Best 3 gun's Ar-15 out of the box?

First of all I will disagree with those saying use whatever rifle you have for 3 gun.
Practice, technique, and your fitness level will all help you climb closer to the top of the leaderboard but everything else being equal a mil spec carbine doesn't even come close in a game where speed and hit percentage are extremely important.
It's the same as shooting a production pistol in the open division of IPSC.
It can be done but unless you're head and shoulders above the competition you'll be at the bottom to the middle of the pack.

The ones I will put at the top of the list simply because they began the 3Gun arms race is JP rifles.
The have created the captured spring buffer, the low mass BCG, the heat dissipating heat sink inside the handguard, the side charging handle upper and their own adjustable trigger before most other companies.
They also use adjustable gas blocks, rifle length gas systems, compensators, and rifle length buffer systems to minimize recoil and maximize second shot "A" zone hits.
This is in addition to their match grade barrels.

DPMS has the 3g2 rifle which is different from their first 3Gun rifle the 3G1 which had some JP components on it.

Another excellent 3Gun rig is the Noveske Rival. At over $3,000 USD it also uses JP's low mass BCG and a rifle length gas system.

I own a Stag 3G. I bought it in the month after the Sandy Hook incident in the middle of the full panicked buying frenzy.
I eventually replaced the Sampson hand guard with a 16.7" Noveske NSR keymod handguard so that it wouldn't require bolt on rail panels and it would be the same as my other 2 Noveske rifles.

If I were looking to buy or build a truly competitive 3 Gun rifle I would start by looking for one with a flared magwell for quicker reloads, a rifle length gas and buffer systems, a good trigger such as the Geissele S3G or SD-3G together with a match grade barrel.
 
Last edited:
Another one that most people overlook is the Sig Sauer M400 Predator. It comes with a Geissele, 18"bbl with rifle length gas system, 15" Houge forend, ambi controls, flared magwell, and is threaded for comp. You can usually find these for well under $2000.00. As far as Im concerned, it's a no brainer.
 
Kidd X said:
I agree with your post 100%. But people here are asking about what mods to do to their rifles for 3 gun. Unless you're concerned with ranking/scoring there's no need to concern yourself with what others suggest or do for mods. If you're only concerned with making your rifle unique to you then you wouldn't be asking about mods either. I don't see many(actually any) threads asking what types of drills people practice or what percentage of practice is dedicated to each of the three segments, or even how often someone practices. Every thread for competition revolves around gear and not around the shooter.
Click to expand...
First of all the title is The best 3 Gun AR-15 out of the box. not what mods does my rifle need to win at 3 Gun, fitness and nutrition for 3 Gun, or how to win at 3 Gun.
There is a 30+ page thread titled 3 Gun tips and tricks in the competition forum.

Secondly your argument would be more valid if 3 Gun would have a "mil-spec" division or whatever you would want to call it similar to the production division in IPSC.
The minute you put the word competition out there competitive people will show up to compete.
Everything else being equal the person with the gun that is easier to reload, more reliable, more accurate, has less recoil and can shoot follow up shots quicker will win every time.
 
Last edited:
rifleman338 said:
Another one that most people overlook is the Sig Sauer M400 Predator. It comes with a Geissele, 18"bbl with rifle length gas system, 15" Houge forend, ambi controls, flared magwell, and is threaded for comp. You can usually find these for well under $2000.00. As far as Im concerned, it's a no brainer.
Click to expand...
That sounds like a good deal.
Edit: Do you own this rifle? I don't see a flared magwell as one of its features.
 
Last edited:
I do in fact own one. The well is not flared as much as say a Noveske Gen 2, but it is flared a bit more than a mil-spec lower. I just added a Lancer adaptive magwell to mine and had to do some machining to the lip to get it to fit, but it fit and works great. I was lusting for one of the Cobalt or JP's, but for the amount of time that I get out to these matches, the M400 Predator was a winner in my book for what you were getting for the cost.
 
Keep in mind that out of the box ARs are not well suited to 3 gun at least IMO.....most of them are way over-gassed and it seems with every single one you'll eventually swap out the butt stock (personal preference).

Comps can also bit hit or miss, even the effective ones sometimes get dropped because they produce too much noise or too much dust.

If you like 3 gun and see yourself doing it for a while....I'd suggest building one. Get exactly what you want the first time. You could also do this starting off with an off-the-shelf rifle but it will cost a bit more. If you start off-the-shelf, there is only really two things that you need to get right, the upper and the barrel. Everything easy is comparatively easy to change.

I recently changed my upper to go lighter weight...ended up with a rainer upper receiver (no forward assist) and a lighter weight barrel. Quite like the look, weight and feel of it now. Having said that, if CF barrels ever come way down in price, I can see myself going that route provided they achieve the same accuracy as other match barrels
 
I bought the DD V11 Pro and I'm about to go into my third season with it. I'm not sure that the M&P and the Core 15 that I have could be matched for performance and stay within the cost of the DD if I customized them. The DD was more expensive out of the box but for me it's worth it. I also don't mind the game scars from ports and dump boxes from 3 Gun. In fact my goal is to wear out the DD through honest use. I would get absolutely no satisfaction from a higher end AR that some people own that never gets used. The V11 Pro is probably as much as I could appreciate in a good quality tool or piece of equipment. Art belongs on the wall, not in the gun safe.
 
kiradog said:
I bought the DD V11 Pro and I'm about to go into my third season with it. I'm not sure that the M&P and the Core 15 that I have could be matched for performance and stay within the cost of the DD if I customized them. The DD was more expensive out of the box but for me it's worth it. I also don't mind the game scars from ports and dump boxes from 3 Gun. In fact my goal is to wear out the DD through honest use. I would get absolutely no satisfaction from a higher end AR that some people own that never gets used. The V11 Pro is probably as much as I could appreciate in a good quality tool or piece of equipment. Art belongs on the wall, not in the gun safe.
Click to expand...
It's like every other aspect in life such as food, drink, clothing, cars, etc.
You don't appreciate the difference till you try it.
I have the Stag 3G and till I tried the JP I couldn't imagine that there would be that much of a difference.
The low mass bolt carrier combined with the rifle lenght buffer, captive spring, and adjustable gas block made it feel like a bb gun.

That's about $1300 of mods including a Magpul PRS buttstock.
 
superlative said:
I no understand your england.

Anybody can interpret that sentence?
Click to expand...

POF= Patriot Ordnance Factory.
https://pof-usa.com/
They make a line of rifles that use a gas piston like an M14 or an AK-47.
Most AR-15's are direct impingement meaning that gas from the barrel is directed back to the bolt to cycle the action.
A gas piston rifle doesn't direct gas back to the BCG so the bolt stays cleaner.
 
Onagoth said:
Keep in mind that out of the box ARs are not well suited to 3 gun at least IMO.....most of them are way over-gassed and it seems with every single one you'll eventually swap out the butt stock (personal preference).

Comps can also bit hit or miss, even the effective ones sometimes get dropped because they produce too much noise or too much dust.

If you like 3 gun and see yourself doing it for a while....I'd suggest building one. Get exactly what you want the first time. You could also do this starting off with an off-the-shelf rifle but it will cost a bit more. If you start off-the-shelf, there is only really two things that you need to get right, the upper and the barrel. Everything easy is comparatively easy to change.

I recently changed my upper to go lighter weight...ended up with a rainer upper receiver (no forward assist) and a lighter weight barrel. Quite like the look, weight and feel of it now. Having said that, if CF barrels ever come way down in price, I can see myself going that route provided they achieve the same accuracy as other match barrels
Click to expand...
Like Onagoth said, these truly are the Chevy truck of rifles as getting upgrade parts and installing then is fairly straight forward. I bought my M400 Predator and it shot well right out of the box, (most people could leave it the way it comes and it would work fine) but there is always a want to fit the gun to your own specs. I changed out to forend to a DD 15" Slimrail, changed the stock to a Magpul MOE fixed as I like the looks and feel of it. Also added a Faxon light weight BCG, JP adjustable gas block. JP silent capture spring kit and a Seekins 3gun muzzle brake. The gun shot fairly soft before all the parts swap but should feel like a 22 when I get a chance to play with the gas block and the silent capture spring choices they come with in the kit
 
Onagoth said:
Keep in mind that out of the box ARs are not well suited to 3 gun at least IMO.....most of them are way over-gassed and it seems with every single one you'll eventually swap out the butt stock (personal preference).

Comps can also bit hit or miss, even the effective ones sometimes get dropped because they produce too much noise or too much dust.

If you like 3 gun and see yourself doing it for a while....I'd suggest building one. Get exactly what you want the first time. You could also do this starting off with an off-the-shelf rifle but it will cost a bit more. If you start off-the-shelf, there is only really two things that you need to get right, the upper and the barrel. Everything easy is comparatively easy to change.

I recently changed my upper to go lighter weight...ended up with a rainer upper receiver (no forward assist) and a lighter weight barrel. Quite like the look, weight and feel of it now. Having said that, if CF barrels ever come way down in price, I can see myself going that route provided they achieve the same accuracy as other match barrels
Click to expand...

This is perhaps why the OP asked for the best out of the box 3 Gun AR-15's.
In my opinion the best would have all of the following features.
Match Barrel with rifle length gas system, adjustable gas block and a good compensator.
Flared magwell.
Low mass carrier and buffer with captured spring.
Rifle length buffer tube with a Magpul PRS buttstock.

My Stag 3G doesn't have some of these features yet it is a good 3 Gun rifle but not the best 3 Gun rifle.

Once again here is a list of factory built purpose specific 3 Gun rifles.
If you know of others please feel free to add to the list.

Armalite M-15 3-Gun
Bushmaster XM-15 3-Gun Enhanced Carbine
Colt (USA) Pro Model CRP-18
Daniel Defense M4V11 PRO
DPMS 3G2
JP Rifles ,JP-15, CTR-02
Noveske The Rival
Sig M400 Predator
Stag 3G
 
thump_rrr said:
This is perhaps why the OP asked for the best out of the box 3 Gun AR-15's.
In my opinion the best would have all of the following features.
Match Barrel with rifle length gas system, adjustable gas block and a good compensator.
Flared magwell.
Low mass carrier and buffer with captured spring.
Rifle length buffer tube with a Magpul PRS buttstock.

My Stag 3G doesn't have some of these features yet it is a good 3 Gun rifle but not the best 3 Gun rifle.

Once again here is a list of factory built purpose specific 3 Gun rifles.
If you know of others please feel free to add to the list.

Armalite M-15 3-Gun
Bushmaster XM-15 3-Gun Enhanced Carbine
Colt (USA) Pro Model CRP-18
Daniel Defense M4V11 PRO
DPMS 3G2
JP Rifles ,JP-15, CTR-02
Noveske The Rival
Sig M400 Predator
Stag 3G
Click to expand...

Totally agree... Only thing I would add to your list of features is a decent match trigger
 
Best AR for3 guns is 2cases of remington umc. Practice pratice pratice. I know guys who run top rank in 3 guns and cqb/ tac rifle with a norinco and nea.

On a side note, light barrel and a samson mfg rail. With a setup like that, the gun swing and transition super fast amd your left arm wont get tired
 
sky52 said:
Best AR for3 guns is 2cases of remington umc. Practice pratice pratice. I know guys who run top rank in 3 guns and cqb/ tac rifle with a norinco and nea.

On a side note, light barrel and a samson mfg rail. With a setup like that, the gun swing and transition super fast amd your left arm wont get tired
Click to expand...
Out to what distances are their 3 Gun matches out of curiosity?
In USPSA 3 Gun competitions roughly 25% of targets are in the 200-300Y range and another 10% are over 300Y.

What is the problem with someone wanting to buy something better than Norinco or NEA or something designed for the task at hand?
Maybe they can afford to buy both a better rifle and lots of practice ammo.
It goes back to the title of the thread which is The best out of the box AR-15 for 3 Gun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom