Law Officer Volume 3 Issue 8 During eight weeks in June, July and August, a strange combination of guns, fly-fishing, cops and tactical clothing occurs in Bighorn County, Mont. At a very nice lodge in a little bitty area called St. Xavier (you probably won t find it on most maps), 5.11 Tactical Series holds a competition for law enforcement officers known as the 5.11 Challenge.
Law Officer is a proud sponsor of this event, and last month managing editor Jed Henson and I got a chance to experience the Challenge first-hand during a sponsor weekend. As sponsors, we were treated to a run-through of the entire shooting course, courtesy of Bill Berry, the 5.11 Challenge executive director and a 30-year law enforcement veteran.
Participants in the Challenge are chosen each year using a lottery system. Over the course of several weeks, a total of 32 teams come to the 5.11 lodge for a three-day stay during which they will compete in a shooting course designed to test their skills and thought processes. But they ll also experience something else no other shooting competition has the hospitality of the people from 5.11. The lodge sits right on the Big Horn River, one of the top trout-fishing rivers in the whole country, and when teams are not all wrapped up in the competition, they re floating down that river with a guide trying to outsmart some of the biggest trout around. Or, they re relaxing and swapping ideas with other teams.
The shooting course was designed by Berry, with input from some of the best firearms instructors around. Just as in real life, participants must shoot with handguns, shotguns and assault rifles. This year s competition even requires the use of a backup weapon. Missed rounds and extra time work against your hits, so if you re going to have even a chance of winning, you must find a rhythm that maximizes hits while minimizing time and misses.
Four teams shoot each week. The three top-scoring teams are invited back for a finals competition (on Aug. 25 this year). The first-place team wins $100,000 in gear for their department, while the second- and third-place teams receive $50,000 and $25,000 in equipment, respectively. The Challenge covers expenses for participants.
Check out the latest Challenge results at www.511challenge.com. Also, now s the time to throw your name in the hopper if you want to be considered for next year.