TENET Midnight Madness Night RnG ("Dark Legion"): March 23 in Hopkinsville, KY
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): 4 miles of wilderness trails, carrying all your gear, stopping to shoot 6 stages (rifle/pistol) along the way. At night. Put on by the Green Berets that brought you the Legion Memorial Run N Gun, so expect that flavor. $200 match fee, with all the match proceeds going to the Trevor Graves Memorial Fund, held under the Special Forces Charitable Trust (https://www.specialforcescharitabletrust.org/).
Click "interested" or "going" on the Facebook event page to see all the chatter and details going forward: https://www.facebook.com/events/726579629371579
All the details below.
https://i.imgur.com/tLlUc1D.jpg
Intro:
The 2024 TENET Midnight Madness Run N Gun is a centerfire biathlon – competitors will complete a 4 mile (ish) wilderness trail run combined with a shooting competition. At night. In the dark! The event is a test of man and equipment alike. It is intended to give participants an idea of how being hot, cold, exhausted, and challenged by the environment affects their shooting, and to test the effectiveness of their gear under field conditions. This event is not intended for inexperienced shooters – all participants are expected to be familiar with the operation of their firearms, and to observe basic principles of firearm safety at all times. With the exception of emergencies, Range Officers (ROs) are not allowed to help participants in any way. Good attitudes are a must. If you are the type of person who gets upset when minor changes are made to a plan or when you don’t always get your way, this is not the event for you.
Basics:
Participants will receive both a score for their run based on how long it took them to complete the course, and a score for their shooting based on how long it took them to clear each course of fire. The run score and shooting score will be equally weighted in determining the participant’s final score. This is true run-what-you-brung field-style shooting. For the most part, if you want to carry it for 4 miles, be our guest.
There are two equipment divisions: NVG, in which only IR or passive aiming will allowed to both shoot and navigate the course (penalties will be assessed for any light ND's), and White Light, in which any lights you wish (both weaponlights and navigation lights) will be allowed. For both divisions, a separate light other than your weaponlights MUST be used for navigation.
Shooters are expected to have all their firearms sighted in and all their gear ready to go on the evening of the shoot. There will be no zeroing at the event. Think of this as a test of how you and your equipment would perform in a Second Amendment situation if you had to go take care of business at your current state of readiness, whatever that is. Run order will be more or less random. We will try to be accommodating to participants who wish to share firearms or equipment (we can have one person run early and late), or to partners who wish to run together. Due to issues with back-ups and large groups in the past, only two runners can start together.
Equipment:
The only equipment that is strictly required to participate is a safe center fire rifle, a safe center fire pistol, enough ammo to clear the course (at least twice the minimum required hit count is recommended), eye protection, ear protection, and some form of stopwatch. Rifle targets must be engaged with rifle rounds (no larger than 30-06), and pistol targets must be engaged with pistol rounds. Competitors must carry one rifle and one pistol. Everything else is up to the participant. Shooters may use any type of gear they want to carry their equipment with, the only requirement being that pistols must be carried in a secure holster. Rifles may be carried any way you like, as long as they remain pointed in a safe direction. You may not use tracers or armor piercing bullets that have a hardened penetrator core, as we will be using lots of steel targets that we don’t want to see damaged. To be safe – if your bullet attracts a magnet or has a green tip, leave it at home.
Rules:
First and foremost, all participants will be expected to comply with basic firearms safety at all times. If you demonstrate inability or unwillingness to follow basic firearm safety, you will be asked to leave, with no refund and no apology. Muzzles must be pointed in a safe direction at all times, and fingers must be off the trigger unless the firearm is pointed at a target. Weapons shall only be loaded when a shooter is at a rifle stage, after the RO has given the “fire” command. Some stages will be active, involving moving and shooting. Firearms may remain loaded during movement, but strict muzzle discipline must be maintained.
Shooters will be disqualified (DQ’d) and not allowed to finish the course for the following violations: having a loaded weapon anywhere EXCEPT on a shooting stage after the “beep”, dropping a loaded pistol, pointing a loaded weapon at someone, or having a Negligent Discharge (ND). It is solely the judgement of my Staff that I trust if these should occur, and if you argue with an RO you will lose.
Procedures:
When a shooter approaches a station, he will be required to show the RO an empty mag well and empty chamber on his weapons. If another shooter is currently on the stage when he arrives, the one who just arrived will be instructed by the RO to start his stopwatch to keep track of his wait time (this will be subtracted off the participant’s run time when his run score is calculated). It is purely the shooter’s responsibility to keep track of his wait time. The ROs have no responsibility whatsoever to help you do this. Even if an RO offers to help you keep track of your time, you have no one but yourself to blame if this is not done. When the shooter is ready to shoot the stage, the RO will record his wait time if any. The shooter will be given a quick summary of the course of fire. The RO will ask if the shooter understands the course of fire. If the answer is yes, the shooter will be given the "load and make ready" command. Then the start buzzer will indicate the start of shooting. All stages will have a zone where the shooter must fire from -- either a particular hole in a barricade that you must shoot through, or a marked zone on the ground, in which every part of your body or equipment which touches the ground must remain inside of when you fire. Hits made from outside the designated area will not count toward completion of the course of fire. Every shooting stage will have a 3 minute time limit at most. This is to keep the runners moving and to prevent large backups of shooters waiting to shoot a stage. At the end of that 3 minute period, the shooter will be stopped and time penalties applied to their score for any target not fully neutralized as per the course of fire requirements. If for any reason the “cease fire” command is given, you will immediately cease fire, holster your handgun, and unload your rifle. You will do likewise when you complete a stage, or time out. The RO should tell you your time for the stage. The RO will record your time on their iPad. You may want to carry a pen and notepad to keep track of your score in there is a mix-up with the scoring. Every shooter must show the RO an empty mag well and chamber on their weapons before leaving each stage. The RO will give directions on where to go to continue down the trail. Shooters are NOT required to leave their rifle’s bolt open during the run… this is actually discouraged, as it will allow lots of that beautiful Kentucky red clay to accumulate inside the action. There will be ample opportunity for this to happen on the course.
The Run:
The path for participants to follow will be marked with brightly colored flags and/or tape. Shooters must stay close to the marked path. Do not cut corners. Failure to follow the marked trail may take you into the impact area of a hot range!!! If the trail takes you through some difficult terrain, this is on purpose! Parts of the trail may be down a road. Keep to the left edge of the road and watch for traffic.
Your Fitness:
This event is in a remote area, and you need to be aware of over-exertion. We should have some folks with medical skills on hand, but your health is your responsibility. If you start having problems, slow down... drink some water... listen to your body! There is no shame in walking the course; know yourself and your limitations.
Accommodations:
Cedar Creek Precision is just outside of Hopkinsville, KY. Primitive camping will be allowed onsite for $10/night, and there is an RV camp park about 3 miles from the range.
How to Sign Up:
The registration fee for the Tenet Midnight Madness Run N Gun will be $200. Registration will be limited in number so all runners can finish the course before daylight. Registration will be handled through Practiscore, and we will collect full payment (CASH or CHECK ONLY – NO CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS WILL BE ACCEPTED AND THERE IS NO ATM ONSITE - the evening of the match. Make sure you are familiar with all of our rules and procedures before signing up. All participants must register under their true names. Tickets are non-transferable. Pre-registration is mandatory, and no walk-ons will be allowed on match day as space and time is limited.
All proceeds from the match will go the Trevor Graves Memorial Fund, held under the Special Forces Charitable Trust (https://www.specialforcescharitabletrust.org/)
Cancellation Policy:
Please cancel your registration through Practiscore as soon as you know you can’t come. We always have several people on the waitlist, and if you don’t cancel early enough not only can they not get in, but the Special Forces Association won’t max out the contribution we can make to them. DON’T BE THAT GUY who just decides not to show up and doesn’t tell anyone.
Directions:
The match will be held at Cedar Creek Precision range, which is located at 14298 Melvin West Rd, Hopkinsville, KY 42240.
Photos by Lisa Stennett
