First stage we shot was a dueling tree ... but we werent dueling. It was more pass the plate back and forth. To score points one partner was to shoot the plate to the opposite side and the other shooter had to pass it back. We scored a couple of points but no where near what we needed to cause some dumbass was a round out and shooting WAY low. I wont mention any names but his initials are THE Shithead. From the dueling tree we moved over and had the rescue stage where we had to drag a stretcher with weight on it to the first shooting position where you engaged 2 targets, a short and a long. Now the targets were hung from fire hose and when hit reacted A LOT so there was no denying wether a target was hit or not. BUT that being said it also took time for the targets to quit moving for a good solid aiming point for the next shot to be taken as each team member had to shoot both then long and the short before moving, so basically 2 targets for 4 rounds at each shooting position. Once done shooting grab the stretcher and move up to the next position and again engage the 2 targets, both shooters shooting the near and far target to score points. There were 4 total shooting positions on this one and movement of maybe 60 yards. From there it was off to the 100 yard line where we shot paper and a chance at a 100 certificate from Accusport. From there we went to another stage with 4 targets .... 3 of them at roughly 275 to 250 and then one out at 750 I think. There was a platform to shoot off of on a round hay bale protector set on its side. So it was fairly stable but still had some wobble. For this one my partner and I decided that I was going to stand off the table with our spotting scope and solely spot, while he did the shooting. We both didnt want to be on the table as we figured that it would help keep the shake factor out of things if only one of us we trying to combat their movements. We did fairly well on this picked up a couple points to keep us in the hunt. The hunt for last I think it was. After that we moved to 2 more stages. This one had some shade thank god. By this time I was close to 100 degrees standing out in the field and I was feeling it thats for sure. While here we had to wait a bit for our impact area to kinda clear out of a slower group that was behind just a little but not a big deal gave me time to recover and get ready since there was a lot more movement on one of these stages. First up was shooting out of the prone on at a known distance. My partner and I laid down to shoot We were limited in rounds so I figured Id let my partner shoot a couple more than I since I wasnt feeling all that confident. Well he was all over the place and couldnt settle down. I fired the first round, he gave me a correction and I then went 3 for 3 with the last remaining rounds I had to shoot. Should have went the other way on this one but you live and learn. Next up was the leap frog stage. First shooter moved from the start spot to the first firing position, at that point shooter 2 could take off from the start line to the second spot. They said go and I took off and hit the first spot and took 2 shots at the two targets I had and got them both, one for one, I took off from there down to the end to take on the last two remaining targets from the chopper...... as I am getting to my partners initial firing position he is now starting to move to the chopper as well. I am hollering the dope we need on our rifles for the last shots .... I make it to the chopper very winded and cant settle down to pick up any points but my partner does and its all good. That was the end of day one.
Day two we arrive at the main parking area and then head out from there .... first shots are at 1100.....Called shoot the GAP ... GAP put up a check for 500 bucks to the winner of this stage, the most hits in the shortest amount of time .... ARP was leading after he got done .. 4 hits in 14.73 seconds. My partner never got on for whatever reason ... seems there was a forcefield on the target as he was dropping in 100 yards short .... I shot a round and made a correction in elevation and I should have made a windage correction as well, I couldnt see my impact to make one originally. I fired 2 rounds and hollared at George if he could give me a correction but he couldnt. Last round I put a minute of left wind on it and IMPACT. So I went 1 for 4 at 1100. Afterwards George says "I see you put some left windage on it. and your other two went in the same spot just about 18 inches right, but same elevation." After that was a milling/shooting stage. We royally screwed the pooch on this one and took for granted what others were giving us for a distance in order to save time for more shooting. We didnt pick up and points there. After that it was off to the woods where we got a break from the sun which was friggin hot by the way. Here you moved about 25 yards thru the woods to get into the final firing point and had 3 targets a 12 inch circle, 6 inch circle and a 3 inch I belive was the small one. These targets again were hung on color coded fire hose and you had to call your target before firing. 12 rounds total were allowed between the 2 shooters. We split it up 6 rounds a piece. We picked up some decent points but were kinda forced to shoot other targets while the ones we hit stopped moving. From there it was off to the last stage in that area where we were huddled under a pop up to gain some shade. This stage consisted of a Big Dog Steel coyote target and 3 of the headhunter targets. You had to shoot the coyote before shooting the head targets ... well we picked up 0 points, we couldnt hit that friggin dog to save our lives. Over it, under it, over it, under it, over it, under it was the way it went for us. Next up is a ride back to the main parking are where we went acrossed the street to shoot the bus stage and the final stage of the match for us. Bus stage consisted of 6 4 inch targets at 129 yards in bus windows. 30 seconds to make your rifle hot and 8 seconds to shoot it. Well someone decided to run just a 10 round mag and it swoll just a little bit and couldnt get it inserted in the 30 second time and that kinda blew him big time, he should have used the 18 round mag he had been using all day earlier and had no problems. So we didnt pick up as much as we should have there. And then for the final stage. It had a little movement but not a whole lot.... maybe 50 yards. Move to the first barricade and shoot in 2 postions, a standing and a kneeling. From there move up the the low barricade and shoot a single target there. then move up to a sitting or kneeling position. We had some leg ententions that attached to our bipods just for this sitting or kneeling stage .. they worked great. From there it was up to a partner assisted position. Being as rotund as I am I told my partner I would just flop on the ground and he could shoot off me fairly stable almost prone. So I flop, I hear my partner put the mag in his gun and the RO call TIME. We picked up points here.
There is an overview of the match ... now things I would do different. I think the next time I am going to run my 3 gun AR with a 2.5x10 on it ... I dont think that I would be under gunned and I am very comfortable with it. Most of the shots were under 700 yards and the longer shots I think that I could have let my partner shoot. I need some long sleeve breathable shirts to wear my arms are TOASTED. Also need to pick up a schmegah or however the damn things are spelled. Soaking them in water and wearing them over your head is a brilliant idea. On the movement stages I think the best is to have a mag for each position and a way to carry it on your person readilly accessable. Get into position, shoot, drop the mag and who cares where it goes, get to the next position and grab new mag and dump it when you need to move. No fumbling with mags till on your way back when all you do is pick them up. B.A. Custom Kydex was a sponsor and put a certificate out for EVERY shooter to recieve a mag pouch just for the purpose of knowing where your mags are and having them easilly accessable. As owner of B.A.CK I hope that yall will use the certificates as its something to put in your toolbox of stuff and help you do better.
Things ran pretty smoothly. But there are some things that I would like to see for the next match. This being a team match I didnt feel as if there was much working together I felt it was very much single shooter oriented with the only team bit about it is that the scores were combined. Its a precision match .... I think Id like to see more teamwork as in one person doing the shooting while the other is spotting, make a couple of the targets smaller so if a correction needs to be made to get on it that it can be done and the shooters work together to get the shot made. Id like to see the shot restrictions be lifted ... give us a time limit and let us shoot till we cant in the amount of time. Dont just say here are 4 targets you have 5 rounds. Give us the 4 targets but you have unlimited rounds, in x amount of time. Id like to see some more shade. I know that we could drive trucks pretty close to the shooting but a large tent that we could congregate under as a squad boosts morale between the shooters if we can socailize as well. There was water available in each of the main RO's vehicles. But I think that a 5 gallon water cooler set out would have been more inviting than a styrofoam cooler stuk in the truck with bottled water in it. I was never short on water due to my whole team that was there shooting but I think water coolers would have been nice and cheaper than the bottled water.
All in all I had a great time and cant really think of anything that Id would do drastically different other than the couple of things I mentioned. There is my AAR, feel free to add to this or take from this, if there was stuff I missed put it in the thread.
And once again THANK YOU for all involved, land owner, match directors, RO's and sponsors.
