Getting started in Three-Gun? Check our list of valuable aids

by Scott Smith

Contributing Editor

Over the last few years the sport of Three Gun has been growing rapidly. It seems there are many reasons for this, the least of which are the diversity of the game for competitors and the action for spectators. The courses of fire are only limited by the terrain and the imagination of the course designers.

These fields of fire test shooter skills on steel, paper and movement, with disintegrating targets (aka clay pigeons) and on fields of fire that can be a square range, jungle run, in buildings, etc. You truly get to see what you and other shooters are made of.

As the name implies, shooters use three firearms: handgun, rifle/carbine, and shotgun, allowing competitors to test all of their skills against the challenging fields of fire. Having three firearms to use throughout the match and usually on each stage means you need gear to support the game. This article is going to attempt to give you an overview of some of the gear required to play the game.

One of the first pieces of gear shooters need is a way to carry their firearms to the range. You need a quality range bag. Generally a double long-gun case will serve. Safariland (3120 E. Mission Blvd, Dept TGM, Ontario, CA 91760; phone: 800-347- 1200; online: safariland.com) offers the Dual Rifle Case with built-in pouches to secure magazines, belts and ammunition, plus there are many MOLLE straps to secure extra pouches to meet your needs. This bag is available in 36” and 46” sizes to accommodate the longest of game guns and in basic black or flat dark earth. With MSRPs of $129-149 depending on the size, these cases are a good deal.

Since Three Gun competition requires a handgun, and maybe a backup, a good pistol range bag is needed. I have been using The Shooter’s Range Bag from Safariland.

It has a removable “stage” bag and easily carries two handguns, magazines, ammunition, even my inner and outer competition belt. At $78 this is one of the best deals for a range bag on the market today.

The most important piece of gear to carry your handguns on the range is your belt, holster and ammunition carriers. You will find Three Gun gear from Safariland, Blade-Tech, Comp Tac, etc. Many of the top shooters run the ELS system from Safariland because you can easily and quickly swap out handgun, rifle or shotgun specific ammunition, carriers or you can change set-ups from Three Gun to USPSA handgun competition. Top shooters such as Rob Romero, Jansen Jones and Bruce Piatt are using Kydex holsters and ammunition carriers from various manufacturers because they meet their needs and they have their gear set up to run specifically for Three Gun competition. This way they have the same gear in the same location all the time. One thing the guys did stress was you need to ensure your holster will secure your handgun; Three Gun Competition is physical and you don’t want a pistol dropping out of your holster to send you home early.

Most of us own the firearms to shoot 3G, they just need tweaking. The biggest tweak you can do is to your AR; no, I do not mean buy a new one. Put a drop-in trigger group in and you will see marked improvement in the performance. Aftermarket triggers from Timney (3940 W Clarendon Ave, Dept TGM, Phoenix, AZ; phone 602-274- 2999: online: timenytriggers.com), Geissele (1920 W. Marshall St, Dept TGM, Norristown, PA 19403; phone: 610-272-2060; online: geissele.com), or Wilson Combat (2234 CR 719, Dept TGM, Berryville, AR 72616; phone: 800-955-4856; online: wilsoncombat.com) would be my preference. These three trigger units or groups are some of the best on the market. Geissele’s triggers are the choice of USSOCOM in many of their fully automatic M4s which digest thousands of rounds a year and keep running. Timney has been the “gold” standard of triggers for years and the trigger unit is gold to prove it. Timney even offers parts to smooth out the pull of the venerable 870. Wilson Combat’s units are virtually bullet proof and like the Timney are a drop-in unit. Wilson’s TTU MIL/LE is a 5-5¾ pound pull, yet it is smooth and breaks like glass. I have used these units in my M4s and swear by them all. You will find all offer lightweight or tactical weight trigger pulls ranging from three to five pounds preset and in single or two stage units. If you plan on a multipurpose AR, the Wilson Combat Tactical Trigger Unit is tough to beat.

Prices on these triggers vary depending upon the model and vendor; I’d give the web a search for the best price.

Once you have improved your AR’s trigger you will need some sights and optics. Three Gun competition has various divisions and the sights/optics are one of the components used to determine the division you shoot. It seems Tactical Iron or Tactical Optics have the biggest following because these divisions have the least amount of gear needed other than good sights and a good variable low power optic.

These divisions also most closely parallel duty/self-protection firearms.

If you are going to run in Tactical Optics you will need a low variable power optic. Two of the best for the game are the Burris (331 E 8th St, Dept TGM, Greely, CO 80631; phone: 970-356-1670; online: burrisoptics.com) LRS 1.5-4 and the Bushnell (9200 Cody St, Dept TGM, Overland Park, KS 66214; phone: 913-752-3410; online: bushnell.com) Elite 1-6.5. Both have lighted reticules visible on the brightest days and have sharp, clear aiming points. These have had extensive use on various ARs we have T&E’d and have received rave reviews by all who used them.

Running Tac Optics means you will need some backup sights. Offset sights allow you to quickly transition from optics to “irons” without removing the optics. Two of the more popular sights are the Rapid Transition Sights from Dueck Tactical/Surefire and XS Sights (2401 Ludelle, Dept TGM, Ft Worth, TX 76105; phone: 888-744-4880; online: xssights.com) Xpress Threat Interdiction Sights. The RTS is basically a 45- degree offset A2 sight. If you have used AR 15 A2 sights, you will have no problem using these. The XS XTI sight is a pair of XS 24/7s offset for your AR.

They work well for those who are used to running 24/7s and, for short range targets in Three Gun, they should be nearly perfect.

Several shooters run Tac Optics with “red dot” sights. One of the better options is Brownells (200 S Front St, Dept TGM, Montezuma, IA 50171; phone: 641-623-5401; online: brownells.com) CQB T Dot. The sight is built by EoTech for Brownells to give shooters a red dot with bullet drop compensation. The circle dots allow you to place fast accurate shots at close range to the maximum distance you can effectively engage targets. Another good feature of the sight is the quick release that does repeat zero.

The other sights you might consider running are Magpul’s (PO BO 17697, Dept TGM, Boulder, CO 80308; phone: 303-828-3460; online: magpul.com) BUS system. These polymer sights are pop-up A2 style sights that will cowitness with red dot sights such as those from Aimpoint or EoTech.

Another option is to mount them on one of the many angled offset mounts for rapid use.

The RTS and Magpul BUS in the image are personal use sights. I have installed Truglo’s (710 Presidential Dr., Dept TGM, Richardson, TX 75081; phone: 972-774-0300; online: truglo.com) Tritium Fiber Optic in the RTS and Hi Viz’s (1941 Heath Parkway #1, Dept TGM, Ft Collins, CO 80524; phone: 800-589-4315; online: hivizsights.com) AR2008 fiber optic in the Magpul. Doing this gives you back up sights with a dot front sight for quick sight acquisition. Truglo’s TFO is priced at $110 because it is tritium, Hi Viz will set you back $32.05 and comes with extra fiber optics.

To improve the sights on your shotgun, I suggest Hi Viz’s Tactical Shotgun Sight. This sight clamps to your barrel and has large fiber optic pipettes in green, red and orange to adapt to the light conditions. I have yet to see one of these fall off but if you mix a small amount of steel bedding and put a tad on the sight base the sight should be there forever. At $24.55 this is a fast way to improve the shootability of your shotgun.

A few miscellaneous items that will make your adventures in Three Gunning better are Surefire’s (18300 Mount Baldy Circle, Dept TGM, Fountain Valley, CA 92708; phone: 800- 828-8809; online: surefire.com) 60 Round Magazine for those high round count AR stages. This magazine runs flawlessly and will put 60 (I suggest 58) rounds of ammunition at the ready.

You might consider Brownells Fastmag Coupler for Pmags. This coupler holds two 30-round Magpul Pmags, the bonus is the base is wide enough that you can support your AR in an upright position to facilitate a smooth snatch of your AR off of a table and not have to fumble with your rifle.

If you are a left-handed AR shooter, consider the Battle Arms Development (PO Box 92742, Dept TGM, Henderson, NV 89009; phone: 702-508-8625; online: battlearmsdevelopment.com) phone Ambi Safety Selector; aka BAD ASS. This is an end-user-installable part that is virtually bulletproof. The BAD ASS gives you options on the size of the offside lever so it will not interfere with your hand, or to accommodate shorter fingers. The BAD ASS price ranges from $60-79 depending on finish and material, reports have it this is worth every penny.

I did a search for DVDs on how to play the game of Three Gun but came up lacking. Team Noveske will have an offering on the market as this article comes to print, from Brownells or Noveske Firearms. I did manage to find a few videos on running and gunning USPSA or IDPA style which will help you prepare for each stage and to set up your practice for Three Gun.

Panteao Productions (701 Gervais St., Ste. 150-193, Dept TGM, Columbia, SC 29201; phone: 800-381-9752; online: panteaoproductions.com) has videos featuring Bob Vogel, and Jesse Abbate, both highly accomplished professional shooters. These videos will give you invaluable insights on how to prepare for stages, movement, reloading, setting up for your shots, etc. All of this will translate to how to shoot Three Gun. These videos are $39.99 each and worth every cent.

The last things you need to look at for competition shooting is your clothing and footwear. When I started working on this piece I was posed a question by my trusted friend Lisa: “What do women wear if they don’t like polo style shirts?” Fortunately in 2012, women’s clothing was one driving force in the market.

Blackhawk (6160 Commander Pkwy., Dept TGM, Norfolk, VA23502; phone: 757-436-3101; online: blackhawk.com) introduced several pieces for the ladies including Light Weight Tactical Pants and the Strenia. Unlike other pants the LWTP are not just smaller sized men’s pants, they are pants cut to fit women.

From all reports Blackhawk hit a homerun with them. The one thing Lisa advised me was to order up a size if you are curvy.

The Strenia is a button front blouse which can be worn tucked in or untucked. The blouse looks and fits well either way, thanks to the box cut bottom. Fit on the Strenia is true to size and allows you room to easily draw and operate your firearms and accessories. You will look put-together on or off the range.

Since Three Gun is conducted over a variety of terrains and in all weather conditions good footwear for men and women is a must. Guys have a load of choices; however, the ladies seem to have a limited selection. We worked to find footwear that would keep your feet dry in the wettest weather, give good traction, support and comfort.

For the ladies, we found an athletic cut shoe from Lowa (86 Viaduct Rd, Dept TGM, Stamford, CT 06907; phone: 203-353-0116; online: lowaboots.com), the Gorgon GTX WS. This shoe is stylish, fits like a running shoe and gives excellent traction in the wettest of conditions. The tested model had an MSRP of $200. This may seem expensive until you find your feet are dry and you are not sliding in the mud during that fall or spring rain. This shoe can be had in an ankle high style, if you want more support. While the Gorgon is built to survive the rigors of speed hiking, it will be just a comfortable and good looking on the streets.

If you prefer to have a beefier shoe, consider Danner (17634 NE Airport Way, Dept TGM, Portland, OR 97230; phone: 503-262-0110; online: danner.com), the Nobo Mid GTX. This is lightweight hiking boot built to keep your feet comfortable and dry. The Nobo runs true to size and gives traction on trails, wet grass fields, and does not weigh you down wearing it. These boots were worn by a lady who treks the hills with her lab and she hasn’t lost her footing yet. She gives the Nobo two thumbs up, and from her this is high praise.

Not to leave the guys out, I looked at the Haix (2320 Fortune Dr., Ste. 120, Dept TGM, Lexington, KY 40509; phone: 859-281-0111; online: haix.com) Black Eagle Lo. If you work as a firefighter you know Haix; firefighter boots are their bread and butter. Haix is offering the Black Eagle line for off duty.

I tested the Athletic 10 Low, a Gore Tex lined shoe that looks like your favorite running shoe. The 10 is vastly superior to any of the big name “sports” shoes. I had them with me when the monsoons hit during the Indiana State USPSA Championships; my feet never got wet even though Mother Nature dumped nearly two inches of rain while I was out sightseeing. With its MSRP of $129, for a Gore Tex lined shoe, the 10 Low is a steal.

I hope we gave you an idea of the gear you will need for Three Gun competition. If you are thinking of getting into three gun competition, give Santa a few hints; items in this article will make fine Christmas or Hanukkah gifts. I wish all of TheGunMag’s readers a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and safe New Year.