Best piece of advice for someone starting in three gun about rifles

[lfine]

So what's the one most important piece of advice you wish someone had told you or wish you had followed when you were getting that first rifle for three gun?

[TonytheTiger]

Don't worry about parts till you have a full season under your belt.

[outerlimits]

buy once, cry once.

[CharlieD]

3 hours ago, lfine said:

So what's the one most important piece of advice you wish someone had told you or wish you had followed when you were getting that first rifle for three gun?

If you're going to build a rifle, there is a lot to consider.  If you are going to buy, then buy a JP.

[Hi-Power Jack]

American Tactical has a rifle, ready to go, for $800    

 

I bought one - only shot it three times so far, but it's very nice:

  CMC trigger

  long handguard

  adjustable stock

  compensator

 

You can shoot your entire first year without changing anything (Just add sights).    

[PatriotMRD]

Don't worry about having all the "best" equipment right away. You may find 3-gun isn't your thing. Don't blow all the money up front. If you have basic equipment, run it. Basic rifle? Run it. Basic shotgun? Run it. Basic pistol? Run it. Run it all for a few matches or a season until you find out what is REALLY holding you back. Borrow gear. Test it until you find out what works for you. The first 2 mods to your rifle that will make the biggest improvement (assuming it's functionally reliable) is a comp/muzzle brake and a trigger.

[mattmann]

That by the time I “build” what I want and get all the parts I like, I could have bought a complete JP and would have been happy and not changed anything on it! Not like you can have “too many” guns though!


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[Pcew73]

This will be my second year and just changed the trigger and comp on my rifle.  I wish I had done this a long time ago.  These would be the first two things I would  change. 

[kellyn]

Zero your rifle.  By that I mean really zero it and understand the ballistics of the rifle bullet in flight.

[gerritm]

11 hours ago, outerlimits said:

buy once, cry once.

This! Go light & accurate.Good trigger & comp.

 

gerritm

[Chip3]

Figure out where you plan to shoot and understand the requirements for those venues. If you plan to just shoot local and your local matches don't go out past 100yds, probably no need for $1k scope. Shot my first AR a few months ago just for fun. Had forgotten how much difference the comp and and light bolt with adjustable gas made. All of my second shots were high.

[Dan Sierpina]

9 hours ago, kellyn said:

Zero your rifle.  By that I mean really zero it and understand the ballistics of the rifle bullet in flight.

This is the best advice from a very experienced competitor!

 

[davsco]

yeah you won't go wrong with JP, aka, buy once cry once.  and per above, know where your rifle hits at 0 - 500yds.

 

BUT before you go out and buy something, if you haven't already, hit some matches and see what rifles, scopes, etc folks are using.  most if not all will let you fondle and even shoot their stuff so you have a better idea of what might work best for you.

[Hi-Power Jack]

2 hours ago, Chip3 said:

 matches don't go out past 100yds, probably no need for $1k scope. 

 

Congratulations, Chip, That is The Understatement of the Decade (beats most of The Donald's tweets)    

[Searchnman]

On 3/2/2018 at 9:16 AM, Hi-Power Jack said:

 

Congratulations, Chip, That is The Understatement of the Decade (beats most of The Donald's tweets)    

LOL, TRUTH^^^^^^^^^

[DFIVE3]

Like most have already stated. Don't go out and buy all the gear right away. Run what you have, borrow what you would like to try out. Most 3 gunners are happy to let you try their gear (most, not all). And as Kellyn said, zero your rifle and no your holds.

[steviesterno]

find one kind of ammo if you don't load, buy a ton of it, know where it hits. I was missing steel at 200 yards as a beginner because I sighted my rifle in with one brand of ammo and competed with another. idiot. 

 

if most of your matches are inside 200 yards, a decent optic, trigger, and free float tube are all you need. the rest is fluff. 

 

learn your optic off set. people love no shoots like 2" below a target just to mess with those that don't. 

[bluedevil008]

On 3/1/2018 at 6:53 PM, CharlieD said:

If you're going to build a rifle, there is a lot to consider.  If you are going to buy, then buy a JP.

 

Wow, perfectly said haha.  

 

If building, splurge on barrel, trigger, optic.  The second two are completely personal preference.

[Ten-X]

Keep your cheek down on the shotgun. Oh snap. This is a rifle post. Still good advice...

Edited March 10, 2018 by Ten-X

[Moloch38]

On ‎3‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 8:53 PM, CharlieD said:

If you're going to build a rifle, there is a lot to consider.  If you are going to buy, then buy a JP.

Nailed it. If you can't go that route. Look at an adjustable gas block, comp and trigger.

[Darqusoull13]

Doing it all over, I'd have bought the JP I currently have as well. It's phenomenally accurate and reliable and those two things matter more than anything else. 

 

I've shot light sub 6 lb rifles with optics and over 12 lb rifles. I ended up preferring a heavy rifle but there's also ultralights available. 

 

I'm biased, but my opinion wouldn't change regardless 

[ecn515]

Run what you've got, and run it for a while until it is holding you back. I shot almost my entire first two years with a bone stock FN 20'' AR, and almost a year of that with Iron Sights. I loved it. 

Also piggybacking off what others have said, a real serious zero and understanding of YOUR ballistics is crucial. Cheap ammo will get cheap results. Spend the money on your glass, you can't hit what you can't see. But for most people there is no need for an 8x optic, most matches don't even go past 100yds. When it's time to spend money, buy once cry once. Lastly, reliability should be paramount, without that everything else means nothing. 

[stick]

On ‎3‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 6:35 PM, lfine said:

So what's the one most important piece of advice you wish someone had told you or wish you had followed when you were getting that first rifle for three gun?

I was lucky!  I had some of my friends who had been shooting 3gun for years give me advice on equipment.  

Get to a match, the guys and gals at matches are great about letting you use their equipment to try.  rifles are no different.  just bring your own ammo, try different rifles and see what you like.  otherwise, you will buy, try, sell and buy again.  Do it once and be done with it.