INTRO:
The 2025 Hunter’s Moon Run N Gun is a charity fund-raising centerfire biathlon in the traditional Run N Gun format. This year we will be raising funds for the Missouri Farmers Care – Drive to Feed Kids, where we will be helping to reduce food insecurity in school aged kids across the state of Missouri! The event will be part trail run/hike, part obstacle race, and part centerfire 2-gun competition. Competitors may choose to complete a 5k-ish or 10k-ish wilderness trail run/hike combined with a shooting competition. Competitors will have to conquer both natural and man-made obstacles consistent with the environment of the northern Ozarks and a working cattle ranch. You will be tested in your ability to overcome both physical and mental challenges and will gain an appreciation of how factors like being hot or cold, exhaustion, and the environment can affect your shooting, as wells as, testing the effectiveness of your gear under potentially stressful field conditions. This event is not intended for inexperienced shooters; all participants are expected to be familiar with the operation of their firearms, and to always observe the basic principles of firearm safety. Except for emergencies, Range Officers (ROs) are not allowed to help participants in any way. Good attitudes are a must.
BASICS:
Participants will receive both a score for their run based on how long it took them to complete the course, and a score for their shooting based on how long it took them to clear each course of fire. The run score and shooting score will be equally weighted to determine the participant’s final score. This is true “run-what-you-brung” field-style shooting; if you want to carry it for 5 or 10 clicks, be our guest. There are no weight limits for this event; you may, and should, carry ANYTHING that you think may give you an advantage. Just remember that you will have to “pack out” whatever you “pack in”.
Shooters are expected to have all their firearms sighted in and all their gear ready to go on the morning of the shoot. There will be no zeroing at the event. Think of this as a test of how you and your equipment would perform in a moment’s notice, if you had to go take care of business at your current state of readiness, whatever that is. Run order will be mostly random but we will attempt to optimize to reduce wait times. We will try (but cannot guarantee) to be accommodating to participants who wish to share firearms or equipment (we can have one person run in the morning and the other in the afternoon), or to partners who wish to run together, please be conscious that this does cause a ripple effect through the entire match. Due to issues with back-ups, only two runners will be allowed to start together.
RULES:
All participants will be expected to always comply with basic firearms safety. If you demonstrate inability or unwillingness to follow basic firearm safety, you will be asked to leave, with no refund and no apology. “Treat every weapon as if it is loaded. Never point a weapon at anything you do not intend to destroy. Keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction until you intend to fire. Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you intend fire. Know your target and what lies beyond.” Muzzles must always be pointed in a safe direction, and fingers must be off the trigger unless the firearm is pointed at a target. Long guns shall only be loaded when a shooter is at a rifle stage, after the RO has given the “load and make ready” command. Shooters may leave their handguns loaded if it is carried in a secure holster. However, loaded handguns must remain in that holster unless the shooter has been given the “fire” command on a shooting stage. Most stages will be active, involving moving and shooting; firearms may remain loaded during movement, but strict muzzle discipline must be maintained.
Shooters will be disqualified (DQ’d) and not allowed to finish the course for the following violations: having a loaded rifle anywhere EXCEPT on a shooting stage after the “load and make ready” command, dropping a loaded pistol, pointing a loaded weapon at someone, or having a Negligent Discharge (ND). It is solely the judgement of RO’s that I trust if these should occur, and if you argue with an RO you will lose.
EQUIPMENT:
The only equipment that is strictly required to participate is a safe center fire rifle (.223 Rem - .300 Win Mag as long as it does not exceed 3,200 fps), a safe center fire pistol (9mm or larger recommended), enough ammo to clear the course (at least twice the minimum round count from the Course of Fire is recommended), eye protection, and ear protection. Everything else is up to the participant; however, water, a stopwatch, and a pen and notepad are highly recommended. Shooters may use any type of gear they want to carry their equipment with, the only requirement being that pistols must be carried in a secure holster that covers the trigger. Rifles may be carried any way you like, as long as they remain pointed in a safe direction. You may not use tracers or armor piercing bullets that have a hardened penetrator core ("Green Tip" M855/SS109 and anything a magnet sticks to will NOT be allowed). Your pistol must fire a pistol cartridge. Pistol Caliber Carbines can be carried as your rifle if you wish to do so (strongly not recommended) but will not be able to be used on pistol targets.
DIVISIONS:
Divisions for this event are as follows:
10k Open
10k Lady
5k Open
5k Lady
5k Youth (Rimfire) NEW: Competitors for this division must be 16 or younger, a parent or guardian MUST always accompany the competitor through the entire course to ensure all safety requirements are met. This division will be rimfire rifle only, no pistol. The course of fire for this division will be altered slightly to account for the difference in firearm being used; scores will not be directly comparable to the centerfire 5k course. Use of the stage gun is included free of charge for all youth competitors.
PROCEDURES:
When a shooter approaches a station, he will be required to show the RO an empty mag well and empty chamber on his long gun(s). If another shooter is currently on the stage when he arrives, the one who just arrived will be instructed by the RO to start his stopwatch to keep track of his wait time (this will be subtracted off the participant’s run time when his run score is calculated). It is purely the shooter’s responsibility to keep track of his wait time. The ROs have no responsibility whatsoever to help you do this. Even if an RO offers to help you keep track of your time, you have only yourself to blame if this is not done. When the shooter is ready to shoot the stage, the RO will record his wait time if any. The shooter will be given a quick summary of the course of fire. The RO will ask if the shooter understands the course of fire. If the answer is yes, the shooter will be given the “fire” command which is often the “beep” the timer makes when it starts, at which time he may load his rifle and/or draw his pistol and begin shooting the stage. All stages will have a designated zone where the shooter must fire from—this “shoot box” may be a particular hole in a barricade that you must shoot through, or a marked zone on the ground, in which every part of your body or equipment must remain inside of when you fire. Hits made from outside the designated area will not count toward completion of the course of fire. Every shooting stage will have a time limit; aka Par Time, in accordance with the anticipated difficulty of the stage, not to exceed 3 minutes. This is to keep the runners moving and to prevent large backups of shooters waiting to shoot a stage. At the end of the par time, the shooter will be stopped, and time penalties applied to their score for any target not fully neutralized as per the course of fire requirements. If for any reason the “cease fire” command is given, you will immediately cease fire, holster your handgun, and unload your rifle. You will also do this when you complete a stage, or time out. The RO should tell you your time for the stage. The RO will record your time on their paper/tablet. You may want to carry a pen and notepad to keep track of your score in case there is a mix-up with the scoring. Every shooter must show the RO an empty mag well and chamber on his rifle before leaving each stage. The RO will give directions on where to go to continue down the trail. Shooters are NOT required to leave their rifle’s bolt open during the run. In fact, this is discouraged, as there is ample opportunity for junk to find its way into your rifle along the course.
SCORING:
Overall scoring is a combination of the competitor’s run score and shooting score.
Run score = 50% of overall score and will be calculated through your total time on the course minus any accumulated wait time.
Shooting Score = 50% of overall score and will be calculated based on how you perform on each stage compared to the rest of the competitors using the “time plus points” method.
Each shooting stage with have a maximum completion time, also known as a Par time, this time will vary depending on the stage, but no stage will exceed 180 seconds. Stage scoring will commence after one of the following has occurred:
• The shooter has successfully completed the course of fire
• The shooter indicates that they are finished – should the shooter make this indication without successfully completing the course of fire they will automatically receive the maximum possible time PLUS penalties for any targets they have failed to neutralize
• The shooter reaches the max par time.
THE COURSE:
The path for participants to follow will be marked with brightly colored flags and/or tape. Shooters must stay close to the marked path. Do not cut corners. Failure to follow the marked trail may take you into the impact area of a hot range! If the trail takes you through some difficult terrain, this is on purpose, it is what you signed up for! Parts of the trail may be down a road, in these cases, keep to the left edge of the road and watch for traffic.
FACILITIES:
This event takes place in a rural area and on-sight facilities for competitors are limited. There will be porta-potties available, but otherwise you should plan to be as self-sufficient as possible. We will have a concession stand available from 0900 – 1500 on the day of the competition. See “Chili Dinner” under Extras for additional information.
YOUR FITNESS:
This event is in a remote area and is strenuous; you need to be aware of over-exertion. We will have some folks with medical skills on hand, but your health is your responsibility. This course is designed to be physically demanding, if you start having problems, slow down... drink some water... listen to your body! There is no shame in walking the course; know yourself and your limitations.
ACCOMODATIONS:
Hammock, Tent, and RV camping is allowed on site and is recommended. There are no water or electric hookups available. There are other campgrounds with more features, as well as hotels/motels within 35 minutes-1 hour of the event.
HOW TO SIGN UP:
Registration will be handled through Practiscore and will open on Thursday, July 10th at 7pm EST, links to the registration page will be shared here prior to the registration opening. The registration fee for the Hunter’s Moon Run N Gun is $125 for the 5k, and $135 for the 10k course. Plus $1 to Practiscore. Pre-registration is required, and participation will be limited in number so all runners can finish the course before dark. Payment will be required at the time of registration. Please make sure you are familiar with all our rules and procedures before you register. All participants must register under their true names. Tickets are non-transferable.
All competitors will have to sign the Lucas Ranch waiver the morning of the match before you will be allowed to run the course. This will be handled when you check-in at the registration table. All competitors MUST check in at the Start/Finish line between 0530-0645 the morning of the event.
Hunter’s Moon R&G will be donating the proceeds from the match to the Missouri Farmers Care – Drive to Feed Kids, a non-profit charity organization with the goal of eliminating food insecurity in school aged children across the state of Missouri. Learn more about them here:
https://mofarmerscare.com/drive/
EXTRAS:
Stage Gun – Competitors can expect all targets to fall within reasonable effective ranges of the smallest calibers listed under the “Equipment” section; except one. There will be at least one target located between 900-1,000 yards. Competitors are welcome and encouraged to carry their own equipment to be able to make the required shots, however, should a competitor choose not to, or they do not own a weapon capable of making the required shots; a stage gun will be available for the competitor’s use. If you chose to use the stage gun know there will be added movement to the stage and on the clock shooting position adjustments, the stage gun will only be used for the final target, and the stage gun will only have 3 rounds. Use of the stage gun will add $6 to the cost of registering and MUST be selected at the time of registration. This additional $6 will be directly applied to procuring ammunition to ensure there is enough available for everyone that needs to use the stage gun.
Raffle – In an effort to maximize out charitable donation, there will be a raffle (prize TBD) that will take place near the START/FINISH line a, so bring some cash, take a shot at winning a prize, and help us feed Missouri kids!
Chili Dinner – After the match Saturday evening and before the prize table, all competitors and RO’s are invited up to the lodge for a chili dinner. This dinner is provided on a “donation” basis, so contribute what you are willing, have a bowl of chili, and recount the day’s activities with friends! All proceeds from the donations for this dinner will go directly to the Drive to Feed Kids.
CANCELLATION & REFUND POLICY:
Please cancel your registration through Practiscore as soon as you know you are not able to attend. We may have people on the waitlist, and if you don’t cancel early enough not only can they not get in, but we won’t be able to max out our contribution we make to the Drive to Feed Kids. Please don’t be the one who just decides not to show up and doesn’t tell anyone.
That said, we understand sometimes people’s situations change and they cannot make it. A full refund, minus the 3.5% service fee our CC processing company charges us, will be given if you cancel more than 60 days out from the event (Aug 19th), a half refund will be given up to 30 days out (Sept 18th). No refunds will be issued within 30 days of the event.
Practiscore uses Stripe as a CC processing company, your registration charges will appear as a charge from them!
DIRECTIONS:
The event will be held at Lucas Cattle Company, in Cross Timbers, Missouri. Cross Timbers is located 40 minutes from Camdenton, MO and the Lake of the Ozarks, 2 hours from Columbia, Mo, 2.5 hours from the Kansas City International Airport, and 3.5 hours from the St. Louis Airport. The address listed below will get you close, then follow the signs!
26511 County Rd 50
Cross Timbers, MO 65634
Also check out other Workshops in Cross Timbers, Sports events in Cross Timbers, Nonprofit events in Cross Timbers.
