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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The new Shooterest Shooting System is a hitch-transportable, twin-station shooting bench that deploys directly from your vehicle. You can shoot EITHER with the bench attached to the hitch (and vehicle), or the Shooterest Bench can be detached for stand-alone shooting. The reversible table-tops handle both right- and left-handed shooters.
The Shooterest’s designer, Brian Auer, is a mechanical engineer. He builds Shooterest benches with his brother and father. Brian comments: “The three of us fabricate everything ourselves in our barn workshop in Rathdrum, Idaho. Basically, you can hook up the bench (fully assembled and ready to use) to your vehicle in a vertical position so it won’t hit the ground or extend past the 3-ft legal limit beyond the rear bumper. When you arrive at your shooting location, you pull one pin and move the bench to the horizontal position. You then drop the front stabilizers, maybe adjust your table height if needed, and you’re ready to shoot. The tailgate on a pickup also serves as a handy table to stage ammo, clips, guns, etc. If you don’t want the bench mounted to a vehicle (or if you don’t have a 2″ receiver), you can set the bench directly on the ground using the same parts that attach it to the vehicle.”
Preload the Bench for Added Stability When Hitch-Mounted
Given the fact that vehicles have springs, we were concerned that there might be a little vertical play in the Shooterest when deployed mounted to a hitch. Dan Auer, Brian’s father, explained that you can eliminate any potential “bounce” by putting in a little preload: “With the bench on the hitch mount, just lift up the table a bit and extend the front stabilizers (legs) an inch or two. That preloads the system and pretty much takes up the slack in your truck springs. You end up with a very stable platform that way.”
The Shooterest bench system comes in Deluxe and Standard models, both with twin independently adjustable platforms allowing two shooters to shoot simultaneously. The $489.00 Deluxe version features 3/4 inch plywood tops and seats, plus a convenient center-mounted deluxe shell deflector screen. The $389.00 Standard shooting bench has painted 7/16 OSB plywood tables and seats, with standard deflector screen. Both models share these other features:
Bench can be used mounted to vehicle OR stand-alone (detached)
Fully-assembled bench can be transported on vehicle receiver
Bench is constructed from strong, durable steel tubing
Bench can be disassembled to transport inside vehicle
Tables adjust for sitting or standing shooting positions
Seats are 3-way adjustable for height, fore/aft, width from centerline
Adjustable stabilizer legs can be adjusted for uneven terrain
Tables are reversible for right- or left-handed shooters
Bench is wheelchair accessible
For more information, visit Shooterest.com, call (208) 661-5973, or email sales [at] shooterest.com. Currently, Shooterest Benches can only be shipped within the continental U.S. ($40 flat rate) & Canada ($90 flat rate). Installation Tips: Shooterest benches come with one hitch pin, but a second pin will be required for attaching to the receiver on the vehicle. We recommend a drop receiver for any receivers mounted higher than 25 inches on the vehicle.
BAT Machine in Idaho is now offering some new products, plus some new options for its popular actions. For tactical guys and those who prefer a bigger bolt knob, BAT now sells an optional threaded, tactical-style bolt knob. Cost is $35.00 on top of the regular action price. Buyers of two-lug actions should also note that BAT is now Tig-Welding the bolt handles on two-lug actions.
If you’re building an AR and what a precision-machined barrel extension, BAT has added AR10 and AR15 barrel extensions to inventory. These are completely machined after heat treating in only two setups. According to BAT: “This allows us to manufacture the extension with more consistency and tighter tolerances than others on the market.” AR10 bolt extensions cost $55.00, while AR15 and M4 bolt extensions cost $30.00.
Last but not least, BAT is now offering canon-style (horizontally-ported) CNC-machined precision muzzle brakes in two sizes. The smaller size, for barrels with muzzle diameter between 0.675 and 0.800 inch cost $115.00. The large size muzzle brakes, which fit barrels 0.800 inch and larger in muzzle diameter, run $125.00. For either size, you need to specify caliber when ordering.
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Two ammunition manufacturers in Lewiston, Idaho, plan to add “significant numbers of workers” this year and next. Alliant Techsystems (ATK), parent of CCI, Alliant Powder, RCBS and other companies, expects to add about 100 jobs by the end of 2010, and Extreme Bullet plans to expand its facility and add about 100 jobs over the next few years. ATK’s employee ranks will grow to approximately 1,200 workers by the end of this year.
ATK will be re-hiring many workers laid off in a 2009 force reduction. According to the Spokane Journal of Business, “The new hires should give ATK a total of about 1,200 workers by the end of 2010 at its plant on the east side of the Snake River.” The Journal also interviewed ATK Spokesman Jason Nash who explained: “We’ve definitely had a few good years at the plant there. There’s been an increased demand for sporting ammunition, which has allowed us to add to our employment base.”
Speer Brothers Brought Ammo Production to Lewiston
Here is an interesting historical footnote. Today’s large ATK operation in Idaho can be traced back to the companies founded by the Speer brothers. After settling in Lewiston in 1944, Vernon Speer started Speer Bullets. A few years later, in 1951, Vernon’s brother Dick (with partner Arvid Nelson) started Cascade Cartridges Inc., a producer of small-arms ammunition and primers. Yes, as you may suspect, Cascade Cartridges Inc. is now CCI, part of ATK’s family of companies, and one of the largest manufacturers of primers and loaded ammunition. Today, ATK’s Lewiston plant produces both Speer bullets and CCI-branded ammunition and primers. ATK acquired the plant in 2001. Vernon Speer died in 1979, and Dick Speer died in 1994.
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In May, we reported on the new MicroSight invented by engineer (and shooter) David Crandall of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The MicroSight keeps both near and far objects in sharp focus, simultaneously imaging two distinct focal planes. This break-through technology allows the shooter to see a sharp image of the target and a sharp image of his iron sights at the same time.
The MicroSight is not a lens per se. Rather it is a phased Zone Plate that focuses light beams through diffraction. Zone Plates, first studied by Frenchman Augustin-Jean Fresnel in the 1800s, focus light via a set of concentric rings that alternate between transparent and opaque. The transparent sections let some light waves pass through unchanged, focusing objects that are far away (basically, at infinity). But light passing the edges of the opaque rings gets diffracted, which brings nearby objects into focus. This produces a seemingly impossible result — sharp images of distant and near objects, simultaneously.
The MicroSight is not just a laboratory experiment. Prototype versions have been crafted and placed on test rifles. INL has licensed the technology to Apollo Optical Systems which is right now working with gunsight manufacturers to adapt the MicroSight design to a variety of products. In the future, some MicroSight-equipped products might add refractive power to the Zone Plate, allowing target magnification as well as focusing.
WATCH the VIDEO below to see the MicroSight in Use and to learn how it works…
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MGM Ironman Has Unique Stage Designs
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Two ammunition manufacturers in Lewiston, Idaho, plan to add “significant numbers of workers” this year and next. 
In May, we reported on the new 
