Are You Ready: Tactical Matches
- Samuel Schmitt
- Jan 21
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 19
Do you like chaos? Enjoy physical suffering? Are you most comfortable connecting with others via trauma bonding and feel that USPSA is too much like ballet with guns? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’ll likely fit in well at adventure/tactical (referred to as tactical for this piece) shooting matches.
Tactical matches incorporate physical challenges and other stressors into their stages. At a given match, you may have to carry a sandbag, climb over a wall, and apply a tourniquet between shooting targets. The challenges are only limited by the match director’s imagination (and liability insurance) and the resources of the range where the match is hosted.
Types of Tactical Matches
The Tactical Games is a national league with matches that provide a mix of physical and shooting challenges. In layman's terms, think crossfit with guns. Expect to be required to pull weighted sleds, throw sandbags, carry weight, and run moderate distances between shooting portions. The challenge of these matches could be estimated at 70% physical and 30% marksmanship.
How extreme the physical challenges are depends on your division. Intermediate, tactical, and elite divisions all have different levels of physical difficulties. Intermediate is a great place for new people with a baseline fitness to start.
At first glance, some of the shooting challenges of the Tactical Games may look easy, but trust me, marksmanship gets a little tougher when your heart rate is at 170+ bpm from hauling sandbags around. Managing your pace, breathing, and fundamentals while under physical pressure is a huge component of success in these matches. The Tactical Games community is fantastically welcoming and supportive to new people, and it has been a bridge between the fitness and shooting communities that both groups can benefit from.
Biathalon-style Run and Gun
Ever done a mud run and thought “this would be more fun with guns”? Biathalon style matches seek to prove that the answer to that question is “yes”. These matches are essentially a 5k, 10k, or any other distance race across rough terrain with all the gear you need to complete the course. Along the way, you’ll stop to complete shooting challenges, where your performance will either add to or detract from your overall time.
Because there is no league or governing body, these matches are all different flavors, but they are a lot of fun, especially if the weather is bad. Nothing is quite like trudging through mud and fording through streams in the pouring rain with firearms
If you’ve seen Zombieland, you know that Rule #1 is cardio! These matches will test how good your cardio is. If you’re not trained up in running distances with weight, I recommend trying for a fast walk (15-minute mile or so) for your first attempt at one of these. If you can’t keep that pace, not a problem, just slow down. The shooting challenges at these tend to be pretty manageable, it’s the shooting and cardio combined that present the challenge.
The lack of a national league means finding run-and-gun style matches can take a little work. One of the groups that puts on matches like this has a list of similar matches from around the country that can be found here. In the midwest, there’s one of these in Wisconsin (Badger Trekker) in September each year.
Tactical 2 Gun
Tactical 2 gun matches also mix physical and marksmanship challenges, but generally with significantly less emphasis on technical physical exercises than the Tactical Games. These matches tend to be a more fun-oriented atmosphere that still provides a great challenge.
A great example of this is Founder Arms’ Surveyor matches. These matches may have you running through a series of trenches to load a sandbag onto the back of a waiting UTV, engaging targets along the way. Another stage might have you shooting your way through a course of targets in the woods, before crawling through a field on your way to shoot a .50 caliber barret rifle. You might even find yourself having to take a tight shot out of a “boat.” Many of the stages are inspired by video games or movies and the emphasis is on learning while having fun. If you want a shooting challenge, but think that action shooting matches like USPSA take themselves too seriously, these are great matches to check out.
Other examples of Tactical 2 gun matches in the Midwest would be the Brownells Gunfighter Gauntlet or some of the matches put on by the Duluth Practical Shooting Group. Much like with run-and-gun/biathlon matches, there is no overall governing body or league for these matches, so you will find different flavors in different areas, which is part of the fun!
Tips for Tactical Matches
Many of the previous match tips we’ve discussed apply here as well, but the best tip for tactical matches is to expect the unexpected and be willing to roll with the punches. These matches are designed to be outside the ordinary and many match directors don’t reveal what the stages will be ahead of time. That’s part of the fun for tactical matches - you don’t have to plan every step of your stage in meticulous detail because there will be a certain level of chaos as part of the challenge.
Regardless of what kind of tactical match you are going to, make sure you are comfortable moving in your required gear. Strap on your kit and do some burpees at home to make sure your mag pouches hold the magazines in tight, your holster retention is good to go, and you know how to adjust your sling for long movement. Does the match require a chest rig or plate carrier? If so, make sure yours is adjusted so that you can comfortably crawl, run, and lift with it.
If the match allows you to walk stages beforehand, you don’t need to spend as much time ensuring your stage plan is hyper-technically efficient as you do in action shooting. Instead, for tactical matches, I tend to focus on my transitions from one task to another when planning a stage. Where am I going to safely sling my rifle when I carry this sandbag? When am I going to safely start accessing my pistol before this array? These are the sorts of questions I want to make sure I have answers to before I’m on the clock.
The other thing to consider before the stage is how fast you want to tackle things. If it’s a longer effort, like some of the Tactical Games stages, you probably don’t want to sprint through the first few activities. A more deliberate, sustainable pace up front may be wiser, especially if you’re not used to shooting at your maximum heart rate.
Finally, as we’ve talked about before, it’s important to remember that this is just a game. Focus on learning and having fun rather than flexing on everyone else. You’ll perform better and have a better time doing so. A huge part of tactical matches is embracing the suck with other cool people. If one of the other shooters did great, make sure you tell him or her that you noticed. If someone is struggling, try to find a way to encourage them. The trauma bonding is one of the best parts of these matches.
Other posts in our Competition Shooting Series:
Comments