Sorry for the delayed reply, but: Things I learned...
Homemade Rear Bags: Properly made ones = GOOD. A bag of rice wrapped in a t-shirt and zap-strapped closed = not so good. My hand was cramping up some fierce during the agony snap trying to keep the gun elevated and on target. Also, buy from the guy selling rear-bags AT the match...dont wait until a week later when you have to pay for shipping as well! 2 TAB bags inbound shortly...
Ballistic Calculator: Goes without saying, that you trust the "DID HIT" data vice the "SHOULD HIT" data from the calculator. Discovered a pretty big discrepancy at 4-500m between what Ballistic AE said and what I actually dialled. Easy enough to stomach, but I was getting pretty frustrated with WHY the data wasn't lining up as I had always had good results with the calculator in the past...to the point where I dragged out my chrony to make sure my 175gr SMKs were not travelling at 2800fps+ out of my 21" barrel...lol
Gear Cover: Will probably look for an easier option to cover my gear while in the butts or otherwise not shooting. I had drug my issued ground sheet/tarp out which was a pain in the ass! Something similar to a rucksack cover that is elastic and can stretch around my gun and backpack would make things quicker, lighter, and easier.
Overall, having attended one of these clinics in the past definitely leaned up my setup in terms of hauling gear around the range. I was still likely a little heavier than I could've been, but I was able to get on and off the line quickly and without leaving a "kit bomb" behind.
Many thanks to Barney, and I hope to see you all at the CQB clinic next month!
