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Old August 17, 2012, 01:50 PM   #1
2hand
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3-gun: the m14 in competition

Ive just started playing with the idea of 3-gun for a change of pace. How common is the m14 platform used in lieu of the AR?

Why/why not?
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Old August 17, 2012, 04:46 PM   #2
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I don't shoot 3 gun, but from what I can see on tv it is VERY fast paced. I think you would have a blast, but you wouldn't win.
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Old August 18, 2012, 01:33 AM   #3
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Not common, but not unheard of. An M14 would usually be in a different division, so you would not compete directly against a 223 AR.

Why not? 308 ammo costs more than 223. If that does not bother you, go for it.
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Old August 18, 2012, 10:10 AM   #4
g.willikers
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Here's some online info on multigun rules:
http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showforum=224

http://www.uspsa.org/rules/2012_Multigun_Rules.pdf

There's a division, called Heavy Metal, where the minimum rifle caliber is .30.
So, you wouldn't be competing against .223.
But there are other conditions along with the rifle caliber, like 12 gauge pumps only, and 10 rds for handguns.
On the other hand, there's usually less people competing in that division and a better chance of scoring well.
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Old August 18, 2012, 11:26 AM   #5
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Very uncommon but shoot what makes you happy. The local 3 guns around here don't use power factor and sometime don't have a tactical irons division so the red dot/scoped AR is king. That being said I still shoot my Mini and still beat people so the shooter is always a factor.
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Old August 19, 2012, 08:01 AM   #6
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My club has a 2-gun and 3-gun match every month. The only divisions are rimfire and centerfire. You will see AK47s, M1As, Mini-14/30s, M1 Garands, Marlin camp carbines, ARs with scopes, red dots or just irons, M1 carbines, and SKSs. ARs are faster, but in the end, it all comes down to the shooter.
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Old August 19, 2012, 09:38 AM   #7
2hand
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Thanks guys. Good info.
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Old August 19, 2012, 10:16 AM   #8
ROGER4314
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I competed with a full match SA M1A at 200 and 600 yards. Honestly, I couldn't get the M1A to shoot with the black rifles so I went back to the AR-15. I thought the world of that rifle but finally sold it to a friend. I owned it for 10 years and sold it for what I paid for it.

That was my experience and others may have seen the M1A differently. I CAN state accurately that M1A's seldom appear on the firing line at matches. One good thing, I never had a problem finding my brass among the littered .223 hulls!

Flash
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Old August 30, 2012, 04:25 AM   #9
bamaranger
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heavy metal

I read of a shoot/match/division termed "Heavy Metal" that specified .45 handguns, .308 rifles and of course the 12 ga.

It was slower than the race guns, but the shooters claimed to have had a ball.
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Old August 30, 2012, 08:06 AM   #10
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It's a real division if you club shoots international multi-gun rules.
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Old August 30, 2012, 12:17 PM   #11
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I shot my Garand in USPSA Multi-Gun, and was part of a distinct minority. I haven't shot 3-gun for a while, but I'd expect the heavy metal divisions (apparently, there is now a "heavy iron" and a "heavy optics") to also be dominated by AR derivatives. I used to see FAL variants, too. If there are 30-round mags available for the M1A/M14, I'd get some of those.
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Old September 1, 2012, 06:25 AM   #12
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Texas Multigun has a WW2 Division. Garand, 12 gauge pump, single stack 1911 in 45. WW2 was fun but I am back to 223, semi-auto 12 gauge, and wide-body pistol. The match is adding Vietnam divisions - Light and Heavy, Heavy being M1a/M14, single stack, 12 gauge pump.

Regardless, go out and shoot. As long as you have the minimum caliber, you are ok. Mins are usually 9mm, 223, 20 gauge, but matches vary. A 308 division is usually 308/45/12 gauge, but you can always shoot against the mouse guns if you don't meet Heavy minimums.
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Old September 5, 2012, 04:39 PM   #13
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You can use you M1A/M14 in any division you like. Most have 223/556 as a minimum.

USPSA has Multigun Heavy Limited, which is an iron sighted 308 ( or larger) with a 20 round max mag capacity, 12 gauge pump with an 8+1 max capacity, and a 45 pistol limited to 10+1.
They also have a Heavy Optics class which allows optics on the rifle, a .40 cal pistol, and semi auto 12 gauge.

I shoot Heavy Metal and there are usually no more than half a dozen shooters in my division. It's expensive, but very satifiying to be able to hold you own shooting against the guys shooting the hot rod 223's, high cap 9mm's amd semiauto shotguns.
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Old September 6, 2012, 09:17 AM   #14
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As others have said, if the game you play has a "heavy metal" division you can use it there. At large matches its generally won with someone shooting an AR10 though.
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