Training is ongoing. Practice is continuous.
So this weekend I will be trucking out to my last course of 2020. Yes, even at these ammo prices I’m going to shoot Tavor III.
You should be looking at what class(es) you want to jump in for 2021 already too. This craziness will abate and the next insanity will follow, such is the nature of people. But the tensions being as high as they are with no serious immediate abatement in sight, keeping the skills dusted off is never a bad idea. So round up some spare ammo somewhere and find a way to make it work for you.
With that said lets go through some items that can make range life easier.
Fully Loaded Range Bag
I’m dropping reviews on some of their outwear next week (hopefully) but I have to appreciate how Beretta has subtly invaded my range weekends with a helping hand. There bags are strangely titled sometimes, but damn if I don’t drag two of them everywhere I go.
The “Field Patrol” seen above is a perfect 3-Day bag to keep in a truck or take on a trip and live out of in a resource rich area. Hotels or homesteads, pack it with your daily and outer layers plus hygiene stuff and you are set. I have never found a better bag for ‘sustainment’. Not patrol necessarily, in fact at all in the military sense of slinging a pack. This is vehicle and travel location supply. You can add basic meds, liquids, and some ammo if you want too but that is what bag two is for.
The “Tactical Range Bag” isn’t all that tactical. But it is a perfect 2-day ammunition hauler. I cannot stress how nice this bag is for moving around loaded magazines.
It fits 28 neatly stacked 30 round 5.56 magazines with room in the main compartment to spare. 14 fit perfectly aligned across the bottom and then the next 14 go on top. Throw 2-6 more on that loose (there’s plenty of room) and there’s your 900 to 1,000 rounds for your typical carbine course without having to load a single magazine at the range.
Best. Idea. Ever. Load mags before, if you don’t already. If you don’t I am about to Aladdin’s ‘A Whole New World’ you into a new era of range time bliss. And readers, that’s just the main compartment. It will also fit AK mags, 308 Mags, and just about anything else you would like neatly too and mixing them doesn’t really kill you space by much if you’re shooting multiple guns or calibers. Its pretty much 28+ full capacity fighting rifle magazines of any variety.
The other pockets have plenty of space for ear pro, and other range goodies. The dedicated pistol magazine pocket holds 6 in the sleeves and many more loose, my record is 23.
This bag single… baggedly? Handily doesn’t seem correct, whatever. It removes the need to pop open ammo cans every couple drills and instead you just feed your gun out of it like a bag of Doritos. Leaving you free to munch on an actual bag of Doritos in your downtime. Snack time is important, I am not joking there. You are burning calories and running yourself harder than usual day-to-day and doing so for longer than your typical 30-60 minute workout. Maintenance on you is crucial. Pack water and snacks.
So, in conclusion, you should have a good range bag ready to simplify your time management on the line. The less time you have to spend jamming mags the less split focused you are. The more of your effort you can put towards maintaining your body and absorbing the lessons. You wouldn’t think that something as little as managing your ammo would make the difference, and that is because you are letting the simplicity of loading a single round or a single magazine cloud thinking about the resource cost of loading 1,000 rounds. Driving a mile isn’t hard, walking one isn’t particular challenging for someone in general good health, but now make it 1,000. Now add a bunch of other tasks that you need to pay attention to on top of the walking.
It is easy to overwhelm you resources when you improperly gauge just how much effort something involves. It’s the same tendency that makes us say, “just five more minutes” or “that will just take a quick second” on simple tasks that do still have an allotted time it will take because it is just that much of your resource required.
Beretta’s bags make resource and time management easier and that’s something, I cannot overstate, makes life easier.
Screw politics, let’s get back on the range.
