Brian Payne

Jay, Thanks a lot! I am very proud of my son. The young man had a great time, and so did I. It was great being in that squad. We both learned a lot. He is hoping that next year he can give you a little more competition Hope to see you at a match soon. Brian

I used it on two stages at the Rocky Mountain 3-gun. Worked great on the first stage, had a double feed on the second stage. Didn't bother me too much as I was already shooting the worst match of my very short three gun career. I used the beta mag only because my son was also shooting the match and we were using the same magazines. Took too much time to reload two cinched mags so I thought I would just let my son use those and I would switch to the Beta mag. Stage 1 was my final stage and it called for shooting from some positions that I was having trouble getting into due to somehow injuring my left knee in an earlier stage. I thought if it jammed I wasn't going to worry about it. I wish I had read the last post about the beta mags not liking 55 grn. bullets as all I had too shoot was American Eagle 55 grn fmj ammo.

I have a M2 Tactical w/18" rifle sighted barrel. I want to get a 24" vent rib for this gun. Where would be the best place to try to pick one up? Also, does the M1 barrel and the M2 barrel interchange? Thanks in advance.

George, Let me rephrase. The RO's were warned that my 17 yr. old son was shooting his first big 3-gun match. The young man can sprint very fast. Due to the vigorous movement, a handgun magazine had taken flight prior to even reaching the handgun portion of the stage (handgun and another magazine pre-staged down range). One of the RO's picked the mag up and had it ready in case of need. I thought the RO's did a great job of assisting new shooters in any way possible. This was just one of many examples that came to mind. I will make sure my son has better magazine holders at future matches.

I don't remember all of the class winners. Heavy Metal - Pat Kelly Tactical Iron - Ted Puente It was a great match. The stages had a little of everything, I thought. One of the stages did have a "potential 180 trap" but the RO's gave a lot of warnings ahead of time. It was only a trap if you let yourself lose control. The talked about stage from last year had plenty of warnings from the RO's also. I'm a begining shooter and felt last years stage was a good one also. I felt the RO's went way out of the way to make sure all of the shooters had a good time. I watched the RO's on several stages pick up dropped mags for shooters in case they needed the extra ammo. at the end of the stage. Didn't hear any whining or griping. Didn't see any DQ's and no "banning" was necessary. I think everyone had a good time, got to shoot some great stages, and win some nice prizes. My hat is off to Randy Luth and all of the DPMS crew. Can't wait for next year.

George, Thanks. That is good to know. I saw some of the photo's from that shoot and noticed Horner was using the Beta mag.

Just received one of these as a gift. Did a search and got a lot of good information. Just a couple of questions for the more experianced. I have read to fill it up with dry graphite. It comes with two tubes and I am sure the comment is not meant to literally fill'er up with that stuff. Just a couple of puffs of graphite enough? Just enough to cover the metal rollers (they look like grey shells)? What is the correct amount? I put several puffs of graphite in it, then loaded sixty rounds. Will leave it for a couple of days, then shoot the heck out of it. I hope it is reliable as I plan to bring it to RM3G just in case. Thanks in advance.

I have all three. I like the Progressive Machine and Tool ones the best. I load my shotgun weak hand four at a time. I have the Inova in front of my pistol on my strong side, and use it mainly for "oh crap" type reloads or for holding slugs if the COF calls for them. The CCW ones work but did not seem as secure as the PM&T's, I always worried about shells falling out when running. I use them mainly when a COF calls for a lot of rounds. Both the PM&T's and the CCW's are 6 round capacity and I had to alter the PM&T's to get them to sit a little higher on my gun belt so that I could bend over properly. I will load four shells at a time, leaving two shells in the carrier. You can also buy the four round variety and I am sure would work as well or better. I like the six rounders because they take up the same space on the belt and give me two extra shells per holder in case I need them because of misses or fumbling shells . I only have the one Inova and really like it but I have trouble pulling all four shells off at one time without fumbling. Once it gets more broke in I am sure it would be a great alternative.

Hey Benny. I was hoping you would make it. See you there.

I will be taking the 5th. wheel and staying at the campground. I read on one of the RV forums that the Whittington Center campgrounds were some of the best in the country. Should be fun.

Tri-gun Challenge rule 6.6.7 Shotgun may only hold 9 rounds maximum.

I load like you do. I like the Progressive Machine and Tool holders, but use the six rounders. Keep one of your CCW 4 rounders so you can use it to hold an AR15 mag. Comes in handy sometimes.

Benny, I called Leah to see about getting squaded together, should not be a problem. If you give over enough secrets of Grand Master type shooting, I will show you the best supper club in the area that also happens to have the coldest beer in the state!

Benny, I will call them and see about getting squaded together. I could use more of your advice.

For my eyes, I really like the Leupold CQT. Works great for up close (much like your Eotech) yet you can bring it up to 3x for the approx. 10 percent of shots out to around 300 yards. Higher power would be nice, but with practice is really not needed. Pat Kelley gave me good information. Practice with what you have, it isn't about the gadgets, the secret is in the practice. When Kurtm, Bruce Piatt, Bennie Cooley, and lots of other iron sight shooters kick most optical shooters butts, it isn't majic. Just knowing your weapon through lots of practice.

'02 Ford F-250 PSD (7.3), AT, 4x4, crew cab, Lariat package. When kept under 70 mph I can get 21.5 mpg. Pulling my Cougar 26' fifth wheel I am at 12mpg. Wife, 17 yr. old son, two dogs, and myself. Storage for all the shooting equipment and guns. Room for the generator if we need to Boondock for a while. We have our own beds, shower, resteraunt to eat in, and my own fridge for the my own beer. No hassles with flying with weapons. Did that once, the guns caused no problem, but the airlines with the canceled flights etc. really got the dander up. I like going at my own speed and doing a little sightseeing on the way. Worth the extra cost over just flying out and renting rooms and vehicles. Time well wasted.

Little over a month away. Man, I can't wait. I have met the new Match Director (Bob Mills), great guy, should be a great match. I will be shooting Heavy Metal. Who else is going? What division?

Going to RM3G for the first time. Coming from flatland Minnesota. Any suggestions for preparing yourself for the physical demands of this shoot at this elevation. Or is it not really a problem. Also, does anyone have any good sites to view some video clips of people shooting at this shoot. It would be nice to see what some of the terrain looks like ahead of time.

I would like to see a Tactical Shotgun rule change to allow any length barrel and magazine tube as long as you can only put nine rounds total in the weapon. For Heavy Metal I have a Benelli Nova w/ 24" barrel and 10 rnd. mag. tube that I plugged to only hold 8 in the tube. Still not legal according to the current rules (22" barrel maximum). For Tactical I have a Benelli M2 Tactical w/ 18 1/2 " barrel and mag. tube that holds 9 rds. I am unsure if this would be legal since the mag. tube extends about 4" beyond the end of the barrel. I can make both hold only 9 rounds max. but the way they are configured is technically against the rules. Letter of the law and intent of the law might apply in this case? Or am I better off begging for forgiveness instead of asking for permission?

In my job I have been shot at. Had a guy try to cut me with a knife. Been in the Emergency Room twice after fighting during arrests. Tracked an armed robber for 2 1/2 miles in - 45 degree weather (idiot forgot about fresh snow and footprints left behind ). I work weekends, nights, most Holidays. Often times get called in on days off for major incidents with a 2hr. mandated response time. Oh yeah, court always seems to take place on one of the few days off you get. Great retirement package though. Been doing it for 27 yrs. now and still can't wait to get to work every day . Should have put this in the "What I Love" forum. I don't know how you guys can handle going to work for places like that. Then do it day after day for years. A rare kind of courage in my opinion. I hope things get better soon because life is too short.

During a search on this forum I saw where Kurtm said you could take a Remington magazine extention and modify the gun to fit. Got the shotgun today and also was given a 10rd. mag. extention from an 11-87. The pawn shop owner begged me to take it because he felt the only reason that shotgun hadn't sold was because people didn't want the extention on their hunting gun. Took the Nova home, trimmed the end of the magazine tube just enough to have the Remington magazine extention fit flush. Can now load 10 + 1 and the gun shoots great. Now need to fabricate a plug to make it load only 8 rounds, then do a little polishing here and there and I should be good to go. Little longer length of pull than an 870 but I noticed that the bolt unlocks like the Winchester 1300 pump, and you have got to love the built in loading ramp when the lifter stays out of your way when loading. Looks good thus far.

I have the chance to pick up a lightly used Benelli Nova pump w/24" barrel. Thought it might work well for Heavy Metal division if the following questions can be answered by the professionals on this site. Will the mag. extention for my M2 Benelli work for this shotgun? Will the chokes for the M2 work in the Nova barrel? I would look seriously at the deal if I can use the same parts between the two shotguns. Thanks in advance for any help.

I saw a brand new Beretta Extrema II with Briley extended tube at a local Scheel's store. Are they starting to put out a competition type shotgun package now? Looked to be selling for a little over $1000.00. Felt pretty good, but I like my Benelli M2 Tactical better.

While you are on the phone with Benny, might also just as well have him put together a Benelli 12ga. and a 6" Fat Free handgun so you can have a complete Trifecta.

I came down from Minnesota to shoot this match. Being a very inexperienced competitive shooter, I really didn't know what to expect. Then the rain started and I really got worried. I made the following observations from the shoot. The CMMG crew and RO's were the best. Terrible conditions made for some challenges that were handled very well. The crushed concrete surface will be perfect for next year. If it could have aged a couple of months, with a couple of rains on it all would have been great. I had the pleasure of shooting on a great squad. No whining, complaining or bitching from anyone. The crew from Triangle Shooting Sports was a blast. I learned a lot from all shooters on the squad. I think all shooters on the squad even competed setting steel and pasting targets. No one sat back and let everyone else do the work. Once you made the first step to get down to stages #1, #2, and #3, you were set for the rest of the day. You could not possibly get any wetter or muddier. Bowling pins suck as targets. Never shot at them before, didn't know how hard they are to hit. I loved the long range steel. I didn't like the walk through the mud to reset them though. Flashers would have been nice. At stage #8 (long range steel), the RO's were having too much fun. One was giving out the rebel war whoop and the other was running the Polaris ATV at top speed back and forth setting targets. Looked like fun. I thought the RO on the shotgun stage was just joking when he said anyone shooting one of his hay bales would be given a penalty. Guess he wasn't Price of fuel to drive down for the match - $ Entrance to the match - $ The chance to shoot with some of the best competition shooters in the world and learn some of knowledge they possess, then top it off with a prize table that was awesome. I have to say - Truely priceless. John, Jeff, Mike, and Ken, thanks for a great match and a great time. I will be back next year. Brian Payne