We had the opportunity to compete in the 2025 Mammoth Sniper Challenge at Fort Chaffee. The match director Chris Andrews commented that this might have been the toughest Mammoth yet due to constant rain day 1, heat on days 2 & 3, and rain & thunderstorms the third morning. The dropout rate was close to 50%. In the end only 44 of 80 finished the event. We were lucky to edge out a top 20 finish at 19th place and finished Mammoth our first time competing. Over three days we had 6 rucks totaling 29.7 miles with a sub 16 min/mile pace carrying about 60lbs worth of gear.
Below is a list of the gear and food I packed. To the food list I added (2) oatmeals and (3) mini–Cliff Bars. Last minute adds to the gear list were a lingerie laundry bag, Vaseline, and poncho. A grand $4.59 from Walmart in total. My teammate carried 50 rounds of 6.5CM ammo for me. After the event on the drive back we summarized our findings and those can be found at the end of this write-up.
Weight
I took out the alternates; dry bag and cold weather gear. I stepped off with a total weight of roughly 64# with 56.5# in my ruck
Round Count
130 Pistol & 150 Rifle
Day 1 Morning Ruck
5.4 miles, 16 minutes / miles, 86min 24sec
Day 1 Stage 1 - Marathon House (5mins)
Primary Pistol: 8 / unlimited
Primary Rifle: 22 / unlimited
Secondary Pistol: 8 / unlimited
Secondary Rifle: 22 / unlimited
Pistol: 2 static torso targets must be engaged with 3 rounds hit or miss by each shooter. A marathon target will active and it must be neutralized with 2 hits from each shooter.
Rifle: Must setup over two red marks on the railing. Must find range and engage a 16” gong. 1st shooter 3 round hit or miss. 2nd short 3 rounds hit or miss. On the 6th round four Marathon targets will become active. Each Marathon target will require 2 hits to neutralize. The Marathon targets have red shirts.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from start line, up the stairs, to the second story by the dump buckets & red tape to engage pistol and rifle.
Day 1 Stage 2 – Simultaneous Fire (5 mins)
Primary Rifle: 12
Secondary Rifle: 12
Rifle: There are 4 pairs of identical targets that are side by side. Targets must be engaged by shooters side by side and simultaneously for impacts to count. The order the targets must be engaged is found on a placard around 100 yards. 3 rounds per shooter hit or miss.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move with all gear from start line into the back of the Humvee to engage rifle from any position between the two red lines.
Day 1 Stage 3 – Marathon Pit & Prone (5 mins)
Primary Rifle: 18 / unlimited
Secondary Rifle: 18 / unlimited
Rifle: Secondary engaged a 12” Diamond at 493 yards with 3 rounds hit or miss. Primary engaged a 16” Diamond at 875 yards with 3 rounds hit or miss. The White Diamonds are in lanes 3 & 4. On the 6th round 3 marathon robots will become active. Marathon targets require 2 hits to drop. The marathon targets have white shirts.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move with all gear from start line into shooting positions. Secondary is prone on the ground left of the pit. The primary is on the forward wall of the pit standing.
Day 1 Stage 4 - Game On (5mins)
Primary Pistol: 12 rounds
Secondary Pistol: 12 rounds
Max Team Rifle: 35 rounds
Pistol: 4 prairie dogs, left to right, 3 rounds hit or miss
Rifle: 2 Coyotes, 1 Duck, 4 Wild Boar, any order, 3 rounds hit or miss. Only engaged by 1 shooter.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from the start line to pistol dump buckets and engage pistol targets from the ground. Move into the UMTV with all gear to engage rifle targets from any position.
Day 1 Evening Ruck
5.4 miles, 16 minutes / miles, 86min 24sec
Day 2 Morning Ruck
5.33 miles, 18 minutes / miles, 95 minutes 56 sec
Day 2 Stage 5 – Auburn Road (5mins)
Primary Pistol: 9
Primary Rifle: 15 max
Secondary Pistol: 9
Secondary Rifle: 15 max
Pistol: First shooter engages 3 chest plate targets with 3 rounds hit or miss per target.Frist shooter move to the red post with dump bucket and abandons pistol. Second shooter repeats sequence.
Rifle: Secondary shooter is on the left and has four targets a clover, 3x15 rectange, square, and gong. Primary shooter is on the right and has four targets square, 3x15 rectangle, diamond, and oval. Both shooters engage a target with 3 rounds hit or miss. One shooter engages at a time. Once both shooters have engage each of their 4 targets, one shooter can engage a 18 x 28 rectangle at 758 yards with 3 rounds hit or miss.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from the start line to pistol dump buckets and engage pistol targets from the ground. Build a position in between the two red posts and engage rifle targets.
Day 2 Stage 6 – The Hill (5mins)
Primary Pistol: 6
Primary Rifle: 9
Secondary Pistol: 6
Secondary Rifle: 9
Pistol: First shooter engages 2 torso targets in any order with 3 rounds hit or miss per target. Second shooter repeats sequence.
Rifle: Secondary has three targets less than 500 yards. (1) Torso, (1) Gong, (1) Square. Primary has three targets greater than 500 yards. (1) Torso, (1) Diamond, (1) Rectangle. Primary and secondary must engage targets with 3 rounds hit or miss. Only one target can be engaged at a time.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from the start line to pistol dump buckets and engage pistol targets from the ground. Build a position in between the two red posts and engage rifle targets.
Day 2 Stage 7 – Tower (5mins)
Primary Pistol: 18
Primary Rifle: 9 / unlimited
Secondary Pistol: 18
Secondary Rifle: 9 / unlimited
Pistol: 6 Pistol IPSC targets must be engaged from left to right by the first shooter. There must be at least one mag change per shooter on pistol. 3 rounds hit or miss per target. Second shooter repeats sequence.
Rifle: P1, S1, P2, S2, P3, S3 Poppers. 3 impacts per popper to neutralize. Primary engages P1, P2, P3. Secondary engages S1, S2, S3. They must be engaged in sequence order.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from the start line to pistol dump buckets and engage pistol targets from the ground. Move the stairs with all gear into the tower and engage the rifle targets.
Day 2 Stage 8 – Shapes (5mins)
Primary Rifle: 18
Secondary Rifle: 18
Rifle: (1) 12” Diamond, (1) Large Oval, (1) Wild Board, (1) 10” Square, (1) 10” Gong, and (1) Rubber Duck. Per target 1st Shooter 3 rounds hit or miss then 2nd Shoorts 3 rounds hit or miss. Targets can be engaged in any order.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from the start line, through the woods to a vertical pallet anchored with 2 red posts. Shooting position is over the pallet between the two red posts.
Day 2 Evening Ruck
4.92 miles, 18 minutes / miles, 88 minutes 34 sec
Day 3 Morning Ruck
4.33 miles, 16 minutes / miles, 69 minutes 17 sec
Day 3 Stage 9 – Standing Offhand (3mins)
Primary Rifle: 10
Secondary Rifle: 10
Rifle: (1) 66% Torso. Left shooter engages the torso offhand with 5 rounds. Right shooter engages torso offhand with 5 rounds. Repeat for both shooters. Slings are allowed. All unneeded gear can remain in staging area. Bino harness can’t be used for support.
Gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from the start line, up the berm to the shooting position.
Day 3 Stage 10 – Pistols (3mins)
Primary Pistol: 10
Secondary Pistol: 10
Pistol: Left shooter engages torso target with 5 rounds standing with any gear used for support. Left shooter engages torso target with 5 rounds standing with no gear used for support. Right shooter repeats sequence.
Day 3 Stage 11 – Cant’ed (3mins)
Primary Rifle: 5
Secondary Rifle: 5
Rifle: Red 12” gong at 455 yards. Rifle must be cant’ed 90 degreed to engage.
Day 3 Evening Ruck (Final Ruck)
4.33 miles, 16 minutes / miles, 69 minutes 17 sec
Actual Round Count
Pistol 76 & Rifle 97
Failures
My Kuiu Pro 3600 had a tear in the side at the seam and the load straps were frayed, pretty significantly, from rubbing on the frame. The load strap damage is from improper use feeding them through the frame. Kuiu was gracious enough to get in the mail a new harness and a store credit for my bag with a tear. My headlight, Black Diamond Cosmo 350, died Friday night and REI replaced it without a receipt. My Patagonia rain jacket had a failed zipper and it is enroute to Patagonia for repairs.
Not Recommended
I wore the GoRuck Mackalls and would not recommend them for 3 days and 30 miles. I would go with a mid-boot. I had 3 blisters and 2 hot spots. Taping my feet made one of the blisters worse. I read “Fixing your Feet” prior to the event but had little to no experience with hot spots and blisters during training.
Changes in Kit by Discovery Day
Day 1
I rucked twice a week, probably 3-4 miles average per ruck with final pack weight, and never rucked further than 6.5 miles. I did this for about 4 months leading up to the event. I ran and did bootcamps other days of the week. I felt confident going into the event. In hindsight, I wish I had rucked twice a day for 3-4 miles each ruck a couple weeks or month leaidng up to the event to get my feet and body conditioned to that level of load and demand. I also wish I had done more running interval training with pack weight. My teammate did this and fared better than me on the final ruck.
I severely underestimate calorie consumption and wish I had packed more food. It’s hard to explain, but you are constantly moving. Either rucking, packing, unpacking, shooting, setting up camp, packing up camp, cooking, etc. It’s a gear management marathon. You are just constantly moving. There were a few times a day I could lay down in the shade, hopefully under a tree, but those were in the minority by far. Any time you can get off your feet either on a mat, chair, or shooting bag it needs to be done.
There is something about being out in the elements for three full days that just zaps you mentally and physically. We had about six hours of rain on Friday and everything got soaked. It wasn’t particularly cold, 60degF – ish, but people were shaking they were so cold. I made the mistake of changing my socks immediately after the first ruck and the new pair got soaked with the rain. I was already down 2 pairs of socks, and it wasn’t even 9am the first day of the event. We spent the majority of the first day in the rain. It didn’t really stop until early afternoon, allowing us to dry up before the final ruck. I don’t think I was dry until like 3-4pm. The heat on days 2 and 3 just drained me. I did well with a hat, long sleeves, and long pants, but still it’ll just zap you and I am from the Southeast and accustomed to the heat. It wasn’t particularly hot either, in the mid 80’s.
Another thing I didn’t expect was sleep deprivation. We didn’t get back to camp on the first day until like 6:30. Setting up camp, cooking, drying clothes out, setting out clothes for the following day, inventorying, etc. it was close to 9 before we got in bed. With an early rise all morning of 4am-4:30am
Below is a list of the gear and food I packed. To the food list I added (2) oatmeals and (3) mini–Cliff Bars. Last minute adds to the gear list were a lingerie laundry bag, Vaseline, and poncho. A grand $4.59 from Walmart in total. My teammate carried 50 rounds of 6.5CM ammo for me. After the event on the drive back we summarized our findings and those can be found at the end of this write-up.
| Day 1 | |||
| Description | Weight | Cost | Calories |
| Breakfast & Coffee at Hotel | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Honey Stinger Waffles | 0.07 | 150 | |
| GU Energy Gel | 0.07 | 100 | |
| Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier | 0.04 | 50 | |
| One Maple Glazed Doughnut | 0.13 | 220 | |
| Mountain House Granola with Milk & Blueberries - 2 Servings | 0.25 | 500 | |
| Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier | 0.04 | 50 | |
| Country Archer Grass-Fed Beef Jerky 2.5oz | 0.17 | 175 | |
| Honey Stinger Waffles | 0.07 | 150 | |
| GU Energy Gel | 0.07 | 100 | |
| Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier | 0.04 | 50 | |
| Mountain House Beef Stroganoff - 2 Servings | 0.27 | 560 | |
| Day 2 | |||
| Description | Weight | Cost | Calories |
| Mountain House Breakfast Skillet - 2 Servings | 0.23 | 520 | |
| Kuju Coffee Basecamp Blend (x2) | 0.38 | 0 | |
| Honey Stinger Waffles | 0.07 | 150 | |
| GU Energy Gel | 0.07 | 100 | |
| Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier | 0.04 | 50 | |
| One Maple Glazed Doughnut | 0.13 | 220 | |
| PEAK REFUEL Strawberry Granola | 0.29 | 530 | |
| Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier | 0.04 | 50 | |
| Country Archer Grass-Fed Beef Jerky 2.5oz | 0.17 | 175 | |
| Honey Stinger Waffles | 0.07 | 150 | |
| GU Energy Gel | 0.07 | 100 | |
| Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier | 0.04 | 50 | |
| Mountain House Chicken and Dumplings - 2 Servings | 0.28 | 600 | |
| Day 3 | |||
| Description | Weight | Cost | Calories |
| Mountain House Biscuits & Gravy - 2 Servings | 0.28 | 560 | |
| Kuju Coffee Basecamp Blend (x2) | 0.38 | 0 | |
| Honey Stinger Waffles | 0.07 | 150 | |
| GU Energy Gel | 0.07 | 100 | |
| Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier | 0.04 | 50 | |
| One Maple Glazed Doughnut | 0.13 | 220 | |
| Backpackers Pantry Granola with Milk and Organic Blueberries | 0.29 | 620 | |
| Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier | 0.04 | 50 | |
| Country Archer Grass-Fed Beef Jerky 2.5oz | 0.17 | 175 | |
| Honey Stinger Waffles | 0.07 | 150 | |
| GU Energy Gel | 0.07 | 100 | |
| Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier | 0.04 | 50 |
| Individual Gear | ||||
| Description | Weight | Weight ∆ | Notes | |
| Kuiu Pro 3600 Pack | 4.74 | Removed Manual / Pad. Straps -0.27# | ||
| Eberlestock Bolt Action Scabbard | 1.06 | Remove Scabbard -1.06 | ||
| Kuiu Mountain Star 2 Person Tent Set w/o bag | 3.34 | Alternate remove inner shell 0.88#. Footprint 0.295# | ||
| Kuiu Super Down Sleeping Bag 30deg | 1.64 | |||
| Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Pillow | 0.17 | |||
| Big Agnes Raptide SL Insulated Sleeping Pad (Long) | 1.36 | Alternate Nemo Switchback Sleeping Pad 14.5oz | ||
| Dry Bag | 0.65 | -0.65 | Not needed if dry | |
| Black Diamond Cosmo 350 | 0.18 | |||
| Spexlite Shmedium Gamechanger w/ Clip | 0.79 | |||
| Kestrel | 0.29 | |||
| FHF Gear Bino Harness Pro-M & Armageddon Gear Mag Holder | 0.84 | |||
| Sig Kilo 3000's | 2.14 | |||
| UnderArmor dope card wristband | 0.10 | 0.285# Sunrise Tactical | ||
| Rite in rain pad | 0.21 | |||
| Pen | 0.03 | |||
| GCode Inner Belt | 0.30 | |||
| GCode Paddle & OSH | 0.29 | |||
| Glock G19 w/ RMR | 1.34 | Remove Flashlight (0.265#) | ||
| (x2) Magpul Glock G19 Mags | 0.21 | |||
| AI ATX w/ 24" Proof CF Barrel + Dominus + Atlas Cal + Badger Ordnance 306-54 + TT525P | 16.00 | Ckyepod (+0.755#) | ||
| Sling + Adapter | 0.40 | 0.485# Larue | ||
| RRS TFCT-24L Mk2 SOAR® Series 2 Tripod | 4.66 | |||
| SunShadow LLC Tac Table | 0.32 | |||
| (x2) AX Mags | 0.68 | |||
| 100rds rifle | 5.10 | Steve carry 50rds for me | ||
| 125rds Blazer Aluminum Case Pistol Ammo | 2.60 | Alternate 150 rounds 3.105# | ||
| Ear pro (x6 foam inserts) | 0.00 | HW Impact Sport (+0.79#) | ||
| Garmin Fenix 6 | 0.19 | |||
| Fleece Beanie | 0.09 | -0.09 | Not needed if warm | |
| Lightweight Beanie | 0.05 | -0.05 | ||
| Hat | 0.14 | |||
| GoRuck Mackall | 1.86 | |||
| GoRuck Merino Challenge Socks - Crew (x2) | 0.35 | |||
| Darn Tough Hiker Micro Crew Cushion Socks (x2) | 0.34 | |||
| (x2) Champion Boxer Brief | 0.34 | |||
| Kuiu Ultra Merino 120 LT Zip-Off | 0.35 | -0.35 | Bottom Base | |
| (x2) Kuiu Peloton 118 LS Crew-T | 0.72 | Top Base | ||
| Kuiu Peloton 97 Fleece Zip-T | 0.31 | Midlayer | ||
| Patagonia Rain Jacket | 0.97 | Not needed if dry | ||
| KUIU Kutana Stretch Woven Pant | 0.85 | Outer | ||
| REI Co-Op Sahara Convertible Pants | 0.86 | Kuhl Radikl's 15.9oz | ||
| Eddie Bauer MR Jacket Cirrus Lite Down | 0.64 | -0.64 | ||
| MSR Pocket Rocket 2 Stove w/o Carry Case | 0.16 | |||
| Stove 4oz fuel Canister | 0.47 | |||
| Toaks Titanium 750ml ml Pot | 0.28 | |||
| Toaks Titanium Spork | 0.04 | |||
| Halulite Aluminum Cup - 14 fl. oz | 0.16 | |||
| Day 1 Food | 1.38 | 2105 | Calories | |
| Day 2 Food | 1.85 | 2695 | Calories | |
| Day 3 Food | 1.50 | 2225 | Calories | |
| Degree Advanced Travel deodorant | 0.06 | |||
| Travel toothbrush and toothpaste | 0.10 | |||
| Dude Wipes 18 cnt | 0.33 | |||
| Iphone | 0.48 | |||
| Benchmade 535 Bugout | 0.12 | |||
| Bodyglide | 0.09 | |||
| Reflective Belt | 0.13 | |||
| Lighter | 0.07 | |||
| Extra Batteries (x3 AAA, AA, CR2, CR2032), Allen Keys (4mm, T15), & Lense Cloth | 0.14 | |||
| BioLite Charge 40 PD Power Bank + Phone | 0.68 | |||
| KT Tape Pro | 0.20 | |||
| (x2) Contacts, Ibuprofen, Immodium, Pepto, Unisom, Olly Sleep | 0.16 | |||
| Total Weight | 65.82 | 64.04 | Alternate Total Weight | |
| Total Ruck | 58.24 | 56.46 | Alternate Total Ruck |
Weight
I took out the alternates; dry bag and cold weather gear. I stepped off with a total weight of roughly 64# with 56.5# in my ruck
Round Count
130 Pistol & 150 Rifle
Day 1 Morning Ruck
5.4 miles, 16 minutes / miles, 86min 24sec
Day 1 Stage 1 - Marathon House (5mins)
Primary Pistol: 8 / unlimited
Primary Rifle: 22 / unlimited
Secondary Pistol: 8 / unlimited
Secondary Rifle: 22 / unlimited
Pistol: 2 static torso targets must be engaged with 3 rounds hit or miss by each shooter. A marathon target will active and it must be neutralized with 2 hits from each shooter.
Rifle: Must setup over two red marks on the railing. Must find range and engage a 16” gong. 1st shooter 3 round hit or miss. 2nd short 3 rounds hit or miss. On the 6th round four Marathon targets will become active. Each Marathon target will require 2 hits to neutralize. The Marathon targets have red shirts.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from start line, up the stairs, to the second story by the dump buckets & red tape to engage pistol and rifle.
Day 1 Stage 2 – Simultaneous Fire (5 mins)
Primary Rifle: 12
Secondary Rifle: 12
Rifle: There are 4 pairs of identical targets that are side by side. Targets must be engaged by shooters side by side and simultaneously for impacts to count. The order the targets must be engaged is found on a placard around 100 yards. 3 rounds per shooter hit or miss.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move with all gear from start line into the back of the Humvee to engage rifle from any position between the two red lines.
Day 1 Stage 3 – Marathon Pit & Prone (5 mins)
Primary Rifle: 18 / unlimited
Secondary Rifle: 18 / unlimited
Rifle: Secondary engaged a 12” Diamond at 493 yards with 3 rounds hit or miss. Primary engaged a 16” Diamond at 875 yards with 3 rounds hit or miss. The White Diamonds are in lanes 3 & 4. On the 6th round 3 marathon robots will become active. Marathon targets require 2 hits to drop. The marathon targets have white shirts.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move with all gear from start line into shooting positions. Secondary is prone on the ground left of the pit. The primary is on the forward wall of the pit standing.
Day 1 Stage 4 - Game On (5mins)
Primary Pistol: 12 rounds
Secondary Pistol: 12 rounds
Max Team Rifle: 35 rounds
Pistol: 4 prairie dogs, left to right, 3 rounds hit or miss
Rifle: 2 Coyotes, 1 Duck, 4 Wild Boar, any order, 3 rounds hit or miss. Only engaged by 1 shooter.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from the start line to pistol dump buckets and engage pistol targets from the ground. Move into the UMTV with all gear to engage rifle targets from any position.
Day 1 Evening Ruck
5.4 miles, 16 minutes / miles, 86min 24sec
Day 2 Morning Ruck
5.33 miles, 18 minutes / miles, 95 minutes 56 sec
Day 2 Stage 5 – Auburn Road (5mins)
Primary Pistol: 9
Primary Rifle: 15 max
Secondary Pistol: 9
Secondary Rifle: 15 max
Pistol: First shooter engages 3 chest plate targets with 3 rounds hit or miss per target.Frist shooter move to the red post with dump bucket and abandons pistol. Second shooter repeats sequence.
Rifle: Secondary shooter is on the left and has four targets a clover, 3x15 rectange, square, and gong. Primary shooter is on the right and has four targets square, 3x15 rectangle, diamond, and oval. Both shooters engage a target with 3 rounds hit or miss. One shooter engages at a time. Once both shooters have engage each of their 4 targets, one shooter can engage a 18 x 28 rectangle at 758 yards with 3 rounds hit or miss.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from the start line to pistol dump buckets and engage pistol targets from the ground. Build a position in between the two red posts and engage rifle targets.
Day 2 Stage 6 – The Hill (5mins)
Primary Pistol: 6
Primary Rifle: 9
Secondary Pistol: 6
Secondary Rifle: 9
Pistol: First shooter engages 2 torso targets in any order with 3 rounds hit or miss per target. Second shooter repeats sequence.
Rifle: Secondary has three targets less than 500 yards. (1) Torso, (1) Gong, (1) Square. Primary has three targets greater than 500 yards. (1) Torso, (1) Diamond, (1) Rectangle. Primary and secondary must engage targets with 3 rounds hit or miss. Only one target can be engaged at a time.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from the start line to pistol dump buckets and engage pistol targets from the ground. Build a position in between the two red posts and engage rifle targets.
Day 2 Stage 7 – Tower (5mins)
Primary Pistol: 18
Primary Rifle: 9 / unlimited
Secondary Pistol: 18
Secondary Rifle: 9 / unlimited
Pistol: 6 Pistol IPSC targets must be engaged from left to right by the first shooter. There must be at least one mag change per shooter on pistol. 3 rounds hit or miss per target. Second shooter repeats sequence.
Rifle: P1, S1, P2, S2, P3, S3 Poppers. 3 impacts per popper to neutralize. Primary engages P1, P2, P3. Secondary engages S1, S2, S3. They must be engaged in sequence order.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from the start line to pistol dump buckets and engage pistol targets from the ground. Move the stairs with all gear into the tower and engage the rifle targets.
Day 2 Stage 8 – Shapes (5mins)
Primary Rifle: 18
Secondary Rifle: 18
Rifle: (1) 12” Diamond, (1) Large Oval, (1) Wild Board, (1) 10” Square, (1) 10” Gong, and (1) Rubber Duck. Per target 1st Shooter 3 rounds hit or miss then 2nd Shoorts 3 rounds hit or miss. Targets can be engaged in any order.
All gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from the start line, through the woods to a vertical pallet anchored with 2 red posts. Shooting position is over the pallet between the two red posts.
Day 2 Evening Ruck
4.92 miles, 18 minutes / miles, 88 minutes 34 sec
Day 3 Morning Ruck
4.33 miles, 16 minutes / miles, 69 minutes 17 sec
Day 3 Stage 9 – Standing Offhand (3mins)
Primary Rifle: 10
Secondary Rifle: 10
Rifle: (1) 66% Torso. Left shooter engages the torso offhand with 5 rounds. Right shooter engages torso offhand with 5 rounds. Repeat for both shooters. Slings are allowed. All unneeded gear can remain in staging area. Bino harness can’t be used for support.
Gear must be off the ground at the start. Move from the start line, up the berm to the shooting position.
Day 3 Stage 10 – Pistols (3mins)
Primary Pistol: 10
Secondary Pistol: 10
Pistol: Left shooter engages torso target with 5 rounds standing with any gear used for support. Left shooter engages torso target with 5 rounds standing with no gear used for support. Right shooter repeats sequence.
Day 3 Stage 11 – Cant’ed (3mins)
Primary Rifle: 5
Secondary Rifle: 5
Rifle: Red 12” gong at 455 yards. Rifle must be cant’ed 90 degreed to engage.
Day 3 Evening Ruck (Final Ruck)
4.33 miles, 16 minutes / miles, 69 minutes 17 sec
Actual Round Count
Pistol 76 & Rifle 97
Failures
My Kuiu Pro 3600 had a tear in the side at the seam and the load straps were frayed, pretty significantly, from rubbing on the frame. The load strap damage is from improper use feeding them through the frame. Kuiu was gracious enough to get in the mail a new harness and a store credit for my bag with a tear. My headlight, Black Diamond Cosmo 350, died Friday night and REI replaced it without a receipt. My Patagonia rain jacket had a failed zipper and it is enroute to Patagonia for repairs.
Not Recommended
I wore the GoRuck Mackalls and would not recommend them for 3 days and 30 miles. I would go with a mid-boot. I had 3 blisters and 2 hot spots. Taping my feet made one of the blisters worse. I read “Fixing your Feet” prior to the event but had little to no experience with hot spots and blisters during training.
Changes in Kit by Discovery Day
Day 1
- With my headlamp failing I wish I had packed a backup headlamp. Having to use your phone for everything sucks.
- I would add medium weight poncho for if your rain jacket jacket fails, to cover both shooters, or to cover your bag
- My sharpie and ball point pen did not do well in the rain. I would add a Rite in Rain Pen
- I would add a rifle rain cover to protect my rifle & optic from the elements.
- Add Small mat to sit / kneel on to save your legs, knees, and feet.
- Add Small lightweight chair to save your legs, knees, and feet.
- Add Lightweight Sandals to let your feet air out
- Add Ranger Shorts to ruck in or sit around camp in
- I would take more food. Probably an additional meal per day. Between active and resting calories we burned approximately 4200, 4000, and 3400 respectively per day. I only packed on average 2350 calories per day
- A medium weight tarp to wrap all your gear in when it’s raining
- Change to a tent that has more height and is easier to setup. Right now I have 8 stakes and 3 poles. Some of the lightweight hunting tents I am looking at have 4 stakes and a single pole. Our tent did very well keeping us dry. The tent never lost a stake or came off the ground with the storms. I would recommend an insert (bottom or tub) with the tent to keep water out
- I packed 4 pairs of socks and 2 pairs of underwear. I would pack 6 pairs of socks and 3 underwear.
- I packed 3 shirts and 2 pants. I would pack 2 shirts and one pair of pants.
- Multiple sleep aids did not work as well; Olly Gummies, Unisome, Advil PM, and Ashwaganda. The only thing that worked was NyQuil.
- More Ibuprofen / Advil. We didn’t have enough. I think I had 8 per day.
- Instead of foam inserts for ear pro pack something like Surefire Sonic Defenders.
- Nalgene for carrying premade coffee, oatmeal, or ramen. We had to use the provided plastic water bottles.
- Paracord for a clothes line to dry out clothes or fix failed backpacks.
- Add Ramen noodles & oatmeal to the food list.
- Lightweight dry bags to stuff items like a sleeping bag, pillow, clothes, ammo, etc.
- Another option instead of tarp, gun condom, etc. would be a pack cover
- A lot of guys were taking Pre workout before the rucks and it seemed to work out well
I rucked twice a week, probably 3-4 miles average per ruck with final pack weight, and never rucked further than 6.5 miles. I did this for about 4 months leading up to the event. I ran and did bootcamps other days of the week. I felt confident going into the event. In hindsight, I wish I had rucked twice a day for 3-4 miles each ruck a couple weeks or month leaidng up to the event to get my feet and body conditioned to that level of load and demand. I also wish I had done more running interval training with pack weight. My teammate did this and fared better than me on the final ruck.
I severely underestimate calorie consumption and wish I had packed more food. It’s hard to explain, but you are constantly moving. Either rucking, packing, unpacking, shooting, setting up camp, packing up camp, cooking, etc. It’s a gear management marathon. You are just constantly moving. There were a few times a day I could lay down in the shade, hopefully under a tree, but those were in the minority by far. Any time you can get off your feet either on a mat, chair, or shooting bag it needs to be done.
There is something about being out in the elements for three full days that just zaps you mentally and physically. We had about six hours of rain on Friday and everything got soaked. It wasn’t particularly cold, 60degF – ish, but people were shaking they were so cold. I made the mistake of changing my socks immediately after the first ruck and the new pair got soaked with the rain. I was already down 2 pairs of socks, and it wasn’t even 9am the first day of the event. We spent the majority of the first day in the rain. It didn’t really stop until early afternoon, allowing us to dry up before the final ruck. I don’t think I was dry until like 3-4pm. The heat on days 2 and 3 just drained me. I did well with a hat, long sleeves, and long pants, but still it’ll just zap you and I am from the Southeast and accustomed to the heat. It wasn’t particularly hot either, in the mid 80’s.
Another thing I didn’t expect was sleep deprivation. We didn’t get back to camp on the first day until like 6:30. Setting up camp, cooking, drying clothes out, setting out clothes for the following day, inventorying, etc. it was close to 9 before we got in bed. With an early rise all morning of 4am-4:30am
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