2006 Tactical Response Alumni Weekend

[SinistralRifleman]

This past weekend we attended the Tactical Response Alumni weekend. For those of you who don't know what Tactical Response is, it is a training organization that teaches a variety of classes on armed and unarmed combat, medical, driving, and security to citizens, law enforcement, and military. I have taken over a dozen courses from them at this point and it is high quality instruction at reasonable prices.

The alumni weekend is a free annual training event for people who have taken at least one class from them. The alumni weekend features a sampling of classes including lectures and range time. Tactical Response staff invited us to run a competition event at this year's match and we were happy to participate. The theme for this year's Alumni weekend was "Disaster Preparedness", and I designed the stage accordingly.

Most of the people who shot the match had little or no competition experience prior to shooting in this one. However, everyone had attended at least one (usually more) class from Tactical Response. With that in mind this group did better compared to other new competitive shooters. When people had problems, no one stopped and just quit as I have seen elsewhere before…even shooters who had a hard time fought through to the end. Everyone was competant in their gun handling and safe. Incorporating medical and communication aspects made it much more interesting and relevant to the theme of the Alumni weekend. Allowing shooting through props like the shot up cars is something we normally can’t do. We also didn’t use a 180 degree rule, which I believe added to the realism…everyone still practiced safe firearms handling, moving with their guns in Sul or high ready.

There were some things I wanted people to learn/be exposed to through this competition that they probably hadn’t had elsewhere before.

1) Rifles/Carbines are effective to several hundred yards. Learn to shoot your firearms to their maximum potential. The longer the shot the more important taking the most supported position available becomes.

2) The stress of competition, trying to do your best with everyone else watching and every second counting will make you perform differently than you will practicing on your own. There were quite a few people I witnessed that got a good adrenaline dump and were visibly shaking by the end of the course. The more you compete the more inoculated to this sort of stress you will become.

3) Don’t get fixated on accomplishing one goal you’ve done your best and can’t, when there are still a lot of things to be done.

4) Think outside the box and stay alert. Shooting competitively, like a gun fight, is a thinking man’s game.

5) Having equipment problems at a match, as much as it sucks and may hurt your ego, sucks a lot less than having it happen in a real fight. Use competition to find equipment flaws and correct them.

6) Mindset, Tactics, and Skill are all more important than gear. Gear becomes important when all those other factors are equal.

7) A low power scope, like the CQT everyone got to use, is a force modifier when you need to shoot at distance.

course description

“Rush Hour Riot”

Scenerio: Several terrorist attacks have occurred simultaneously in your city, disrupting, water, power, and communications. You are attempting to return home to “bug-in” and rely on your stockpiled water and food for the next several days. The criminal elements of your city are taking advantage of the chaos, looting, robbing, carjacking etc. You are stuck in traffic as a roaming gang begins pulling people from their vehicles and assaulting them. You watch a single police officer tries to engage the hostiles, but he is apparently hit by rifle fire coming from further up the road. The time to act is now.

Firearms: Pistol and Rifle

Pistol Targets: 2 MGM Triple Droppers, 4 Paper

Rifle Targets: 3 MGM Steel flash targets (to be engaged 3 times each), 12 paper

Start Position: Shooter seated in car, hands on steering wheel, right foot on *thumb rest [generic]*. Pistol holstered and hot, rifle will have magazine inserted and cold chamber cased in trunk. All magazines for the rifle will be stored in the trunk of the car. Optical sights must have covers closed if they have them, electronic sights must be off.

Course Description:

At start signal, shooter will begin engaging Triple Droppers 1-2 and T-1 to T-4 from inside or outside the vehicle, as they become visible.

Shooter will holster handgun and retrieve rifle and magazine from the trunk.

Shooter will engage targets T5-T8 around Car 2 from start vehicle, then advance to Car 2.

Shooter will then engage Rifle steel 1-3 with one hit each, then engage T9 to T12 around Car 3 from Car 2, then advance to Car 3.

Shooter will then engage Rifle steel 1-3 with one hit each, then engage T13 to T16 from Car 3 and advance to Car 4. Using smoke grenade to conceal movement from car 3 to 4 is a 15 second bonus.

At Car 4 shooter will then engage Rifle steel 1-3 with one hit each. At Car 4 there will be a dummy simulating a wounded police officer, he has been shot in the arm. There will be a 15 second bonus for bandaging the officer’s arm. There will be a 15 second bonus for using his radio to call in what is happening and asking for assistance.

The shooter will then use the officers’ rifle to engage the steel targets in 1-2-3-1-2 order for 15 second bonus per target hit

Full Gallery:

http://www.cavalryarms.com/2006-TR-ALUMNI/...R-ALUMNI-1.html

http://www.cavalryarms.com/2006-TR-ALUMNI/th_057.jpgclick here for big version

http://www.cavalryarms.com/2006-TR-ALUMNI/th_077.jpg

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http://www.cavalryarms.com/2006-TR-ALUMNI/th_122.jpg

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When we were done shooting individually, we were able to run the stage as teams:

http://www.cavalryarms.com/2006-TR-ALUMNI/th_373.jpg

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http://www.cavalryarms.com/2006-TR-ALUMNI/th_382.jpg

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Results:

http://www.cavalryarms.com/2006-TR-ALUMNI/results.jpg

There were a few individuals who particularly impressed me with the way they shot the course/solved problems:

Klaus is one hardcore dude…no one shot the course as aggressively or with as much determination as he did. He borrowed one of my rifles and test fired 15 rounds through it before shooting the course. Prior to that he had no trigger time with a scoped rifle, and little trigger time with other rifles. Klaus placed 6th out of 44, beating almost everyone who was using equipment they were more familiar with and who had a lot more rounds down range. Klaus has the right mindset the will to prevail and use the tools available to him.

Kyle Hale used his Beretta CX4 storm 9mm carbine. Prior to shooting the course I asked him if he wanted to use one of my rifles because the long range targets may be difficult to hit with the 9mm. He declined, stating he wanted to practice with what his real trunk gun was. From the first position he hit long target 1, second position long targets 1 and 2, and the final position long targets 1-3. With a 9mm carbine he out shot the majority of the shooters who were using real rifles. Skill beats gear.

Titan Scout made most of the required hits on the long steel with his carbine from the first 2 positions, but it was taking more time/shots than he wanted. At the Third position he said “hey buddy you have a better rifle than me”, took the officer’s rifle and removed the magazine inserting his own and used it to engage the 3 mandatory long range targets from that position successfully and more rapidly. I never told anyone they couldn’t do this, so it was fair game. By far the best thinking outside the box I saw at the competition. This was a great demonstration of mindset and tactics.

Bailey Martin was the last shooter we had on Saturday due to the rain. It started coming down hard in the middle of the stage. Bailey kept at it though and came close to finishing the stage, except for the last bonus targets. I told him to stop on the bonus targets because I simply couldn’t see the hits with the rain coming down. For his will to continue the fight in extremely adverse conditions, I gave him the bonuses for the long targets anyway.

I am looking forward to running another competition at the Alumni weekend next year. The Tactical Response Range facilities are excellent for the purpose, and I know they will be willing to do whatever we throw at them.

Edited September 29, 2006 by SinistralRifleman

[SinistralRifleman]

Music video I made with the footage:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...eoid=1242279946

[uscbigdawg]

Interesting if nothing else.

Rich