2020 Clinton House 5k Gun Run
It seems like several years have passed since the last time I’ve had the opportunity to participate in a Run and Gun competition. The truth is, it has only been about 7 months. Those 7 months however have been one for the record books. Covid-19 and the riots of 2020 have a way of making 2019 seem like a decade ago…or maybe a whole other world ago.
In many ways, I feel like these competitions are more relevant than ever and that’s exactly why I believe that despite rioting, despite massive ammo shortages, despite losses of income and despite the risk of catching some version of the flu, these events are selling out fast and people are showing up in big numbers. Getting wait-listed for these events are very common now days if you are not registering early.
Since my last Run and Gun competition I made very few changes in my load-out. I made a change in slings, moving to the Armeggedon Gear Heavy Carbine sling. Its wide, its comfortable and it has stretch which is really nice for hugging against your body on a run or pushing out for stability on standing shots. The move was worth it, the sling was awesome for its purpose. Additionally, I took all winter and the first part of spring to acclimate myself to zero drop running shoes. If you are interested in reading about that journey and how I believe it can change your running life like it did mine, make sure to check it out here:
https://www.twobluescrews.com/blog/how-a-shoe-brand-changed-the-way-i-thought-about-all-others-before-it
Altra Timp 1.5’s with Gaitors
My pistol remained the same as the last two events, my trusty P365 slide on P365XL frame. The gun recently surpassed the 4,200 round mark for me and I just can’t say enough about it. I always get a random comment about me handicapping myself with such a small pistol but I assure you, it doesn’t feel that way to me. Let’s be honest, this is the gun that will likely be defending my life in a real world scenario, so for me, it only makes sense to continue to run it.
P365/P365XL Mash-up
As for my rifle, I decided to change that up for this event and instead of running my 13.7” Joseph rifle, I decided to run my Noveske 10.5” SBR. It is equipped with an ATC AR Gold Trigger, a Railscales Anchor Verticle Forward Grip and a Lantac/Dead Air muzzle brake that I am sure the RO’s just loved.
Additionally, instead of my usual Run and Gun Low Powered Variable setup, I decided to run this one with an EOTech Holographic Weapon Sight and the new G45 5x Magnifier. The course called for a maximum of 300 yard shots and I thought it would be great to test this combo out on what I consider to be a short distance course.
My last firearm competition of ANY type was also last November so I began picking up my shooting a bit about a month before this event. Mostly just small isolated drills and dry firing as ammo availability is a little more scarce than usual and I wanted to make sure I can get through the year with no issues. I did take the time to chrono my SBR with standard 55 grain ammo and get a good solid zero as well as confirmation at 300 yards on 50% sized IPSC targets. For those that are curious, I zero’ed the rifle at 50 yards which left me with the following ballistics:
My goals for this first competition of the year were simple:
NO walking
I felt like if I never walked, I would have a chance to run near the top of the pack. It was something I failed to accomplish at Riverbend and Zombie. I have been running steep mountainous terrain and running in a weighted vest to prepare for exactly that.
Push the pace on my running
I also wanted to push the pace on my running, I wanted to test myself and run on the edge. I felt like my recovery heart rate has been good enough to get relaxed by the time I would have to shoot a stage and I wanted to see just how much I could push myself.
SLOW down on my shooting stages
For the shooting, I wanted to force myself to slow down. I get amped up pretty quickly in these things and shoot fine as long as I shoot within my abilities but things can get unraveled quickly on the timer and I wanted to avoid that.
NO stage DNF’s (Did not finish)
Finally, I wanted to complete every shooting stage. I have been fortunate enough up until this point to have never failed a shooting stage in a Run and Gun competition and I wanted to keep that streak alive. That may seem like a small thing to those that shoot IDPA or USPSA or some other form of firearms competition, but keeping your brain, gear and shooting together over the course of 1-2 hours under exertion, dirt, mud, water, sweat and heat is much more difficult than you think.
I drove up the Friday before the event and stayed in a hotel with my buddy that was to be running the event as well. I tried to get a good nights sleep, but alas, that just doesn’t happen before these things. I woke up at 2:52 am the first time, 4:00 am the second time and finally at 5:00 am I threw in the towel and just decided to get up. I had a fairly early launch time at 8:24 am so I actually think the 5:00 am wake up time was about right. I immediately drank a Liquid IV, ate half a banana and then consumed a protein ball that my wife makes for me for these events consisting of Peanut Butter, Oats, Honey and Dark Chocolate. I had one more of those 1 hour from the event and made sure I stayed hydrated. I like to run a little hungry and I think it worked out perfect.
First a disclaimer, any event pictures are property of Jimmy Nutt. He took great photos of the event and while he didn’t get a single one of me (because I was running too fast!) he got some great shots of many of the participants. If you are a participant in any of these photos and you wish to have your photo removed, please contact me.
This event was a bit different from the other two I had run in that the stages were blind. You did not get a stage description beforehand to study and practice for. You had no idea what was going to be thrown at you. I did pay attention to a couple of the Instagram Live posts that Ellis the match director did and took some time to ask a few questions. The three things I got out of that question session was a.) there would be an active shooter scenario, b.) the 300 yard targets were “NOT fullsize” as he would say with a very devious expression on his face, and c.) that we need to make sure we could shoot with our weak hand and that it could be supported by the strong hand if you wish. Those last two little tidbits of information turned out to be info I wish I had never known.
At 8:24 am, I launched as the 5th runner of the day. There would 100 total participants launched at 6 minute intervals and I certainly did not want to have anyone pass me. I took off running up the hill toward Stage 1. Interestingly enough, my body felt good but my legs began to burn much sooner than I expected. I am not sure where that came from but I am going to attribute it to adrenaline dump. No matter how you try to pace yourself, when the actual event gets there, it becomes tough. I checked my watch to make sure I kept my HR from getting to high. I wanted to run between the 180-185 BPM zone, so I would adjust my pace to keep my HR in line. It seemed like mere minutes before the Stage 1 sign came into view:
Stage 1
Load your pistol. This is the active shooter stage, on the beep you will close the distance as much as is needed to make two consecutive hits on the active shooter target (no closer than the barrel). If the first or second shot misses the target, shooter will have to transition to the smaller target, and again close the distance as much as is needed to make two consecutive hits. If any shot misses, the shooter will transfer their pistol to their weak hand, move to the even smaller circular target and again close the distance and make two hits with their weak hand only to incapacitate the active shooter. 60 second time limit.
Total Round Count for Stage: 2 or more pistol
Targets: 12x20 IPSC, 10in Square, 8in Circle
On this stage you started maybe 50 yards from the first barrel. Once reaching the barrel the 20x12 IPSC target would be about 25 yards away or so. You must hit it twice consecutively without a miss. If you miss, you have to run more, and your next targets get smaller and so forth. I knew I wanted to fire two shots only on this one. On the buzzer, I sprinted toward the barrel, pulled up at 25 yards and made two very controlled trigger pulls. Boom, dink. Boom, dink. Done. My shooting rank for this stage turned out to be 28th place. I holstered my pistol and took off for the next stage.
In my mind I believe it was Stage 1 and stage 2 that were fairly close together. Crazy how foggy memories can be under stress. I heard someone talking after the event about how they need to be more in the moment instead of enjoying the scenery and such. I do not have that problem. This thing could have been run on a plantation or in the city, I wouldn’t have known the difference. Tunnel vision definitely sets in for me which is probably why I got lost in the last two events and completely missed the barbwire crawl on this one. Turns out, thankfully, enough people missed the crawl that they decided to not penalize on this one.
Participant going through the river crossing under the bridge.
At some point in time I had to go under a bridge and through a river about calf deep. I thought this might create issues in the run but it did not. My feet dried very quickly and 30 seconds after going through it, the water was forgotten. On to the next stage:
Stage 2
Load your rifle, on the beep, from left to right you will engage all three 100 yd targets with one hit each, you will then engage all three 200 yd targets with one hit each, and then all three 300yd targets with one hit each. 90 second time limit
Total Round Count for Stage: 9 rifle
Targets: 9x ISPC
The one thing I did in preparation for these 300 yard shots was to verify my 300 yard zero on actual steel the week before. Since I assumed the 300 yard targets would be small, I practiced on 50% IPSC targets. In that scenario with a 13” holdover at 300 yards, I was basically holding a full target high. Even after realizing these targets were much larger, that practice/confirmation session was burned into my mind.
50% Sized IPSC
Upon the buzzer I quickly dropped prone and dispatched of the 100 and 200 yard targets quickly. When I looked out to the 300 yard target, I placed my reticle exactly where it had been in practice and fired. No hit. I did it again. No hit. And again, and again and again. Finally I yelled out “Really!?!” and the RO said “Yup.” I just could not believe I was missing as these ranges are normally a chip shot for me. Finally it hit me that these targets were much larger than what I was practicing on so that meant holding double the height of the target had me shooting too high. On the next shot I placed the reticle on the head and got a hit. I quickly did the same for the other two targets and completed the stage. Once again, I ended up 28th on this stage. I certainly lost a fair amount of time sending lead at 300 yards with the wrong holdover but at least we got out alive. 60% of the entire field did NOT complete this stage.
Match Director Ellis sending it on the 300 yard stage with some heavy equipment.
The run from Stage 2 and Stage 3 was quite a long one including another river crossing, a u-turn or two and a little bit of red clay mud sprinkled in for good measure.
The second river crossing in the event.
Stage 3
Load your rifle, on the beep you will engage all three rifle targets with two hits each. Ground your rifle, load your pistol and move down the trail engaging and knocking down any target you see with one hit each. 90 second time limit. +5 burpees per pistol target left standing. Help the RO reset targets on your way back.
Total Round Count for Stage: 10 pistol, 6 rifle
Targets 3x 10in gong at approximately 55 yards, 5x 4in and 5x 5in knockdowns
Someone smarter than me using the surrounding cover for support instead of shooting free handed.
This stage was fairly straightforward. On the buzzer I engaged the rifle targets fairly quickly and then moved to my pistol. The falling steel targets were small, so I really concentrated on getting a good press on each one. I slowed down on this one, as I know misses with a small sight radius pistol on small targets can turn into mag dumps if you are not careful. I think I missed one rifle shot and one pistol shot on this one before completing the stage. My stage ranking was 20th.
A short distance from stage 3 was stage 4.
Stage 4
Shooter will load their rifle and will take 5 shots only on an unknown distance target to take a minute off their run time per hit. Only 5 shots will be made. No time limit.
Total Round Count for Stage: 5 rifle
Targets: 12in gong at approximately 155yds
Stage 4 was a bonus stage, with no time limit and no DNF possibility. It was shot from the top of a tower overlooking a target in some cutover on a downhill grade. You only got 5 shots and each hit gave you a run-time reduction of one minute.
My first encounter with a shoot stage that reduced run time was at the RBGC Run and Gun, and to be honest, I wasn’t a fan of mixing the two. My thoughts were that your running and shooting should be completely separate but then I realized there are definitely real-world scenarios where if you can make a longer or perhaps more difficult shot, it could save you time further down the road. It definitely has some value. With that being said, I wouldn’t mind seeing the reverse of this as well. Let’s have an obstacle that reduces shoot time such as climbing a rope that would allow you to engage targets from above that could only otherwise be engaged after a long trek. I think both scenarios make sense.
This one definitely faked me out. Looking down in the cutover from the top of the tower made me think the target was 250 yards away. I don’t believe we were given the target size and if we were, I didn’t pay attention. Not knowing that, and seeing the angle and all that cutover, it just looked further. I put my reticle at the very top of the target and missed my first two shots. Given that this target was actually only 155 yards away, I was probably shooting over the target by an inch or less. I held dead center on the next one and got the ring I was looking for. I fired my last two shots and made hits for a total of 3 out of 5. This gave me a 3 minute run-time reduction.
Participant on the unknown distance bonus stage. I think there may be room for a range finder in my pack next time.
At this stage in the game, I know there are only 2 stages left and I am feeling pretty good about my situation. I am running good, shooting my pistol really well, shooting just OK with my rifle but at least no DNFs. There was a quite a run from stage 4 to 5 and this where things get a bit interesting.
Stage 5
Load your pistol. Shooter will drag the skedco to the pick up zone marked by the orange panel (or 10 burpees). Upon reaching the PZ your time will start you will make two hits to the chest and one to the head with your pistol on the closest target, safely holster your pistol, then lock and load your rifle and engage the enemy with four hits on each target (2 cardboard targets, 2 steel target). 90 second time limit. Cardboard misses will be +5 burpees.
Total Round Count for Stage: 3 pistol, 16 rifle
Targets: 12in and 8in circles, 2x cardboard IPSC, 2x 12x20 IPSC Silhouette at approximately 60 and 100yds
I have racked my brain for 48 hours now trying to figure out what went wrong on this stage. All things started off good. I drug the skedco from point A to point B. I pulled out my pistol and Mozambiqued that dude in 3 shots. Then I go to my rifle and go to work on the close range paper targets with 4 hits each pretty quickly with my EOTech. Next I move out to the two standing steel targets and proceed to miss and miss and miss from a standing position. I have no idea. From the best I can surmise it was likely a combination of hard to find shot up steel targets, my less than perfect vision and the fact that I don’t think I ever flipped my 5x magnifier up for the shots. After wasting more ammo than Yosemite Sam going after Bugs Bunny, I finally completed that stage with about 8 seconds left to spare and a ranking of 83rd. Ouch.
Competitor dragging the skedco. I missed the floral shirt memo for the day, these were quite popular.
Somewhat panicked about my now dwindling rifle ammo situation I proceed to juggle around mags and move some from one mag to another while on my run over the final stage. It was here that Clinton House would also get its final laugh at me.
Stage 6
Load your pistol, on the beep, you will draw your pistol and shoot all 6 dueling tree plates, then switch hands with your pistol and shoot all 6 plates with the opposite hand. You will then safely holster your pistol, lock and load your rifle and engage the far rifle plate, twice. 90 second time limit. A plate does not have to rotate all the way around for it to count as a hit.
Total Round Count for Stage: 12 pistol, 2 rifle
Targets: Dueling tree, 12x20 IPSC at 115 yds
If you recall earlier, I said I wish I had never known about the weak hand stage. Well, when I heard Ellis say that we could shoot the weak hand stage with a support hand, I thought to myself, “Oh, well that will be easy then.” Even though I have NEVER shot weak handed any other way than one-handed and even though I shoot the dot-torture just fine weak and one-handed, I went out a couple days before this event to practice doing this with both hands. It was incredibly awkward, much more so than just putting the gun in my left hand and going to town one-handed. But still I proceeded to try to make it work. And once I had it working ONCE, I called it good. Not a smart move at all.
The dualing tree that gave my two-handed left-handed approach absolute fits.
On the buzzer, I engaged the dualing tree plates in standard right hand fashion and quickly dispatched of all of them on the right side. With the plates flipped to left, I put the pistol in my left hand and embarrassingly and awkwardly proceeded to engage the plates using my right hand as a support hand. I honestly think at first I forgot to even wrap my thumb around the grip. It was horrible, and no matter how slow and deliberate I pressed that trigger, I was missing shot after shot. I had to reload and go at it again. If someone has a video of this fiasco going down I would probably mortgage my house to make it disappear.
I finally ended up hitting all the plates with an “accuracy through volume” method, and being very concerned about my time I rushed over to the rifle target and engaged it standing at 115 yards. Luckily I had no problems putting that piece of steel down which leaves me all the more perplexed about what had gone oh-so-wrong on stage 5. I finished this stage in around 70 seconds after my left-hand-two-hand meltdown which landed me with another awful ranking of 68th place for the stage.
The Final Run
Knowing this was my last stage, I put my rifle on my back and proceeded to run as quickly as possible toward the finish line. I was the 5th guy to launch but the 3rd one back and I felt good about running well, good about not getting any DNF stages but horrible about how stage 5 and 6 turned out.
In the end, I ended up 5th in overall run time and 32nd in shooting for an overall placement of 14th. My very first Run and Gun a year ago I was in the top 20%, which was followed by a top 15% finish at Rockcastle. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for a top 10% finish here but it just wasn’t in the cards so I will have to just accept another top 15% finish on this one.
I was pleased with my running. At 42 years old and about 135 lbs soaking wet after being dunked in the river, running with what amounts to an extra 15% of my body weight can be tough at times but the training with the vest and running hilly terrain has certainly paid off.
I carried along 110 rounds of rifle and 87 rounds of pistol. I finished with 35 rounds left of rifle and 45 rounds left of pistol. I would say my rifle load-out was about right and I could have saved the weight of a couple pistol mags, but you never can be sure so its always best to have more and not need it than the other way around.
These things just continually teach you lessons. Lessons about your actual ability. Lessons about your gear. Lessons about pressure, mental acuity, and muscle memory. If you leave one of these events and don’t learn something, I would consider it a waste.
For me?
Lesson #1. Don’t try to practice and implement a new technique days before an event. Stick with what you know and what you do well. You can learn a new technique after the event is over when you have plenty of time to master it.
Lesson #2. If you miss twice, pause and think. For me, I know I am capable of making any of the shots. I know my trigger control is usually pretty good, so when I miss more than once, its more than likely a set up issue rather than a fundamental issue. Rather than continuing to throw bad lead after bad lead, I need to pause and assess, make the correction and then send it again.
Lesson #3. Use all of your surroundings. I shot pretty much every stage except the 300 yard stage standing and free-handed. Other more savvy participants used logs and trees or went prone for shots. I will definitely be implementing that into my game plan on the next competition.
The event itself was fantastic. Everything from the registration to the ease of the liability waiver to the location…all top notch. Ellis is a great match director and super nice guy. I liked that most of it was steel targets which saves time for the RO’s and prevents blockages at the shooting stages. Since I ran early, I never had to wait more than about 15 seconds before beginning a stage and that is what you want. The downside of that is you don’t get much rest, but I would much rather deal with that than standing around waiting on other shooters to complete a stage.
My rifle setup ran great. I really liked running the setup and definitely felt that on the few close range rifle targets we had it was an advantage over a LPVO set up. Anytime you get beyond 300 yards, the LPVO will begin to show its advantages but I didn’t feel handicapped in the least with the 5x magnifier. When I got my holds right, it got the job done and I had the added benefit of a quicker sighting system on the close range paper. Any event with similar max ranges I will now be running this setup. In thinking back, my EOTech Vudu 1-6x scope would have been an excellent choice for this course as well.
I do plan to change my belt setup a little bit as I had issues getting my water bottle in and out of the pouch at the small of my back while on the run. Also I will likely move to some fixed QD mounts on the sling to prevent some twisting I experienced with the loop attachment. Other than that, I feel like my kit is pretty dialed in for the way I like to run these things.
I didn’t get a top 10% finish, but I accomplished 3.5 out of 4 goals. I can’t say I fully accomplished slowing down on my shooting but I did through the first 4 stages and that was progress. I also got the satisfaction of my buddy doing very well in the event. He showed up basically like he rolled out of bed with some shorts on and a fishing belt along with some homemade looking holsters, walked some of the course and proceeded to shoot well enough to earn himself 9th place overall. He certainly doesn’t skimp on his weapon systems but it was an impressive finish that was confirmation that smooth is fast, accuracy is final and you can’t outrun a bullet. I think we finished with about the same pistol ammo but he shot about 30 rounds less than me on rifle to get the job done. Apparently it pays to spend more time shooting instead of just writing about shooting.
This gentlemen is 71 years old, so I don’t here want to hear your reasons for not joining us.
If you want to know more about this event and the R&G events Ellis puts on, be sure to check out this link:
https://thegunrun.us/
Additionally, if you want to read a blog and learn something about R&G’s from a guy pretty much destroys every one he enters and actually knows what he is talking about, check out Sean Murphy’s blog over at:
http://practicalsharpshooter.com/the-gun-run-2020-clinton-house-edition/
In the end, these things are just an absolute blast and I can’t see anyone doing just one and being done. I am currently signed up for two more this year, but another two may be in the cards as well depending on scheduling. I certainly hope to see some new faces at the next event. If you have any questions about getting started please feel free to reach out.
Just an awesome photo. No caption needed.
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