280 Competitors at MGM Ironman 3-Gun Match in Idaho
The 15th annual MGM Ironman Match drew 280 competitors — the largest field ever. Present were elite professional teams, privateers, juniors, ladies, top military and LEO teams, and shooters from as far away as Denmark. This challenging 3-Gun event, held June 3-9, 2012 at the Parma Rod & Gun Club in Idaho, featured 11 diverse stages of pistol, rifle and shotgun challenges.
The aptly-named Ironman match is one of the toughest 3-Gun matches on the planet. Over the course of three grueling days, competitors must complete 11 stages (segments), shooting in excess of 900+ rounds per shooter per segment. EVERY stage requires the use of ALL three guns. The Ironman is long, intense, and you shoot till you drop! Mike Gibson, the founder of MGM Targets, and the “inventor” of the Ironman, has said: “This match isn’t for weenies or crybabies”. Mike adds, “Over the past 15 years, I estimate over 4.5 Billion rounds have been fired in this event.” That’s a lot of lead going downrange!
MGM Ironman Has Unique Stage Designs
The MGM Ironman is an intense test of both shooter and equipment. Participants shoot a variety of classes and various scenarios including shooting from the back of a moving vehicle, from a 20-foot tower, while driving a golf cart, and while carrying a dummy. Of course there are plenty of MGM-made reactive targets (photo right). There’s even a 285-foot-long Zipline pistol stage. You don’t see that in the typical 3-Gun match!
With creative and challenging stage designs, high round counts, and a great RO crew the Ironman is truly a unique match. Every stage has a 10-minute time limit with an average shooting time of about 7 minutes per stage. This year, some of the times were hampered by a day of steady rain and wind, making it all the more challenging. Overall, great efforts and camaraderie made for a great event.
2012 MGM Ironman Match Winners by Class:
SCOPED TACTICAL CLASS – Daniel Horner; OPEN CLASS – Michael Voigt; LIMITED CLASS – Warren Becker; HEAVY SCOPED CLASS – Barry Dueck ; TROOPER CLASS – Ben Fortin; JUNIOR TS CLASS – Brian Nelson; SENIOR TS CLASS – Ralph Arredondo; LADY OTLH CLASS – Bethany Harris; MILITARY/LAW TS CLASS – Ben Fortin.
Here is a video from the 2010 MGM Ironman. It shows many of the multi-gun stages, including the Zipline stage, filmed from multiple camera angles.
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Tags: 3-Gun, Idaho, MGM Targets, Mike Gibson, Multigun, Zipline
4.5 Billion rounds? Who is counting the Federal Government Accounting must be doing the math. Even if they had 280 people attend a year for 15 years at 900rounds x 11 segments x 280 is less than 45 million. lol Though that is still a LOT of shooting.
Editor: Good catch Dan! Mike Gibson definitely says “4.5 Billion” in his video interview. In fact he repeats “Billion” for emphasis. But, as your numbers indicate, either Mike is off one decimal place or he may be including all the rounds ever fired at the range.