New to 3-Gun w/ question

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tackleberry45

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So it interests me. I already have a Glock G34. Good to go. I had a few folks show me what they are running for an AR15. JP is out of budget. I like the DPMS and Stag purpose built for 3Gun. Question - I saw where all of these are DGI, not piston, ARs. I know a 3Gunner is going to put a lot of trigger time in, probably really stressing out and beatin' up an AR. When you put that much volume of fire thorough it I thought one of the down sides to a DGI AR was the barrel heat?
 
The barrel is going to get hot no matter what, but then again, it's not like you are shooting 200 rounds in a stage, so it's not getting THAT hot. Either gun will be fine, although the piston gun recoils a bit more and is going to be more expensive.
 
The DI will not heat the barrel up any more than the piston. The difference is that the piston will usually keep the action cleaner.

However, there is no reason to spend the extra money on a piston gun. I have shot many many 3 gun matches, and I have seen much more shotgun and pistol malfunctions than rifle.

I regularly shoot matches that have 20 rifle targets on a single stage that range from 225 out to 625 yards. Does the barrel heat up during that course of fire? Heck yeah it does, some people shoot over 80 rounds on those types of stages. Does it cause the zero to wander enough to matter? No.

3 gun competition is not a precision rifle match. The smallest target you will be asked to hit at an extended range will usually be 6 MOA or larger. Close range shots aren't a problem, even if the barrel is hot.

Look at the top 3 gun shooters who are running ARs... They all use DI guns.
 
I don't think I've ever shot a long range target that was as big as 6MOA at a match but I agree with the rest of that.
 
tackleberry45 said:
Thanks, so given that JP is out of budget, any thoughts on the Stag vs. DPMS for an AR ready for 3G out of the box?
Click to expand...

I have shot a Stag 3G and it is a good gun. A tad heavy, and I prefer a full stock as opposed to a collapsible, but a good gun. And the trigger (Geissele S3G) is great for 3 gun, but definitely takes some getting used to. I have not shot the DPMS, nor have I seen one in the competitions that I have shot.
 
If you're buying new I can't really see getting a DPMS, for about the same money you can get an RRA and it will almost certainly be much more accurate. I currently use their ATH model after previously using a DPMS 16" bull barrel. The 18" RRA cryo'd barrel is much lighter and much more accurate. Mine has a CMC single stage match trigger but another lower has the 2 stage RRA trigger and it works just as well, I use a Burris 332 on mine and find it works extremely well out to the 300 yards maximum we normally shoot in 3 gun.

RRAATHUPPER1.jpg
 
3-Gun is so much fun it's addictive. It can also get REALLY expensive REALLY quickly, so don't be in a rush to spend money.

Match format varies a lot from range to range. Some matches will shoot nothing beyond 200yds, while others go out to 600yds. The type of match will determine what rifle works best.

If you already have an AR15, I suggest you run that for a while until you get a feel for what will work best at the matches you will be shooting. Try a few of the other shooters' guns and see what you like/don't like, then build a gun to match your preferences. Chances are NONE of the off-the-shelf rifles will be perfect for you, so upgrading your existing rifle as you go may make the most sense.

Oh, and for sure you want a DI gun. Lighter, more accurate, less recoil. One look at what the winners are using is all it takes to realize this.
 
I would go watch a few matches before buying a gun. The local IDPA 3 gun matches set some of the targets at 300 yards. I am not wasting my money or ammo on such a match. I have my AR set up for CQC not the steel challenge. They shoot the man sized targets with a circle drawn with a wax pen. you would need a 20x scope to see the circle.
 
Putting thedefensive in IDPA aren't they?

I'd shoot more 3 gun but at today's panic prices if you go through a whole 30 round mag, there just went $15. :eek:

I reload, but we would still be talking about $6 in ammo in every AR mag.

My AR has 20 inch barrel, stainless. I would recommend a 16 inch or 18 inch instead.

Yes JP is high dollar stuff.
 
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