Mammoth Sniper Challenge crowns new champions
January 21, 2022The 2022 Grunt Style Vortex Optics Mammoth Sniper Challenge just took place for the fourth time at Fort Gordon, Georgia. By all accounts it was a massive success. When registration became available in July, 2021, the 100 teams slots were already gone in a mere 49 minutes.
MMA superstars Steven “Wonder boy” Thompson, and Royce Gracie also joined the event.
Thompson stated, “The mammoth sniper challenge was probably the best experience I’ve had in a long time! I had soo much fun and met a ton of really cool people.. and it’s the first time in a long time that I’ve done something more challenging then fighting lol.”
He went on to say, “I can see why people come back every year. I’m definitely looking forward to coming back next year and crushing it.”
Gracie commented by saying, “The name, Mammoth sniper challenge says everything. It’s all around tough, but not impossible.” The combat sports legend continued by saying, “It tests your ability to survive and communicate with your partner.”
Unfortunately, various unforeseen circumstances prevented everyone from showing up. However, 74 teams made it to the starting line and stepped off at 6:30am on Friday, Jan 7th. The exhausted competitors finished around 2:30 pm on Sunday, Jan 9th. During that time, the teams rucked around 10 miles a day in-between event stations, and camped out each night.
The ruck movements ranged from 0.44 miles to 7.0 miles in between challenging tasks and obstacles. At the stations, the teams shot 3-4 rifle and pistol stages each day. The pistol targets ranged from 15 to 78 yards, while the rifle targets ranged from 125 to 1115 yards.
Competitors were ranked by shooting score but must have completed all the rucks in the allotted time for score to count. Only 50 teams completed all the rucks and shooting stages, meaning the failure rate was around 30%.
The teams were comprised of members from Ft. Gordon, the Army Marksmanship Unit, the US Marine Corps, US Army Special Forces Groups, various Law Enforcement agencies, the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, civilian shooters and more.
This year’s winners were Brent Wood & Grant Urick.
The challenge was designed to promote friendly competition and allow those involved to share their love of shooting and the outdoors.
Festivities and events were sponsored by such industry heavy hitters as Grunt Style, Vortex Optics, Daniel Defense, Tikka, Beretta, Thunder Beast Arms, Proof Research, BEST Targets, Eberlestock, Kestrel Ballistics, and Magnetospeed.
