PMCI - March - 2020

pmcimagazine.com
RANGE GEAR
24
HOME ON THE RANGE
For some of the PMCI team the winter months make it harder than ever to get out training, but as
the weather starts to change for the warmer it’s time to get the gear in order, and prepare for those
long summer rangetime sessions, so Bill takes a look at the gear he uses and why.
During the late spring and summer months when
the evenings are longer it’s a regular occurrence
for some of my mates and I to get together for
an evening of shooting. Luckily we have access
to some secluded private land (and we pay our
own third party insurance) where we can take
turns to set up different courses to challenge one
another. These will involve barricades, obstacles,
plates, spinners, and paper targets to make life interesting. It’s
also the ideal opportunity to test new optics and accessories
or really dial in existing ones that we’ve been working on; the
real plus of this is that all of our gear is ready to roll whenever
we need it.
It’s a great social occasion too; as much as we’re there to
shoot our best the “competition” is friendly and the banter what
you’d expect. Safety is always paramount but that doesn’t mean
we can’t have fun too! Usually after a few hours shooting, when
the shooty-bangy things are clean and locked safely away, it’s
time for a barbeque and a beer or two back at someone’s home
where the hilarity continues, often at the expense of whoever
shot the worst that night!
There are many different governing bodies and disciplines
to work with, but I would say that what we do locally is a
mix of Iron Plate Action Shooting (IPAS) and Practical Speed
Plate (PSP), although we’ve moved it up to “two gun” to include
a shotgun element in addition to .22 semi-auto rifle/carbine
(sadly as I’m resident in the UK we only get to have “full bore
and handgun fun” when we go overseas to shoot); we’ve also
now added a couple of gas 6mm training platforms to our
regular lineup. As this is more of a social meeting gear and
clothing is more “civvy” than “tacticool”. The first thing to get
out of the way when it comes to clothing, footwear, and gear is
ditch the camo! Indeed IPSC, IPAS, and indeed PSP strictly forbid
camo for competitions and I can understand why; why would
you need head to toe “MultiKryCottCam” when you’re in a place
where you actually want to be seen? That said many shooters
that I know do look very seriously at the tactical brands for
their clothing as said garments are designed with the dynamic
movement needed to excel in comfort in mind.
KEEPING IT REAL
So, keeping things down to earth, I want as much performance
as possible. What do you really need on a range? What is it you
really need to compete if you so desire?