My Mammoth Sniper Challenge AAR. A long read, but might be worth it if you are considering joining in the fun one day. This is written from a non-sniper, recreational shooter's perspective. I signed up with less than two weeks notice and had no real time to train up. Please feel free to ask any questions, and I will answer as best as I can.
I participated in the Mammoth Sniper Challenge 12-14 January, 2018. I volunteered to be a partner for someone I had not met on the 4th of January. Zak was a great partner, and I am happy to have met him. I look forward to running into him in the future.
This is not an attempt to say “what ifs” or “I would have won” type of evaluation. Every single team that finished ahead by finishing, earned every spot they got.
Mammoth is known for tough movements, and this year seems like it was no different. The pace was changed from 19min/mile in KY down to 16 min/mile this year. The terrain was much more flat, and is a solid pace to hold with 55lbs. The rain on day 0 and day 1 ruined the roads, turning them into puddles and slick mud. This made holding the 16min pace much more difficult than a nicely maintained dirt road that would normally be present. My team failed to make time on the first ruck on the morning of Day 2. Two factors could help future teams. 1) Remember to start your watch! I thought I pressed the button hard enough, but with cold fingers I was wrong. This removed my ability to judge overall time and had to rely on my internal pace clock. I finished the ruck with under 30 seconds to spare, but my teammate was slightly behind me, and we didn’t know how close we were. We ended up missing time by under 20 seconds. My tendonitis in my knee however would have failed me later that day if I had to continue rucking, as it grew more and more painful through the rest of the weekend, even without the walking. The buildup of fatigue is very hard to estimate without experiencing it. My second suggestion is to have a GPS watch as many teams had. Displaying pace and distance would enable you to manage energy and not over exert yourself if you were not going to be the first team in from your squad. All said and done, I only completed 12 miles in 24 hours. The remaining teams would complete another 15 miles in another 30 hours, bringing their total to a bit over 27 miles. It is a marathon effort, with fatigue building each day, and camping in the low 20’s not helping recovery either. Once again, every team that finished earned it.
We utilized an ultralight BA UL3 tent for the first night. With the temps being in the mid 20’s on the first night, the tent helped keep us a bit warmer. I had chosen to go with my 30 degree bag, and wear more layers as appropriate to save weight. Other teams utilized individual bivies, and may have been a good option depending on your cold tolerance. On the morning of day 2 it was around 27 degrees, with 15mph winds causing it to feel much colder. Once again, having the interior of the tent to re-pack and get ready out of the wind was appreciated.
The shooting at Mammoth is very difficult, with mostly small targets in areas that will provide minimal to no feedback to adjust from a missed shot. As secondary shooter, we ranged targets from 200-600 yards, with most in the 300-500 range. Almost all targets must be ranged while on the clock. Understanding of how your rangefinder works is also essential. Targets will be placed behind IV lines, so when you attempt to range the target, you can get a 50+ yard difference from the dirt in front that you see, to the actual target location. You get to pick which targets to shoot at, and they have varying point values based on their size. We chased trying to put points on the board, and almost always went for the easier targets. I utilized a printout/dope card in a plastic sandwich bag for all my data. Range a target, and pick the nearest 25yd data and adjust accordingly. I should have just printed the 100-600 data, and made it even easier to use.
Due to the windy conditions, with many skinny targets, we shot a lot of secondary targets trying to get points on the board. I had brought 120 rounds with me in my pack, and ended up shooting 116 rounds. Primary had shot under 100 rounds for the weekend, mostly by how we decided to shoot the stages. I am still learning to read wind, and over compensated many times by my lack of knowledge/experience.
Many other teams ran 556 AR’s as secondary rifles, and it makes a lot of sense. Though their shooting may have been a bit harder, especially around 400+, the significant weight savings over my bolt gun can’t be overestimated.
I utilized an Osprey 70 liter pack, which was a bit on the big side for what I needed, but was comfortable with the weight. 1 Liter of water, all food, 120 rounds, full tent, and clothes was 35 lbs. My rifle (Accuracy International AT in 308, S&B PMII 5-25, and Silencerco Saker 762) came in at almost 19.5lbs.
Weight overall was felt every movement, and will be a focus if I compete in the match again. But, with both team members shooting suppressed, it made communication much easier, as well as easier to hear the "hit" (or lack of response) from the ROs.
Will I do it again? Hard to say currently. I get to be cold and walk a lot uncomfortably at work already. But, the people are amazing, with amazing stories. Nothing brings people together like joint suffering in crappy conditions. I was happy with my shooting performance after adjusting my expectations, and relative to my squad mates. I still have room to improve, but I am not as terrible as I felt after the first day of shooting.
Thanks to Joe and Marcus for building up this event, and creating such a challenge. It will be exciting to see where Grunt Style takes Mammoth in the next few years.
Moderators, please move this as you see fit, I didn't see a good category under the competition section.
I participated in the Mammoth Sniper Challenge 12-14 January, 2018. I volunteered to be a partner for someone I had not met on the 4th of January. Zak was a great partner, and I am happy to have met him. I look forward to running into him in the future.
This is not an attempt to say “what ifs” or “I would have won” type of evaluation. Every single team that finished ahead by finishing, earned every spot they got.
Mammoth is known for tough movements, and this year seems like it was no different. The pace was changed from 19min/mile in KY down to 16 min/mile this year. The terrain was much more flat, and is a solid pace to hold with 55lbs. The rain on day 0 and day 1 ruined the roads, turning them into puddles and slick mud. This made holding the 16min pace much more difficult than a nicely maintained dirt road that would normally be present. My team failed to make time on the first ruck on the morning of Day 2. Two factors could help future teams. 1) Remember to start your watch! I thought I pressed the button hard enough, but with cold fingers I was wrong. This removed my ability to judge overall time and had to rely on my internal pace clock. I finished the ruck with under 30 seconds to spare, but my teammate was slightly behind me, and we didn’t know how close we were. We ended up missing time by under 20 seconds. My tendonitis in my knee however would have failed me later that day if I had to continue rucking, as it grew more and more painful through the rest of the weekend, even without the walking. The buildup of fatigue is very hard to estimate without experiencing it. My second suggestion is to have a GPS watch as many teams had. Displaying pace and distance would enable you to manage energy and not over exert yourself if you were not going to be the first team in from your squad. All said and done, I only completed 12 miles in 24 hours. The remaining teams would complete another 15 miles in another 30 hours, bringing their total to a bit over 27 miles. It is a marathon effort, with fatigue building each day, and camping in the low 20’s not helping recovery either. Once again, every team that finished earned it.
We utilized an ultralight BA UL3 tent for the first night. With the temps being in the mid 20’s on the first night, the tent helped keep us a bit warmer. I had chosen to go with my 30 degree bag, and wear more layers as appropriate to save weight. Other teams utilized individual bivies, and may have been a good option depending on your cold tolerance. On the morning of day 2 it was around 27 degrees, with 15mph winds causing it to feel much colder. Once again, having the interior of the tent to re-pack and get ready out of the wind was appreciated.
The shooting at Mammoth is very difficult, with mostly small targets in areas that will provide minimal to no feedback to adjust from a missed shot. As secondary shooter, we ranged targets from 200-600 yards, with most in the 300-500 range. Almost all targets must be ranged while on the clock. Understanding of how your rangefinder works is also essential. Targets will be placed behind IV lines, so when you attempt to range the target, you can get a 50+ yard difference from the dirt in front that you see, to the actual target location. You get to pick which targets to shoot at, and they have varying point values based on their size. We chased trying to put points on the board, and almost always went for the easier targets. I utilized a printout/dope card in a plastic sandwich bag for all my data. Range a target, and pick the nearest 25yd data and adjust accordingly. I should have just printed the 100-600 data, and made it even easier to use.
Due to the windy conditions, with many skinny targets, we shot a lot of secondary targets trying to get points on the board. I had brought 120 rounds with me in my pack, and ended up shooting 116 rounds. Primary had shot under 100 rounds for the weekend, mostly by how we decided to shoot the stages. I am still learning to read wind, and over compensated many times by my lack of knowledge/experience.
Many other teams ran 556 AR’s as secondary rifles, and it makes a lot of sense. Though their shooting may have been a bit harder, especially around 400+, the significant weight savings over my bolt gun can’t be overestimated.
I utilized an Osprey 70 liter pack, which was a bit on the big side for what I needed, but was comfortable with the weight. 1 Liter of water, all food, 120 rounds, full tent, and clothes was 35 lbs. My rifle (Accuracy International AT in 308, S&B PMII 5-25, and Silencerco Saker 762) came in at almost 19.5lbs.
Weight overall was felt every movement, and will be a focus if I compete in the match again. But, with both team members shooting suppressed, it made communication much easier, as well as easier to hear the "hit" (or lack of response) from the ROs.
Will I do it again? Hard to say currently. I get to be cold and walk a lot uncomfortably at work already. But, the people are amazing, with amazing stories. Nothing brings people together like joint suffering in crappy conditions. I was happy with my shooting performance after adjusting my expectations, and relative to my squad mates. I still have room to improve, but I am not as terrible as I felt after the first day of shooting.
Thanks to Joe and Marcus for building up this event, and creating such a challenge. It will be exciting to see where Grunt Style takes Mammoth in the next few years.
Moderators, please move this as you see fit, I didn't see a good category under the competition section.
