Tactical Games Competition – Lessons Learned from Brownells – Part IV
Adam Scepaniak 08.24.23
Over the course of the last month I have been detailing the full kit of equipment that I ran at The Tactical Games event in Iowa near Brownells. While I have been hunting, shooting, and training with firearms my entire life (plus I drank some CrossFit Kool-Aid during a period of my life), I have never been a competition shooter or attempted a Tactical Games event before. With all that being said, I could manipulate a firearm under stress safely with no issues, but I had no idea what I was getting into. Will I ever do a Tactical Games event again in the future?… I absolutely will and am currently planning for it. Did my 1st Tactical Games competition go well?… Well, that depends on how you measure success. My goals were to not get hurt, be safe, and have fun. I had no delusions of reaching the podium. So, I accomplished all of my goals, but I also had significant bumps and lumps along the way. In this final article about my Tactical Games competition experience, I will share all of my lessons learned that I hope to improve upon next year. Let’s dive in!
Fitness/Competition Coverage on AllOutdoor
The Tactical Games is a physically grueling competition that couples weapon manipulations with real-world fitness tasks. Accuracy and speed are paramount, but safety trumps everything. If you participate in The Tactical Games you are acknowledging the danger and difficulty that this competition demands of the competitor. Only participate if you can safely and effectively deploy the firearms you are competing with.
Herein, all of the information provided is the opinion of the author through his personal experiences in The Tactical Games as well as his background leading up to the event. The gear and tactics suggested ahead are a way, but not the way. Take it like a grain of salt.
So, with everything I experienced at my one and only Tactical Games competition, I have got to say that I am excited to get back to another event and compete. I am not John Wick nor do I pay my mortgage with my shooting abilities (not even close) so I will likely do a Tactical Games competition once per year; not 6 or 7. It’s a great “measuring stick” to see where my skills are at. It tests real-world fitness, precarious shooting positions, and it gets you out of your comfort zone. I look forward to hopefully taking 15th out of 50 people next year. I always want to better and improve myself. I am not there to specifically beat another gun bro or withhold super-duper secrets I learned. I have a tattoo on my back that states “rising tide raises all ships” meaning we all do better when we all do better. My success or anybody else’s – in life or the Tactical Games – does not bring anyone else down. We should all help each other out and I hope this Tactical Games competition series of articles helped you out, too. As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.
