RM3G 2005 Report (many pics)

Zak's 2005 RM3G Report

Background

First, you might want to check my report from prior years: RM2G 2004, and RM3G 2003. They have details about the NRA Whittington Center and full reports of all the previous years' stages.

Wednesday Arrival

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[ link to LARGER image ]

I arrived at the NRA WC about 1.30pm Wed and checked in. The overall format was virtually identical to the 2004 match: 8 stages, three shot each of Thursday and Friday, two and the team shoot on Saturday. The machinegun side-match run by Alan Samuel's MachinegunTours.com, and the long-range rifle side-match run by Mike Kolar of the Sporting Rifle Match.

Unlike most 3Gun matches, every RM3G stage takes place in the natural terrain instead of a square range. The size and geography of the NRA WC make this possible. Stages were widely separated along the entire set of NRA WC ranges, with the distance between stage 1 and 8 measured in miles.

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There were 16 squads with 12-15 shooters each. Stage-squad starts were scheduled every 90 minutes, with squads 1-8 alternating with 9-16, so a shooter had 90 minutes of downtime between stages. This helped give enough time to recoup, refit, and go find the next stage on the NRA WC's dirt roads.

Weather during the match was almost ideal with temps in the 80's low 90's during the day, with short down-pours in the afternoon.


Stage 1. For pistol, shotgun, and rifle.

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Upon start, retrieve ice pick, stab dummy through chest, retrieve pistol, engage three flash targets through the trees from the left hand side of the tree, then through a "port". Leave pistol in safebox. Retrieve shotgun and engage 6 falling plates through the trees. Leave shotgun, retrieve rifle, and engage each of four rifle flash targets from three different limbs on a tree and prone. The rifle targets were from about 100-150 yards.

This stage was straightforward, but the first test of rifle marksmanship -- something that would continue to be tested throughout the match. Like all stages, it had a 180 second time limit. Many people timed out shooting this stage.

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[ link to LARGER image ]

Stage 2. For rifle.

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From each of five positions, engage two or three visible flash targets. This stage starts with the shooter aimed in at the first position. The targets varied from a couple closer ones at 150-200 yards, to far ones just past 300 yards. The close ones were in the shade which reduced visibility. After hitting the first set, the shooter proceeds down the course to a series of boulders which defined the subsequent shooting positions.

This stage was straightforward, but challenging. It required only 14 rounds minimum for the 14 proscribed hits, but the long distance shooting from improvised positions was difficult for many. Many people timed out shooting this stage.

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[ link to LARGER image ]

Stage 3. For shotgun and pistol.

Starting with a shotgun, the shooter engages 6 falling steel plates, then leaves it behind. He then engages any remaining plates and 15 more paper targets as he runs up a gully. Two flash targets at 12-28 yards to finish the stage.

This stage started easily with the shotgun, but quickly became difficult as a large number of paper targets had to be engaged without running past any of them. Due to afternoon rain, the gully was muddy and slippery.

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[ link to LARGER image ]

Stage 4. For rifle.

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This stage started with 18 paper targets spread throughout the gully-- more or less hoser targets, all within 30 yards. At the end, there were two flash targets at approx 150 and 210 yards on the bluff above, both to be engaged from each of the near and far side of the creek bottom.

This stage was a good mix of close & fast rifle shooting with the challenge of transitioning instantly from hose mode to long distance mode, and possibly back again.

Stage 5. For RM3G-provided grenade, machinegun, and pistol.

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This stage started outside a bunker. The shooter yelled his war cry of choice then threw the (dummy) grenade, ducking for cover. At that point, the RO triggered the timer and upon the signal the shooter jumped into the bunker, engaging three paper targets with a 15 round burst from the M1919 machinegun shooting 8x57JS. When the 15 round belt was dry, the shooter retrieved his pistol, and engaged the remaining 15 paper targets. To reach the end of the course, the shooter had to run down an embankment, jump over a small creek, run up the other side, and 10-20 yards up the gully. The pistol targets were placed sneakily and were easy to miss if you didn't know where to look.

Everyone had a good time with the machinegun on this stage, not to mention the choice of "war cry." Some of the memorable ones in my squad were: "Die Fascist Scum" and "Pray for Peace"-- followed by a burst from a belt-fed machinegun. The pistol part of the stage was a good run with some stage planning required to not run past any targets.

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[ link to LARGER image ]
[ link to LARGER image ]

Stage 6. For RM3G pistol, and shotgun.

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Upon the start signal, the shooter retrieves a Springfield XD Sub-Compact from the pistol safebox and engages 5 steel plates at contact distance with only 5 rounds of provided frangible ammunition. The pistol is replaced in the safebox, and the shooter proceeds left to retrieve his shotgun. He then shoots 18 stationary birds as he runs up a very steep hill, and finishes with a slug plate at about 40 yards.

This stage was challenging for both stage planning and obviously shotgun reloading. The frangible ammo worked great even at contact distance and the XD was reliable.

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[ link to LARGER image ]

Stage 7. For rifle.

The shooter engages three visible of five flash targets from about 150 to 330 yards from each of four positions, and engages 8 paper targets as they become visible.

This stage was another test of long range rifle ability. The mix of close and long range engagements required both some stage planning and some decisions about what sighting adjustments to use throughout the stage. With a 180 second time limit, some shooters timed out.

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[ link to LARGER image ]
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Stage 8. For shotgun.

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Starting at a mine entrance, the shooter engages one visible stationary bird, then 5 steel plates before crossing a fault line. Then he engages 17 more birds spread out to each side, some very low down the gully and some very high up the hill. Along the way, he engages three slug plates.

This was a real fun stage, with some good stage planning and load planning required. The mix of side to side and up and down target locations was challenging.

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Team Shoot

Each team consisted of one pistol, one rifle, and one shotgun shooter. Starting with all members on the bench, the shotgun shooter runs to the gun table and engages an array of steel. When done, he returns and "tags" the pistol shooter, who does the same thing on a different array of steel. The rifle shooter likewise has an array of 3 long distance rifle targets. The shotgun shooter finishes the stage with one shot on a slug plate.

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Long Range Rifle Side Match

The long range rifle side match consisted of a single stage of three positions from which four targets were shot, ranging from 210 to 630 yards. At the end, the shooter could engage a bonus plate which subtracted 20 seconds from his time. This was a challenging stage with a time limit of 5 minutes. It wasn't until the second day of competition that anyone completed the course of fire under 300 seconds. The ultimate winning time was in the 140-second range.

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Machinegun Side Match

The machinegun side match run by Alan Samuel was won by Russell Phagen of CavArms (not pictured).

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Sponsors

JP was the major match sponsor. It was good to see MSTN and TacPro here also!

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SUMMARY

Last year I said that the best conventional 3Gun match is the RM3G, and this year it was better than ever. The use of the natural terrain has improved year after year, with new locations for all stages. The use of pick-up guns is coherent and flows with the stages well. Scenarios are fun. Stage design is peerless.

Thanks for another great match!

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I just got a brief look at the score sheet, and I think I was 20th in Tactical (Optics & Irons combined). I'm not sure how many Tactical shooters there were, except that there weren't very many Open and He-Man shooters, and there should have been about 250 shooters total. I'll put a link here when they post the results online.

-z

 

Cavalry Arms was a major match sponsor--
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Some guns blew up, some got run over--
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MachinegunTours.com was renting MGs-
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Ameetec Arms was there
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TacPro brought a bunch of guns to show off. Here's the integrally-suppressed, NV-equipped "Covert"...
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And of course the suppressed AI-AW50 (50BMG)
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.. which they let people shoot as a demo.

 

Stage designs were checked and rechecked for safety. I heard no rics.

Not sure what you mean by "realism", but these were in the terrain some pretty rough, and not on square ranges. There were no funny IDPA-style rules, it ran with more or less IMGA rules. Stage design was done by some of the most experienced 3Gunners around.

Unusual gear.. The Cav guys always wear full tac gear, and we're used to them.

I saw a couple shorty M1A's and an AUG. Heard someone talking about an M96, but didn't see it. TacPro brought a bunch of awesome bolt rifles to show off and demo.

http://www.rm3g.com