I need a new handgun...lets talk guns today. :D

My .308 is a BCA. Not too bad once I worked the bugs out. Almost went with a 556 upper of theirs, but that one ended up as a complete psa build. And just finally shot that one about an hour ago. Took a break from new house kitchen tear out to unload on some unsuspecting logs in the backyard………felt awesome being able to do that now

 

I've never competed in a centerfire competition of any kind, and it's been a long time since I shot clays competitively. My goals were simple, find my way through the nav course and don't finish last, but:



The Woverline5k event is run by Clare and his crew at Marksmanship Training Center in northern Michigan. It's a combination of water navigation, land navigation and shooting skills. Your scoring is baselined off your combined water/over land time and you earn time off by shooting well and finding waypoints and bonus objectives (FRAGOS) out in the field. It's really two events in one, because you don't carry/shoot any weapons while you're out on the nav course, but the more waypoints/FRAGOS you find/intel gathered, the more you're rewarded with time off of your total score. The event had the feel of an MX/enduro event (minus the MX dad-types) due to all the sand, remoteness of the facility and lack of shade. If you couldn't live without your motohauler, this wasn't the place for you (no electrical hookups!).


The event is broken up into two classes: recreational and hardcore, wherein, the shooting stages are the same, but you're not required to carry as much gear. You can carry the gear any way you like for the water/land navigation stages, but for shooting, the hardcore guys must wear a plate carrier that weighs at least 12lbs. For the rec. folks, you only need to wear 25lbs. of gear on your water/land course, while the hardcore guys hoof it with 45lbs. Furthermore, you can run it alone or in squads of three or four men making it four divisions in total. Other than weights, the rec. class doesn't get a trophy at the end.

I did the hardcore class because I'm stupid.
I ran the solo class because I have no friends.

The event theme comes from the film Red Dawn, so a little knowledge of the film can be helpful, especially during the nav stage. You have to find your way down the river, first and then on foot along mostly two-track. At the boat insertion/start of the nav stage, you've given a card with your current MGRS coordinates and all of the checkpoints along with three optional FRAGOs that take you slightly off the main path. I opted to hit everything since each checkpoint only garners minutes off your time, while each FRAGO was worth much more. Before going feet wet, it took a few minutes to plot the provided map correctly with the MGRS data and then get moving. After the boat session, it was on land for the remainder back to the shooting facility.

Here's part of the course.


Yes, you could just follow a road, walk straight back to the shooting facility and skip all the checkpoints, but the course appeared to benefit stopping at each checkpoint, and especially, the FRAGOs. All check points had a placard with an object you had to write in your logbook (eg. picture of a tank, choppa' &et.c), and in addition, there was tap code and Morse code fragment at the bottom of the paper. Decoding both of those offered additional time off your ruck.

For the water portion, I was paired up with another solo trooper. Note my gear wrapped in trash bags in case we flipped das boot (stayed dry).


Optional FRAGO wherein you had to burn a commie toothpick flag using only the components found on the table.


Example intel.


There were ten stages of shooting with all kinds of scenarios. There's a shoot house wherein you're supposed to gather intel to get points, pistol work out of a moving pickup truck bed and a long-range stage out to 764 yards &etc. None of these stages, however, were purely shooting exercises. In every event, save for shooting from the truck, you had to move a heavy object(s), or complete a technical task to score points in the stage. All shooting stages were optional, but there were more than a few guys that have or still, jump from airplanes, run 500 miles and then kill people with their thumbs, present. I did nine out of ten due to time constraints/poor planning on my part.

One of the long range segments. One shot per target only.


A sea of experienced heavy hitters diluted by hippies with guns and some serious (serious!) shooters.


You can read more about the stages here.

It wasn't until after the event that I found that, unlike other centerfire shooting competitions, you ran the whole event with your carbine slung to your body. I was told that it's rare that slings are allowed, let alone required. You had to be in control of your rifle at all times, minding the four rules and the 180 degree rule. Safety was paramount, and every RSO made sure you understood where you could/could not point your weapons. And, save for the shoot house, there were at least two sets of RSO eyes on the shooter at each stage.

Having been through a few different competitions, it was clear this was a well-run, squared-away event. Competitors knew what to expect and the rules were always clear, with an emphasis on safety. I need to train more both, on my nav skills (missed one checkpoint by 10 meters) and my shooting skills with the intent of taking P1 next year.

If you like gunz and not getting lost in the woods, this is a fun test of your self esteem.

And for Clare (the W5k OG!), I hope this counts as credit towards membership points - even if you couldn't pronounce my team name at awards correctly.

 

Sounds really well thought out...and intriguing.
On these optional objectives, were they in/out tangents to the course or in series with? For example, could you get to a point on the course where you could drop your ruck, run to the objective, run back to retrieve your ruck and continue the course, or?

No slings at all?

 

For this year's route, dropping your ruck and finding any objective, optional or otherwise, might have been beneficial one time. And would have saved you 400 meters with the added weight. I've been rucking around the wood here for a small while in preparation for this, so it wasn't a matter. Some guys though, they looked like living proof of life after death.

As for the slings, they were mandatory for all shooting stages. It had to be on your rifle and you had to wear that rifle sling.

eg. For the carbine long range event, as a solo shooter, I had to drag a litter, starting next to a pickup truck, to the first shooting position, hit five targets at 200 meters, twice - working from left-to-right, before I could move to the next shooting position. But, before I could shoot from the next spot, I had to show clear on my rifle (open bolt and drop mag) run back to the litter, drag said litter behind the next position, run forward, get into shooting position and only then load/fire. Rinse and repeat. When dragging that litter to the first shooting position, I wasn't happy with how the rifle carried with me and didn't want to get busted for it. To prevent this, I slacked the sling enough so that, when I went to drag the litter, the rifle was pointed downrange laying where the casualty's head would be. I could hold it there and the litter at the same time, safely.

That's not to say I couldn't have cinched up my rifle to move the litter. But it was drilled in to us at every stage of the event, from the shooters' meeting at 0830 onward - if you muzzled anyone or pointed your weapon more than 90 degrees from center stage, you were done for the day. I didn't want that walk of shame at my first event.

This movement had to be done six times over a 6:30 timeframe. I made it to station five and squeezed off two shots before time was up. Chest pumping, shooting USPSA-sized targets, left-to-right, twice each, from each station, I expended three 40-round Magpul magazines and just plugged in a fourth before time ran out. That gun was hot.

 

wayyyy dope on what you did/accomplished

 

Let’s talk about Gucci’ing up a gun and some serious mill work.

Don’t get the pitchforks and torches out but I don’t really see anything on the horizon as far as a new gun that I just have to have. That is always subject to change but I have all of the place fillers for now. Rather than a bunch of stuff collecting dust in a safe I think I’d rather have the most badass version of something I actually shoot on a regular basis.

What has my eye right now is the Scott Jedlinski MSP spec build for my Walther PDP from Monsoon Tactical. It’s a great gun that doesn’t really need any work but they tweak the frame a bit and stipple up the grip which addresses the few minor gripes I have about it. The hard to justify Gucci part comes with the “Lucky Sevens” port job, more milling on the slide, and the “case hardened” cerakote looks badass in pictures. The gun shoots pretty flat but why not port it and make it look 486% more badass?

I guess that’s a lot of words to say, anybody ever port a pistol and regret it? Anybody have any dealings with Monsoon Tactical?

They are highly acclaimed from what I’ve seen but it definitely looks like it could be a Tier1, Monsoon Tactical, Modern Samurai Project circle jerk.

 

@Team Plarposaurus Wrecks , checked out those links after you responded to my inquiry. Damn that's a lot o' shit.

 

Will it me a range toy or any serious use planned for it?

 

It will see some carry duty. Right now probably 98% of the time I carry my 365 XL but I just got a holster that makes the PDP much more comfortable. I think it’s definitely going to start seeing some more time in my belt.

 

My Mount kit and Delta Point Pro arrived for my Staccato!!!!!

 

I been riding my KDX300 on forest roads in Apalachicola National Forest. Hundreds of miles or various difficulty roads. I have seen big black bears, alligators, strange-looking pups, and there are rumors of panthers in the area. I would put my beater Canik 9mm in the bottom of the backpack, but I realize it wont be a quick draw if needed.

Any ideas, on how to ride a dirtbike while open or concealed carry? Chest or side leg holster? Any holster that would secure a gun well? Stick one in the boot, but there are lots of water crossings.

Also, what is the best type of firearm to carry in a wet, sand environment when riding? Something in stainless like a Ruger revolver, or a Sig MK25? Stainless 1911, or a beater plastic gun will do just as well?

 

https://eberlestock.com/collections/everyday/products/bando-bag
almost every good pistol should work in wet and sandy conditions

 

I use one of these chest bags when mountain biking
https://hillpeoplegear.com/Products/CategoryID/1

with something like this

https://www.clipdraw.com/product/trigger-sheath-sig-sauer-p365/

 

I started carrying bear spray or a slightly different pepper spray (depending on where I go) when I ride MTB. I tried the little Canik in a chest radio rig a bit, but after really thinking it through, the spray is easier to grab and would be every bit as effective as a deterrent, maybe even more so, in most situations. We don't have those damn gators here, but I have seen bear and cougar while riding. That said, I am more nervous around the moose than anything else I see while out riding.

 

Tanker holster was my first thought. The issue is that it may hang forward when bending over - could get snagged on something. They make some that have an extra strap or two to prevent this.
I've never had issues with mine, like this one. I wear it if/when riding/quading/Jeeping/"landscaping" and feel a need.


If you go with any kind of holster for two-wheeling, maybe get a lefty. You might need your throttle hand more than you need the gun.

Otherwise, a chest pouch. Concealed, ambi-, carry other shit, out of the way and easily accessible.
Yeah, I like the chest pouch idea better.

 

I made a big change that really helped my accuracy.

This is the Rival on a 3” circle at 20 yards.

 

I got glasses.

My vision has been shit my whole life. In school I had to sit at the front of the class to see the board. But I have never had a real eye exam.

The old people that stayed in the house were either not there, or too drunk to notice. I could have been walking into walls and they wouldn’t have noticed, or cared. Even if they did, we were too poor to do anything about it. I doubt we had insurance.

It got too aggravating while traveling because I couldn’t see the signs. I’d get halfway down the terminal and realize I’m going the wrong way.

I have always known my right eye was worse. But I always figured my left eye was ok, it was just the right that wasn’t. But in reality, they are both shit.

My right eye is 20/70, and left is 20/50. And I have astigmatism in both eyes.

But because it’s been bad my whole life, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I have never seen the world in 20/20.

I told the doc that I manage ok and don’t think it’s that bad. She was like “I don’t think you realize how bad it is”. Once she determined which lenses I need, she had me read the letters on the wall and I just rattled them off like “COMDRP”. Then she removed the lenses and I couldn’t see shit. I didn’t even know they were letters. They just looked like black smudges.

At the range, I’d been playing with the brightness of the dot to see if it helped. But the problem is that because my vision is so blurred, the dot looks 2-3x it’s normal size. At 20 yards, the blurry dot covered the whole 3” target.

Today was the first time I’ve ever actually seen the small dot ON the target.

 

How dafuq did you ever pass the drivers test?

 

It’s amazing how much shit I have never seen. We remodeled the house 3 years ago, and just yesterday I saw that the flooring has the black line things in it.



I had always thought the floor was just gray.

And I finally appreciate how good the OLED TV is. I can even seen individual blades of grass. Normally it looks like a huge solid carpet.

Without my glasses I can stand 5’ from the stove and can’t make out the numbers on the clock. They are just a blur. With my glasses, I can see them from 15’ away.

I had no idea how cool it is to see shit.

 

Hope all you motherfuckers that shared track time with Mr. Magoo here bought some lottery tickets!