Pepper Stonewood

Very happy with my Burris MTAC 30 and the PEPR mount. Very flexible for everything I shoot, and you can't beat the price for value.

A good cleaning on my AR takes me about 30-40 minutes with a good part of that time going into the barrel, feed ramp and the BCG, which I break down. I use Eliminator to cut the crud and fp-10 oil to lube it back up. I make sure a clean patch comes out clean for the barrel before I stop. Sometimes I also use Kroil. For the barrel, it goes Kroil patch, Eliminator soaking, five minutes wait, brush scrubs using a rod guide for all steps, clean patches, Kroil patch, clean patch, very light FP-10 patch. It gets this about every 250 rounds. My Glock gets about 15 minutes of attention during a standard cleaning. Every 800 rounds or so I take out the trigger group, clean and grease it. For what it's worth, I get the bore of my shotgun barrel good and clean every 150 shells, making sure to remove all crud from the choke and thread area.

The Noveske Atlanta 3 Gun match last Sunday was amazing. The 89 other people who participated probably agree with me. Here's a POV look at my stages, although next time I'm gonna have to reposition my GoPro somehow.

Well, all new to me. I guess for better or worse I've been indoctrinated by overly regulated ranges. With a group of safe, responsible shooters it sounds like a working arrangement. Unfortunately, that wasn't my experience at the Clybel Sooting Range.

I've been looking for new outdoor ranges to shoot at in the metro Atlanta, GA, area recently. I went to South River Gun Club but decided I didn't want a $500 membership to go a few times a year. Down the road aways is the Clybel Shooting Range within the Charlie Elliot Wildlife Center, a Georgia WMA, and it's the scariest range I've ever been to. It was my first time so the RO gave me the range rules briefing, and then he said, "and when you want to check your target, just holler out for a cold line because if you don't some people will just shoot for hours." That's right, the shooters call for hot and cold lines at a 10-stall, 100-yard rifle range, and one RO floats between two nearby ranges. It was as scary as it sounds. Shooters handled their guns, fiddled with their scopes, oiled actions, cleared chambers and even did practice draws while down range other shooters reset their targets. When everyone is back behind the firing line, anyone can shout for a hot line and they tear into it. I'm never going back there again. Too many idiots and not enough supervision.

Thanks. The compensator is definitely important for keeping the rifle level for follow up shots. There are some people on these forums saying the stock comp that comes on the Stag 3G is no good. The biggest complaint is it over comps and pushes the barrel down and off center. My argument is that unless you're shooting offhand at long distances it's not too severe to worry about. I'm sure I'll experiment with others along the way. The Effin-A comp looks pretty cool and might be my next step up eventually. No laws in Florida about (non-hunting) shotgun cap as far as I know. User g929 said a law in his state existed.

My feeling is most people get the Saiga for its shell capacity and quick reloads. Having a mag on it would cut down on time a lot. My wife has a XDM 4.5 in 9mm. I like it, and it works well, but I talked to a gunsmith about aftermarket triggers for it, and he said it was not a drop in install and the labor was nearly as expensive as the actual trigger. In fact, he did his best to talk me out of it. On the glock, it's as easy as knocking out a few pins, tugging the old trigger out, and dropping in a new one - no gunsmith needed.

So far so good. I've only used them once in a real match and at the house practice loading. They are built very well and appear rugged. The only downside I could see is if you had to go prone to shoot a stage. They would dig into you and make it mighty uncomfortable. However, I don't have a lot of waist real estate so doubling up on rounds in a small space on my belt is handy.

I don't really know what tactical competition is considered to be, but I'm just starting to use it for 3-Gun, and it worked well. The pistol has served well for IPSC, and I actually use the shotgun for skeet shooting too.

g929 asked for some photos. Here they are.

+1 on the Vanek trigger.

I shoot BVAC 9mm in my Glock 34 in USPSA matches and it has never let me down.

Sometime around June of 2011 I came across a tv show or article in American Rifleman, I can't remember, that talked about 3-Gun, a competitive sport that puts to use a pistol, rifle and shotgun. This seemed like a whole lot of fun after being a range fly and dabbling in IPSC just a little bit. So, I started researching the sport, media that covered it, the gear used and where I could go to shoot it. After a little over a year, I finally accomplished my first major goal of participating in a 3-Gun match this past weekend in Okeechobee, Florida. I'll go through a little bit of what I learned along the way for anyone else who is where I was at the start. Let me just start by saying 3-Gun is a gear-intensive sport. You can expect to spend about $5,000 to get started from scratch if you don't go overboard. That's not counting ammo which is expensive. Some will say just go do it and run what ya brung, and I could've done this, but I wanted to have the right gear first to make it an enjoyable experience from the start. I'm glad I invested in good gear to begin. My first match was a non-stressful experience and all my gear ran great. Some other beginners like me at the match didn't have the right gear for the game and it was obvious they were frustrated. For pistol, I chose a Glock 34. Aftermarket pistol parts include a Vanek Classic drop in trigger and Warren rear and front fiber sights. My rifle is a Stag Arms 3G. I waited 10 weeks for it to come in after placing an order through my local gun shop (Pantera in Miami). On the rifle, I put a Burris MTAC 1-4x illuminated sight. This gun doesn't need anything else. Ignore the people who say to rip off the muzzle brake. When you're on the move or have support, it doesn't matter. My shotgun is a 24-inch Benelli M2 field with comfort stock. To the shotgun I added a Nordic Components + six-round magazine tube, the NC oversize bolt handle and bolt release button. To carry all this good stuff I use a CR Speed double Velcro belt. Hanging off the belt are four BlackHawk pistol mag holders, a BlackHawk holster for the Glock, two AP Custom 4x4 shotgun shell carriers and one Safariland AR-15 mag pouch. My "training" involved occasional range visits and going to my local USPSA matches as often as possible at Trail Glades range on Sundays. There, I could only use the pistol so after the matches I went next door to the skeet range and shot 3-4 rounds. Big thanks to Ralph for showing me the ropes of skeet. I spent a few weekends at the range with the rifle, but just to sight it in at 100 yards. Beyond that, I didn't have any time behind the rifle in tactical situations. I spent about 10 months doing that routine. Doing some Google searches I found a monthly 3-Gun match at Okeechobee Shooting Sports. The next available match was Oct. 14, and I promptly registered to attend. I got to the range early for my first match to observe how people were prepping their gear. The match briefing was a little overwhelming, but we broke up into squads of five, each with an RO. That made stage briefings more manageable for a newbie. The match was a blast! I made some mistakes that cost me time and fumbled my technique as could be expected, but my gear ran great. I couldn't be happier as a beginner with my firearm selection and accessories. Now, I'm totally hooked and can't wait for the next match in November. Although they're nothing to brag about, you can see videos of my first match on YouTube under the channel name pepperstonewood. Are you where I was a year ago? Do you want to get into 3-Gun? Ask me a question. I'm sure we can learn from each other.

I just received two of the AP Custom 4x4 shell carriers from Nordic Components. They look great and are very well built, but I'm worried about bending the holding spring when loading the fourth round. The instructions say to roll it past the spring but even half way in it bent the retention spring. What am I doing wrong? I don't want to force it and break new gear before I even get to use it. Anyone with experience or a video showing the loading?

I ordered one for $1300 through Pantera in Miami June 9 and am still waiting.

Thanks, Mike. I'm getting into the sport a bit late. I'm 29 now and in my first year of practical shooting. But, better late than never!

John, sounds like you made a good choice. I went through the same shotgun search recently for a piece that would serve me well in 3Gun. After reading lots of forums like this, I bought a Benelli M2 with a 24" barrel for $1,100. Not sure I made the right choice on barrel length, but I haven't run it in a match yet either. I'd be interested to know if anyone had an opinion based on experience on whether 24" barrels are good or a hindrance in what could be tight spaces during a match.

Thanks for the welcomes. I'm in Miami, Florida, and definately can't complain about the nice weather this time of year. It's great outdoor range weather.

Hello, here goes. Just joining the forum today. I shoot pistols (Glock 34 and Taurus PT1911), a Sig AR-15 and a Benelli M2. I shoot the local USPSA match on Sundays for fun, and I'd like to get into 3-gun. My aim is to improve accuracy, get to know more about my guns and have lots of fun. Hoping to learn a lot here and avoid spending money on the wrong mods, parts, etc. Cheers, Pepper