Posted: 3/10/2026 9:30:26 AM EDT
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I'm running a proving grounds match with my son (as individuals) in May and a team match with my other son in Sept. I've been running with armor, rifle and gun belt and getting out and shooting more. I'm pretty stoked, having a goal like this work towards is really motivating for me. I'm fairly well set up for gear, but debating on how to carry some water- yeah it's only a 5k but it's hot as hell in the south. Anybody else do these? What was your experience? |
Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer
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Yes, I do similar things. I'd say 1qt hydrator on the back, and a couple water bottles in a dump pouch, 2 qts should do it, right? Or, try setting up a similar excercise in similar weather, see how little water you can get away with, knowing you'll have the freedom to chug some at endex. Also, easy button is, tank up right before the run starts. Slam 1/2 qt. |
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Yeah those were the options I was thinking about. Bladder on the back is easy, but may be annoying if I want to sling my rifle on my back. I could probably strap a nalgene next to my dump pouch, or just drop it in there. Definitely will be playing with options before the event and see how it goes. Is there usually water available at shooting stations? |
Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer
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I would suggest that you use a bladder with a straw. The objective is to drink before you get thirsty. My second suggestion would be to fill the bladder halfway the night before and freeze it. You'll have cold water for most of the day, and stay cooler to boot. We used to run team drills, carry what you want.. If i had the choice between water and ammo, take more water... If you are an out of shape old guy like me, you are gonna sweat like crazy with the exertion, and it's hard to focus and shoot accuracately when you're dehydrated.. |
Another old guy
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Originally Posted By Ops: I would suggest that you use a bladder with a straw. The objective is to drink before you get thirsty. My second suggestion would be to fill the bladder halfway the night before and freeze it. You'll have cold water for most of the day, and stay cooler to boot. We used to run team drills, carry what you want.. If i had the choice between water and ammo, take more water... If you are an out of shape old guy like me, you are gonna sweat like crazy with the exertion, and it's hard to focus and shoot accuracately when you're dehydrated.. I'm getting old...but I'm not in terrible shape, but the humidity of Georgia is a struggle for me. |
Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer
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Love me some run and gun. TPG puts on some great matches. Also check out The Gun Run, they do a lot in NC and SC. if you are running with armor then hydration bladder is money, if I am just running with chest rig then I just put a water bottle in a double mag pouch and call it a day,I have one of those runners collapsible one. best tip I can give for the summer runs with guns is to hydrate hard the day before and if you can workout and condition yourself to the heat. This is super important if you dont have a blue collar job and live from AC car to AC building. |
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Originally Posted By Badfish25: Love me some run and gun. TPG puts on some great matches. Also check out The Gun Run, they do a lot in NC and SC. if you are running with armor then hydration bladder is money, if I am just running with chest rig then I just put a water bottle in a double mag pouch and call it a day,I have one of those runners collapsible one. best tip I can give for the summer runs with guns is to hydrate hard the day before and if you can workout and condition yourself to the heat. This is super important if you dont have a blue collar job and live from AC car to AC building. |
Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer
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You doing the one at 17South in Georgia? One year I did the ‘sweat n bullets’ summer run and gun and the ‘jingle balls’ winter one there. (Winter in South Georgia mind you, so it wasn’t really cold.) The biggest takeaway for me was my running sucked. No huge surprise since I wasn’t running much before those events. I shoot a lot of matches so the shooting part wasn’t a worry unless I was smoked from running and went straight into a long range stage. I went pretty minimal with gear. Basic chest rig for mags with a GP pouch for a lens cloth and spare ear pro. I did run a camelbak but in hindsight I could’ve stuffed a water bottle in the chest rig and been okay. |
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Originally Posted By echofivekilo: You doing the one at 17South in Georgia? One year I did the 'sweat n bullets' summer run and gun and the 'jingle balls' winter one there. (Winter in South Georgia mind you, so it wasn't really cold.) The biggest takeaway for me was my running sucked. No huge surprise since I wasn't running much before those events. I shoot a lot of matches so the shooting part wasn't a worry unless I was smoked from running and went straight into a long range stage. I went pretty minimal with gear. Basic chest rig for mags with a GP pouch for a lens cloth and spare ear pro. I did run a camelbak but in hindsight I could've stuffed a water bottle in the chest rig and been okay. I played around with stuff yesterday, ran about 2 miles (slowly) with armor and rifle, went pretty good actually, but I don't really have a good spot for a water bottle. I have a small pouch I can attach to the back of my armor coming soon so I'll give that a try. I kind of wish my rifle was lighter, but what can you do. I could leave my suppressor at home but rule number one is to look cool so.... |
Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer
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Originally Posted By RolandofGilead: I'm doing the proving grounds at alpha group. I played around with stuff yesterday, ran about 2 miles (slowly) with armor and rifle, went pretty good actually, but I don't really have a good spot for a water bottle. I have a small pouch I can attach to the back of my armor coming soon so I'll give that a try. I kind of wish my rifle was lighter, but what can you do. I could leave my suppressor at home but rule number one is to look cool so.... You got rule #1 right for sure. The camelbak wasn’t too bad and it sure made it easy to drink on the run, but there was some stuff we had to crawl through and having stuff on my chest and back made it a hassle - especially if I was trying to stick my rifle back there. A few of my friends do a lot of the Proving Grounds events and they seem to like them. |
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Shot this match yesterday and it was a ton of fun. Turned out to not really be a run and gun, just a match with physical fitness aspects (carrying heavy objects, short sprints, Hill run etc). I cleared one stage that only had about a 20% completion rate so I was happy with that. Finished 7th overall out of 60. Here's a quick vid of one of the stages, I have a cinder block chained to me here. |
Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer