The 2017 Fort Benning Multi-Gun Challenge will be held November 16-19, 2017. This year there will be at least 12 stages, plus more than 40 guns on the prize table!
Rifle, pistol, shotgun. More guns = more fun. If you are curious about multi-gun matches, check out this video from Shooting USA. This episode covers the 3-Gun Match at Fort Benning, Georgia. This one-of-a-kind match is the only multi-gun competition where civilians can run-and-gun on an active U.S. Army installation. What’s more, at this match competitors get to ride in a Stryker armored vehicle and shoot Army weapons such as the M249 SAW and M203 Grenade launcher. The lure of playing with military hardware, along with the quality of the stages, makes this a hugely popular 3-Gun event which quickly sells out every year.
Interested in 3-Gun Shooting? Here’s an in-depth report on the Fort Benning Multi-Gun Challenge:
Getting Started in 3-Gun Competition
Thinking of getting started in 3-Gun competition? In this NSSF video, Top Shot Finalist Chris Cerino reviews the hardware you’ll need for multi-gun matches. Chris talks about carbine configurations — including barrel, handguard, and optics options. In reviewing shotguns, Chris discusses shotshell caddies and the high-capacity extended tubular magazines now available. Cerino also demonstrates pistol techniques and explains the key features of a belt/holster rig for 3-Gun competition.
SSG Dan Horner of the USAMU, a past winner of the 3-Gun Nation Championship, is one of the country’s best multi-gun competitors. Here Horner offers some tips on 3-Gun hardware, and safety procedures:
Adapting to New Equipment
There’s a lot of hardware in 3-Gun Competition. To succeed you need mastery of ALL the tools: “New competitors should know how to operate all their equipment. They should spend time getting familiar with their equipment. I spend exponentially more time ensuring the gear is right than I do shooting.”
Safety in 3-Gun Competition
Everyone practicing with shotguns, rifles and pistols must keep safety as top priority. “Obviously, safety is the No. 1 priority, but after that, the focus should be on developing specific skills,” noted Horner. A good three-gunner must not only be fast, but he or she must also be accurate and be able to adapt to a wide variety of shooting positions. And strategy is involved too. Successful 3-gunners develop a ‘plan of attack’ for each stage.
How’d you like to score a check for $25,000? That’s the winner’s pay-out for the 2017 NRA World Shooting Championship (WSC), which runs September 14-16 at the Peacemaker National Training Center in Glengary, WV. This event offers over $250,000 in cash awards and product prizes, making the WSC the richest combined shooting event in the USA (if not the world).
WSC Highlight Video with Competitor Interviews:
You can still Register for the WSC — though remaining spots are filling up fast. It ain’t cheap — Pros pay $395 while amateurs and juniors pay $325. Keep in mind though that all guns and AMMO are supplied. This unique 3-day multi-gun match tests competitors’ skills across twelve challenging stages involving nearly every major shooting discipline for rifles, shotguns, and pistols. REGISTER HERE.
All the Equipment is Supplied
“What makes this event very unique, especially to a professional shooter, is all the equipment is supplied. You have to leave your ego at home and just try to adapt as best you can to the equipment that you have supplied.” — Jerry Miculek
This major match attracts both sponsored Pros and “regular Joes”. For 2017, shooters will be split into two groups: a Professional Division for sponsored shooters, and the Amateur Division for non-sponsored competitors. All firearms, optics, and ammo will be provided by match sponsors for both divisions. “This year the NRA is going back to basics and returning the match to the original format of two divisions for professionals and amateurs, putting everyone on an even playing field”, said Cole McCulloch, NRA Competitive Shooting Director.
Video Shows 2014 World Shooting Champion SFC Daniel Horner in 3-Gun Stage
Cash Awards, Huge Prize Table, and New Random Drawings
The NRA World Shooting Championship will offer $250,000 in cash and prizes. Along with the $25,000 winner’s pay-out, there will be fat cash prizes for second and third place overall, High Lady, and High Amateur Junior. Then there are the prize tables — a real treasure trove. The designated Amateur prize table by itself will offer products and certificates topping $100,000 in value.
NEW Random Drawings — The WSC has added a new type of prize for 2017. Ten (10) Random Draw Prize Winners of $400 will be chosen during the WSC Awards Banquet. These random drawings give every competitor a chance to win cash, no matter what their event ranking.
Match entry fees are $395 for Professionals, $325 for Amateurs and Juniors. All firearms and ammunition are provided, and entry fees include one awards banquet ticket. For more information, visit WSC.NRA.org, call the WSC Coordinator at 703-267-1479, or email NRAhighpower@nrahq.org. On the official WSC.NRA.org you’ll find descriptions fo the 12 WSC stages. In addition, there is information about Peacemaker National Training Center and nearby lodging options.
How to Win the World Shooting Championship
“The format at the NRA World Shooting Championship is unique in that you don’t know what you have to shoot until you show up, so training for the event is a little difficult. My advice is to pack some good eye and ear protection, bring an open mind, be prepared to listen to the stage descriptions, figure out the best way you can take the guns they provide, and post the best score you can. When the match supplies all the guns and ammo, all you have to do is deal with ‘the performance’. This is the most level playing field in the shooting sports — anyone from around the world can come and play.” — Bruce Piatt, 2015 NRA World Shooting Champion
Competitors can register in one of two divisions: professional and amateur. The pro division is reserved for shooters who possess sponsorships, receive financial support for their competitive shooting or those who have been part of specialized firearms teams. All other shooters register in the amateur division. The playing field is completely level — every competitor uses the same guns, optics and ammunition. No competitors are allowed to bring their own gear, so everyone starts the match on equal footing.
For sheer “Fun with Firepower” it’s hard to beat a 3-Gun match at Raton, New Mexico. You get to play with lots of guns — rifles, pistols, and shotguns — while enjoying great views in one of North America’s most scenic shooting facilities. This past weekend many of the nation’s top 3-Gun aces were in Raton for the 2017 Rocky Mountain 3-Gun World Championship. This was held August 10-13 at the Whittington Center facility. Stages were conducted both on the designated rifle ranges as well as nearby hillsides.
In 3-gun matches, all stages are “on the clock”. Competitors need to be FAST and accurate.
There was a lot of Army black and yellow on the top of the podium, with USAMU shooters winning two divisions, along with the Team Event. SSG Joel Turner won the Open Division and SSG Tyler Payne won the Heavy Metal Scope Division. SFC Daniel Horner placed second in the Tactical Scope Division, while SFC Kyle McMaster finished second in the Tactical Irons Division. All four soldiers teamed up to win the Team Relay Shoot-Off competition to close out the event.
High-tech AR platform rigs are the rifles of choice for 3-Gun matches.
Who wouldn’t like a chance to shoot at the Whittington Ranges? What a backdrop!
Run ‘N Gun at 6000 feet
The Rocky Mountain 3-Gun (RM3Gun) is an action shooting match in the natural terrain of the NRA Whittington Center near Raton, NM. The riverbeds, mountains, trees and rocks provide props for the stages. There are 5 divisions: Open, Tactical Scope, Tactical Iron, He-Man Scope, and He-Man Iron.
RM3Gun is a very physical match, and Whittington’s 6000′ altitude makes things even tougher. The pace, thin air, and terrain challenge competitors’ fitness levels. The match has a healthy amount of long range rifle shooting. The match organizers state: “We try to strike a balance between rifle, shotgun and pistol, but you will definitely have lots of rifle because it’s one of the only places you can shoot as far in such a beautiful environment. Usually, we have some moving/aerial targets for the shotgun as moving targets are what the gun is designed for.”
On Ammoland.com, there’s an interesting article about the NSSF’s recent 3-Gun Fantasy Camp in Las Vegas. Author Duncan Johnson attended the Camp last month and wrote an “after action report”. He said the Camp was a great experience, and his shooting improved greatly with the expert tutoring from top pros: “If you have ever wanted to try a 3-Gun competition, just go do it, you will quickly find out why this is the fastest-growing shooting sport today. If you are new to shooting and or just getting started in 3-Gun, I 100% recommend you attend the NSSF Fantasy Camp.”
Here are Four Tips/Observations Duncan learned during the 3-Gun Fantasy Camp:
1. Use a Zoom Rifle Optic – “The LWRC 3-Gun ready rifle [provided for the Camp] was topped with a Leupold Mark 6 1-6x20mm riflescope, which made distance shooting much easier than the AimPoint optic [on my own AR]. 3-Gun competitions have rifle stages that can involve distance shooting out to ranges of 500 yards or more. For that reason, most shooters in the 3-Gun TacOps and Practical divisions use magnified riflescopes like the Leupold Mark 6 or the Vortex Strike Eagle.”
2. Use Your Quads and Core Muscles — “There are also a lot of little things that the pros teach you… For instance, some shooters instinctively bend their knees to enter their stance, but once they start firing they tend to follow the recoil with their shoulders and end up leaning back. In order to avoid that, use your quad muscles in your legs to get a solid stance that will absorb more recoil. Also use your core muscles to maintain a strong stance, especially in shotgun stages. The combination of strong quad and core muscles will contribute to controlling muzzle flip and moving onto your next target more easily.”
3. Vision-Based Target Transitions — “Another pro tip from Randi Rodgers on transitioning from target to target with a pistol was using your eyes rather than your sights to switch targets. So imagine it as pull the trigger, the slide starts to come back, using your eyes find the next target, then point with the front sight, find the sight picture, fire, and repeat.”
Editor’s Note: A few seasons back, I attended an action shooting seminar taught by Randi, and she explained the “move your eyes” technique. For multi-target stages, this really works. Move your eyes from target to target, and you’ll find your arms automatically “pull” the handgun into position. You still need to get the sights on target, but this method yields create smoother, faster stage runs.
4. Trigger Control and Use of Support Hand — If you don’t have good trigger control and pull straight back, you can move your sights during the shot. This is a common problem with novice pistol shooters. The solution is lots of dry fire training. Duncan found out he needed work: “In my case, the biggest area where I need improvement was shooting my pistol. There were two different things I was doing that will guarantee a missed shot every time with a handgun. When I pull/squeeze/depress my trigger I have a tendency to also pull the gun off target, resulting in a miss to the low left of a target. I [also] over-apply pressure with my shooting hand. According to the pros, pistol grip should be 40% shooting hand, and 60% supporting hand.”
This article originally appears on Ammoland.com, reprinted here under Creative Commons License.
Here’s the best reason to go to Las Vegas we know — to attend a shooting camp taught by some of the nation’s leading 3-Gun aces. In three weeks, the Clark County ranges will be ringing with the sounds of pistol, rifle, and shotgun rounds on steel…
April 20-23, 2017 NSSF presents its first-ever 3-Gun Shooting Sports Fantasy Camp, to be held at the world-class Clark County Shooting Complex in Las Vegas. This event features shooting instruction from some top pros, including Randi Rogers, Robert Vogel, Tommy Thacker, Dianna Muller, Ryan Muller, BJ Norris and Chris Cheng. You don’t even need to bring your bang-sticks — the program includes guns and all ammo (as well as meals and hotel accommodations). The April 2017 camp is sold out, but the NSSF plans more camps in the future.
During the 4-day session, “campers” will learn from the pros, practice techniques, have some friendly competitions, and, of course, enjoy Las Vegas nightlife (after the shooting stops).
Nevada’s Clark County Shooting Complex, located just North of Las Vegas, is the largest shooting facility in the United States. Opened in 2010, the modern 2,900-acre complex is a deluxe facility with multiple ranges, club-house, and even an RV park.
Hardware for 3-Gun Competition — Guns & Gear
In this NSSF video, Top Shot Finalist Chris Cerino reviews the hardware you’ll need for multi-gun matches. Chris talks about carbine configurations — including barrel, handguard, and optics options. Cerino also demonstrates pistol techniques and explains the key features of a belt/holster rig.
The year’s first Starlight 3-Gun Shootout, a unique night-time match, takes place March 10-11 at the Copperhead Creek Shooting Club near Marble Falls, Texas. When the sun comes down this Friday, March 10th, many of the world’s best 3-Gun shooters will add lights and lasers to their comp guns and compete for a trove of cash and prizes. This match is part of a series of night-time events to be held throughout the country in 2017.
Using laser sights and firearm-mounted lights, Starlight 3-Gun competitors will shoot seven stages over two nights, 4 stages Friday night and 3 stages Saturday. The Starlight 3-Gun Championship showcases spectator-friendly pyrotechnics and special effects. Match Director Chuck Anderson says “our goal isn’t just to create a challenging course of fire. We wanted to create a course of fire [with] lights, lasers, strobes, smoke and sound that would absolutely wow spectators, too.
The Starlight 3-Gun Match Series is the brainchild of Jim Shepherd, founder of the Outdoor Wire Digital Network. After Crimson Trace decided to “retire” its popular Midnight 3-Gun Invitational (M3GI) match in Oregon, Shepherd proposed taking the M3GI concept and growing it into a series of exciting night-time 3-gun events with eye-catching lighting effects.
Jim writes: “Shooting for speed and accuracy is challenging enough, but ‘doing it in the dark’ [is] far more impressive for spectators. Accuracy is part of the equation, but unlike precision shooting competitions, you’re racing the clock to shave tenths of seconds off your overall times.
We’ve described it as ‘drag racing with guns’. At the end of the competition, the lowest time wins. It’s a simple measurement system that makes it possible for spectators to actually know who’s leading the match at any given point. And that makes for engaged spectators. And that’s our goal — get people interested in shooting sports.”
One Hundred Men vs. One Hundred Women — get ready for the Battle of the Sexes at the Second Annual Babes with Bullets 3-Gun Challenge. The match takes place May 20th and 21st at the Miculek’s Shootout Range near Shreveport, LA. In this unique match, there will be an equal number of male and female participants, for a total of 200 competitors. The first place in men’s division will be a $2,000 check as will the first place in the ladies division. This match follows an “equal pay” philosophy rarely seen in the shooting sports. The prize tables, valued at over $50,000, will also be divided equally between men and women’s divisions. Each division will also have a junior and senior category.
Match directors state: “Our goal is to have an equal number of female and male participants. All competitors will shoot the same stages of fire, with the Women’s Domain and Men’s Domain scored separately. Equal play, equal pay!” Men’s and Women’s Domains will have separate prize tables with Tactical Optics Division winners guaranteed $2,000 cash OR first pick from the respective prize tables.
Otis Technology Sponsors Event Otis Technology, makers of gun cleaning products, is the presenting sponsor of the BWB 3-Gun Challenge. Otis’s Marketing Manager, Heather Pleskach, notes that “Last year’s inaugural match was a well-organized event that welcomed shooters from all experience levels. We couldn’t be more proud to continue our participation for 2017 and look forward to another successful event.” At this year’s 3-Gun Challenge, Otis Technology will partner up with Thompson Center/Smith & Wesson for an exciting side match at the event. Tracy and Lanny Barnes, former Olympic Biathletes, will be competing in the match on behalf of Otis.
About Babes with Bullets: Since 2004, Babes with Bullets have provided firearms handling and safety training for women. Co-founders Deb Ferns, camp director, and Kay Miculek, head instructor, have led these camps for almost thirteen years. See the 2017 camp schedule at BabeswithBullets.com.
If you like 3-Gun shooting, definitely check out this video, a complete 22-minute episode of the Hot Shots TV series. This Hot Shots Season Three episode features three of the greatest action shooters in the world: Max Michel, Jerry Miculek, and Clint Upchurch. This superstar trio demonstrate their skills with a variety of rifles, pistols, and shotguns. You’ll see the latest “full-race” ARs, ultra-high-capacity scatterguns, and high-end pistols.
Click to Watch Full 22-Minute Episode from Hot Shots Season Three:
In this game it’s all about speed on target — matches are decided by fractions of a second. You’ll see Max Michel training with a pistol — and his speed is truly amazing. He gets six shots on target in under 4 seconds including draw. This season-opening episode of Hot Shots finds Max in Arizona tuning up against his fiercest rival, Jerry Miculek and family. You’ll also see competition footage from the West Coast Steel Championship and Clint playing host to a hometown 3-Gun match.
Tactical ace Zak Smith of Thunder Beast Arms employs a simple, handy means to store his elevation and wind dift data — a laminated data card. To make one, first generate a come-up table, using one of the free online ballistics programs such as JBM Ballistics. You can also put the information in an Excel spreadsheet or MS Word table and print it out. You want to keep it pretty small.
Above is a sample of a data card. For each distance, the card includes drop in inches, drop in MOA, drop in mils. It also shows drift for a 10-mph cross wind, expressed three ways–inches, MOA, and mils. Zak explained that “to save space… I printed data every 50 yards. For an actual data-card, I recommend printing data every 20 or 25 yards.” But Zak also advised that you’ll want to customize the card format to keep things simple: “The sample card has multiple sets of data to be more universal. But if you make your own data card, you can reduce the chance of a mistake by keeping it simple. Because I use scopes with MILS, my own card (photo below left) just has three items: range, wind, drop in MILS only.”
Once you have the card you can fold it in half and then have it laminated at a local office store or Kinko’s. You can keep this in your pocket, tape it to your stock, or tie the laminated card to your rifle. If you regularly shoot at both low and high elevations, you may want to create multiple cards (since your ballistics change with altitude). To learn more about ballistic tables and data cards, check out the excellent Practical Long-Range Rifle Shooting–Part 1 article on Zak’s website. This article offers many other insights as well–including valuable tips on caliber and rifle selection.
Scope-Cover Mounted Ballistics Table
Another option is to place your ballistics card on the back of the front flip-up scope cover. This set-up is used by Forum member Greg C. (aka “Rem40X”). With your ‘come-up’ table on the flip-up cover you can check your windage and elevation drops easily without having to move out of shooting position.
Greg tells us: “Placing my trajectory table on the front scope cover has worked well for me for a couple of years and thought I’d share. It’s in plain view and not under my armpit. And the table is far enough away that my aging eyes can read it easily. To apply, just use clear tape on the front objective cover.”
The 20th Annual MGM Ironman Match was held in Parma, Idaho earlier this month. Over 250 shooters vied for honors at this ultra-challenging event. The “OLHOT” (Open, Limited, Heavy Optics, and Trooper) classes competed June 5-7, while a Scoped Tactical Match followed June 9-11. Present were top pros, privateers, juniors, ladies, plus elite military and LEO teams. This very demanding 3-Gun event features ten tough, high-round count stages, including a signature zip-line descent from a tower. Without question, the MGM Ironman is one of the toughest shooting matches on the planet.
Watch POV view of the Zipline Stage at 2016 MGM Ironman:
Father and Son Duo Dominates 2016 Event
This year’s OLHOT match was definitely a “family affair” for the Gibson clan. In the Trooper Division, 17-year-old Wyatt Gibson won convincingly, finishing 138 points ahead of the next-best shooter. Meanwhile Wyatt’s father Travis Gibson won the Open Division. In true ‘Like father, like son’ fashion, Travis dominated the Open field, finishing 121 points ahead of his closest Open-class competitor.
This year’s aptly-named Ironman was particularly tough with triple-digit temps and strong winds. Over the course of three grueling days, competitors completed ten tough stages, shooting in excess of 1100 rounds per shooter over the course of the match. EVERY stage required the use of ALL three guns with 100 or more rounds. The average time spent shooting on each stage was about seven minutes. 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”.
The week-long Ironman event is broken into two, 3-day sessions, with five different divisions. The OLHOT (Open, Limited, Heavy Optics, and Trooper) sessions ran June 5-7. During the second segment, held June 9-11, 120 Scoped Tactical shooters took on the same demanding course.
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). The MGM Ironman regularly offers unique and demanding stages including firing a pistol from a zip line, and plunging down a steep slide from a 30 foot tower, rifle in hand. One stage involves carrying an 80-lb dummy over 100 feet and lifting it to the top of a six-foot platform before climbing it to engage rifle targets at distance. With creative and challenging stage designs and high round counts, he Ironman is truly a unique match.
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.
Scope-Cover Mounted Ballistics Table
MGM Ironman Has Unique Stage Designs
