Proving Grounds Sept 9

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Bross4121990

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Anyone shooting the Proving Grounds at Sawmill September 9th? I'll be there and it would be cool to meet some folks since I'll be rolling solo.
Thanks,
Brian
 
Don't know about shooting, but we have some folks who RSO at Sawmill events

@Tim @dct
 
I haven’t done one and won’t be there. Have you done one before? Looks like maybe a version of tactics games with more reasonable (or more “run what you brung” at least) rules?
 
dct said:
I haven’t done one and won’t be there. Have you done one before? Looks like maybe a version of tactics games with more reasonable (or more “run what you brung” at least) rules?
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I have. I shot one before back in March. They are a blast. I enjoy the workout / shooting aspect. I learn a lot about my gear in these events as well about myself. If you're interested you should come. We could link up. It's always better with friends.
 
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Can you post an AAR with a description of the weights/movements? I keep thinking I need to do more lifting but also messed up my neck years ago and had to be careful about lifting overhead for a long time… so I’m interested sometime but also want to approach with caution!
 
I have worked as a RSO for an AK match at Sawmill - great facility. I won’t be at the proving grounds, but great place to shoot
 
There’s a DMR match there really soon, Aug 26th I think

I’m having another surgery on my wrist/arm the day before otherwise I’d shoot that one
 
dct said:
Can you post an AAR with a description of the weights/movements? I keep thinking I need to do more lifting but also messed up my neck years ago and had to be careful about lifting overhead for a long time… so I’m interested sometime but also want to approach with caution!
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For sure. So I did the men's intermediate. Which means the physical exertion was less than the mens advanced. In either division you have to wear a 15 lb weight vest as well as all your pistol, rifle, and ammo.

Basically the overall physical exertion was running while carrying heavy things. There was no real over head lifting. We had to climb a rope, climb over a wall, carry a weighted ammo can up 4 or 5 flights of steps, and drag a heavy dummy. I would say the most exhausting aspect of it was just the running.

You can scale it all down and do only what you feel comfortable doing. A good video of some of the efforts can be found here. This isn't me or the event I did, but its the same location as the event I did.

 
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Tim said:
I’m shooting that one along with @VOD Tactical
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Wish I could make it

I hope to shoot one match before the end of the year if I’m healed up again. I’d just gotten to where shooting a hundred or so pistol rounds from a full-size was doable (my G43 was still a little snappy and 3-5 mags was about my limit). I guess later in the year if my wrist isn’t better I can still RO just go get back in the swing of it
 
Bross4121990 said:
For sure. So I did the men's intermediate. Which means the physical exertion was less than the mens advanced. In either division you have to wear a 15 lb weight vest as well as all your pistol, rifle, and ammo.

Basically the overall physical exertion was running while carrying heavy things. There was no real over head lifting. We had to climb a rope, climb over a wall, carry a weighted ammo can up 4 or 5 flights of steps, and drag a heavy dummy. I would say the most exhausting aspect of it was just the running.

You can scale it all down and do only what you feel comfortable doing. A good video of some of the efforts can be found here. This isn't me or the event I did, but its the same location as the event I did.

Click to expand...

What is the match flow like? The Proving Grounds website says “Competitors will carry objects of varying sizes and weights, negotiate obstacles, and engage targets from 1 to 500 yards. This 4 stage, 70% shooting, 30% fitness competition allows competitors to test their marksmanship, fitness, and gear choices.”

That video seemed to show crazy long stages. I can’t imagine the RO’s brief for that “and then you jump up into the elevated pipe, drop down and crawl back through the second pipe over on the bottom, not the first, even though the pipes are indentical and you will be smoked just listen to our yelling because it really needs to be that second one…”

Is it 4 stages that might take 5 minutes or more? Is everything done on the clock / during one of those stages? What do you do between stages? Just sit around and wait your turn? Can you reload mags etc between stages so you start each stage with a full load out?

Does everyone who registered consistently get through all the stages? Basically, do they have the basic logistics dialed?
 
dct said:
What is the match flow like? The Proving Grounds website says “Competitors will carry objects of varying sizes and weights, negotiate obstacles, and engage targets from 1 to 500 yards. This 4 stage, 70% shooting, 30% fitness competition allows competitors to test their marksmanship, fitness, and gear choices.”

That video seemed to show crazy long stages. I can’t imagine the RO’s brief for that “and then you jump up into the elevated pipe, drop down and crawl back through the second pipe over on the bottom, not the first, even though the pipes are indentical and you will be smoked just listen to our yelling because it really needs to be that second one…”

Is it 4 stages that might take 5 minutes or more? Is everything done on the clock / during one of those stages? What do you do between stages? Just sit around and wait your turn? Can you reload mags etc between stages so you start each stage with a full load out?

Does everyone who registered consistently get through all the stages? Basically, do they have the basic logistics dialed?
Click to expand...
I don't 100% remember but I'm pretty sure all the stages timed out around the 4 min mark. Which was enough time to finish, but you had to hustle.

Before each stage there was a solid brief, often times with us walking the majority of the stage. There are also tons of ROs at the stage that will help you if you deviavte off course. On one of the more running focus stages, the RO ran with you the whole time. I never felt confused on what the objective was.

Between stages you just rest / hang out until it is your turn again. The flow could be improved, but there are a ton of shooters and the stages are long. Personally I enjoy the longer stages even if it means I have to wait longer. It ran from about 8am to 4pm. You can reload all mags before it is your turn. You can also make mag decision based on the course. I run a bipod the entire time, because whatever you start with you have to run the whole comp. But if I know there's going to be more prone shooting, I bring 20 round magazines instead of 30.

Everybody that registers gets to shoot all stages. The focus
dct said:
What is the match flow like? The Proving Grounds website says “Competitors will carry objects of varying sizes and weights, negotiate obstacles, and engage targets from 1 to 500 yards. This 4 stage, 70% shooting, 30% fitness competition allows competitors to test their marksmanship, fitness, and gear choices.”

That video seemed to show crazy long stages. I can’t imagine the RO’s brief for that “and then you jump up into the elevated pipe, drop down and crawl back through the second pipe over on the bottom, not the first, even though the pipes are indentical and you will be smoked just listen to our yelling because it really needs to be that second one…”

Is it 4 stages that might take 5 minutes or more? Is everything done on the clock / during one of those stages? What do you do between stages? Just sit around and wait your turn? Can you reload mags etc between stages so you start each stage with a full load out?

Does everyone who registered consistently get through all the stages? Basically, do they have the basic logistics dialed?
Click to expand...
The event that I did, there were a few ROs at every stage. I never felt confused on where I was going, and even in one of the more running focused one, the RO ran with you the whole time.

In between stages you just sit and rest. You can reload all your ammo and decide what magazines you want to bring in based off of the course of fire that you learn about beforehand. The rest can be long, so bring a chair, food, water ect. But the objective to gas yourself on the stages so the rest is helpful.

Everyone who signed up got to shoot all the stages. Like any other match, safety is top priority and it was a lot of fun
 
Thanks, I’ll keep them in mind and maybe try one out sometime. And @Bross4121990 I’d still like to hear a detailed AAR!
 
Bross4121990 said:
Lol what is AAR?
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After action report! Just want details on what all you did / how it went so I can live vicariously through you, learn from your mistakes, and have an idea of how to prep for a future event.
 
@Bross4121990 what is your plate/carrier set up like? What does it weigh? What plates are you using? I think the rules said no mags when they weigh them, what about pouches?
 
dct said:
@Bross4121990 what is your plate/carrier set up like? What does it weigh? What plates are you using? I think the rules said no mags when they weigh them, what about pouches?
Click to expand...
I run a ferro concept slickster with LA police gear level 4 plates. Swimmers cut. The AR mag carrier is spiritus systems, the pistol mag carrier is Haley strategic. To make weight, I bought two 1-lb freedive weights that go in the side pockets of the carrier. It weights right at 15 lbs with no mags.

PXL_20230818_211743916.jpg
 
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Bross4121990 said:
I don't 100% remember but I'm pretty sure all the stages timed out around the 4 min mark. Which was enough time to finish, but you had to hustle.

Before each stage there was a solid brief, often times with us walking the majority of the stage. There are also tons of ROs at the stage that will help you if you deviavte off course. On one of the more running focus stages, the RO ran with you the whole time. I never felt confused on what the objective was.

Between stages you just rest / hang out until it is your turn again. The flow could be improved, but there are a ton of shooters and the stages are long. Personally I enjoy the longer stages even if it means I have to wait longer. It ran from about 8am to 4pm. You can reload all mags before it is your turn. You can also make mag decision based on the course. I run a bipod the entire time, because whatever you start with you have to run the whole comp. But if I know there's going to be more prone shooting, I bring 20 round magazines instead of 30.

Everybody that registers gets to shoot all stages. The focus

The event that I did, there were a few ROs at every stage. I never felt confused on where I was going, and even in one of the more running focused one, the RO ran with you the whole time.

In between stages you just sit and rest. You can reload all your ammo and decide what magazines you want to bring in based off of the course of fire that you learn about beforehand. The rest can be long, so bring a chair, food, water ect. But the objective to gas yourself on the stages so the rest is helpful.

Everyone who signed up got to shoot all the stages. Like any other match, safety is top priority and it was a lot of fun
Click to expand...

Do they give target distances in the brief?
 
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