FXRGC Handgun Match 12/21/24

FXRGC 2Gun ACM - Handgun Match 12/21/24
Overall Place 22/51 13/23 in Semi-Auto (Red Dot)
Stage 1: Spinner Challenge
18/23 Div, 39/51 Overall
At the start, shooter draws pistol and moves to Vtac barricade. From any port of the shooters choosing, engage the spinner with one hit on each plate, repeat until complete through 5 ports. Optionally, once complete, spin the spinner for a 30 second bonus. Target is 15 yards from the shooter.

I was doing alright here, not great, but decently. I opted to go for the spinner to get the practice in and in the end it took me about 60 seconds to kick it over (I almost had it twice, then had to do a mag change and it lost momentum). So overall going for the bonus cost me ~30 seconds, but still worth getting in the practice with a target that is typically pretty difficult for me.

Stage 2: Star Non-Threat
18/23 Div, 41/51 Overall
At the start, draw pistol and engage the lollipop starter plate for the swinger with a no-shoot paper target. Then, engage the static steel with one hit and knock one plate off the texas star. Repeat that engagement until all plates are off the texas star. Any hits on the no-shoot swinger paper are a 10 second penalty. Targets are 20 yards away.

I felt good about my performance on this stage, however, I could have been about twice as fast if I was picking up my dot better. It had been plaguing me all day and it finally clicked for me on this stage that I was tracking the dot rather than looking through it while pointing the pistol. It’s been about 4 months since I’ve shot a match (or at all really, excepting one trip to the static range to zero some optics) and it showed in my performance for sure. That said, I always love a texas star and adding in the swinging no-shoot was a fun addition.

Stage 3: Support Hand Only
6/23 Div, 8/51 Overall
At start, draw pistol and transition it to your support hand. Pick up the bag of brass with your strong hand. Engage the two static steels, move to the mini-mo and neutralize it with one hit to the head and one to the center body plate to reset the head. Move back to the start and repeat, for three total iterations. All shots must be taken with your support hand only, and you must retain the brass bag with your strong hand the entire time, excepting reloads/malfunction clearance. Targets are 10 yards away.

This was a fun stage and my last of the day, I finally pushed past my issues with tracking the dot I had with the rest of the stages and it really showed in my performance. Despite this being all support hand only shooting it was by far my best stage of the day. I enjoy challenges like this as it forces you to really pay attention to what you’re doing and to practice something most people don’t do enough.

Stage 4: Steps
9/23 Div, 17/51 Overall
At the start, draw pistol and engage the 3 static steel targets with consecutive hits from the first marker (16 yards). Once complete, move to the next position (14 yards) and repeat. Do it again at 12 yards and finally at 10 yards. All hits must be consecutive, any misses and you start the iteration over again from where you are.

This was my first stage of the day, and I did fairly well on it. Adding the pressure of having to start over with a sequence if you miss puts a little more stress on ensuring you get the hits the first time, rather than relying on sending a couple shots at each one quickly.

Stage 5: Have Tire Will Travel
17/23 Div, 32/51 Overall
At the start, draw pistol and engage one of the 3 duramax balls through the tire. Once knocked over, stand and carry the tire to position 2, repeating the maneuver there. Then move to position 3 and do the same. Then it’s back to position 1 to repeat the process for a total of 3 iterations. Targets are at 20 yards.

I always enjoy a stage that combines this sort of physical challenge to it, to try and get that heart rate up a bit and make you pay attention to your breathing more and wear you out just that little bit extra. However, I’m not super great at shooting through tires and the like yet. Having something that low to the ground makes for some awkward positioning and I don’t yet have it really dialed in how I should be approaching these shots. I ended up bracing my arms on the inside of the tire for the first few targets and it really screwed with my aim, pushing my shots high. Having your arms braced on something while shooting a pistol is a fairly unnatural position to be in, unlike with a rifle where it becomes an advantage and I haven’t done enough yet to get better at it. It wasn’t my worst stage of the day, but it would have been much faster if I could have stopped tracking the dot and found a better way to work the problem of shooting through the tire.


Overall I had a great time shooting as always at these matches, but I definitely need to be putting in match time more consistently to maintain my skills as evidenced by my issues with tracking the dot vs looking through the optic at the targets.