Bring the right equipment

[BJinPass]

I decided to shoot an M&P 9 instead of my Edge at our December 3-gun match. I had to change the holster on my 3-gun belt and swap the mags. Since I have to run the match, I load my mags the night before the match because there is never time the morning of. I loaded all of the M&P mags and put them in the mag pouch. Then I left it on my equipment bench. And it stayed there.

At the range the next morning, I realized my mistake and was considering my options. After checking out what everyone else was shooting, and finding no one with an M&P 9, I considered sitting this one out. But, I asked anyway and one shooters had two high cap M&P 9 mags in his truck for his carry gun. So, I'm back in business. Thankfully, I had an extra box of ammo in the normal range bag.

So, this month, I switch back to the Edge and swap the mags back again. You can be sure I loaded them the night before and stuck that mag pouch in the pile of stuff to go. I even double checked it before I left for the range.

The morning of the match, I strap on the belt and go to holster my Edge, and... Damn! I forgot to switch the holster back. The Edge dropped right into the Serpa holster and kinda bounced around. No retention at all. What to do, what to do. This was the screw-up that kept on giving.

I considered foam ear plugs to wedge it in, but ultimately managed to shoot the match without drama because the pistol was the first gun on most of the stages in which it was included and it ended up in the dump box after being shot. The one stage where it wasn't first involved very little movement with the first gun before drawing the pistol. For those stages where it wasn't used, I just bagged it before starting.

Changing equipment is best done well before match time, and not at the last minute. And, as my wife constantly points out, a checklist can work wonders for avoiding those mental packing mistakes.