Old Eighteen Defense -Tactical Biathlon – July – Texas – 2026
Located in Palestine, in the heart of the Piney woods , the Dead Cat Ranch is a beautiful property, home to a wide range of terrain, sand, and pine trees. We are extremely excited to host our 2026 Series Rivals and Teams event here, as it is going to provide competitors with a great shooting experience.
Tactical Biathlon is a 2-gun biathlon. Competitors carry a rifle and pistol over a predetermined course of fire ranging in distance.
Each competitor is assigned a unique start time to enter the course. Re-supplying once on the course is not permitted.
Competitors will encounter several stages to shoot at throughout the course. These stages may be rifle only, pistol only, or a combination of the two.
Competitors have 3 minutes to complete a stage. If the competitor fails to complete a stage within the time allotted, they will receive a Did Not Finish (DNF).
Each stage has a unique layout including varying numbers of targets and distances to the targets. Competitors must be able to adapt to the stage, target size, and distance on their own in order to complete the stages.
Generally, pistol targets will range from 15-75 yards, while rifle targets will range from 50-700 yards.
Competitors will be put in unique situations and positions that will require engaging targets they might not be accustomed to. Additionally, some stages might require movement, or transitions from one position/weapon to another. Safety is paramount. Competitors and ROs will ensure that shooters are moving with the safety on, finger off the trigger, and muzzle down range. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. A DQ will be removal from the course, and you will be done for the day.
While running on the course, rifles will not be loaded or have a mag inserted. Pistols are allowed to be in condition 1 (magazine inserted and a round in the chamber) while holstered. Competitors will be checked at the start/finish along with the entry/exit of every stage. Failure to follow this (or competition specific rules/regulations) will result in immediate disqualification.
Our competitions will weight your score 50% for shooting and 50% for run time, unless otherwise specified on the event page.
The Series event will be a 6-10 mile course in the typical Tactical Biathlon style.
The Rivals and Teams event will utilize the Series course with modified stages and a lessened distance. Rivals can be ran individually or in a group. Teams will be composed of 2 members. Teams will go out on the course together and shoot the stages as a unit. Stage designs will vary – requiring members to shoot individually or at the same time along with additional challenges that the team must accomplish.
The ‘Series’ event will be held on Saturday starting at 7:00am and the ‘Rivals’ and ‘Teams’ event will be held on Sunday starting at 7:00am.
If you purchase a ticket 3 weeks or less to an event you will not be able to receive a t-shirt. The Shirts will already have been ordered by then. But more than likely if you hang around you could possibly snag one from a no show..