Bushmaster A3 20 Inch Rifle

[Donho]

I have a Bushmaster A3 20 inch rifle. What accessories should I buy to get into 3 gun?

[Loves2Shoot]

A beta mag

[stingerjg]

Make sure you have plenty of mags that work. Second i would recomend getting a high quality single stage trigger, i.e. JP or a McCormick. I assume that it is a new model w/ a threaded barrel. If so get a good quality muzzle break. Im kind of partial to the Miculek comp, but there are others out there that are good. Cooley(sp*), Clark, and the one that Wakel makes/sells are some other good choices. I always free float the barrel to get a little more accuracy out, but in the begining its not all that necessary. If your shooting Tactical or Open class you'll want to get a good optic electronic/magnified. Everything else in my opinion is just for personal comfort or to boost the cool factor of your AR.

[dghboy315]

the only things you NEED are:

3 good magazines (one in the gun, one for reloads, one in case of malfunctions)

a way to carry them

now these are just helpful in 3gun:

more mags (i have 11 and i'm buying more)

a good way to carry them for fast reloads (i use an Eagle assault chest rig)

some kind of optic (i use an aimpoint)

a grip the fits you hand (i have a magpul modular grip)

a stock that fits you (i got the adjustable duostock, but i'm getting the new magpul 93B)

a good trigger (i had a custom trigger job done)

compensators can help (i don't have one)

back up parts in case of breakage (i always carry a spare bolt)

you must also make sure your rifle is very reliable or do whatever it takes to become reliable. 500 rnds w/out any failures should be enough.

[George]

- Good Trigger (JP or CMC drop-in is easiest way to go, JP DIY is the only other good option)

- Good Muzzle Brake (JP Coolie or Benny Hill or F2)

- Couple 20 Round Mags, Lotsa Quality 30 Round Mags and some larger ones if you can get them.

- Good Sling (V-TAC, Ching, or even a standard Turner. Fixed Tac slings are not always a good choice here)

- Spare Parts Kit (gas rings, extractor springs and extractor bushings. Replace every 3k rounds)

I won't go into ammo carriers, sights etc. The list I made is what I would want as a minimum must have list with any AR, everything else is too subjective to specify.

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Regards,

[Loves2Shoot]

JP triggers rock

[Bear1142]

Don't overlook the new Chip McCormick drop-in AR triggers. I got to try one out the other day. I was very pleasantly surprised. Nice crisp trigger, short and very strong reset. I will certainly consider them in the future.

Erik

[SinistralRifleman]

Go shoot some local matches with your rifle as it is before you do anything to it. See what other people are using. Assess whether the shortcomings you have in shooting are a result of needing more practice, or needing more suitable equipment. Then decide to outfit your rifle accordingly.

I think "match" triggers are unneccessary for 3 gunning, and are certainly less reliable than a standard trigger. To me a heavy trigger is fine, so long as the trigger pull is consistent (no creep).

Magazines are a perishable item, buy more than you need, they will wear out eventually.

[kellyn]

You need:

1) a good zero on your rifle;

2) enough ammo to practice (and get a good zero on your gun);

3) and all the stuff that George wrote;

4) a good zero on your rifle.

I disagree with SinistralRifleman about match triggers. IF (a big IF) you are serious about 3 gunning, you will need to eventually get a match grade trigger, otherwise you will struggle. But see if you're serious first.

As yet, I have not had a failure with any of my AR match triggers which have included an Accuracy trigger job on stock Colt parts, two Accuracy Speaks triggers (with Zillions of rounds), a JP trigger (a with a lot of rounds - 5K), and a Rock River 2 stage (although I don't have too many rounds on this one). Although I don't own one (since they don't support the sport), I have yet to see a failure with a McCormick. This is not to say that match triggers don't go south but mine have all been properly installed.

And get a good zero on your rifle ........

[hoodhazard]

You gotta ask,"How many of the top shooters don't have a great trigger?"I'm referring to just local matches .

[George]

I agree with Kelly about the Zero thing. It's alot like setting the intonations properly on a guitar. get that right and any mistakes are pretty much you! ;-)

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Regards,

[SinistralRifleman]

I believe we all agree a propper zero and practicing and various ranges is crucial...I am consistently amazed at the matches I attend where I see people running all manner of extremely expensive optics, that can't hit anything past 100 yards because they didn't zero their gun correctly, don't know what the hold over at various ranges is, or even never zeroed their gun at all.

I disagree with SinistralRifleman about match triggers.  IF (a big IF) you are serious about 3 gunning, you will need to eventually get a match grade trigger, otherwise you will struggle.  But see if you're serious first.

You are a better shooter than me, so I can't say what you use doesn't work well for you.

I will however say that people's guns failing when mine keep running is something that allows me to beat people who are better shooters than me. Match triggers are one of the common causes I see along with bad ammunition, bad magazines, people screwing with bolt carrier weight, spring tension, and gas flow throwing off the timing of the gun are another big one. A marginal increase in performance to get that 0.1 Second advantage at the cost of decreased reliability is a net loss in performance.

Long range shooting is one of the skill sets in 3 gun that I excell at, having a stock trigger hasn't effected my ability to hit targets at long range. I have a rifle that is propperly zeroed, and that works 100% of the time...if I miss or shoot slow, its my fault not that of the gun.

I have had match triggers fail on me at matches causing a number of different malfunctions. When you're an average shooter anyway inviting problems on yourself through equipment is a sure way to place even lower.

A friend on our squad at mystery mountain received a DNF on stage 7 because they said his JP trigger was "going full auto". I know what full auto is, and what his gun was doing was not full auto. The light trigger made it very easy for him to quickly double and tripple on targets under recoil on the CQB portion of the stage. He was really just pulling the trigger very fast, but they made him stop shooting and gave him 500 seconds for the stage. Function testing the rifle afterwards, the hammer did not follow with the trigger pulled while cycling the action. I wish he would have protested the ruling, but like most average shooters he was there to just have a good time. After seeing that I really can't reccomend anyone use a match trigger for competition because if it gives you the appearance of shooting too fast you will be penalized or possibly DQ'ed.

People runing at the top of the pack striving to beat each other that need that 0.1 (or less) second advantage to actually win, are probably wise to use such devices.

For the rest of us that consistently finish somewhere in the middle and our primary motivation in shooting is to have a good time, having a gun that runs 100% and is properly zeroed is the way to go. Nothing will ruin the good time factor more than having a rifle you've invested a couple thousand dollars into stop working.

Since I am very much in the minority here with using a stock trigger, why does everyone else use them? To be able to shoot faster, or is to be able to shoot more accurately? How much shooting did you do with your stock trigger before you decided to not use it?

[norbs007]

Amen Sinistral! I think you nailed it on your last statement. Your skills will develop on whatever equipment your training on and eventually master how it functions.

[GTOSHootr]

Matt Burkett's Practical Shooting Vol 6 - The AR 15

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...topic=18872&hl=

[Loves2Shoot]

Hmmm, I like match triggers because they are closer to the triggers on all of my other guns Shooting one trigger that is way different messes with me. Why use a match trigger? Because I can If you don't have good trigger control by all means please don't use a match trigger to make up for poor control. Don't be dangerous.

Some people think that my guns have light trigger, I don't, because I can feel the take up in them all and I have control over when they break. With a stock AR trigger there is a lot of trigger creep, and I like to know when the gun is going to go bang so give me a match trigger, good sights, and one that goes bang every time

A good trigger has nothing to do with going "faster." (for me)

[SinistralRifleman]

Hmmm, I like match triggers because the are closer to the triggers on all of my other guns

This is a very good point...continuity of training is important.

One reason I like using stock triggers is because all my guns have them, and the machineguns I often shoot have similar trigger pulls as well.

Stock AR triggers tend to vary in how they feel. I've gotten all of mine from the same supplier, and probably the same batches so they all feel the same. There isn't any creep (as in slack to take up), they're just stiff.

[George]

I like quality triggers in rifles. A match trigger that is not quality made and as robust, or more robust than a standard AR trigger is not a match trigger it is just a piece of junk.

The only AR trigger that has ever doubled on me was a stock Colt trigger group in a an HBAR that had 10k plus on it. I have a JP CTR-02 with almost 10k on it and the JP fire control system is as crisp and safe as the day I got it. The sear engagment hasn't changed one iota. I have bashed that rifle into just about every stage prop and piece of range ground you can imagine and as long as my finger doesn't pull the trigger, that gun will not go off PERIOD.

It's worth repeating: Match triggers are safe triggers or they are not match triggers, they are just junk.

Open question. Does anyone have a documented instance of a properly installed JP fire control system doubling from wear or rough handling? My guess is that this is another urban legend.

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Regards,

[kellyn]

My He Man FAL has a stock trigger and it is definitely more difficult (for me) to shoot on the long range stages than an AR with a match trigger - although it has little to no effect (again for me) on the close range stuff. So I guess I use match triggers more for accuracy than speed. I definitely shoot better groups with a light crisp trigger and EXTRA-DEFINITELY shoot better offhand with a light crisp trigger. My FAL trigger is heavy but crisp.

I had a good deal of experience with stock triggers first.

I agree with the comments about consistency between the 3 guns' triggers. If your rifle has a 2 lbs trigger, your pistol a 5.5 lbs trigger, and your shotgun an 8 lbs trigger, you're making it harder on yourself. I'd rather have have them all at 5 lbs rather than dramatically different. Of course, I'd rather have them all at 1 - 1 1/2 lbs!

Match triggers won't magically turn you into a good shooter but they will make it easier for you to perform your best - as long as they're properly installed and in working condition. In most shooting sports, the winners all have some sort of "match grade" trigger.