Arizona ACTS 17 April 2010 - Blackhawk Down!

Training Competitive Shooting
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When: April 17th!
Time: 8:30am sign in - 9:00am match briefing
Where: Pima Pistol Club
[b]
Please note the new club rules:

When you enter the Pima Pistol Club, turn left and immediately go to the Range Master’s office. They will sign you in, take your match fees, and provide you a guest card. You’ll need to present that card to our match staff during squadding.[/b]

Please bring an extra $2 for this match as we will be supplying ammunition for a “special” gun for one stage. This is to reimburse the owner for their ammunition expenses.

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*** ATTENTION NEW SHOOTERS ***

We will be having a special 15 minute extra briefing and rules overview for all new shooters at this next match.

PLEASE BE AT THE RANGE NO LATER THAN 8:30 FOR SIGN-IN if you’re new to ACTS.

Inform Sarah (she’ll be taking your range card and signing you into the match after you visit the range office) that you’re new to ACTS and we’ll get you squadded into that squad and assigned to the bay with the special briefing.

This briefing will go over standard range rules/practical gun handling and delve into some of the ACTS specific rules as well. This will not only you make you a safer shooter at the match, but a better one, as well as ensure you have more fun without being DQed!

The NEW SHOOTER brief and rules overview will start at 8:45!

Thank you!

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5 Day bump!

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See you there

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Is there a link for a rundown of the match, suggested equipment and approximate roundcount?

Thanks.

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http://www.actshooters.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=21;t=000203

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Thanks! Sounds very interesting and fun. It is mix of paper and steel? With max. distances of 200yds?

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Yes, a mix of paper and steel out to 200 yards. We try to make all of our steel calibrated to minors too…

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Another one down for the record books. There were almost 40 shooters today, including a squad + size of “rookies.” The ACTS crew continues to amaze me with the level of creativity they muster for stages and match themes.

Match consisted of 5 stages

Stage 1
based on the Shugart & Gordon rescue of pilot Durant .
The shooter started with only 17 rds in the rifle and 8 total in the pistol.
Engage all paper with rifle until empty , drag the “dummy” (a weighted mortar case) to cover and return to shoot 7 poppers and don’t forget to re-engage the last paper or it will cost you +10 seconds - ask me how I know.

Stage 2
Recreated the position where forces were held up for the night.
According to history, Little Bird pilots couldn’t lay down fires until they were certain of friendly positions.
The shooters job was to enage targets then run the gauntlet of obstacles to mark a rooftop with an IR Strobe.
In this case, a golfball. If the 'strobe" made it over the berm , he returned over the same obstacles and reengaged targets once more.
If the strobe didn’t clear the berm, he had to shoot extra shots. Major fun and a cardio check.

Stage 3.
CPT Steele’s CCP.
The scenario was a position in the CCP and the targets were 10 clay pigeons suspended from a rope about 15 yds out.
As the shooter engages targets , the somalis keep throwing grenades (tennis balls)thru a port in the wall.
While shooting, a “frag” falls in - the shooter had to stop and throw the grenade outside before it killed him then continued shooting the hordes. Luckily the supply chain for somali ordnance limited them to 5 per man.
Some guys burned through a bunch of rounds before all targets were destroyed.

Stage 4
Mike Durant’s last stand.
After his rescuers were killed , Durant was left to fend for himself. Suffering serious injury, his movement was restricted.
The shooter had 20 seconds to knock down or hit as many of the steel plates as he could using a keltec 9mm carbine and his handgun.
BTW - keltecs need to be run wet -> ask me how I know…

Stage 5
The Mogadishu minute.
After Pakistani forces recovered the Americans, the convoy was short seats for everyone.
Those able made the dash out on foot to the UN assembly area, a soccer stadium, roughly 1 mile away.
The shooter started up range and had to cover ~100 yds before securing his rifle and moving to the next target array , another 50-75yds uprange .
He had to shoot a steel plate while moving for bonus points and then finally engage 4 paper targets.
A par time was set at 60 seconds - go over the allotted time and get penalized.
This was another one of those cardio checks…ask me how I know.

This was by far the best ACTS match I have attended , the balance between shooting and physical challenges was pefect in my opinion.

I hope that those that tried it out for the first time continue to participate and spread the word about what is happeneing at Pima Pistol on the 3d saturday of each month.

until that day
Mark

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ACTS Match - April 17th 2010

This month we tried to recreate the events of October 3rd and 4th, 1993, also called the Battle of Mogadishu, or Blackhawk Down. Each of the 5 stages focused on skills or scenarios found during that day.

Stage 1 - Congressional Medal of Honor

This stage attempted to recreate MSG Gary Gordon’s and SFC Randy Shughart’s attempt to secure the second crash site. The shooter began using his rifle to engage a series of paper targets. He then had to move a mortar can (symbolizing the wounded Michael Durant) weighing 75 pounds. When he returned, he had to continue to engage the steel targets with his pistol.

The shooter was limited to 17 rounds of rifle ammo for the 9 targets, and 8 rounds of pistol ammo for the 7 pieces of steel, exactly enough ammunition to neutralize the targets within the parameters of ACTS rules. Several shooters that I RO’d forgot to re-engage the paper target after moving the dummy.

A few videos and pictures (none of them are mine, nor are they me):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq75OU4roRY

http://www.youtube.com/user/kissholsters#p/u/3/lRhxtCuyX4s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ_8xfrYSvk

Stage 2 - Infrared Strobe

During the night of October 3rd, the Rangers securing the first crash site requested strafing runs by the Little Birds. The helicopters needed something to indicate where the bad guys were, and requested an Infrared Strobe be placed on the Somali strong point. This stage attempts to simulate this.

The shooter began shooting at 3 steel targets. After he had 3 hits on each target, he had to pickup a golf-ball, navigate a series of obstacles, and throw it. Then he had to return to his rifle, navigating all of the obstacles again. If the golf-ball did not make it over the berm, he had to engage all three targets three times each. If it didn’t, he only had to engage them with one hit each.

A few more videos and pics (the pictures are mine and me):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMzNIhKENpM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7VP5dVtTsU

http://www.youtube.com/user/kissholsters#p/u/1/z2G2HgxxiMo

And how not to throw the golf-ball: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7dDhaFtYyE

Stage 3 - Casualty Collection Point

CPT Steele made a Casualty Collection Point in order to consolidate a strong-point and provide a place for the medics to work.

In this stage, the shooter had to use his handgun to engage 10 clay pigeons on a string. To further complicate matters, about every 5 seconds, a grenade, simulated by a tennis ball, was tossed into the room where the shooter was engaging from. When the grenade was tossed into the room, the shooter had to safely ground his pistol, retrieve the grenade and throw it out of the structure before he could resume engaging the pigeons.

This was much more challenging than it seems, and most people seem to be too embarrassed to post any videos (myself included), but here’s one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GhUBqW6Cpw

Stage 4 - Durant’s Last Stand

CW3 Michael Durant was the pilot of Super Six Four, the second helicopter to crash. After MSG Gordon and SFC Shughart drug him to safety, he had to engage the attacking Somalis with his pistol caliber carbine and his pistol until his position was overrun, all with a broken back.

This stage had the shooter using a gun most hadn’t used before, with limited ammo, and only 20 seconds to finish the stage. Of 38 people who attended the match, only 3 people were able to engage all of the targets in the time-frame given.

A few videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xj8DRb6ays

http://www.youtube.com/user/kissholsters#p/u/0/B0haEwjz_ZI

Stage 5 - Mogadishu Minute

When the wounded were finally extracted, there were not enough places for the unwounded to sit. The Delta operators and Rangers had to run out of the area, approximately one mile, engaging targets the entire time.

On this stage, you started about 100 yards from your rifle. You had to run up, retrieve your rifle, and engage a steel plate with 5 shots at about 75 yards while moving. The shots on the steel didn’t count as misses, and gave the shooter a 1 second bonus if they hit it. When the shooter was able to see them, he had to engage a series of paper targets, simulating a technical.

A few videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d96YCg12dw

http://www.youtube.com/user/kissholsters#p/a/u/2/74_baUy3eak