3 Gun Tips and Tricks

bluesclues

bluesclues

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3 Gunners and competitive action shooting sports enthusiasts,

This thread is for both the new person looking to get into 3 gun (or competitive shooting sports in general) and, the veteran competitor.

Post up your tips and tricks that have made you more competitive and / or better prepared to compete in matches.

My thread, so I will start.

- The use of "long range" bullets (for my AR) for shooting targets out past 300 meters. Specifically, 69 grain match bullets for ranges past 300 meters in a specially marked magazine.
- Bring one bottle of Gatorade for each stage that you are shooting that day.
- Do not use a match to test out new gear. Be familiar with your gear. If you get new gear, practice with it before the match.
- Learn how to break down stages in order to shoot them more time efficiently.
- Understand your limitations with regards to speed vs. accuracy. Speed is good but accuracy is final!

Interested to hear your tips and tricks for becoming a better 3 gunner!

Feel free to elaborate on your tips and, if you have match stories, these are of course welcome too.
 
The other thing I hear quite a bit from people is that they are a little intimidated to try out 3 gun because they have never participated in competitive shooting sports before....

Come out! We are happy to answer questions. We will let you try out guns and gear. And, we all went through the same thing when we started.

I do recommend to new people though, bring ammo. We don't mind lending guns and gear but, it gets expensive quick if we provide the ammo as well.
 
- What Onagoth said, aka have your rifle sighted in.
- Don't lean your barrel on a barricade/prop...you will pull that trigger all day and wonder why the hell you are not hitting your target.
- Time management...it is easy to eat up time trying to hit that one damn target when you should be moving on. Missing a target(s) sucks...timing out sucks harder.
- Get to know your squad mates. You don't have to become bffs, just be friendly and helpful.
- set out your gear, check the batteries in your optic, and load your rifle and handgun magazines the night before; makes for less stress on game day.
- Most of all have fun. It is easy to get caught up in the competition and lose sight of the fact a match is supposed to be fun. Enjoy shooting 3gun and be thankful that no one is shooting back!
 
Shoot your pistol for speed, your rifle for accuracy, and learn how to load your shotgun!

More specifically: Most 3 gun matches are not that tough on pistol shooting, and are typically scored time plus; so two hits anywhere or a single A will do. Speed will come into play for pistol more so than at an IPSC/IDPA match, due to the decreased accuracy requirements. If there are long range rifle targets (150yds +) these will almost certainly be the limiting factor for most shooters on the rifle. Have a solid zero, know your dope, and learn how to get into a stable position and break these shots quickly. For shotgun, if you want to win you need to learn how to load. You will need caddies for your chosen style of load (old school weak hand load 4's, duces or quads), a box of Brownells dummy rounds and a lot of practice. Personally I started a few years ago before quad loading was even a thing, so I learned with the weak hand load 4. I still use that load occasionally for super high round count stages or to keep slugs etc separately. That being said... with about an hour of practice quad loading I was faster at that than I was after several years of practicing weak hand load 4's. No matter how fast you can load though you won't make up for missing targets, so make sure you're choked appropriately (Light Mod or Imp Cyl will do for most everything...) and take enough time to aim.
 
Best advice I give all the new shooters for 3 gun is to get out there and do it. Tips and tricks will only get you so far. Experience is where its at. As well breathe. Alot of ppl go in the black once that buzzer goes off.

If you don't have all 3 guns. I am sure someone will lend you kit just to get you out and shooting.
 
Ravenmanwoody52 said:
I have a 20g semi auto with box mags. Would that be acceptable in 3 gun?
Click to expand...

You will certainly be allowed to compete with this. Box mags will typically put you in open, and unfortunately with our magazine limits you may actually find them to be a disadvantage. Don't let that stop you from showing up though! Run that gun for a while and if you end up wanting something else you'll have a good idea of what works for guys and what doesn't. Make sure you have enough mags to hold 20-30 rounds depending on the matches you want to attend...
 
Lots of drills. I practice with cheap Rifle ammo. I save the handloaded 69 or 77 for some longer range practice, but mostly for matches.
 
I took a bunch of bluesclues' tips to heart. 3gun match tomorrow and I already have my mags loaded, everything packed (except guns), guns oiled up and cleaned (the ones that needed it), and did some practice shotgun loading.
 
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