gopher
Sharpshooter
WHAT: Pass It On/Outdoor Mentors Pistol Event held on Camp Atterbury's "Pop-Up Target" Pistol Range (Range 15).
WHO: Event was run by Brett Thompson (bthomp9), Jake Woodcock (308Jake) with additional RSO by Phil Brown. INGO members in attendance: Bocefus78, TheJoker along with his son Matt, Hop and myself. One other person in attendance whom I didn’t get a chance to talk with much (Will); unknown whether he is an INGO member or not.
WHERE: Range 15 at Camp Atterbury, Edinburgh, IN.
WHEN: 0845 to approximately 1330, June 10,2017
COST: $250 (future events will likely be only 1/2 day and at a lower cost)
This was a unique event run by Pass It On/Outdoor Mentors at one of the "Pop-Up Target" pistol ranges at Camp Atterbury (specifically, Range 15).
Initial meetup was at Camp Atterbury’s Range Control (building 127). Obviously, you need to enter the base itself via the Main Gate to get to Range Control. Being a military base, the Army keeps tight control on where anyone goes while in the firing range areas (there are multiple firing ranges on base); NO ONE goes past Range Control without first checking in (we learned why later that morning).
At 0845, 308Jake led the caravan of everyone’s vehicles to the actual range. This range has limited parking so everyone dropped off their equipment and then parked a short distance away. After Range Control checked us in at the range itself and verified that the “pop-up” targets were functioning correctly, 308Jake presented our safety briefing and we were allowed to bring our gear to the concrete pad behind the firing line.
Range 15 has 10 firing positions, all of which are directly behind short “sidewalks” that provide access to the “pop-up” target areas on the range itself. There are small yellow tables next to the sidewalk to provide a place for extra magazines. Pass It On/Outdoor Mentors also brought several folding polymer tables which were placed between each pair of firing positions to provide additional space to lay magazines and pistols (properly cleared) between stages.
With only 6 shooters, we each took a lane while TheJoker and his son Matt shared a lane.
I was using a Glock 19 in a Stealthgear IWB holster and a Stealthgear double magazine carrier. I had 6 standard 15 round Glock 19 magazines.
The way the event was run necessitates having sufficient magazines for at least 50 rounds (the more magazines you can bring the better; using a 1911 or a single-stack magazine will necessitate LOTS of magazines and consequently lots of magazine swaps which could be a "good thing"). bthomp9 would run the shooters through a series of 5 stages back-to-back; each stage involved several target presentations (single and doubles at varying distances out to what I estimate was 25-30 yards). I don’t know the exact target count for the stages, but a WAG of an average of 6 would be close I think (some stages had more targets and some had fewer; I wasn’t counting the number of targets on each stage though).
That means 30 rounds minimum for 1 hit per target for a set of 5 stages; reality was significantly more than that as I tended to hit each target with at least two rounds. I used 6 magazines (15 rounds each for 90 rounds total) and never ran out of ammunition during the day, but I came close. I started each stage with my G19 loaded (magazine not necessarily at capacity, though) and holstered with 2 full magazines in my magazine carrier. I was never forced to use more ammunition than that for a single stage (and usually significantly less; i.e., at least 1 full magazine still in my carrier and a partial magazine in the G19).
The targets are IPSC style upper body silhouettes in a grayish color. The targets hinge from the bottom/front and rotate from flat to upright reasonably quickly. There are two “zones” on the target:
- outer edges are scored as “hits”
- head and center chest are scored as “kills”
The target will fall if struck in the “kill” zone but stays up if hit in the “hit” zone. There is no visual indication of a hit unless you hit the “kill” zone and cause the target to fall. If your eyesight is pretty good, I suppose you could observe the target shake a little when struck (the RSOs reported seeing this but I never did while shooting).
After each round of 5 stages, bthomp9 would give us our hit/kill score for that round. This gives some feedback on your marksmanship beyond visually seeing the targets fall when struck in the “kill” zone.
Most of the shooters were scoring at least mid to high 20s with some scoring low 30s. The target presentations we were shooting were the Military Police qualification. Apparently, one only needs a score of 18 to “qualify” for Military Police.
After several rounds through the set of 5 stages, we broke for lunch. bthomp9 provided a pulled pork with baked beans and chips lunch that was FABULOUS!
It turned out that we only had the chance to shoot a couple additional stages after lunch as one of the other “pop-up” target ranges was malfunctioning. That range was being used by a National Guard unit and we agreed to allow them to come over and use our range. I didn’t hear a single complaint from anyone about relinquishing the range (we had been shooting nearly constantly for 4 hours!). When the Guardsmen arrived we all greeted them with handshakes and “Thanks for your service!”.
As additional entertainment while we were on the range, we were treated to automatic rifle fire on another range as well as multiple strafing runs by A-10 Warthogs throughout the morning. Seeing and hearing the A-10s with the BBBRRRAAAAPPP! of their 30mm GAU-8/A cannon made it clear why Range Control keeps a tight leash on where anyone goes on the firing ranges. I would NOT want to be in the vicinity of those A-10 strafing runs :-)
SUMMARY:
This was a FANTASTIC event for those that are comfortable with their handgun and want to spend some high quality time with it and put maximal rounds downrange. The only breaks we had were to reload magazines (having a MAGLULA and/or gloves might not be a bad idea; my thumb started to cramp towards the end of the day). There was minimal instruction which was fine by all of us in attendance.
This event would NOT be suitable for someone not comfortable with their handgun or just learning to shoot. Some prior training is necessary to be safe with your handgun and to be comfortable with being on a firing line with others and following range commands.
Drawing from a holster is not necessary but is allowed. Most of the shooters utilized holsters but I don’t believe everyone practiced their draw from the holster (I did). Obviously, if you plan to draw from a holster, some training on correct technique for the draw stroke and presentation is obligatory.
I’m not aware of a range anywhere else in the state with a target system such as this. Warning: after shooting on this range, using a typical range with paper or steel targets will not be the same.
My round count was 620 over about 4 hours of actual shooting (yes, you read that correctly!). Most of the other shooters reported round counts in that same vicinity.
Brett is planning on doing this event again later in the summer or fall. More than likely, the day will be split into morning and afternoon sessions of 4 hours each to keep the round count to around 500 or so. This should be MORE than enough time on the firing line for anyone but the most hardcore shooter. Pricing will also be somewhat less than this initial event.
PHOTOS/VIDEOS:
Below videos were shot by Hop (thanks!) and should give you an idea of what shooting on this range is like (the target presentations seem MUCH quicker when you are actually shooting):
[video]https://youtu.be/qizXjlE-ORE[/video]
[video]https://youtu.be/w_D9iuMIubk[/video]
You can see more videos on Hop's YouTube channel.
Google satellite view of Range 15:
Here are some photos that I took:
One of the A-10 Warthogs that were doing strafing runs while we were shooting (no extra charge for the additional entertainment!):
Bocefus was the only one smart enough to bring shelter:
Two cases are visible in the air after a double-tap:
The pile of brass at the end of the day:
WHO: Event was run by Brett Thompson (bthomp9), Jake Woodcock (308Jake) with additional RSO by Phil Brown. INGO members in attendance: Bocefus78, TheJoker along with his son Matt, Hop and myself. One other person in attendance whom I didn’t get a chance to talk with much (Will); unknown whether he is an INGO member or not.
WHERE: Range 15 at Camp Atterbury, Edinburgh, IN.
WHEN: 0845 to approximately 1330, June 10,2017
COST: $250 (future events will likely be only 1/2 day and at a lower cost)
This was a unique event run by Pass It On/Outdoor Mentors at one of the "Pop-Up Target" pistol ranges at Camp Atterbury (specifically, Range 15).
Initial meetup was at Camp Atterbury’s Range Control (building 127). Obviously, you need to enter the base itself via the Main Gate to get to Range Control. Being a military base, the Army keeps tight control on where anyone goes while in the firing range areas (there are multiple firing ranges on base); NO ONE goes past Range Control without first checking in (we learned why later that morning).
At 0845, 308Jake led the caravan of everyone’s vehicles to the actual range. This range has limited parking so everyone dropped off their equipment and then parked a short distance away. After Range Control checked us in at the range itself and verified that the “pop-up” targets were functioning correctly, 308Jake presented our safety briefing and we were allowed to bring our gear to the concrete pad behind the firing line.
Range 15 has 10 firing positions, all of which are directly behind short “sidewalks” that provide access to the “pop-up” target areas on the range itself. There are small yellow tables next to the sidewalk to provide a place for extra magazines. Pass It On/Outdoor Mentors also brought several folding polymer tables which were placed between each pair of firing positions to provide additional space to lay magazines and pistols (properly cleared) between stages.
With only 6 shooters, we each took a lane while TheJoker and his son Matt shared a lane.
I was using a Glock 19 in a Stealthgear IWB holster and a Stealthgear double magazine carrier. I had 6 standard 15 round Glock 19 magazines.
The way the event was run necessitates having sufficient magazines for at least 50 rounds (the more magazines you can bring the better; using a 1911 or a single-stack magazine will necessitate LOTS of magazines and consequently lots of magazine swaps which could be a "good thing"). bthomp9 would run the shooters through a series of 5 stages back-to-back; each stage involved several target presentations (single and doubles at varying distances out to what I estimate was 25-30 yards). I don’t know the exact target count for the stages, but a WAG of an average of 6 would be close I think (some stages had more targets and some had fewer; I wasn’t counting the number of targets on each stage though).
That means 30 rounds minimum for 1 hit per target for a set of 5 stages; reality was significantly more than that as I tended to hit each target with at least two rounds. I used 6 magazines (15 rounds each for 90 rounds total) and never ran out of ammunition during the day, but I came close. I started each stage with my G19 loaded (magazine not necessarily at capacity, though) and holstered with 2 full magazines in my magazine carrier. I was never forced to use more ammunition than that for a single stage (and usually significantly less; i.e., at least 1 full magazine still in my carrier and a partial magazine in the G19).
The targets are IPSC style upper body silhouettes in a grayish color. The targets hinge from the bottom/front and rotate from flat to upright reasonably quickly. There are two “zones” on the target:
- outer edges are scored as “hits”
- head and center chest are scored as “kills”
The target will fall if struck in the “kill” zone but stays up if hit in the “hit” zone. There is no visual indication of a hit unless you hit the “kill” zone and cause the target to fall. If your eyesight is pretty good, I suppose you could observe the target shake a little when struck (the RSOs reported seeing this but I never did while shooting).
After each round of 5 stages, bthomp9 would give us our hit/kill score for that round. This gives some feedback on your marksmanship beyond visually seeing the targets fall when struck in the “kill” zone.
Most of the shooters were scoring at least mid to high 20s with some scoring low 30s. The target presentations we were shooting were the Military Police qualification. Apparently, one only needs a score of 18 to “qualify” for Military Police.
After several rounds through the set of 5 stages, we broke for lunch. bthomp9 provided a pulled pork with baked beans and chips lunch that was FABULOUS!
It turned out that we only had the chance to shoot a couple additional stages after lunch as one of the other “pop-up” target ranges was malfunctioning. That range was being used by a National Guard unit and we agreed to allow them to come over and use our range. I didn’t hear a single complaint from anyone about relinquishing the range (we had been shooting nearly constantly for 4 hours!). When the Guardsmen arrived we all greeted them with handshakes and “Thanks for your service!”.
As additional entertainment while we were on the range, we were treated to automatic rifle fire on another range as well as multiple strafing runs by A-10 Warthogs throughout the morning. Seeing and hearing the A-10s with the BBBRRRAAAAPPP! of their 30mm GAU-8/A cannon made it clear why Range Control keeps a tight leash on where anyone goes on the firing ranges. I would NOT want to be in the vicinity of those A-10 strafing runs :-)
SUMMARY:
This was a FANTASTIC event for those that are comfortable with their handgun and want to spend some high quality time with it and put maximal rounds downrange. The only breaks we had were to reload magazines (having a MAGLULA and/or gloves might not be a bad idea; my thumb started to cramp towards the end of the day). There was minimal instruction which was fine by all of us in attendance.
This event would NOT be suitable for someone not comfortable with their handgun or just learning to shoot. Some prior training is necessary to be safe with your handgun and to be comfortable with being on a firing line with others and following range commands.
Drawing from a holster is not necessary but is allowed. Most of the shooters utilized holsters but I don’t believe everyone practiced their draw from the holster (I did). Obviously, if you plan to draw from a holster, some training on correct technique for the draw stroke and presentation is obligatory.
I’m not aware of a range anywhere else in the state with a target system such as this. Warning: after shooting on this range, using a typical range with paper or steel targets will not be the same.
My round count was 620 over about 4 hours of actual shooting (yes, you read that correctly!). Most of the other shooters reported round counts in that same vicinity.
Brett is planning on doing this event again later in the summer or fall. More than likely, the day will be split into morning and afternoon sessions of 4 hours each to keep the round count to around 500 or so. This should be MORE than enough time on the firing line for anyone but the most hardcore shooter. Pricing will also be somewhat less than this initial event.
PHOTOS/VIDEOS:
Below videos were shot by Hop (thanks!) and should give you an idea of what shooting on this range is like (the target presentations seem MUCH quicker when you are actually shooting):
[video]https://youtu.be/qizXjlE-ORE[/video]
[video]https://youtu.be/w_D9iuMIubk[/video]
You can see more videos on Hop's YouTube channel.
Google satellite view of Range 15:
Here are some photos that I took:
One of the A-10 Warthogs that were doing strafing runs while we were shooting (no extra charge for the additional entertainment!):
Bocefus was the only one smart enough to bring shelter:
Two cases are visible in the air after a double-tap:
The pile of brass at the end of the day:
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