Getting Started in 3 Gun (with a pistol shooting background) And Being Competitive

[Moltke]

Hi all, I have been shooting 3 Gun for a few years now and my friends are getting into it too, so I wrote this for them but would like to put it here. Just a sampling of what I have learned since I started shooting in the sport, being a newbie, watching others advance, and watching myself advance. If you're a seasoned 3 gunner then lots of this will probably ring true and if you're a new shooter hopefully some of this will help you.

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Much of 3 Gun is speed shooting reasonably large targets at reasonably close range and it's not hard. Pistol skills are a huge advantage so if you have a decent background in USPSA or IDPA then you could probably walk on and place in the middle of the pack at a 3 Gun club match as-is right now but how to maximize your performance? Where to focus your time & money? How to do this smart?

This isn't to sell you on gear or training, but to sell you on ideas. After you decide what division you're going to shoot, realize that you've got lots to learn so show up to have fun, push yourself, and do just that ---> learn. For most people this is where you're going to struggle up front and what you can do to improve match performance.

1) Missing and makeup shots. Strive for higher accuracy and first round hits. Zero each gun on paper and see what your tightest benchrest groups are to establish an accuracy baseline. Benchrest shooting should be under the best of conditions so try for 2" pistol groups @ 25 yards, 3" slug groups @ 50 yards, and 1 MOA rifle from solid benchrested positions.

2) Rifle ballistics & wind. Chrono the actual velocity on rifle rounds to discover the real trajectory you're shooting and use a ballistic calculator to identify the drop (holdover), then go shoot to verify that information. Understand wind conditions and associated hold offs for the distances you're shooting and know what that's going to look like in your scope.

3) Shotgun, chokes & loads. How far can you knock down steel targets with light loads and with what chokes? Pattern the load you'll be using in your gun and understand its size and location at various distances, then verify those results by shooting steel at those distances so you KNOW what will make steel fall and how sloppy your sight pictures can be.

4) Dynamic shooting positions. Train conventional and unconventional positions on and off barricades, and freestyle standing unsupported long range accuracy - especially with the rifle. The VTAC 9 hole drill can be used for each gun with appropriate targets and distances, and will help to show the positions and sight pictures needed to get hits.

5) Reloading the shotgun. Buy caddies that will allow you to Quad Load, open your shotgun's loading port as much as you can, and practice loading your shotgun until you're actually good at it. This is a main gripe of new 3 gunners who don't practice but its an easy part of the sport to get good at, and its stupid to be losing to someone when it has nothing to do with the actual shooting.

If you make it a point to hit these 5 training areas then 3 Gun is going to come quickly for you. Train on minimally sized targets at maximum distances, use accurized guns with competitive gear, and actually get out to practice these things on your own. Get off the couch! If you don't like your performance then either change your gear or adapt your training to overcome. Hope to see you out there.

[TomMcC]

Sounds good.

I'm not sure this is what you have in mind, but the three thinks I learned for 3gun was 1. Make sure your guns are reliable 2. Know your zeros 3. Have a plan for shooting the COF.

I've seen new comers (and not so new comers) struggle in all three of these areas and their scores suffer the consequences. I still struggle with #3.

[TomMcC]

Hi all, I have been shooting 3 Gun for a few years now and my friends are getting into it too, so I wrote this for them but would like to put it here. Just a sampling of what I have learned since I started shooting in the sport, being a newbie, watching others advance, and watching myself advance. If you're a seasoned 3 gunner then lots of this will probably ring true and if you're a new shooter hopefully some of this will help you.


---------------------------------------------------------

Much of 3 Gun is speed shooting reasonably large targets at reasonably close range and it's not hard. Pistol skills are a huge advantage so if you have a decent background in USPSA or IDPA then you could probably walk on and place in the middle of the pack at a 3 Gun club match as-is right now but how to maximize your performance? Where to focus your time & money? How to do this smart?

This isn't to sell you on gear or training, but to sell you on ideas. After you decide what division you're going to shoot, realize that you've got lots to learn so show up to have fun, push yourself, and do just that ---> learn. For most people this is where you're going to struggle up front and what you can do to improve match performance.

1) Missing and makeup shots. Strive for higher accuracy and first round hits. Zero each gun on paper and see what your tightest benchrest groups are to establish an accuracy baseline. Benchrest shooting should be under the best of conditions so try for 2" pistol groups @ 25 yards, 3" slug groups @ 50 yards, and 1 MOA rifle from solid benchrested positions.

2) Rifle ballistics & wind. Chrono the actual velocity on rifle rounds to discover the real trajectory you're shooting and use a ballistic calculator to identify the drop (holdover), then go shoot to verify that information. Understand wind conditions and associated hold offs for the distances you're shooting and know what that's going to look like in your scope.

3) Shotgun, chokes & loads. How far can you knock down steel targets with light loads and with what chokes? Pattern the load you'll be using in your gun and understand its size and location at various distances, then verify those results by shooting steel at those distances so you KNOW what will make steel fall and how sloppy your sight pictures can be.

4) Dynamic shooting positions. Train conventional and unconventional positions on and off barricades, and freestyle standing unsupported long range accuracy - especially with the rifle. The VTAC 9 hole drill can be used for each gun with appropriate targets and distances, and will help to show the positions and sight pictures needed to get hits.

5) Reloading the shotgun. Buy caddies that will allow you to Quad Load, open your shotgun's loading port as much as you can, and practice loading your shotgun until you're actually good at it. This is a main gripe of new 3 gunners who don't practice but its an easy part of the sport to get good at, and its stupid to be losing to someone when it has nothing to do with the actual shooting.

If you make it a point to hit these 5 training areas then 3 Gun is going to come quickly for you. Train on minimally sized targets at maximum distances, use accurized guns with competitive gear, and actually get out to practice these things on your own. Get off the couch! If you don't like your performance then either change your gear or adapt your training to overcome. Hope to see you out there.

Referencing #1 above: Shot a match Sat. Fairly new shooters sharing a rifle on the long range stage (targets at 100-200yds). The 1st shooter gave up after burning a 30 with only a few hits from prone monopod. The other shooter did get his hits but it took 159 seconds, my 16yr old son did in 58 seconds. Moral of the story.....zero that rifle!

[Moltke]

So simple, but often overlooked. Zeroing with your pistol and shotgun is also pretty important when the accuracy requirement is high.

[Long Range Trigger Monkey]

I don't shoot 3 gun but shoot 2 gun, DMR, and Long Range Challenge and I have to agree with most of the above, especially #1,2, and 4. At every match there is at least one person in my squad that has never shot an action shooting competition before and is using a borrowed or new rifle, doesn't know his dope, isn't sure if it has a good zero, is barely able to shoot standing up, or all of the above. I also see a lot of people unfamiliar with what to do with themselves if they have to shoot sitting, kneeling, or something other than sitting off a bench.

I personally struggle with sticking to the plan I come up with to engage a course of fire. I'll come up with a super plan in my head but as soon as I hear the beep I'm like "Uhhhh, which one was I going to first?...F it! pew pew pew pew pew".

[TomMcC]

I don't shoot 3 gun but shoot 2 gun, DMR, and Long Range Challenge and I have to agree with most of the above, especially #1,2, and 4. At every match there is at least one person in my squad that has never shot an action shooting competition before and is using a borrowed or new rifle, doesn't know his dope, isn't sure if it has a good zero, is barely able to shoot standing up, or all of the above. I also see a lot of people unfamiliar with what to do with themselves if they have to shoot sitting, kneeling, or something other than sitting off a bench.

I personally struggle with sticking to the plan I come up with to engage a course of fire. I'll come up with a super plan in my head but as soon as I hear the beep I'm like "Uhhhh, which one was I going to first?...F it! pew pew pew pew pew".

I force myself, if possible, to look at the first target I'm going to shoot.

[Moltke]

LRTM, if you're having trouble sticking to the game plan then you need to learn to do this one thing better

1) Visualize more. Actually visualize yourself from a 3rd person perspective shooting through a course of fire and commit it to memory before you execute. Make a mental movie! Visualize your sights on every single target and what they look like from the position you're going to shoot that target. Visualize where you're going to do your magazine changes, transition firearms, where you're going to walk, where you're going to run. This mental prep will help you keep track of where you are, where you're supposed to be, and what you're supposed to shoot. You know what your sights look like right? So use that mental image and put it on every target as you walk through a course of fire.

I hope that's helpful.

[Tx_Aggie]

Great post - thank you!

Tagging to follow the thread.

[jstalford]

I'll come up with a super plan in my head but as soon as I hear the beep I'm like "Uhhhh, which one was I going to first?...F it! pew pew pew pew pew".

Ha. This is me most of the time.

[Moltke]

So I haven't shot in a few months being a lazy bum over the winter and this past weekend I did some of the "standing unsupported long range" freestyle rifle shooting that I mentioned in point #4 above. I posted this on another forum but will repost here -
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28 February

I started with some prone rifle shooting at 200 yards on freshly painted steel with friends calling hits. Since I still don't have any match grade .223, my groups were crap but I adjusted my scope so at least I was centered. I then began standing unsupported with the rifle shooting "freestyle" at the 100-ish yard steel targets - and it was immediately apparent that my sitting around for 3 months not shooting took a toll. Hit, miss, miss, miss... hit, miss, miss, miss... And so it went until I decided to slow down, and take one shot at a time. I burned through 60rds pretty quick and I'd call it wasted ammo but I learned something: I need to identify and focus on what just made me suck so much.

So I put down my rifle, loaded a new magazine and relaxed for a minute. Okay, how best to do this...? If I want to get 30 hits in a row then that means I need to rebuild my Stance, Grip, Sight Alignment, Draw and maintain Trigger Control. I haven't shot in 3 months and standing unsupported rifle at 100 yards isn't the easiest task, but I should be able to do this if I break it down. Instead of just raising the rifle and hammering away, I'll start from the low ready, raise the gun and take one shot hit or miss, then reset.

Re-Building My Technique
From the waist down - Positioning my feet to balance my weight evenly, toes pointed to the far left & right of my target area, blading off a bit so my strong side foot was about a half-step to the rear, not locking my knees and standing normally, OK.
From the waist up - With my back generally upright, not leaning too far forward or to the rear, hands & arms holding the gun firm into my shoulder, moving everything around until I aligned naturally on target and I didn't have to muscle the gun, OK.
Adjusting the gun - Since I got a new scope mount the previous day I wasn't used to the eye relief setting so I slid my stock in until I could have a full field of view and oh look, I can see stuff better now. OK.

With all these adjustments it was as easy as "raise the gun, see the sights, break the shot" because everything was pre-positioned for success and it wasn't me being sloppy or just blasting. Flip the safety off on the way up, stop with the optic in front of my eye, make a minor sight adjustment while taking the slack out of the trigger, and boom. It was taking me about 3 seconds to fire resulting in 24/30 hits on the same 100-ish yard steel so I was pretty happy. Considering not shooting for the past 3 months and 75% of my shots 10 minutes earlier were misses, that's progress I'll take. That being said, when I get the chance I'm going to be coming back to this task with a smaller steel target and a par time to see how many hits I get out of 50 or 100.