• If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership  The benefits pay for the membership many times over.

3-gun noob advice kilothread

Additional stuff

Since 3 gunners just looove to have lots of gear, here's a few useful things.
A full set of choke tubes, a range finder, a notebook.
The notebook is so obvious, it's overlooked. Some matches will let you see the stages the day before the match starts. Recording the kinds of targets, number of them, distances and locations is a good thing to know. The notebook is the place to keep track of them, not just in your head. It also will help in future practices.
The rangefinder, lets you know how far targets are, obviously. You can range your long distance rifle targets, and write it down in your notebook. It's not just for rifle, but, can be of value with shotgun plates too.
A full set of chokes, well, can give you a heck of an advantage. This past weekend at a match, that limited shot to 6's and smaller shot, had plates as far as 26 yards. This was a team match. Our shotgun shooter had the 6's which were loaded to target velocities 1200 fps, yes, he chrono'd them! He used his full choke on the run, and had no issues with the long targets, which a lot of teams did. On another stage, he used the Improved Cylinder for steel and clays that were tossed by popper activate flippers.
 
Dan S said:
Since 3 gunners just looove to have lots of gear, here's a few useful things.
A full set of choke tubes, a range finder, a notebook.
The notebook is so obvious, it's overlooked. Some matches will let you see the stages the day before the match starts. Recording the kinds of targets, number of them, distances and locations is a good thing to know. The notebook is the place to keep track of them, not just in your head. It also will help in future practices.
The rangefinder, lets you know how far targets are, obviously. You can range your long distance rifle targets, and write it down in your notebook. It's not just for rifle, but, can be of value with shotgun plates too.
A full set of chokes, well, can give you a heck of an advantage. This past weekend at a match, that limited shot to 6's and smaller shot, had plates as far as 26 yards. This was a team match. Our shotgun shooter had the 6's which were loaded to target velocities 1200 fps, yes, he chrono'd them! He used his full choke on the run, and had no issues with the long targets, which a lot of teams did. On another stage, he used the Improved Cylinder for steel and clays that were tossed by popper activate flippers.
Click to expand...


I used Light Mod on most but on the stage I saw the problems went to IMod I also spoke with Mark about it for advice and he agreed. I was shooting 3 dram 8s Winchester AA and had no problems like I saw others. What I learned was I need to take the time to pattern all my chokes and enter the results in my note book. I will also mark on the shotgun stock with tape what each does at 15, 25, and 30yds because sometimes (like this weekend) I forget to pack the notebook.

The course I took at LL Bean helped me with the flippers. I only shot at one and I hit it which is rare. I will be playing Sporting Clays a little to help he out hitting the birds.

Another thing I learned is you can listen to what everyone tells you but ultimately you have to do more than listen....... You need to work and work hard. I worked on my reloads and one at a time is the only thing that works ( I will soon be selling 4 round and six round cal comp strippers)

The 100 yard zero on my AR worked for me. It worked on the close stages and on the 200 yard stages so I will stick with it and practice.

The range finder will be my next purchase. I realized the value at this match. I also learned the value of traveling light which I didn't do
 
Watching other shooters at the DMG side stage at Harvard IDPA on Saturday reinforced the most important rule of 3 gun. BRING 3 GUNS THAT WORK!
 
jar said:
Watching other shooters at the DMG side stage at Harvard IDPA on Saturday reinforced the most important rule of 3 gun. BRING 3 GUNS THAT WORK!
Click to expand...
I don't get the thought process of going to a match with any gun that's unreliable. Or buying shotgun ammo that's cheap, but, sometimes won't function properly.
 
IMO/E, you have to shoot your weapons a good bit to see problems crop up. Most weapons can go a few rounds without problems, but really show their true colors after you start putting the rounds through them. In the 3-guns I've shot, I've seen far more problems with shotguns than, say, pistols. I think that's because there are opportunities to shoot pistols a lot, rifles a bit, and shotguns not so much, and the fact that firing a shotgun bangs the "system" harder than a rifle firing .223. As a result, the shotguns get built up, maybe taken to range for a few rounds to function check the gun, and then it's off the the match. And this formula results in things like safeties locking up, mag tubes flying off, an extended bolt handle coming off in the guy's hand, shells falling out of sidesaddles under recoil, etc. You really need to run your shotgun hard to highlight any potential "issues."
 
If a mag tube flies off a shotgun, it's not the fault of the gun, but, negligence of the owner! You forgot to add that the bolt on side saddles being overtightened and binding the trigger group.
 
Dan S said:
I don't get the thought process of going to a match with any gun that's unreliable. Or buying shotgun ammo that's cheap, but, sometimes won't function properly.
Click to expand...
I think at this match, many of the folks were pistol guys who don't often shoot their rifle and/or shotgun. Under pressure, either they or the gun choked.
 
M1911 said:
I think at this match, many of the folks were pistol guys who don't often shoot their rifle and/or shotgun. Under pressure, either they or the gun choked.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this was a one stage side match after a pistol match. I think this was the first time shooting a long gun in an action match for the majority of competitors.
 
jar said:
Yeah, this was a one stage side match after a pistol match. I think this was the first time shooting a long gun in an action match for the majority of competitors.
Click to expand...

Especially shotgun. I saw (and made) some rifle errors, but extremely few people didn't mess up the shotgun.
 
If you run a shell carrier next to the ejection port on your shotgun, make sure the shells are still there after you ground the gun. You don't want one to pop out and hit the receiver and almost go in the ejection port
 
TY43215 said:
DELETED COMMENT/// Realized you were talking a stage in an IDPA match and NOT a three gun match// Sorry
Click to expand...
The recent comments were aimed at the Defensive Multigun side match at Harvard this past weekend. Not really a match, not really 3 gun![wink]
 
Gee, I recognize Jim Lambert!(His shirt sleeeve) I saw some folks that I'd not seen for a long time (Jerry Miculek), met some that I'd wanted to, ( Jesse and Pat Kelly), and other friends from fairly recent matches, meaning the last couple years. Rocky Mountain 3 Gun has a following that all great matches do, such as Camp Perry, Bianchi, and the USPSA Nationals. I've been fortunate to shoot with JJ and Denise Johnson, the couple that make that match the shooting event that it is. I plan to return for as long as I can. The Whittington Center is absolutely beautiful. Mule deer were seen daily, and chased from one stage while we were shooting, by members of the Quantico shooting team, not to mention, antelope and elk. I only saw one dead snake, and the rattles from another.
Really, I can't say enough about the match, but see me at a local match, and I'll try!
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
Dan's been telling me to buy quality shotgun ammo for a long time, but I've stuck with the federal bulk pack stuff because it's cheap and has run fine. Thankfully, I learned the lesson in practice and not in a big match. Last week, a rim failed on the federal, leaving the shell stuck in the chamber. I had to knock it out with a cleaning rod from the muzzle end. I just picked up a bunch of Win AA and will be testing it tonight or tomorrow. It's really not that much more expensive, ~$8/box vs ~$5.50. Compared to the travel and entry costs of a big match, it's nothing.
 
jar said:
Dan's been telling me to buy quality shotgun ammo for a long time, but I've stuck with the federal bulk pack stuff because it's cheap and has run fine. Thankfully, I learned the lesson in practice and not in a big match. Last week, a rim failed on the federal, leaving the shell stuck in the chamber. I had to knock it out with a cleaning rod from the muzzle end. I just picked up a bunch of Win AA and will be testing it tonight or tomorrow. It's really not that much more expensive, ~$8/box vs ~$5.50. Compared to the travel and entry costs of a big match, it's nothing.
Click to expand...

Keep an eye on BassPro, I have scored AA bulk packs for as much as the Remington cheap stuff when they have their sales.
 

Similar threads

Tritown 2 Gun in Foster RI
Replies
0
Views
170
KH56010
K
How to register two guns for event in Practiscore?
Replies
7
Views
371
chris_1001
chris_1001
2 Gun match - things I learned this past weekend.
2
Replies
35
Views
2K
lukewarm_fuzz
lukewarm_fuzz
Hard as Hell 2 Gun Match
Replies
0
Views
569
FPrice
FPrice
NW CT Rod & Gun (North Canaan, CT)
Replies
0
Views
565
NavelOfficer
N
Back
Top Bottom