BluCore Shooting Center

I am sure many of you are already aware of a company called BluCore. They are based out of Lakewood, Co. and the company is owned and operated by Navy Seal combat veterans. This original location is a gun store, range and training facility that offers a wide range of training classes. They also have a great website, blog and an awesome online store. Be sure to check their website regularly as they run incredible specials on firearms and accessories. Their "train how you fight" motto is reinforced on the range since they allow drawing from holsters and controlled rapid fire. Sounds like just the facility we need here in the Austin, TX area.

Well, the wait is over....well half of it is, anyway. BluCore decided to expand to the Austin area and built a store in Round Rock, TX. over a year ago. We have known about this location for a while but we are a little behind in getting the word out [beyond word of mouth] on our blog. I guess we like the store so much that we were being a little selfish and trying to keep it to ourselves. In all fairness, we did post pictures of Christy and I at their official grand opening a few months back on Facebook [which we had a great time participating in]. We just haven't written a story about them until now.

The store is nestled in a small shopping center off of I-35 in Round Rock near the Sam Bass exit right next to the Animal Hospital. It is not a large store, but hey, this is just the beginning for what they have planned here. When you walk in the first thing you will notice is how well the store is layed out. Everything is easy to find and is categorized neatly on the shelves. They have the most thought out display of holsters that I have ever seen at a gun store. They are organized on the wall by the brand of gun that they fit. This display is so simple yet so brilliant. I am sure I am not the only one that has found themselves at a gun store searching hopelessly through stack upon stack of Glock holsters just to find what you need. For me, finding a right handed 1911 holster was quick and easy. The only problem I faced is what brand I wanted to select from.

They have a decent amount of pistols and long guns to choose from and they definitely do not price gouge like some small stores are known to do. If you cannot find the firearm that you have been looking for all you have to do is jump on their online store and order it and have it shipped free right to the store. With the selection they have at their store along with what they offer on their website, you are sure to find what you need. Now, if you are not sure what you want or you are shopping for your first gun, the staff at BluCore is there to assist you. The staff comes from Military, Law Enforcement and competitive shooting backgrounds and they are very knowledgeable when it comes to firearms. They take their time and actually listen to the customer and they are not quick to force an "expert opinion" on customers like we have experienced first hand when shopping for a firearm. There is nothing we hate worse than having to prove our knowledge to the guy standing on the other side of the gun counter. In most cases when this has happened we have fired thousands of rounds more than the "expert" we are talking to.

We have never had this feeling when talking to the BluCore staff. If anything, they are interested in actually hearing about our shooting experiences and are receptive to it. We have yet to find an employee there that didn't go out of their way to help us and they quickly respond when we do need help which is nice. Every time we walk into the store they recognize us and their manager always makes it a point to talk to Christy and I. He was even nice enough to let us take pictures inside the store for this article.  John, if you are reading this we apologize for the delay of this article. We will buy something to make up for it! Haha

Now, as I stated earlier, the store is just the first phase for what they are planning for the Austin area. Within the next few months they are planning on building a facility like the one they have in Colorado. When they get this new facility built they will close the temporary location in Round Rock and will have everything housed in the new building. I believe they are looking at land in Pflugerville close to Tracking Point. No matter where they put it we will definitely be regulars of the range and the store. They will also offer classes at the new location. Anything from CHL classes and private lessons to advanced firearms training. Overall, BluCore is a great addition to the area and we look forward to being customers for many years to come!

BluCore Shooting Center
2000 N Mays St. Suite 113
Round Rock TX 78664
Phone: 512-813-0503

Hours: Monday through Saturday 10am-6pm
http://www.blucoreshootingcenter.com/

Texas Tactical Carbine Match

This past weekend Christy and I decided to shoot a carbine match put on by Texas Tactical. It has been a couple of years since we had shot one of these matches and after shooting the match this weekend, we cannot imagine for the life of us why we stopped!

If you are not familiar with what a carbine match is, it is essentially an IDPA match that can be shot with either a pistol [traditional IDPA style minus the concealment garment] or you can shoot it with a carbine [.22, 5.56, 7.62, .308]. Basically, the idea behind the match is to use defensive type rifles or pistols and to "shoot what you have". Some of the stages are a combination of pistol and carbine similar to a 3 gun match minus the shotgun. The concept for this match was developed by our friend, "Iron Mike" Webb and he busts his butt to put these awesome matches on.

The day before the match I had the worst migraine that I have ever had. It took all the strength I could muster just to get up enough energy to clean our guns on Saturday night. I cleaned the guns while Christy got all of our gear and ammo together. I was really doubtful that I would be feeling well enough the next morning to even compete.

I was awoken [yes, its a word....Christy had me look it up] by an upset stomach around 6am and at that point I knew for sure that the match would be a no go. After sitting at the computer for about an hour watching Youtube videos of various competitions, I heard Christy's alarm go off and I knew I had to make a quick decision on whether or not I was feeling up to the challenge. Luckily, Christy did not get a lot of sleep that night so I knew it wouldn't take much to convince her we needed to stay home. Well, after about thirty minutes of contemplation, we both decided that we needed to do this match.

We arrived at Austin Rifle Club with not a lot of time to spare. As we were signing in, the decision was made to add another squad since there were so many shooters. The problem with this was they did not have enough Safety Officers to run the additional squad. As we were unpacking the truck and loading our gear onto the War Wagon III  [the name of our gun cart], our good friend Trey walked up and told us about the dilemma. He said that he was asked who he thought could run the squad, and he said, "The Ross' are great Safety Officers! They can run the squad!". Now, all he had to do was convince us to do it. Since it had been a couple of years that we had done this type of match, we were a little reluctant to say, "Yes". Trey is a pretty convincing guy though, and we just "happened" to have out trusty timer on us so it was meant to be.

We saw a lot of familiar faces as we walked up to the shooter's briefing including our newest friends, Louise and James. We had met them the weekend before at Temple Gun Club for a Steel Challenge match. Louise's warm smile and enthusiastic greeting made us feel right at home. Of course, some of the greetings we got were a little more sarcastic since we have been absent from the carbine matches for so long! After a good dose of ribbing from our friends, we got our game faces on and prepared to get to work. We were hoping to see "Iron" Mike, since we have not seen him since the IDPA Nationals, but he himself was feeling under the weather and didn't make it out. He is the match director, but he had to pass the reigns off to the very capable hands of his wife, Jennifer. She did a great job and kept us all in line.

Christy was shooting great and looked in fine form through each stage. Unfortunately, I was having issue after issue including my red dot kept failing. Thanks God for my Magpul back up sights! I was fading fast as the day wore on as I was still suffering from the aftermath of the migraine the day before. My legs felt like they weighed 100 pounds and I was aching all over. On a shoot and move stage I was doing good just keeping my sights on target and by the end of the stage I was severely winded. I owe a lot to Christy and the rest of the squad for helping me and encouraging me throughout the day. I started to feel much better as I downed about a gallon of water between each stage.

Overall we had a great time and we are glad that we decided to go. Even though I felt terrible, it was worth every minute getting to spend time shooting and getting to hang out with such awesome people. One of the guys on the squad kept commenting that Christy and I did a great job running the squad and that we made it a lot of fun for him. Hearing that made me feel a LOT better. Making sure that everyone stays safe and has a fun time is always our goal when we run a squad. No one likes to shoot with a grumpy safety officers, including us!

Here is the link for the pictures of our squad:
ARC Carbine Match