Best shotgun for 3-gun competition?

Dexter Morgan

Dexter Morgan

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For those of you who have entered the shotgun portion of 3-gun competitions;
(or even anyone that has been a spectator)

What is the best set-up?
Pump-action? Semi-auto? Mag-fed?

Any particular brand that is faster?

Most popular barrel length? What type of sights/scope?

How do you prefer to carry extra shells?
 
It all depends upon the rules of the particular event. You'll have to identify the event, and then read the rules.

[YouTube]K2yraLcdcms[/YouTube]
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2yraLcdcms>
 
Almost everyone shoots a pump as you are not limited to 5 rounds like an auto. Standard division allows 9 rounds loaded at start. So something 8 + 1 would be decent.

There are bladetech holders that keep your rounds vertical. There is also a thing that allows you to load 4 rounds at once from a tube.

You should go to a match and see what folks are shooting and see if it is something that you would like to do. I thought that I wanted to do it until I one level 3 match and then I changed my mind.

I do enjoy our unsanctioned 3 gun competition. I used a stock winchester defender it was fun the ammo I just kept on my belt.
 
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As Wendell posted, its rule dependent. The common guns are Remington 870's and their clones, as well as Mossberg and their sibling brand Maverick. Most competitors use a pump gun but there are some semi's as well. Price is usually the factor that keeps most away from semi's. The 5 round limit on a semi is also a down side. Loading either takes the same amount of time but the pump gets 6-9 rounds.

Side saddle is popular as well as dump pouches with loose ammo.

Sights vary from bead sights(my preference) to red dots.

As for speed. That's entirely up to the user not the shotgun. I prefer Mossberg for several reasons. Ambi safety(not available on Mossberg's sister brand Maverick), dual extractors, and a recessed shell lifter. The recessed lifter allows you to load rounds directly into the magazine tube without interference, as the lifter rests against the bottom of the bolt when the action is closed. The lifter on an 870 for example has the lifter in the down position when the action is closed. Seeing how its spring loaded, you must then force the lifter out of the way before shoving the rounds into the magazine tube. Its a minor issue but one that causes problems. Dropped rounds, incomplete loading where the round doesn't get pushed passed the shell hooks. This causes the round to shoot over top of the lifter getting trapped between it and the bolt. If you fail to insert a round on a Mossberg, the round will be pushed out of the tube and drop free. A very common problem is what I call scooping. The user intends to push the round into the magazine and fails to push the lifter up far enough for the round to be inserted into the magazine and simply scoops the round right back out onto the ground.

As for length, a standard 18 or 20 inch barrel is fine. There's really no advantage to the short barrels. If anything they rob you of capacity and open up your pattern making steel targets a bugger to knock down at range.

These are just some of the things to think about. Regardless of whether or not you're new to the discipline or take these factors into account. Any pump or semi shotgun that works reliably will do fine.

TDC
 
Dexter Morgan said:
Thanks for the replies guys;
Some really good info.

How popular are mag-fed shotguns?
Click to expand...

By that I assume you mean detachable mags right?

The only non prohibited detachable mags feds are the Grizzly MAGs and the MKA 1919 (restricted and might non even get imported). The Grizzlies only have 5 round mags and the MKA 1919 would be limited to 5 rounds, I'm gonna assume people would rather have a tube mag that holds 8-9 rounds instead.
 
Dexter Morgan said:
Thanks for the replies guys;
Some really good info.

How popular are mag-fed shotguns?
Click to expand...

I have never seen one. If you like them buy one and have fun. Despite the video there are very few bragging rights in ipsc shotgun in canada. As stated the grizzly has a 5 round mag and a cheap 20 inch maverick has 8 rounds. On a long course of fire the faster loading of the mag could make a significant difference, however I have seen very few long courses of fire for shotgun.

Slugs are pretty expensive for folks to shoot a lot of 32 round stages.

Before you get kitted up you should actually find out if you have three gun in a reasonably close proximity. My club is very active in IPSC enough so that we will be hosting the Canadian Nationals in 2013, however we only have perhaps one match a season that has a couple of shotgun stages. To shoot anymore than I would have to drive 5 hours to hampton which host a couple three gun matches a season.

For the few matches that come up I just use a winchester defender.
 
down here in UNZUD our laws about modifying barrel lengths are a little different.. so i chopped the barrell of an M2000 and put truglo rifle sights and a mag extension, like a poor-mans benelli/inertia shotgun

Side saddle proved to be an issue though so im thinking of going with one of BBB's velcro units

DSC00735.jpg
 
Fenix.NZ said:
down here in UNZUD our laws about modifying barrel lengths are a little different.. so i chopped the barrell of an M2000 and put truglo rifle sights and a mag extension, like a poor-mans benelli/inertia shotgun

Side saddle proved to be an issue though so im thinking of going with one of BBB's velcro units

DSC00735.jpg
Click to expand...

beautiful gun, but it is the mag capacity that will get him in trouble. Over 5 rounds on a centerfire semi auto and its considered a prohibited device.

this is legal in canada and that is not
8.5.jpg


this would be legal as it is manually operated.
mp133-1.jpg


but the so you want to be a raging 3 gunner video is for the win. Explaining why 23 round magazines that need to be tuned to work is much better than having to do reloads with stock 15 round magazines.
 
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So long as the mag extension is properly blocked to 5- 3" rounds, you are fine (this is assuming your shotty can handle 3" and 2 3/4")

I have switched over to the semi just because of shooting strings of 4 and 5 targets I find abit quicker, that and my 930 SPX is lighter than my 590A1 SPX by far.

In the end, I think it all balances out because there is that reloading thing that you need to do. If you buy a handful of 12 gauge snap caps and practice practice practice.

Usually a week or two prior to the event, I'll spend about this drill for an hour or two each night:

Empty tube, one snap cap in chamber
Dry fire, manually cycle the snap cap out
"Combat reload" the chamber (over the top, under etc.) send the bolt forward
Load 4 snap caps in the tube from belt mounted shell carrier (or side saddle, etc.)
Aim and dry fire and manually clear each snap cap until empty.

This trains the muscle memory and technique to: facilitate fast reloads when empty, getting a shell in the chamber quickly when empty, clear an FTF or FTE, and generally make you comfortable handling the shotgun. With a shot timer set to random start, it can help simulate tournament style pressures so you can identify and work on weaknesses.

I still am not good on the reloads at all(using the four shells in the hand method) but I'll practice it when I can as my son is always curious as to what I am up to :)

I like BBB's DSC's because they do not add alot of weight on the receiver so the balance is not that much more different without. With a metal or plastic one, the balance is noticeably shifted.

Hope this was helpful in some sort of way :)
 
JBD said:
beautiful gun, but it is the mag capacity that will get him in trouble. Over 5 rounds on a centerfire semi auto and its considered a prohibited device.

IMG_0305.jpg


Its not trouble at all as long as its plugged.

In the extended tube are 2 practice shells filled with lead and a empty shotgun shell cut to size so the plug will still fit 5 rounds in the tube.

Having the weight up front reduces the muzzle climb.
Click to expand...
 
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