The right clothing and footwear can make all the difference while hunting or range shooting, in both performance and safety. Whether you head into the hills or spend the day on your feet on some range, the difference between a good finish or limping home is more than just how well you can hit what you aim at.
Last year at the World IPSC Shooting Champs, our Open Team was privileged to get some sponsorship from Tactical Solutions in the way of clothing and footwear.
I have been using some of their gear for a while, as I found it fit for purpose, because shooting, well it’s more than just about the firearm. Especially in our case, as we were competing against the clock as much as against each other.
We were given some range shoes made by 5.11, which were more of a boot. The boot had a good tread pattern and when I say good, aggressive is probably a more accurate description, exactly what we always look for in range footwear, as we need to move both fast and stop suddenly over all kinds of ground. Being steady on our feet can make all the difference. Lost traction while completing a course of fire, often both over and around different obstacles can cost us both in time as well the potential danger to anyone at the range.
Picking the right tread pattern is something that comes into our thinking and planning the same as any sport person, because range safety is always on our minds, which is one of the reasons that our safety record is as good as it is. I have yet to be disappointed with any of the clothing I have worn from 5.11, and their footwear range is particularly good and has stood up to all I have thrown at them.
The added advantage is they looked smart enough for me to wear them at the closing ceremony, which was when we did our best to look presentable! To be fair, some did better than others here as well, but it’s hard not to look good in black with the silver fern on your shirt. Beats the hell out of the green and yellow of our neighbours. Thanks, Tactical Solutions for your sponsorship, I will continue to wear your gear with confidence.
