3-Gun Confusion.......Help

john442

john442

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Very interested in getting into 3-Gun, but have a few questions first.

I am an a-class IPSC shooter for 8 years now and it seems like 3-Gun is not affilliated with ipsc formally?
Is it its own sport (like idpa,ppc,ipsc )??

I cant find alot of official Canadian content/rules, etc online, seems to be alot of USA info.(3gunnation.com)


Are there Diff Categories ?(standard/open, etc).......I heard if you have a breecher on your shottie, that puts you in open class ?
I have a Valtro 12ga with a 14" ported barrel,,,,would that put me in an open class? im thinking i need a versamax now.

What sort of distances to you need to shoot? is a 14" barrel even gonna work?

Sorry if i am asking rookie questions, but searching Gunnutz for "3-gun" brings up everything with the word"gun" in the title and its hundreds of pages of non related stuff.

Please point me in the right direction.

Cheers
JF
 
There isn't really a 3gun standard in Canada. Here is a link to the ruleset that we use for 3gun at my club. We shamelessly copied it from the Team Hoser Guys and I suspect they "borrowed" it from somewhere as well. http://galtsportsmensclub.ca/Galt3Gun/Rules.php

IPSC style 3 gun, from what I understand, has you using a single firearm during a stage so that during a match you may use you shotgun on one stage and then on another stage you may use your pistol and on yet another stage you use your rifle.

The type of 3gun that we shoot at my club (and the type that 3GunNation runs) you use 2 or 3 firearms on each stage.

As far as your question if a 14" shotgun will work, yes it will. How well it will work depends on you, the distance and types of targets, and whether the gun is choked or not. A ported shotgun barrel would put you open class if you were shooting at my club but again, because there are no standard rules, that might not be the case at every club.

3gun is a lot of fun. Give it a try and don't worry too much about the rules and classes right off the bat, just get out there. Chances are you'll be hooked!
 
All good questions, don't feel bad for asking them.

The answers, however, will vary depending on which club you are doing 3-Gun at. My club currently uses IPSC 3-Gun regulations. Most do not.

There are many different flavours of 3-Gun available, so you'd be best served to contact your local organizers.

Don't be afraid to bring your current gear out for a match. You do not need a new Versamax to do 3-Gun, though I won't blame you for using it as a rationalization!!
 
Okay, since were on the subject... where do these 3gun competitions happen??? I live in southern Ontario and am REALLY green in the range world. I've been looking hard to join one but haven't really found a range that suits my needs.

Please don't mind the ignorance.

Doug.
 
Dodo Dug said:
Okay, since were on the subject... where do these 3gun competitions happen??? I live in southern Ontario and am REALLY green in the range world. I've been looking hard to join one but haven't really found a range that suits my needs.

Please don't mind the ignorance.

Doug.
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Hi Doug,

There a few ranges in SWO that host 3 gun matches including Galt, Guelph and EESA.

Check out www.galt3gun.ca

Regards,
 
Runningfool said:
As far as your question if a 14" shotgun will work, yes it will. How well it will work depends on you, the distance and types of targets, and whether the gun is choked or not. A ported shotgun barrel would put you open class if you were shooting at my club but again, because there are no standard rules, that might not be the case at every club.
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For some definition of "work", I suppose.

It depends on stage design, and whether or not you are running chokes. A 14" cylinder bore barrel can definitely have trouble knocking down plates at moderate distances (10-15 yards).

Generally I'd recommend a longer barrel (20"+) and interchangeable chokes.
 
It really depends on what clubs you plan on shooting at. The nearest I can tell, Canada doesnt really have a defined group or league of 3-gun clubs. Out west here we have a couple of clubs that all run similiar clubs with similiar rules, but would not be affiliated with IPSC, USPSA, or IDPA. We do all borrow loosely from the three as far as scoring or targets, but you would be best to go to any of the websites and look at the rules. I know our club just isnt big enough for classes yet, WRAS has classes, but not overly broken up. Mostly based on optics rather than the firearm. I have attached a link to our (CHAS 3-Gun) website. You can find a copy of our rules on it (PDF link) to go through and it will give you an idea of what we do. Best to just look at your local club offerings. Lots of our guys run short shottys and just run #4 to make up for the steel targets.

www.chas3gun.com
 
If you shoot IPSC already check out Wild Rose Action Shooters. We are loosely based around IPSC rules but don't get into as many specifics. You can find us at wrasalberta.com. As far as gear goes,we have guys shoot with short barrelled shot guns and do just fine as we are a bit limited with range distance and target placement (thank you CFO) but we try to add some obstacles that make it more than point and shoot. If you have an iron sighted AR ( or what ever) and have the good eye sight to operate them, you will be fine. Being that you mentioned you shoot IPSC I assume you have a pistol. The big thing is to just show up and shoot. We aren't going to eject you due to lack of equipment or stuff like that. You will find that most of our shooters are willing to lend equipment and etc to get someone going. You can see what others run, what you think you might like and what you don't. As far as the firearms you'll need, we have guys who shoot open race guns to Glocks, AR's to mini 14's versa max to a 28" hunting shot gun. We've even had a guy show up with a double barrel (as it turns out he was a cowboy action shooter and ran that thing as fast as some with their pumps). I can also recommend CHAS shoots as well. A little different format then WRAS, we (WRAS)focus a little more on the free style aspect and closer quarters where as CHAS being a smaller club I would say tends to focus on longer range and physical stress as they don't have as many shooters to get through many courses of fire. None the less a hell of a good time!
 
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we run an outlaw peace river 3gun set of rules and divisions, follow idpa rules and scoring wirh ipsc style stages of fire.... ie: a little more free form way of solving the puzzle. here is our divisions and basic rules.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/46706unxnrxtakl/AADWWiUrB3E6gCUp-NYZwU4na?dl=0

i like it this way, makes it simple, our turnout is averaging 34 people a shoot right and thats not bad for a small local town.
 
Most 3-gun matches in Ontario are run independently. There's no central sanctioning body to speak of.

Rules about scoring, penalties, equipment, divisions, and course of fire, are different at almost every club that hosts matches.
 
john442 said:
Around red deer
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Well you arent that far from CHAS or WRAS. We, CHAS, have our next match on the 27th, with Service Rifle having a match on the 28th. From the rumors I hear, WRAS may be up and running for a final match in October.

Next season we will be coordinating our schedules to allow some of the out of towners to pull double headers on the weekends (Sat/Sun) to make the trips a little more worthwhile as well as ensure we arent double booking. That way everyone will get at least two shoots a month in in our short-ass season!!
 
CHAS operates out of the Genesee (CHAS) gun range and WRAS operates out of the Spruce Grove Gun Club.
 
john442 said:
Very interested in getting into 3-Gun, but have a few questions first.
Click to expand...

Fire away. I will say to bring what you have and have fun first.

john442 said:
I am an a-class IPSC shooter for 8 years now and it seems like 3-Gun is not affilliated with ipsc formally?
Click to expand...

Thankfully no, there is no overseeing governing body over 3 gun.

john442 said:
Is it its own sport (like idpa,ppc,ipsc )??
Click to expand...

Yes. It has become that way. There are some IPSC matches and better yet USPSA matches but the best multigun matches are Outlaw rules.

john442 said:
I cant find alot of official Canadian content/rules, etc online, seems to be alot of USA info.(3gunnation.com)
Click to expand...

Canadian capacity rules kill 3 gun here.

john442 said:
Are there Diff Categories ?(standard/open, etc).......I heard if you have a breecher on your shottie, that puts you in open class ?
I have a Valtro 12ga with a 14" ported barrel,,,,would that put me in an open class? im thinking i need a versamax now.
Click to expand...

Yeah like anything Open is kinda like Open but not really. If you don't know the rules are really all over the place. It's the biggest benefit of 3 gun and kinda it's biggest pain right now. Please just try it out. I understand that you said your IPSC for eight years and expect a group of people to tell you exactly what when where and how at a match and that is not how 3 gun is run.

john442 said:
What sort of distances to you need to shoot? is a 14" barrel even gonna work?
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Anything can be made to work - in Canada.

john442 said:
Sorry if i am asking rookie questions, but searching Gunnutz for "3-gun" brings up everything with the word"gun" in the title and its hundreds of pages of non related stuff.
Click to expand...

Just go do it and see.

john442 said:
Please point me in the right direction.
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Good luck and have fun when you try it out.
 
great answers D, Thanks
I have decided after a bunch of research that i an buying a Versamax, just gott figure out who can chop it down from 28" to 22" and thread it for chokes

Thanks
John
 
john442 said:
great answers D, Thanks
I have decided after a bunch of research that i an buying a Versamax, just gott figure out who can chop it down from 28" to 22" and thread it for chokes

Thanks
John
Click to expand...

There's a used VM Tactical in the EE right now.

Or just buy a 26" and put an extension on.
 
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