Patriot Defense 2014 RMSQ AAR
Posted By: Jeff Hamilton on May 4, 2014
PD put together a nice AAR on the 2014 RMSQ. Check it out here: https://www.patriotdefense.com/rocky-mountain-steel-quest-rmsq/
2014 RMSQ Post Match Interview with Kyle Lynch
Posted By: Jeff Hamilton on May 4, 2014
Here’s a quick interview with Kyle after the RMSQ.
Travis Derouin's RMSQ Match Report
Posted By: Zak Smith on April 21, 2014
Editor’s Note: Travis wrote this up for a private audience and then we asked if we could publish it here for everyone to read. – Zak
I have just returned from shooting the Rocky Mountain Steel Quest competition held by Competition Dynamics in Douglas, Wyoming. It was a two day event that involved hiking and shooting and it proved to be an amazing experience. Here are some pictures I took at the match:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tderouin/sets/72157644001744115/
I’m relatively new to competition rifle shooting, I shot my first match at the Steel Safari competition held last year in Logan, New Mexico. I shoot a (left-handed) GAP Precision .308 with a Nightforce optic. I am also from Canada, eh?
The course format is almost the same as the Steel Safari. During each day you shoot about nine stages. Shooters will hike up to a stage, and get five minutes to find three to six targets (which are usually cleverly hidden), range and engage them. On stages with three targets, you will engage the targets from two different shooting positions, and on stages with six targets, you will engage from one shooting position.
Time management is a key factor for success, in addition to wind reading, and target identification. This match though introduced some pistol stages, which added some flavor to the match. In all, I think each day I hiked about four miles with a 29 pound pack and a 15 pound rifle. I would say targets were on average 400 yards from the shooter and ranged between 200 and 700 yards. Targets were of varying sizes and most a high percentage of shots were taken from the prone position.
The match was a two day match, but the days could not have been more different. The first day was 20°C/68°F and warm, and wind was not a significant factor. And as you will see from the pictures, the second day was -5°C/23°F, with lots of snow, with strong winds. Wyoming had even issued a storm warning for this particular day. While the snow and wind made the course of fire much more challenging, it was a great experience to shoot two days back to back with such different conditions.
The bad weather on Sunday made for some interesting challenges – all shooter’s range-finders stopped working mid-way through the day – likely due to reflection from the falling snow. A range-finder is an essential piece of equipment for this type of competition, not having a functional one is a disaster. However, given how much of this sport is mental, having a proper attitude is also requirement for success. There is no time in the five minutes to get flustered and distracted. Rather than get frustrated about it, I saw the humour in not having a range-finder and took it as a challenge, and ended up making some good range estimations with no range-finder and I picked up a 2-3 hits per stage in the afternoon.
The pistol component is where this match differed from the Steel Safari. Each day there was a dedicated stage for just pistol, where shooters would engage 15 targets of varying size and distances distributed across creek beds. These stages were a ton of fun to shoot, as long as you remembered which targets you had already engaged, and which ones remained. Also, each day had a rifle pistol combination stage which had shooters engage 4-5 targets between the usual two rifle positions. In order to get to your second rifle shooting position, you had to successfully engage each of the pistol targets – twice. No points were awarded for the pistol targets, and no extra time was issued in addition to the five minutes for these stages. It made a standard rifle stage that much more difficult.
My favorite stage of the match was a rifle/pistol combo stage on day two. After engaging three targets from the first shooting position, I had to make my way down a hill to the edge of a creek. Due to the snow, I ended up sliding down the hill on my ass. There were five IPSC targets across a creek to be engaged, and then the three rifle targets were engaged again from the same position.
This was my second Competition Dynamics match and it was another great experience and I look forward to shooting this competition again in the years to come. Not only was the competition efficiently run, it was well sponsored and had a generous prize table.
For more details about this match and other matches, you can check out the Competition Dynamics website.
First installment of RMSQ photos
Posted By: Zak Smith on April 20, 2014
Here are some photos we took during the RMSQ. More to follow!
Here are some photos that Travis Derouin took, Travis Derouin’s Flickr album
If you have photos or video, please send it over!
2014 RMSQ-Day 2: cold and snowy
Posted By: Jeff Hamilton on April 20, 2014
The weather changed from high 60s F to mid 20s F overnight. Day 2 of the 2014 RMSQ was not for the faint of heart. Check it out:
2014 RMSQ Rifle Stage Overview
Posted By: Jeff Hamilton on April 20, 2014
Before it started snowing last weekend Casey “volunteered” to have a video done of his stage. This video is annotated and explains the skills involved in shooting a CD rifle stage.
2014 RMSQ SCORES
Posted By: Zak Smith on April 14, 2014
Congrats to everyone who finished the 2014 Rocky Mountain Steel Quest.
Here are the scores: CARBINE SCORES PDF and RIFLE SCORES PDF
Last-minute RMSQ Notes
Posted By: Zak Smith on April 3, 2014
The Rocky Mountain Steel Quest (RMSQ) is coming up fast. Here are some last minute notes about the match:
Sign-in will be from 10 AM until 4 PM on Friday April 11th. Everyone needs to check in before 4 PM. The mandatory shooters meeting will be at 4:30 PM Friday. The location for sign-in and the sight-in range is right at
440 Wagon Hound Rd.
Douglas, WY
This is not a real address but if you plug it into Google Maps it will put a place marker right at the turn-off.
The best way to get there is to take Esterbrook Rd (94) south from Douglas. Do not take Cold Springs Rd, it will lead you on a wild goose chase.
During sign-in/sight-in Friday, no competitor may go west of the sign-in area (the 440 Wagon Hound location) on the road.
The match is “full” with a wait list, so if you cannot make it please let me know ASAP so we can offer another shooter the opportunity to get in.
This match is run in a similar format the Steel Safari, in which each shooter will act as the RO for the shooter behind him, and then vice versa. We will explain how this works at the shooters meeting.
Please bring a good set of binoculars for this “spotting” activity. Electronically-amplified earmuffs also help.
Make sure your load chronos at less than 3200 fps, especially you guys in the Carbine Division.
The round count for rifle division will be no more than 100 rounds (rifle) in the match itself. 100 rounds for Pistol will be sufficient if you are a decent pistol shooter (bring more if you are going to miss a lot). For carbine division, take the rifle round count (100) and multiply it by the number of extra engagements you think you’ll need to hit the targets.
Just like the Steel Safari, a significant part of the challenge at this match will be target identification and location under time constraints. You’ll have 5 minutes from showing up at the shoot position to locate, range, and engage 6 rifle/carbine targets. There will be some pistol-only stages and some stages will have rifle and pistol targets.
There will be a tech inspection for firearm safety during check-in.
The sight-in range will have “KD” steel out to approx 1000 yards, at uneven intervals.
Movement on the RMSQ Wait List!
Posted By: Zak Smith on January 27, 2014
The Rocky Mountain Steel Quest (RMSQ), which filled up quickly, had some movement on the waiting list today. I was able to grant a few shooters who were on the waiting list a slot, so if you are still on the waiting list, please do not despair! If you are still interested in shooting the RMSQ, please submit an application and we’ll put you on the list.
Unfortunately, the slots that became available were due to applicants who did not pay their entry fee on time. (Payment is due no later than two weeks after we “approve” your application.) Remember that your match slot for any Competition Dynamics match is not locked in until you follow the registration process, send in payment, and get the “CONFIRMED!” email.
New match, the Rocky Mountain Steel Quest
Posted By: Zak Smith on December 15, 2013
We are adding a new match for 2014! We are calling it the Rocky Mountain Steel Quest.
Its format will be identical to the Steel Safari but be located at our Douglas WY venue. This venue is comprised of two adjoining ranches with over 17,000 acres available (including a mountain). As many of you know the terrain there is much different than the terrain down at Blue Steel. We have longer distances available and there are more mountains, for a start.
It will be only two days, Saturday-Sunday, with check-in on Friday. This should make it more low-impact for those that have to travel, and Douglas is only about 225 miles from Denver instead of 375 (Logan). Lodging is available about 10 minutes away in Douglas.
There will be two divisions. We’ll have the regular open rifle division just like Steel Safari. The second division, scored separately, will be for semi-automatic .223/5.56 caliber rifles (“carbines”). The details on carbine scoring are TBD at this time, but they will be able to use multiple rounds to engage targets.
The dates for RMSQ will be April 12-13, 2014. The fee is not set yet but it will be cheaper than the SS, in part because it’s a first-year match and in part because it’s just a 2-day event.
Ever since we saw the Douglas properties we started talked about a “Winter Steel Safari.” Consider this a test run of a match in a season other than summer. In April we could have weather in the 60’s or it could be 30 with some snow. We consider that to be part of the adventure. We’ll start another thread about it soon.