ACTS 5-19-2012

Posted on May 21, 2012 by

2nd/51 Overall, 2/16 Open

This was a pretty big turn out for a local match in the summer heat.  The demand for rifle/pistol matches is strong.  If a similar match was held in Phoenix I think it would have 60-80 shooters easily.

I used the Leupold HAMR/Aimpoint Micro with Hahn Precision Mount on my rifle.  I like this setup, and will like it even better when switching between optics becomes second nature for me.

I also used my OST-TSD Red Dot Glock as well for the first time in almost a year.
I’ll be using both guns at the Ironman 3 Gun Match in a couple weeks.

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Rio Salado Multigun 5-12-2012

Posted on May 16, 2012 by

This was my first match using my rifle with the Leupold HAMR and Aimpoint Micro attached to it with the Hahn Precision mount.  As you can see in the video above it worked well on the close range and long range stages.

Saiga-12 with 20 round drum and Aimpoint M2 in RS Regulate mount made the shotgun stages simple.

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Tiger Valley Team Match 2012

Posted on May 3, 2012 by

TIGER Valley hosted its 4th annual 4 man Tactical Team Match April 28th-29th 2012

Nine teams competed, including two from Arizona.

Image

Front Row Team Arizona Action Shooters (left to right): Don, Mark, Karl, Russell (author)
Back Row Arizona B-Team (left to right): Paul, Brad, Jake, Reid

The match featured 8 stages that tested team work, physical fitness, and marksmanship.  Over all score was  based on match points.  The fastest time or most targets hit on each stage got a team 100 points; everyone else’s score was calculated as a percentage of the best score per stage.

Dallas SWAT dominated the match winning by 95 match points.
Arizona Action Shooters was 3rd place, and Arizona B-Team was 4th place.

Scores:

(If anyone that participated wants me to include their team name, send me an e-mail).

Teams were able to pick to a great degree which team members complete which tasks on the stages.  This allowed us to play to our strengths.  We generally had two guys with long guns (rifle or shotgun) and two guys with pistols on most of the stages.  Shotgun was also much more prominently used at the 2012 match compared to previous years.  Having two team members with Saiga-12s was of particular advantage because guns had to be completely unloaded until in the shooting area, then cleared again rapidly.

We were able to run 2 POV cameras on team Arizona Action Shooters to get a more complete view of all the stages.  I used a ContourHD, and Don used a Vio POV 1 (non-HD).  I edited the view back and forth to show what was going on at the same relative time.

Here are all the videos of team Arizona Action Shooters:

Stage 1: 100 Match Points

Stage 2: 100 Match Points

Stage 3: 58.6 Match Points

Stage 4: 68.1 Match Points

Stage 5: 81.4 Match Points

Stage 6: 67.6 Match Points

Stage 7: 97.2 Match Points

Stage 8: 92 Match Points

TIGER Valley’s 4 man tactical team match is a one of a kind event open to the public.  There simply is not another venue for this type of competition.  Action shooting competitors wanting to take it to the next level, or students of tactical schools wanting a solid annual test should attend this match and compare themselves to the professional teams that show up.

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Hahn Precision Aimpoint Micro Mount for HAMR

Posted on April 24, 2012 by

Leupold’s HAMR scope is a relatively new entry into the market for low-fixed power optics, competing most directly with the Trijicon ACOG.  You can read all about it here on The Firearm Blog.  I have had a HAMR for a few months now and the things I like about it most are the long eye relief and adjustable brightness reticle. Another noteworthy feature is the mount has different screw holes that allow the user to adjust how far forward or back the scope sits in relation to the shooter’s eye while remaining in the same rail slots.

The HAMR I purchased came with the Leupold Delta Point reflex sight mounted on top at the front of the scope.  Leupold’s choice to mount the reflex sight forward on the HAMR is much more user friendly than mounting it at the rear like the ACOG.  I have previously used a Doctor Optic mounted on top of an ACOG, and I constantly had the bill of my hat banging into the Doctor when I used the ACOG.  This was distracting and the primary reason I did not stick with the ACOG/Doctor Combo.

Unfortunately, while I like the position of the Delta Point on the HAMR, I do not care much for the sight itself.  Zeroing the delta point was a frustrating experience.  It uses very small screws for the windage and elevation adjustments and two small screws to lock those in place.  With the Delta Point mounted on top of the HAMR loosening those locking screws was challenging.  I had to remove the Delta point to have sufficient leverage to loosen them.  Adjusting windage and elevation was also tricky because there is just gross screw adjustments; not clicks for known measurements.  When compared to the Trijicon RMR LED model (the most directly competing sight), the Delta Point is lacking in ease of use.  The Delta Point is slightly smaller and about $100 cheaper, but the ease of use of the RMR offsets these disadvantages.

When I am competing in Open or Trooper divisions, I like the option of a red dot for close range stages.  I also prefer the secondary red dot mounted on top of the primary magnified optic rather than offset so I can use it off either shoulder; stage design often forces me as a lefty to shoot right handed.  I was disappointed that the Delta Point on the HAMR was not the solution I had hoped it would be.  Fortunately Hahn Precision is working on a mount that allows the use of an Aimpoint Micro on top of the HAMR.  The Aimpoint Micro is an extremely rugged sight with easy to adjust windage and elevation and adjustable brightness.  Furthermore the closed tube of the Micro will not gather dust/debris like the Deltapoint or RMR when exposed to the elements.  The  Aimpoint Micro is a natural companion optic for a military grade sight like the HAMR.  Pictures of the prototype system are below.  I am looking forward to using this system in the near future.

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Optics Pouch by Coyote Tactical

Posted on April 24, 2012 by

Two of the matches I have coming up have rules that allow you to reconfigure your guns if you carry the different optics or accessories with you for the duration of the match.  I have been primarily using a Trijicon TA11J the past several months, but sometimes a stage might be a lot easier to shoot with an Aimpoint due to the unlimited eye relief.  Having to shoot with a gas mask or paintball mask on, or from very awkward positions is something I’ve done in the past where using an Aimpoint would be an advantage.  Conversely, I much prefer the ACOG for 150-400 yard shooting.  The LaRue mounts I have on both optics return to zero reliably so I am not worried about swapping them back and forth as needed.

I asked Coyote Tactical to make me a pouch that could accommodate either optic while the other is on my rifle.  Pictured below is the final product:

The pouch is MOLLE compatible.

The lid is secured with velcro and padded

The body of pouch is supported by kydex and the kydex covered in soft material to support the optic.

 

 

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April 2012 ACTS Match

Posted on April 24, 2012 by

1st/33 Overall, 1/13 Open Division.

I used my 14.5″ (permanent phantom flash hider) carbine with Trijicon TA11J for this match as I will be using it next week at the Tiger Valley Team Match.  From watching others shoot the match this time, the main thing that put me in the lead was cleaner pistol shooting.  On stage 1 I had 3 shots for 3 hits, and on stage 3 I only had 2 seconds added for -1 zone hits.  Several people should have been faster than me, but when it got to the pistol portions they missed a lot or got a lot of time added on paper.  Pistol shooting at ACTS is always very technical, and it pays to be able to shoot the pistol accurately at range when fatigued.

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Training for Tiger Valley Team Match 2012

Posted on April 17, 2012 by

The Tiger Valley 4 Man Team Match is just a couple weeks away.  The match features a number of obstacles and physical challenges, that are as important to complete as quickly as possible as the shooting.  Negotiating the obstacles efficiently at the match has been our weakness for the past 3 years.  In an effort to be better prepared for the match this year, the two Arizona teams pooled their resources and built a wall similar to the ones encountered at the match to practice going over.

The wall prop is modular so we could practice going over it in 4 foot form as well as 8 foot form.

We trained with all the gear we will use at the match; if something is going to snag or get caught, better to learn it when score isn’t on the line.  We did not carry our rifles with us as we have typically had to set them on the side of obstacles anyway for the sake of safety.

We ran laps and went over the wall as a team.  Its better to let the fast guys get there first because by the time they’re over it, the slower guys catch up.

Reid demonstrates a good vault over the 4 foot wall.

Even with the ladder pack Don is faster than the rest of the team.

For some it is easier to get a knee up on the wall and roll over rather than get the whole leg up and vault over it.

Don easily vaults over the wall.

The ladder pack throws my balance off a little so its easier for me to get a knee up and roll over with it on.

Without the ladder pack it is a lot easier to get my leg up and pull the inside one through to jump over.

Mark also finds it easier to roll over the wall with the ladder pack.

Litter carry is part of the match, including over obstacles.

With the 8 foot wall assembled, Arizona B-Team man handles each other over it.

Reid is an animal and needs no help over the wall.

Team Arizona Action Shooters uses technology to solve the wall problem

Tactical Ladder Deployed!

The wall was built to mirror the prop at Tiger Valley as closely as possible, including the plywood lip extending past the frame.

As the last man over I lift the ladder up and pull it down for team mates on the others side to retrieve and collapse…

…then I roll over the top.

Practicing the mechanics of going over the walls made us all more comfortable with having to do it at the match and allowed us to address issues that could have cost us time during the real stages.

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