Gamut Challenge Veteran's Day 2023
11 November 2023
I just spent an amazing weekend down in Fort Meade, Florida at the Gamut Challenge, a bi-annual two-day event consisting of 20 miles of running or rucking, and shooting. OTTE Gear is a sponsor along with Staccato, SOTMFG (Special Ops Tactical) and Ghost Inc. It is put on by our good friend, Bob Keller (ex-Ranger CAG Operator) of Gamut Resolutions and is hosted at RangeWerx, his premier new range located an easy drive from Tampa, Sarasota and Orlando.
The event featured forty male and female competitors from all over the U.S., some from law enforcement and some civilians, ranging in age from 20-60. Needless to say it was inspiring to see some fellow silver-hairs out there getting after it! The Gamut Challenge blends shooting, pistol and rifle at different distances and from different positions, trying to simulate real world situations. They also add physical exercises in between to test your shooting skills under duress. There is an ass-kicking obstacle course designed to chew up even the most fit athletes where competitors jump over walls, crawl through drainage tunnels, climb up and across ropes, log jump, cross monkey bars all under blazing Florida sun cooking you…it was tiring just watching.
After a little rest and more shooting there is a ruck march through the hot and humid orange groves with a 35 lb pack and rifle. The ruck was spread over 2 days – a 10 mile ruck & a 5 mile ruck – brutal.
At the end of each day the athletes hobbled back to their cars, even the strongest competitors hurting. In the end, hard man Bryan Rodriguez from the Miami Dade SWAT Team took the top spot, his third time taking top honors. Congratulations, Bryan!
