Langenator

Heck, when I shoot HM it's because my Garand told me it was feeling unloved. PING!!!!!

I've run the low velocity (1150 or 1200 fps, IIRC; I'm at work and can't check) Rio Target #7.5 and #8 in my CZ-712 with no issues.

Things a working rifle/carbine is much more likely to have: - old fashioned fixed front irons/gas block. I've never had much of an issue with these getting in the way when using an optic, either an M68 CCO (Aimpoint), EOTech, or magnified optic. - rails all the way around the front end for mounting lights, PEQ-2A (or whatever the current generation IR night aiming device is), and VFG or gripod - if the pistol grip and/or buttstock have storage compartments, there's probably actually stuff in them. - forward assist will definitely be present - lower receiver marked "Property of U.S. Government"

The NC sand hills might be a bit of a drive for you, but there is these guys: http://gunfighterleague.com/ at Range 37 in Bunnlevel, NC (general vicinity of Fayetteville/Fort Bragg, so on occasion they get some real, no-kidding Army-SOF types come play. Along with the 82nd guys who want to pretend to be operators.)

I was just a Surplus Arms in Tacoma and they had a bunch of 500 round bricks of Armscor .22LR ($49.99, no limit) and Sportco in Fife had Rio Target out the yin-yang.

I know at the TX MG match, at least for WWII division, it was one hit to neutralize, but if you missed, it counted as two misses. I think HM might have been the same, but it may have just been WWII because they didn't want us reloading Garands all day.

Mine runs Fiocchi reduced recoil slugs with no issues.

So what would that make an M1 Garand? Betty Page?

When I do it, it's because I want to shoot my M1 Garand and hear the PING!

When I shot at the All-Army matches back in 2007, we were issued Black Hills 77gr for all of the rifle shooting. It was reliable and consistent in military issue M-16A2s, and improved the accuracy noticeably over the 62gr M855. All .mil 5.56 rifles use 1/7 rifling.

Someone smarter will probably correct me, but as far as I can tell, there are two 'umbrella' organizations whose rule sets are used in toto at multiple matches - USPSA and 3GN. (There's also an IDPA Multigun, but they still seem to be quite small.) Everything else is 'outlaw,' where the MD used his/her own rule set, with various tweaks to various rules. The rules on shotgun tube length/capacity and max load for starting/during are one of the more notable variances.

Another benefit to starting with the extra mag on the left - if you need to change, you'll have more open access to the bolt release if you need it.

I use the Rio 7.5 target shells as my primary 3-gun load. (This may change when I burn through the ones I brought when I moved from TX - no local vendor sells them here in my part of VA.) I haven't had any issues with them in my CZ-712.

Yep. I have had two people tell me, on the clock that they had a squib in their AR. I answered both the same..."Well you better check" one pulled a pin and checked. The other went back to shooting. There was no squib in either and I believe both were angling for a re-shoot which they did not get. If I believed they had a squib, I would have stopped them. On a pistol, it is more expedient to lock the slide open and drop a pebble through the barrel...seen that one in person too. You put your hand or face in front of a barrel while it is in the firearm, instant DQ from me. Interesting technique I hadn't thought of. I may start carrying a few BBs in my pocket, just in case. (I've never had a squib at a match. The one squib I have had, the bullet didn't get far enough down the barrel to allow the next round to chamber, so it was pretty obvious.)

I've been to two major matches so far, and my total prize table take (I did DQ at the first one) is a small range bag, a TangoDown AR mag, and a TangoDown AR grip, so take my opinion for what it's worth... I don't go to matches, big or small, to win something off the prize table. I know I'm not that good, and I don't have the time or the money to get that good, at least not until I retire. I'm going to have fun shooting, and maybe learn something from the guys and gals who shoot better than I do. And I don't begrudge all those who win whatever prizes they get, either. Now, do I think it would be cool to have one or two items that were raffled off? Sure, even if the tickets are sold, and not just every shooter gets a ticket, I'd probably buy a ticket or three. Or maybe you could have one item per division given out in a drawing, maybe give some incentive for folks to move out of Tac Optics into Heavy Metal Irons. But at the end of the match, I've spent a couple of days at the range, having fun shooting and hanging out with cool people who have the same hobby I do. Which is a good day in my book.

Want...but I can't justify buying a scope that'd be worth more than either of my cars.

I just posted a bit about the same email...some of their claims seem a bit hyperbolic to me, but that may just be advertising. I missed the made in Turkey part at first look...my immediate thought after reading that is that it might be the same, or very similar to, the CZ-712, which is also made in Turkey. The one thing I can confirm is different is that the CZ-712 looks to only have one cross-pin holding in the trigger group (see pic of mine in this post) whereas Predator's offering (aka the Burkett 3GN-S) looks like it has 2.

This came in my email from Predator Tactical: http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=dfa81f0d85ff110cdda7b4fb5&id=80b2163a00&e=c5e603974a Some of their claims just made me shake my head..."World's First 3-Gun Competition Ready Shotgun?" Apparently they missed the Mossberg 930 JM and the Beretta 1301 Comp. And those are just two I can think of off the top of my head. "Shotguns were always the most expensive and complicated part of a 3 gunner's kit.?" Seriously? My AR upper cost more than my whole shotgun, and that's after I got the thing Cerakoated a pretty color. (And I don't have a very expensive upper, either) And I know there are guys out there whose scope costs more than all three of my guns, combined. For $995, pre-order price, that thing better be awesome.

I've seen a bonus target at least once: 580 yards, off the clock, you were given two shots. Hit with the first, 20 seconds off your time; second, 10 seconds. Hit with the first shot with an M1 Garand: biggest smile ever.

Does anyone have a load that mimics the 75gr Hornady Steel Match rounds? My rifle really likes those, but I haven't been able to find any since Newtown. (Annoyingly, I've got maybe 60 or so rounds left. Not quite enough to feel comfortable shooting a match.)

I know weighting the stock (and everywhere else they can add weight without changing the outward appearance of the rifle) is popular with High Power shooters, especially in the Service Rifle division. They even make lead weights shaped precisely to fit into the A2 stock's cleaning kit compartment just for that. Part of it is for balance, part of it is to have more mass to absorb recoil.

It shows $589 now...

I'm looking to start building myself a dedicated 3-gun rifle (AR type). It's going to take awhile to accumulate parts, due to budget reasons. For the same reasons, I'll probably try to buy at least some of the parts second hand. Which parts are better to pay full price and get new, and which ones will it not make much if any difference to have used parts? My figuring: Definitely new: barrel, gas block, LPK (because I've only very rarely seen a complete used LPK for sale), lower receiver (I already have this, and how often do you seen used stripped lowers for sale?) Used: foreend, buttstock/buffer tube, pistol grip No idea new or used: upper receiver, gas tube, comp, trigger group, BCG, buffer/spring Thoughts?

Is there any advantage to one cross section over the other? In my head, it seems like the flat bottom would be more stable when resting the rifle on a barrier or some such, but I don't have any experience either way. (I'm not counting a quad rail as having a flat bottom - too narrow.)

Another random thought...Z mentioned using stage mags. When the British Army did this drill, they did it from the prone. How much would it mess with people to do this as a stage, require firing from the prone (you must shoot from this box, under this barrier), and only provide 20 rounders as stage mags? *Edit: 20 rounders loaded with 5 rounds