I participated in my first Tactical Games this past weekend, May 30-31, 2020 at Government Training Institute in Barnwell, SC. I had first read about the games here in this forum in a now-archived thread.
Here is that thread for reference. Many thanks to the guys that participated in that thread, which inspired me to try it myself. I signed up for Men's Intermediate division, and the games require you to wear a 15# vest for each battle.
The Tactical GamesI've been doing 2-gun and various shooting sports for 10 years, and started Crossfit 2 years ago. At 32 years old / 5'9" / 155#, I am not a big dude, but I excel at running and body weight exercises. I signed up for the event 2 months out, although it was pushed back another month due to COVID. The virus thing really messed up my heavy workouts, which are what I needed most; however, it did give me a chance to focus on vest workouts and further improving my cardio while working out at home. My coach at the gym helped me to build some workouts that would improve my skill in the vest, but more importantly, give me confidence in my fitness during the event.
Thankfully, my gun club remained open, and I was still able to get in some shooting and workouts there. Additionally, COVID did not get in the way of my nutrition. In fact, I think it made it easier. No eating out meant I was able to always keep up with my meals and calories, ensuring my nutrition was right going into the event.
I went into the weekend highly confident in my shooting, running, and gymnastics, but nervous about my strength and also had some fear of the unknown.
Day 1 was the first 3 battles. They are listed in numerical order.
Battle 1: Blackwater BattleThis stage required a sprint to some pistol targets, which were engaged with 10 rounds, then a sprint to a heavy sled pull. At the end of the sled pull, pick up a sandbag and head up 6 flights of stairs to the rifle platform, where you engage targets with 2 mags of 15 rounds each. Then pick up the sand bag, move back downstairs, drag the sled back to the start spot, re-engage the pistol targets, and sprint to the finish.
Carrying the bag up the stairs really sucked
Tactical Games GTI 2020 - Battle 1 - Blackwater Battle
Battle 2: Active ShooterAt the go, ascend the CORRECT ladders maybe 5-6 stories, enter the structure and engage targets along the route until you exit the building, and then sprint to the finish. You'll use UTMs while shooting targets indoors. After this battle, I learned that it's way better to sling your rifle on the front when on the ladders; easier to clear when it gets stuck!
Tactical Games GTI 2020 - Battle 2 - Active Shooter
Battle 3: ConsequencesThis battle would test sprints, heavy carries, and pistol shooting. This was the hardest battle for me on day 1, being a little stick kid. BUT, it equally tested shooting and strength. I knew my strength is not good, so I focused on keeping my shooting on point. The trick here was that for EVERY shot you miss, you have to do a 10 meter shuttle run after each mag. I only dropped 5 shots out of 60, with 2 out of 5 mags shot clean. This kept my heart rate down pretty well and didn't wind me for the lifts back to the finish.
Tactical Games GTI 2020 - Battle 3 - Consequences
Day 2 I woke up feeling pretty good and not very tired or sore, all things considered. This was key, as Day 2 was way more strenuous than Day 1. I started on battle 5, but will again list in numerical order.
Battle 4: The Long MovementThis was my last event of the weekend, but it was a perfect combination of longer range shooting (maybe 200 yds) and a pavement run of about 1 mile. These are the two skills that I know I excel at, so I had to push this one as much as I could for a shot to win.
Starting on the top of a 9-story building, take some high angle shots on the first target array (roughly 75-100 yds) in the prescribed order and using the prescribed positions. Then descend to the next platform and engage the other array at about 175-200 yards, before descending the stairs and completing the run. Shots had to be done under a par time, and for every hit, you get 10 seconds off your time; I got 31/40 hits, and I pushed it hard on the run.
My shooting and running combo was enough to get me the win for this stage!
Tactical Games GTI 2020 - Battle 4 - The Long Movement
Battle 5: Tunnel RatHoly crap dude. I loved this stage! My favorite of the weekend. The whole time I was thinking, "I can't believe they are letting me do this!"
At the start, sprint around the course to the tunnel entrance, then run through the tunnel to the caving ladder. Ascend the caving ladder to the fast rope, then rope down and move to the next tunnel. Rope into the second tunnel and move to the exit. After that, clear the structure along the marked route, up the stairs and back down the ladders, then sprint to the finish. UTMs were again used in the building.
Tactical Games GTI 2020 - Battle 5 - Tunnel Rat
Battle 6: The MosherThis stage was the toughest of the weekend, with good reason. It was named after Police Officer Mike Mosher, killed May 3, 2020 in the line of duty. It required movement with some painfully heavy sandbag carries, a rope climb, some awkward farmer carries, and tough positional shooting. Every round you complete and every hit you make gets you time off the total cap of 12 minutes. This would be my most devastating round, but I knew I should just treat it like an AMRAP and get as much work in as I could. I won't sugarcoat it- this battle was straight-up not fun for me, because it tested skills that I was the worst at. However, I did the work I could and got some points out of it.
Tactical Games GTI 2020 - Battle 6 - The Mosher
ResultsI ended up taking 7th out of 43 in Men's Intermediate, an achievement I feel great about for my first event ever that so thoroughly tested me physically and mentally. Furthermore, I won event #4, which I'm really proud of.
I learned a lot about myself, my gear, and my weaknesses at this event. It has only made me more hungry to improve my strength and shooting skills. I'm already looking forward to the next time I can get out and participate!
My thanks to all the judges and staff at the Tactical Games that made this event a reality. It was legit like playing Call of Duty in real life. I'm just a regular dude, not a high speed guy; where else can I get to do something like this? I had a total blast!