I put together a little blurb about starting out in 3gun a while back. Lemme see if I can dig it up...
Nope. Damn.
Okay, first and most important thing to remember about multi-gun is that there is no offical governing body. There are at least two sets of multi-gun rules in large-scale use (USPSA and IMG), along with countless regional variations and "outlaw" matches. So anything I say here about rules, take it with a grain of salt.
You can find the offical rules here:
USPSA Multi-Gun -
http://www.uspsa.org/rules/2005_Multigun_v9b_july1_05.html
IMG Multi-Gun -
http://www.3gunrules.com/documents/...fo/download1.php?file=img-2003-basicrules.pdf
Start by reading those.
The following is my personal advice only, and is likely to be prejudiced in one way or another.
- It's generally a bad idea to try and force one gun to fill too many roles. Get a shotgun for competition, and don't worry about using it as a phesant gun.
- A Limited/Tactical class shotgun should have a barrel length of around 21", should be able to hold nine shells with an empty chamber, and should have sights sufficent to let you hit an IPSC target at 50 yards, every time. It also must be a semi-auto. Do not buy a pump gun for multigun unless you plan to shoot Heavy Metal class.
- If you shoot USPSA or IDPA, you've probably already got a good idea of what a multi-gun match is like. Your Glock 35 will do very nicely in Limited/Tactical class; in fact, that's what I myself shoot.
- If you already have a magazine-fed self-loading rifle that you're comfortable with, then go ahead and bring it. If you're actually shopping for a practical competition rifle, don't even look at anything other than an 5.56mm AR-15 flattop.
- Things to spend money on in a rifle: Good optics (I like the Trijicon ACOG TA-11), good trigger (JP), good barrel/float tube. In that order. Oh, have a variety of magazines. I take two 20s, five 30s, two 45s, and a Beta to a typical match.
- Most important skills: multigun tends to be accuracy-intensive. Don't miss. Make sure that your rifle is sighted in. Check your zero frequently, and know your holdovers and wind adjustments out to 300 yards. Practice getting into and out of unusual shooting positions fast. Get some dummy shotgun rounds and practice speedloading that shotgun until your thumbs bleed.
If you don't mind my asking, what's your location?
- Chris