HM Wannabe

[Kaw77]

I own :

S&W 4" 1911PD+ 6 mags Novak 3 dot sights

SA XD .45 Service (4") + 5 mags plain black sights

Rem 870 HD 7+1 ....18.5 " bbl with Tru Glo Fiber Optic snap on front sight

RRA 16" Varmint (HBARREL) with cheap optical red dot

DPMS .308 LR FT with Nikon 4-16X variable 18" bbl

I am thinking I would be better served by a 16" bbl with 'normal" contour on the RRA, and I need a 20" bbl on the Rem 870????

What say the vet's?

OH this is my 1st post

Newby as of today

Edited March 5, 2009 by Kaw77

[busyhawk]

Kaw77,

I am a little confused but will try to work through this.

Your heading says HM (Heavy Medal) so I am guessing you are planning on shooting the DPMS .308 (not the RRA unless the RRA is .308) but most HM divisions require only iron sights. Some multi-gun matches will let you have the scope on the rifle but make sure you check the match rules, USPSA does not allow in HM.

Your S&W 4 inch 1911 will work but a 5 inch will work better IMHO (in my humble opinion). Just use what you have and try to have some fun with the whole thing. 6 magazines will get you through almost anything.(8 round)

A Reminton 870 is a great pump SG (shotgun) and you can do almost everything with the 18.5 inch. You will need/like a magazine extension at least (you really want to start with 9 in the SG at the start) and a lot of practice shooting and LOADING/RELOADING! I hope the 18.5 inch has changeable chokes, if not it is not a show stopper but will hurt a little. Learn about loads for the SG too if you don't know what someone says when they ask you what dram equil you are using and how many oz's of shot. Just ask and listen...this will save you in the long run. It is also printed on the box of shells.

Hope this helps and welcome to the BE Forum!

RLTW,

Scott Hawkins

[Kaw77]

hi

thanx for you reply

yes I realised later that HM is .308 ... - the iron sites I had forgotten also I like .308 and my DPMS ..just means I need to get my new reloading setup up and running which is proving difficult as components are very scarce

I guess my main concern was maybe getting started w/o a lot of intial outlay of funds

I am looking at the possibility of adding another .45>> 5" > possibly a STI Spartan or maybe a used SA Loaded etc

if I found a decent used 5" S&W 1911 I'd probably go forth that also

I've never competed and at 55 yrs old wondering if I might not be competitive >> not that I have high hopes or expectations

the Rem 870 is non-choke

[busyhawk]

Kaw77,

Were you once a Kawasaki rider or something (in 1977). I ride Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda. I am licking my wounds from a dirt bike crash about 3 weeks ago in which I broke my right leg...just another 5 weeks until I get a walking cast!

Anyhow, I am 54 and love the sport. You are not to old, only as old as you feel.. Now I know my eyes are not what they use to be even though I was a lot faster with Irons so now I just shoot Scoped Tactical with my AR, a Benelli super 90 for a SG and a HK in 9mm or a XD in the same flavor for a pistol. For the 3 gun game a .40 is the best choice IMHO. A good Glock (spit) or XD or M&P will serve you well and keep the cost down. Remember, we are in it for the fun most of all and then we can try to beat ourselves. I can't seem to afford the 308 stuff but I have a .308 DPMS and M1A just iching to get out and get shot.

I would suggest shooting the Scoped Tactical for the first couple of matches and see where you want to go from there. The 1911 will be ok, please tell me you have some 10 round magazines, and the SG will work and of course the RRA will get the job done no problem. You really don't need a 18 or 20 inch barrel for the .223. Stick the scope on the RRA and get er done!

Where do you live...I am in WA state and if you live near I can help you along the way, you can borrow anything you need.

RLTW,

Scott

[bigbrowndog]

KAW77,. You can get started with what you have, and have fun. i would most definetly shoot what you have first and learn, so that you only have to spend money once on the best you can afford.

Your 870, would do you much better if it would accept removeable chokes or was choked in something other than CYL. but that can be handled easily enough later if need be, you may find later on that the 870 is not what you want, so there is no sense spending money to change it right now.

Your .308 is suitable with any legal barrel length, I know of a couple of very good HM shooters that use a 16" barrel with iron sights, my preference is more towards 20" but thats me. Also buy more magazines when you can.

your pistol, will suit you just fine, don't rush out and buy something else just because its not a 5". I use 2 different 45's for all my HM matches one is a Hicap STI, and the other a single stack, the reason is that some matches will allow 10rds in the pistol and others require only 8. You probably should put money in GOOD magazines, and a couple of 10rd ones wouldn't hurt especially if you see yourself staying with the single stack.

First have fun, then practice and get better.

Trapr

[heavy metal]

Dude, unless you have big bank and no wife ands kids, don't do it. I got out of 3-gun because it's just too expensive. A few years ago I use to get 1000 rounds delivered to my home for 200.00 bucks. Now it's like 450.00-500.00 for crap ammo. 3-gun is high, heavy metal is crazy. I do miss it

[bigbrowndog]

Quitter!!!!!!!!!

See you in a few, Dude.

trapr