AAR: Oklahoma (Pawnee) Run 'N Gun

Two weeks ago I had the distinctly painful pleasure of running in the July 2014 Oklahoma Run 'N Gun. The official website is here: http://www.okrunngun.com/ I signed up for it after competing in the Battleroads USA Zombie Destruction Run 'N Gun back in April, having decided that it was entirely too much fun to not do that sort of thing again. While the option was given of either a 5K or 10K race, the deciding factor came down to the 10K race having a bonus stage that I wanted to try.

I should note, first and foremost, that although a Run 'N Gun is technically a competition, it's primarily going to be a learning experience for 90% of the runners. There's always some guy that has no trouble running a 10K in full kit, and that's the guy that's going to win. I'm not there to be a slacker, but I'm more concerned with learning all that it can teach me, rather than being obsessed with winning.

The Plan:

Run the 10K course, passing all the shooting stages. Here's the COF for those interested: http://www.okrunngun.com/node/6

What Actually happened:

I spent the entire previous day, and the drive down, loading up on protein, carbs, and a mix of V8 fruit juice and off-brand Gatorrade to keep me hydrated. Instead of the tac vest I ran with last time, I used a backpack, so I was able to throw extra bottles of water, ammo, and some granola bars in it. The distance portion of the race went fairly well, although I was not able to maintain the quick-march pace I'd hoped for the entire way.

Shooting-wise, I did not do very well. Similar to my trouble in Texas, I had been unable to find a long-range place to shoot and actually verify my zero (and my ability to hit what I'm shooting at), so I found out fairly early on that my rifle was shooting high by about 6 MOA. This made the long-range shots hard to estimate, as all my dope was wrong, and I ran through ammo too fast on the early stages, running completely dry of rifle ammo at the last stage. That said, my short- and mid-range shooting was fairly solid, and I posted some of the better times on stages 2 and 5.

What Went Wrong:

1. My scope wasn't zeroed. I don't know if it was because it had gotten knocked around, or if because my near-zero point calculations were off, but my scope was way, way off. At Stage 3, I shot 40 rounds, unable to see a single impact point to adjust my fire, and told the RO I was taking a DQ to avoid wasting more ammo. He then told me that I was shooting about a yard high, meaning it was off by about 6 MOA.

2. Having decided to not run in my chest rig, I had four mags for the 1911 on my belt, and one on the holster. At stage 4, being frustrated by poor shooting due to my hands shaking, I completely forgot about that fifth mag, and when I thought I had run out of pistol ammo, I was forced to DQ. About ten yards past the stage, having reloaded my mags from loose ammo, I reloaded the pistol only to remember that I'd had one more mag there. Since I only needed one more pistol hit on that stage, I could have completed it had I not forgotten it.

3. Before the race, I'd decided that six mags (180 rounds) of rifle ammo should be enough, and didn't feel like carrying another two mags (two pounds) for six miles. I then proceeded to run out of rifle ammo on the last targets of the last stage.

4. My level of fitness was insufficient, and I spent the entire race fairly winded.

5. My airsoft-tier drop-leg holster did an excellent job of pulling my ALICE belt down just far enough that it dug into my thigh muscle the whole time. This made my right leg feel like it was on fire and/or cramping for the last several miles.

What Went Right:

1. Despite the scope being off, I still shot fairly well on the mid- and short- range targets. Stage 2 was basically a 41-target mag dump, and I had no trouble using the 3-9x variable scope on my rifle to hit targets at very short ranges.

2. My kit, holster aside, worked flawlessly. The thigh rig I have for my left leg provided very easy reloads, even when prone, and barely moved at all during the run.  I'll get the same item for my right leg as well, and attach a holster to it. I think I prefer the tac vest I had last time over the war belt/backpack setup, but it did work. I'll try the chest rig next time, just for comparison. Last time I wore a pair of Mechanix gloves, but they were worn out by this trip, so I used a pair of deerskin leather work gloves. The leather gloves don't breath quite as well, but they fit a lot better, and they're definitely more durable.

3. My focus on hydration and nutrition the day before definitely paid off. While I was winded for most of the race, I was never queasy or light-headed, simply out of breath, sore, and tired. Those are PT issues, and one can never be too fit, but at least I've solved the issue of almost becoming a heat casualty.

it took

4. Despite carrying around 32 pounds of stuff, I wasn't overly tired after the race, and could probably have kept going further. I hadn't quite hit the point of physical exhaustion, and that is a good sign.

5. While I was (am) frustrated by my performance shooting, I did have a good time, and definitely learned more about my shooting abilities, and how I can improve them.

Lessons Learned:

1. Verify my zero. It's not enough to say "well, the near-zero point should be 35 yards, so we'll do that and fill out a dope card." One needs to confirm that the far-zero point is actually 300 yards. As it turned out, my rifle was zeroed for roughly 500 yards. Now, that's not a terrible thing in and of itself, but it sure as hell caused trouble when my dope had been computed for 300 yards.

2. I still need to set up a VTAC board, they are excellent training aids for learning to shoot in unusual positions.

3. My body was way more ready this time than it was in Texas, even if my cardio was not up to where it needs to be. That said, what I need to focus on isn't running 20 miles a week, but learning to shoot accurately immediately after I've been running. Accuracy-wise, I was shooting well below my normal abilities, and the only way to address that is to turn range days into biathlons. Half-mile runs in my kit between drills ought to do it, but I can only imagine the response from anyone else shooting there at the time. I get odd looks doing react-to-contact drills as it is.

4. I was able to use the sling on my rifle to steady my aim, even on the last stage, and that improved my accuracy when the best shooting positing I could get was a crouch. By that time, I was very tired, and had trouble holding my hands steady, but by putting tension on the sling, I didn't have to rely on my muscles to keep the rifle steady.

5. I again ran into trouble using a pistol that comes with 8-round mags. A 1911 is a great carry gun, but a terrible gun if you end up in a 10-kilometer running gunfight, such as the run 'n gun simulates. Capacity is king.

Other Thoughts:

1. Few things taste better than Frito Chili Pie after a race.

2. I saw people running ARs, AKs, an M1 Garand, and some cat was running with a Mosin-Nagant. This makes me happy, because it tells me that the idea of a Run 'N Gun is spreading outside the "rich guys with toy guns" market. Also, you don't need to be a high-budget guy to run fast, shoot straight, and have fun.

3. The weather, surprisingly, was around 75*. When I first signed up for a 19 July run in central OK, I feared it would be well into triple-digit temperatures.

4. Apparently, nationwide there are only three events like this. The Battleroads run, the OK run, and the Pecos run. Which means that when I finally leave KS, I'm going to have to organize one wherever I go. It's just to much fun to keep this a secret, and it's the best gear and skills test a person can ask for.

5. During the race, one of the ROs joked "I didn't know Amish were into this sort of thing!", referencing my very long hair and beard. Being an Orthodox Christian, I replied "No, but Eastern Orthodox men are!", and continued on while I laughed. He meant no harm, and I didn't take it personally. 

AAR: Battleroad USA Zombie Destruction Biathlon

The Plan:

Run Battleroad USA's Zombie Destruction Biathlon, a 4.2 mile biathlon with eight shooting stations, four rifle and four pistol.

What Actually Happened:

It was pretty straight forward, I ran the course and individual shooting stations as laid out. I finished with an adjusted time (my total time for the run of 1:28:something, minus the time I spent waiting and running individual stations) of 1:11:50, placing 36/77. I successfully completed seven of the eight shooting stations, disqualifying on the last one due to too many missed shots in a row.

What Went Wrong:

1. The primary failure for the course was dehydration-caused exhaustion. I failed to drink enough water the day before, and did not bring extra water to keep my Camelbak full, so I ran out of water about 30 minutes into the race. Due to the central-Texas location, the weather was a mild 85*F, with 75% humidity, and I very nearly became a heat injury.

2. A second major failure point was inexperience with rifle shooting from unusual positions. I did fairly well with prone and kneeling shots, but shots that require standing with the rifle braced on doorframes, canted to shoot under/through obstacles, or from a half-crouched position gave me trouble.

Stage 8. 9 hits from 9 positions in less than 3 minutes. I failed it.

3. Compounding the dehydration was poor diet the previous day, I generally don't eat full meals when I'm on the road, but the biathlon required far more calories than I had eaten. And what I *had* eaten was a sandwich, a couple bags of snack trash foods, washed down with soda and Red Bull. I'm a retard, and I admit it.

4. At one of the early stages, my safety glasses fogged up. This was totally unexpected, as they don't seal up around my eyes, nor should there have been a temperature/humidity change that should have caused that. Simple enough fix (take them off for a shot), but losing vision while shooting is a definite problem.

5. My tac vest was heavy and tight enough to prevent me from drawing full breaths on the trot, so I had to run without being able to breath properly. This was partly remedied by breathing from the belly instead of the chest, but that still doesn't allow me to run without trouble. Loosening the tac vest would have meant more bouncing/digging as I ran, which doesn't really make anything better.

6. At one of the pistol stages, foliage that partially obscured one of the targets kept throwing me off. I'd aim at the steel, but missed wider on that target, repeatedly, than any other target on the course.

7. 7-round 1911 mags on a course that required 57 pistol hits, with stages that required up to 20 hits a piece. 'Nuff said, really.

8. I had my AR mags loaded with 30 rounds, which prevented me from loading them on a closed bolt.

What Went Right:

1. For the most part, my rifle work was acceptable. I need more experience estimating ranges, but I shot acceptably well on three of the rifle stages. The first was "meh" at best due to odd positions and just having jogged 3/4 of a mile, but I was pimp-slapping steel on the other two.

2. I did far better than expected on the pistol stages. When possible, I dropped to a crouch to minimize hand tremors from the runs, and this allowed me to brace my elbow on my knee. It worked very well on the two stages I could do this on, which were 20-yard shots in a wooded area.

3. I wore a basic pair of Mechanix gloves for the whole race, and thoroughly recommend them.

4. My reloads, both pistol and rifle, were smooth if not especially fast. I didn't have any trouble getting mags from my pouches, and retention of mags was perfect. For that matter, I didn't have any problems with my kit except for the vest compressing my rib cage, which is a secondary issue. Even my boots were comfy the entire time.

5. I can bitch about my level of fitness, but by and large the average competitor was...large. I saw more fat wrapped in multicam there in one day than pretty much everywhere else combined. So frankly, I was a lean, mean killing machine compared to a lot of the people there.

6. It did a fantastic job of tying together the various disciplines involved in shooting: PT, marksmanship, terrain navigation, and gear. Hell, throw in a compass course and a requirement to sneak past an observer and it would be perfect.

7. I was only ten minutes behind the fifth-place finisher. Had I not been forced to walk to avoid becoming a heat casualty, I could easily have been near the top ten, if not the top five.

Lessons Learned:

1. I need to diversify my rifle shooting drills to include urban prone, canted-rifle, and other odd positions. Standing, kneeling, and prone just wasn't enough. I also need a steel ringer target to simplify my range trips.

2. Increased shooting distance is an absolute priority. There's just no way to practice accounting for windage or ballistic drop at 50 yards, even if I'm shooting tiny-ass targets that simulate minute-of-dude at 300 yards.

3. I do a lot of PT, but I need to do EVEN MORE PT! Ideally, I should be able to run the entire course length with full kit at a decent pace, during the hot part of the day.

4. I now have an excellent excuse to buy a 9mm pistol. Ideally with 30-round stick mags for those stages with a higher round count... :)

5. I need to take care of myself better. My day-to-day diet is pretty good, but that falls apart on a road trip, and that's unacceptable. 

6. Why aren't all my friends doing this? IT WAS AWESOME!!!

AAR: Black Lake, Idaho

The Plan:

Backpack from High Dive to Black Lake by the pictured route on 2 July, spend two days there camped at the mine, and return to High Dive on 5 July.

It was a pretty good plan.

The Reality:

We got off to a great start on 2 July, but accidentally went up the first draw, not the second. Thus, after roughly three hours of rucking uphill towards Black Lake (henceforth BL), we were greeted with the sight of Emerald Lake, not BL. This necessitated a ridgeline hike towards BL via Pyramid Peak, and a drop down a steep shale slope above the mine (East of Pyramid Peak) instead of the rock/grass/dirt slope that was to the west of Pyramid Peak. We left High Dive at roughly 1300, and arrived at BL at roughly 1800 (IIRC).

This was compounded by the lack of preparatory PT on the part of one of my party of three (Bravo). His failure to physically prepare for the trip not only slowed down the pace of the party (resulting in us being caught in a light rain), but led to him having increased trouble with the altitude change, and becoming physically ill.

Due to Bravo's illness, we left BL a day early on 4 July, backpacking from the BL mine where we were camped back out to High Dive via the BL road, which was passable on foot but not by car or truck. This went far faster, and it only took us 4-5 hours.

On the way out, we encountered several parties on 4-wheelers, who told us that there was barbecue and ice cream waiting for us at High Dive. Apparently, it is a local tradition to drive up the BL road on the 4th of July until snow is reached, then to barbecue and make home-made ice cream with the snow.

 Happy 4th of July!

What Went Wrong:

1. A lack of physical preparation for the hike. While everyone on the invite list had been told well in advance of the hike's length, altitude, and physical difficulty, we were still not fully prepared for the trip. Part of this is obviously due to the altitude change, I was living at ~650 feet before the trip, while the others were living at ~2200 feet, but in spite of that, we should have trained for the weight and distance of the actual hike better than we did.

2. We forgot hearing protection. Despite knowing in advance that we were going to be carrying and shooting guns the whole weekend, we forgot to bring earpro, and so we were basically stuck lugging heavy steel objects that none of us were entirely comfortable shooting, even after improvising earpro using spent casings and string.

The price of not being prepared.

Those work decently well, by the way.

3. In general, we overpacked or mispacked. While my food stock and ammo stock reflected the original plan of a 4-day hike (meaning food for 5 in case of injury or delay) full of shooting, I still noticed that I had duplicate items (bars of soap, knives). Bravo brought a 26-oz glass jar of peanut butter, while Alpha mentioned that he brought too much "snack" food. Additionally, my ground pad has outlived its usefulness, and is neither light nor especially pad-ish.

Dude, what? Why would you even bring that?

4. For sleep I utliized a "Ranger Taco" setup, meaning a poncho liner laced into a poncho, which is then snapped shut and entered fully clothed. This proved inadequate due to the wind off the snowpack, which had no trouble at all entering at either end of the taco.

The red mag was loaded with 77-grain Hornady BTHPs instead of M855s.

What Went Right:

1. Spirits remained relatively high for the entire trip, with nobody becoming grouchy or depressed despite heavy loads, long miles, and cold nights.

2. Nobody was injured, outside of minor scrapes, some blisters, and sunburns. Those don't count.

3. The cold nights aside, July is a much better time to visit Black Lake than August. The temperature at the lake was far more comfortable during the days, and there was nobody else around until the folks who came up for the 4th of July. This gave us free reign to build a fire, shoot guns, and generally just have fun without any worry than anyone else would be around to complain.

Lessons Learned:

1. Additional PT is required. My standard for PT marches a month before the trip was a 50-lb 5K ruck march in 45 minutes or less, which was entirely sufficient for the weight, but lacking for the distance. I should have been doing 10K or 10-mile marches. This would also have highlighted several chafing points that were revealed during the trip, and caused pain that didn't need to be there.

2. While my basic load (2K calories per day, 100-oz Camelback, single set of layered clothing) was acceptable , I need to reexamine each individual item for weight, and take care to avoid duplicates. Furthermore, I need to swap in snack food for some of the full meals, I had no real opportunity to eat while moving, and that cost me energy I needed later in the hikes. Upping the calories carried would be nice if weight permits.

2A. For cost reasons, I need to experiment with cheaper meals. Just-add-water pastas are available from bulk food stores, with some fortification like beans and meat they could replace dehydrated meals, which are expensive. I could also get by with a much smaller cookpot than the 8-quart one I had.

3. My rifle is an acceptable choice for a hiking gun, but I need to see if I can swap in a lighter forearm without excessive expense. A tilt-capable bipod would also be nice, but other than those items, it's more than accurate enough for what I ask it to do, and it functioned fine lubricated with aircraft motor oil. 

4. A "Ranger Taco" alone is insufficient for severe cold weather, or mild winds blowing off a snowpack. On both nights, the cold wind hitting my neck and feet made it hard to sleep, and I was shivering. I need to find a way to upgrade the system for colder weather, probably meaning a regular sleeping bag stuffed inside. 

5. Popping a couple heavy-duty (but non-narcotic) painkillers before a hike will make it easier. Having the aches and pains dulled in advance really helps as the miles stack up.

6. Choose who to invite on backpacking trips carefully. While I would reinvite either of the friends that I brought this time, not everyone on the original invite list would have been, and the intense physicality of the trip would have meant a lot of grumpiness if anyone had started complaining. It's one thing to go on ahead, drop my pack, and come back to help out someone who's just not physically up to the trip, it's quite another to deal with someone who's decided to start bitching about everything.

 The view is always worth the work it takes to get there.

AAR: Buffalo River camping trip.

Situation:

A single-night, 15-mile backpacking trip. CRT taken from Kyle's Landing to Steel Creek Campground first day, returned via ORT second day. Pack weight was about 30 pounds, including water. Temperature was moderate, highs in upper seventies, lows in lower sixties. Slept directly on the ground. Food cooked over a small camp stove.

Notes:

Waist belt on pack too high to provide much support. Majority of weight carried on shoulders, leading to pretty serious fatigue. Pack then suffered a structural failure, and a frame rod started protruding into back of left arm. Replacement mandatory.

Boots/socks combination worked beautifully. The socks stayed fairly dry, and kept my feet dry enough that I had no blisters. Additional pairs of socks recommended for longer operations.

Toenails need to be trimmed more completely before the trip. Attention needs to be paid to the little toes. There was some pain by the end of the trip, but nothing debilitating.

Sleeping provisions adequate, but misused. I should have slept on the rain poncho, which would have kept the moisture from leeching heat out of me. It was a cold night, staying dry would have prevented that. I slept well, given the circumstances, but it would have been a problem on a multi-day operation.

Handgun regarded as sufficient for all non-bear problems. However, it was stowed in the pack, since OC not legal in state of trip. Workaround necessary.

Ticks found in unpleasant areas after trip. Research required, and some method of prevention needs to be found. Long pants tucked into boots regarded as sufficient for most hikes, perhaps they crawled in at night.

Meal arrangement satisfactory. More protein recommended, but hot meals for breakfast and dinner, with protein or granola bars for lunch more than sufficient. Double calories when estimating requirements.

Pack loadout was minimal, but still tiring. Sadly, sole conclusion to be drawn from this is a lack of fitness. Recommend strength-training exercises, additional cardio, and weekly or bi-weekly hikes to force body to remember how to hike. Hills required, we really slowed down on those.

100-oz Camelback more than sufficient. AO had sufficient water that resupply was possible multiple times per day. Rate-of-consumption drained bladder in about six miles or so of walking.

Additional t-shirts required. To be changed at each long break in hiking. Possible alternate to this is a tshirt of different construction that wicks away moisture.

Recommendations and changes:
Replace pack. This is an absolute necessity.

Strength training of legs required. Short hikes with intentionally high weight loadings recommended to keep operational weight loadings relatively low recommended.

Reorganization of loadout recommended to keep handgun within two movements of reach. Stuffed into a pocket on the back of the pack doesn't work if there's an angry animal around.