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Itβs been a couple weeks since I completed the 2021 Wolverine 5K. I had the pleasure of meeting many, many TTAG readers at the event and was happy to interact with and hear feedback, which I of course will take to heart. The people I meet at events like this that inspire me to not just write about these competitions, but also to get in the trenches with the people that spend their precious time reading my ramblings.
I had a conversation with a regular boring-ass local news reporter in the course of preparing for the event and he asked me why I just donβt watch. Well, I told him as I will tell you, I think there is (or used to be) a distinction between a journalist and a reporter in that the former seeks to experience, whilst the latter merely observes.
Journalism is a joke these days in the mass media. Elites and self-anointed aristocrats with a column write about oppression and justice from their allegedly lofty stations, but know nothing about either, beyond what it can gain them in brownie points from this yearβs newest designated marginalized group.
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Point being, I donβt think it’s fair to merely observe events like this, take a few photos, and stand around talking. If Iβm going to report on this, I think it’s necessary to sweat and bleed right next to the average guy who’s doing this to better understand what is like to be in this level of athletics.
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So, baseline I did well. I did my research and prep based on last year. I ended up with some very nice guns for the shooting part and some good minimalist gear for the land navigation portion.
I was more comfortable this year than I was last year, but the heat became so oppressive that I ended up making my own AC by taking off my boots and putting on my old Converse All-Stars after rolling my pant legs up into makeshift shorts. Being on the range that day was like being blasted with a hair dryer full of sand, but more on that later.
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The beginning of the day was the land navigation course; this time 5K on water and 5K on land. Unlike last year, this was a fairly straight shot back the the MTC complex from the exit point of the river.
The water portion was a lot of fun. We did that in 2-man canoes and went down a winding, beautiful river as only can be found in the depths of Northern Michigan. The waterway was full of fallen trees and a good number of teams went into the water. I heard that at least one backpack and one expensive plate carrier entered Davy Jonesβ locker never to be retrieved.
Along the way there were mandatory checkpoints that had punch cards to prove you were there. At each check station there was also a smiley/frowny face that had a mix of features for the target ID stage where you had to identify ten faces and shoot them with a precision rifle at 100 yards. Sounds easy, but it is, in fact, not.
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I was sad that the river adventure had ended. I love being on the water and it was quite cool and enjoyable. Some of the competitors and I were joking that it should have been the last stage of the event…fastest time and most beers drank on the river wins. Iβm a practiced drinker and rower so I have every confidence I would have placed in the top ten of that part of the competition.
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The exit point was the grounds of the company renting the canoes. We went ashore and got our packs and shoes ready for the land 5K. Unlike last year, it was more of a long walk with stops on the way. I donβt think anyone got lost this time around.
The walking portion was fairly easy, but it felt like it was mostly uphill. The hardest part was a 100 yard-ish climb at about a 40 degree incline. Or so it seemed. My legs were tired.
The rest was all downhill, as they say, and we ended up at the exit checkpoint back at the facility. Now, Iβm usually pretty good about shooting competitions but, man, I was wishing I was back on that cool river when the heat of midday set in.
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The stages were all Red Dawn themed, and each was meant to test skill, strength, problem solving, and marksmanship. Compared to last year, I felt that the shooting portion was substantially more difficult and a bit more complicated. It was so difficult that many teams didn’t complete all the stages or received zeros on the ones the did complete, but failed to meet parameters. Tough stuff all around.
I ended up with two stages left incomplete despite taking no real breaks except to eat a burger and slam some Gatorade. On that point, I must say that I drank about four gallons of fluids between water, protein shakes, and electrolytes and I only peed once.
As I mentioned earlier, being on the range in the mid afternoon was like being in a desert. There was sand blowing off the top of the berms (the range was partially under construction in a few areas and there was new material that hadn’t yet settled). It was also H-O-T.
Remarkably, there was snow in that area just two weeks prior. Those of you not from Michigan may be surprised to learn that weather here is completely arbitrary.
I donβt really want to get into every stage as to explain each would make this into a full-blown novel, but you can see from my photos here that there is quite a bit of complexity to what was presented.
Shooters were expected to be proficient from 0-1000 yards. There was a dynamic shoot house, multiple physical challenges such as sprinting to fill and return with a 50 pound sandbag, technical skill challenges, and team problem solving.
Overall Iβd rate this as one of the most challenging, if not the most challenging, single-day event I know of.
Letβs talk guns and gear. First off, this year I brought the right gear. I took my RMRβed 1911, my Geissele URGI carbine, and the carbon fiber rifle in the Magpul Pro chassis and US Optics 5-25x. I did well with these and was competitive across the board in all categories.
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There was a MASSIVE variation in gear that the competitors used compared to last year. I saw more variety in guns and gear than ever. Last year it was AR carbines with 1-6X optics and GLOCK 19βs across the board. I was an odd duck for having a 1911.
This year it was a very different story. The guns were much more refined for the most part and I counted no less than a dozen 1911βs out there. SIG pistols also had a much larger market share than last time.
Oddly enough I saw fewer PCC-type carbines out there than I was expecting. Last year there were several and for the ranges that they were fired, they were at least equal to their 5.56 counterparts.
In addition to this, there was also a great number of variety in precision rifles. Most people had only one or two per team, and the ones I saw showed a wide disparity in what was considered βprecision.β
I had one of the more accurate rifles out there and this made me happy. I did pretty well on the target ID stage and on the long range portion shooting off of barricades. Not the best, but I did better than last year by a large margin.
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My gear that day was somewhat similar to last year. I took my Hill People Gear Umlindi pack again for the navigation portion. However for small gear and magazines, I ended up using a minimalist High Speed Gear chest rig with three TACO pouches and a Triad Tactical AICS mag pouch. This little getup was comfortable and wasnβt heavy at all.
For my pistol, I used a custom BlackPoint Tactical holster and mag pouches on my old Galco belt. My clothing last year was hot and restrictive. This time I used a T-Shirt from Q in yellow to avoid absorbing heat and an old pair of Multicam pants. I ended up swapping out my footwear for something lighter about halfway through the event out of necessity.
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I was at least comfortable in what I had taken with me, though I wish I had just changed into a pair of shorts instead of having to deal with rolled up pant legs. Oh well, thereβs always next time. But for all I know it could be snowing next year.
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Most competitors were hot and tired by the end. Many wore some serious gear that I would have shed right away, but it was their choice and some regretted it.
As far as failures go, I saw many rifles that lacked optical precision for the target ID stage. I had a 5-25x with great optical clarity and it was difficult given the amount of mirage coming off the sand. Some guys couldnβt make out the faces at all given they had only 10x or 15x optics.
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Malfunctions did occur, as many times in the stages you had to set your carbine on the ground and throw a weight or something like that. I saw at least five debris-related stoppages.
One competitor had his carbine freeze up completely after it got full of sand. Other issues were somewhat rare. Iβd say most were sand and lubrication related. My own URGI carbine was a mess when it came home. In fact, there is still dust in most of the crevices.
Many people did as I had done last year bringing too much gun with too much glass on carbines and others brought too little gun and too little glass for the precision rifle. Such things just take some learning from experience. I can say that this year my gear was perfect for the event, after learning the hard way last year.
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Would I change anything about what I did in this year’s event? I donβt think so, except that I would have planned my stages better for more points, knowing that there was a hard cutoff for ceasefire. The winning teams did this, but I was solo and could float so it was more about what I wanted to shoot for fun rather than points. I wasn’t expecting to win anything. Iβm good, but not that good. Or fast.
This event is hard to get into. It sells out really quickly every year and it’s a long day. But it is a very good time and if you get the chance to do this one day, don’t pass it up.
You had to pay to abuse yourself and your gear? Hope it wasn’t more than 5-6 bucks.
Good times are priceless!
Sounds like the kind of vacation needed to flush the mind of all the demoCrap going on. Thanks for sharing it.
After getting sleepy hearing what sounded like biden dropping nukes on far away neighbors last night little me was up early waiting for TTAG to post and they were a no show. I figured someone celebrated too much and couldn’t punch the clock…If so this is for them…
https://youtu.be/gPGuUHNT7U4
You can say that, when you have an avatar of a bike (of some sort)?? What IS that thing, anyway? One of those little scooters that only reaches 30 mph on a good day? I dunno, it might be a real motorcycle, it’s hard to tell in such a small image.
My lower comment was meant for paul.
It’s a Cushman Eagle. You can make fun of Vespucci but dont trash talk the Eagle man.
Ever done Tough Mudder? I have once and on only ONE out of 20+ obstacles did I do a go around. It was one of the last and I did try 3x.
Never again however.
That scooter is an inside joke. Mostly it’s an iq test. See who’s dumb enough to waste time and effort commenting on an avatar. Works, don’t it.
I enjoy reading about these things, and every once in a while I think it might be fun to try one…but then I remember that I don’t actually like being hot, miserable, and worn out. Thinking about it is a lot more fun.
I’m always hot, tired and worn out. I’m not paying to get that way though.
I also enjoy reading about these things. Maybe one day I’ll be in good enough shape to do one. The shape I am in currently is round.
Well by golly, you put me in a canoe and a creek I’m dropping my gunm and grabbing my fishing pole.
Is that how you lose your gun in a boating accident? Asking for a friend π
I was out on a small local lake today in the kayak visiting the sunfish π No guns were lost.
Maye we need to have a Pirate and Possum 5K. That’s a day of fishing on the creek and then you walk back to the cars, drive to the range and do some casual shooting.
To be held on Talk Like a Pirate Day every year….I’m in! Arrggh!
Josh,
Thanks for sharing your whole experience with us. Glad you did well and enjoyed yourself.
Hey man hit me up. Iβd love to see the video of you following me through the shoot house!! And thanks for perpetuating the myth of my speed lol
-IG- dawg85_actual
Keep the dust cover closed. The Wolverine does not cause hot weather. You didn’t drink enough water – never mind, nobody does. Very few competitors are fit enough. Some active duty guys jogged the trail while wearing plates and rucking the 40-pound sandbag. The rope and kettlebell thing and the big tired were messed up. Accuracy plus speed while under stress is an acquired skill. The Wolverine is about persevering.
This is a great write-up by Josh (too bad I’m just now getting around to commenting on it). As a fellow solo participant, I had the pleasure of doing the water and land nav/movement with the author and can say that, if anything, he’s underselling the difficulty of the event. I’m in reasonably good shape from doing 5-6 workouts/week with a combination of cycling, lifting, and hiking, and can say that a few of the stages simply kicked my ass.
I ran the following gear:
– Colt 6940 w/ Nightforce NX8 1-8x24mm
– FN 509 Tactical w/ Trijicon RMR
– Accuracy International AXMC in 6.5 Creedmoor with TBAC Dominus SR suppressor and Nightforce ATACR 7-35x56mm
– London Bridge QRC plate carrier w/ triple mag pouches and Hesco plates (23 lbs total w/o magazines)
All of this worked superbly despite getting thrown around and dragged through the sand, and I would happily use the exact same stuff next year. My only issue was a Fobus adjustable pistol magazine carrier that decided to loosen and self-adjust latter in the day; the lesson here is to test every piece of equipment before the event.
Running a PCC seems attractive since I don’t believe it would be at a disadvantage to a 5.56 carbine, but this doesn’t feel like it fits with the spirit of the event.
None of the shooting tasks were particularly difficult by themselves, but mixing in the physical stress made even straightforward shots seem extremely difficult. My heart rate was around 160 BPM during the 100yd target ID drill (we had to sprint about 25 yards for every round of ammo); combine this with the mental task of listening to target IDs via the radio, and executing the fundamentals of marksmanship becomes significantly more challenging than at the typical range day. 10yd pistol shots at generously-sized targets (2/3rd IPSC?) should be easy, but not so much after flipping a 200lb tractor tire or dragging a kettlebell. Generating hits with a carbine at 50yds becomes far more difficult after rolling a sand-filled 55-gallon barrel and throwing sandbags. Obviously all of this pales in comparison to the challenges faced by military and law enforcement, but at least I came away with a slightly-improved conception of what it’s like to put shots on target in real-world situations, and it turns out to be quite difficult.
In prep for next year, I plan on introducing more physical stress into my marksmanship training – wind sprints between individual precision rifle shots; pushups, sandbag tossing/dragging, and farmer’s carries between pistol and carbine strings; and so forth. It’s also important that a participant be comfortable with administrative and tactical reloads for both the pistol and carbine, as well as holstering/slinging and moving with loaded weapons. Shooting around barriers and from various improvised positions would also be good aspects to practice. Donning a plate carrier, holster, and magazine carriers and then rolling around in beach sand would also be good practice; drag your firearms and optics through the same stuff and verify that they still function afterwards.
But more than anything else, basic fitness is paramount – be capable of running fast and lifting heavy objects, and doing so in full gear.
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