I took the plunge and signed up for the Third Coast Tactical, Run and Gun in Navasota TX (
https://www.thirdcoasttactical.com/events). This was their first run and gun, it was also appropriate that it was my first Run and Gun. By the time I signed up the first time slot to start was at 1100 which was warm but not terrible when we started.
First thing, I was concerned about having the right gear. I quickly learned that I overthought it but when it came to execution I went pretty simple. I could have and should have shaved more weight but with unknown distance and stage setup/design I went for the "better to have and not need then need and not have". As a result I packed more then I needed. I didn't need 2 quarts of water, a quart would have probably been enough with how much I drank (I carried two quarts and probably only drank half a quart in 90F heat while doing a jog/run). Carry more ammo at the ready is a lesson I learned on stage four, I had the rest of my mags in my backpack which took too much time when I tried to get one (you only get 199 seconds per stage which isn't a lot of time with the stage designs, it is a challenge). I went minimal on a stage and it bit me in the rear when the pistol shooting went a little farther and I was feeling a little bit smoked (I stopped sweating at stage 3 even though I was drinking water). The real saving grace for the heat in this match was the bottlenecks at the stages, this allowed you to sit down in the shade, drink some water for a couple of minutes, load mags and/or move mags from your camelback or backpack to your pistol belt. The breaks were really helpful. The stages were nice, challenging and forced you to push your speed and accuracy with their "flex targets". The flex targets allowed you to use either pistol or rifle and if you hit in the kill box on the first shot and first shot only you were credited a kill. If you did not hit the flex target in the kill box on the first shot you were required to put four rounds into the target, so it either helped you to make up time or if you missed it hurt you time wise. I enjoyed those targets and rifle was the best way to engage since they were usually put on there when you were already going to have your rifle in hand.
An LPVO was really nice in this match.
I ran the match with shorts and one of my UA running shirts. I messaged the match director and he said shorts should be fine (this is not the case for all of these).
At this match the RO's were supper helpful! The RO's explained the stages and they helped you out on the stage. The RO's really helped and made it a really nice match. For a first timer this made it that much better!!
As I said the stages were made to be challenging and required a combination of speed and accuracy. I saw one stage that seemed to have a lot of DNF's because of time. I also saw some guys get some incredible times on that same stage. I did DNF one stage because I only put so much ammo on my pistol belt and get frustrated and went into the downhill cycle of not hitting the steal before my time expired. My point here is that DNF for a stage is not uncommon and apparently happens more often then not.
If I had to do it again I would have ran a one quart canteen on my pistol belt with all my ammo in mags on it. A microfiber towel helped to dry my hands when getting ready to shoot to dry my face and hands.
The participants at the match were really cool. You see everything from super fit guys and gals to really big guys. There was a lot of encouragement and a lot of people that helped out and were really helpful. It was almost like a club with some of these guys traveling all over to do these matches.
Honestly the hardest part about doing this was taking the first step to sign up!!!
If you are thinking about it, just do it! You'll be happy you did, and even if you don't shoot well(I did ok but not great), you will have a lot of lessons learned and things to practice for the next one. We are always learning and getting better and this is just another fun (and it was fun) tool in the kitbag. Go enjoy the comradery, test yourself and just have a good time!! This was 100% worth the 4 hour drive, the money, the blood sweat.
I'll post up my kit later if anyone is interested.
