3-Gun Rifle Choice

Dragonblade

Dragonblade

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I may be interested into getting into 3-gun matches this summer alongwith IPSC and I am looking for opinions on a rifle to use in 3 gun. So far I'am thinking of:
- Yugo SKS.
- Norinco M305S
- RRA Elite CAR A4.

The RRA is by far the most expensive and I realize that there are cheaper AR's such as the AR180B, but I prefer the RRA. I would also like to spend no more than $1,500 at max and less preferably.

Now for a couple of questions.
- Is it harder to load the SKS using stripper clips than the other rifles with conventional mags?
- I have never fired a centerfire rifle which of the 3 do you feel would be the best caliber for 3 gun?

I look forward to reading your opinions and if you have other rifles to recommend, please do.

Thanx
 
sparrow said:
You can use any of the above but you will be most competitive with the AR15.
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Thanks for the response Sparrow. I plan on doing IPSC and 3-gun for fun and to improve as a shooter. Being competitive is not at the top of my list.
 
AR 15 is very user friendly, with a lot of aftermarket parts and upgrades available. Personally I think that this, plus gopher shooting is the only shooting an AR should be used for. But then when I joined the army, they still issued a Battle Rifle with a 20 rd magazine.
 
The SKS is light on the recoil but loading with stipper clips it is slow. My SKS will start with 1 in the chamber and 5 in the mag but some others don't. After you shot dry you can add 5 and then close the bolt.

The M305 (M14) and AR types start with 1 in the chamber and 5 in the mag. After 5 shots (or less) you can drop the mag and put a full one in and never touch the bolt. This save a lot of time and you do mag changes as dictated by the course of fire.

So if you are shoot groups of 2 targets with 2 rounds per target then the M305 and the AR are much faster than the SKS.

AR mags drop out freely when you push the mag release. M305 mags have to be rotated out. The same goes for putting them in. I use the straight 20-round Colt mags. You grab them from the mag pouch like you learn to grab a pistol mag in the black badge course and they go straight in - no rotating to get them in.

ARs have light recoil. The 7.62 caliber M305 has much more recoil that slows down taking a quick second shot.

The M305 will score major in IPSC rifle and the AR will score minor (a C is 4 points and a D is 2 points in major while in minor a C is 3 points and a D is 1 point). The AR is so much faster to shoot with the lower recoil and the faster mag changes that a competitor competent with both the AR and the M305 will have a better final score with the AR.

I started with an SKS because it was cheap ($125) and no accessories or mags to spend money on. I got 1400 rounds of ammo from Mar* for 140 buck.

Since then I have spent about $1000 for the M305 and mags and accesories and about $5000 on ARs and mags and accesories.

For a 3 gun match the SKS stipper clips are hard to store and access. M305 mags are much larger and heavier than AR mags. So you are carrying less space and you have more room on your belt using AR mags.

When I kit up for a three gun match I have to use suspenders to hold my belt up!
 
Last edited:
Go with the AR.
It will do anything you want it to do.
Fast, light recoil, accurate, easy mag changes, parts are readily available!
It gets my vote every time.
 
Quigley said:
Why not look at the Barreta Storm?
Click to expand...

I do not really like the look of the Storm and I do not really want to use Beretta as my handgun which makes sense to do as they share the same mags.

Thanks for all the opinions. I think I will get my Black Badge and get going in IPSC and then decide if I want to go into 3-Gun.
 
How about a Remington pump with a big honkin' bananna magazine? Although I haven't seen one in more than 10 years, you may be able to find some of those old plastic aftermarket 30 round capacity magazines for Remington pump rifles kicking about somewhere.

Anyone out there know if the following would be true? I do know that item #2 is definitely true:

1. "Non self-loading centrefire rifle + big honkin' detachable mag = legal."

2. "Self-loading centrefire + any mag more than 5 rounds = illegal."

The recoil would suck using a 760 or 7600 in the typical big game calibers compared to the .223 AR, but maybe a compensator could tame the blast for all those 3 gun "gamers" out there looking for an edge.
 
oaktree said:
How about a Remington pump with a big honkin' bananna magazine? Although I haven't seen one in more than 10 years, you may be able to find some of those old plastic aftermarket 30 round capacity magazines for Remington pump rifles kicking about somewhere.

Anyone out there know if the following would be true? I do know that item #2 is definitely true:

1. "Non self-loading centrefire rifle + big honkin' detachable mag = legal."

2. "Self-loading centrefire + any mag more than 5 rounds = illegal."

The recoil would suck using a 760 or 7600 in the typical big game calibers compared to the .223 AR, but maybe a compensator could tame the blast for all those 3 gun "gamers" out there looking for an edge.
Click to expand...


You can use this legally with 30 round mags.
http://www.remingtonle.com/rifles/7615.htm
 
cpt. canuck said:
Well Al Simmons in Hamilton sells them and the rifle. But if you altered a standard AR mag so that it will only fit the 7615 you would be good to go at 30 rounds, it would be pretty easy.
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How much do those 7615's go for. They look pretty neat.
 
7615 patrol model is $950. I use an SKS right now but I am building an AR. You can put one together far cheaper than you can buy one ready made. The high cap mags that would work in the 7615 are still not legal here because they are made for the ar and not the 7615 specifically so LAR 10 round are as big as you can go. For the price get an AR.
 
Dragonblade said:
I may be interested into getting into 3-gun matches this summer alongwith IPSC and I am looking for opinions on a rifle to use in 3 gun. So far I'am thinking of:
- Yugo SKS.
- Norinco M305S
- RRA Elite CAR A4.

The RRA is by far the most expensive and I realize that there are cheaper AR's such as the AR180B, but I prefer the RRA. I would also like to spend no more than $1,500 at max and less preferably.

Now for a couple of questions.
- Is it harder to load the SKS using stripper clips than the other rifles with conventional mags?
- I have never fired a centerfire rifle which of the 3 do you feel would be the best caliber for 3 gun?

I look forward to reading your opinions and if you have other rifles to recommend, please do.

Thanx
Click to expand...

IMO a AR is the way to go. Easiest to use in a IPSC type match. If you look at the guys that win these matches they mostly shoot the AR platforms, there has to be a reason for that. AR's are the 1911 of rifle IPSC.

Although the extra rounds you can get in the 7615 would be very appealing. No "extra" mag changes are a good thing and it would speed up your times greatly if you become proficient with it.
 
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