A buddy of mine has a farm we shoot at and we were tossing the idea of 22lr "3 gun" around since well... we are all cheap.
Clearly there is no 22lr shotgun stage we considered a 22 precision rifle stage to take its place. From poking around at other small match ideas and some derived from IDPA I've drafted up a set of match rules that we are going to give a go.
Any input on them, scoring, stage ideas, etc would be appreciated. I tried to keep the 3 sections as equal as i could in possible points so no single stage (either "Assault" "Pistol" or "Precision Rifle") could immediately make someone dominate the points. I also tried to keep them as safe as possible since I know that without a dedicated run and gun range things can get dicey.
thoughts? thanks
Sounds like fun. I am a certified IPSC, Range Officer, and we ran 3-gun matches all the time when I was more active in the sport. Usually ours were either Pistol/Shotgun/Assault Rifle or Pistol/Shotgun/Subgun. I have been playing around with tactical rimfire this year. We are having a informal match this week with friends that includes pistol/buffalo rifle/precision rimfire rifle stages. My only suggestions are:
1.) Safety is absolutely paramount. Devise as set of clear simple range commands and use them. Example: Shooter to the line, Shooter - load and make ready, Shooter Ready?, Standby, (give start signal - buzzer from timer for example). When shooting stops, tell shooter, If your are finished, please unload and show clear. Gun Clear, hammer down, hoster (if pistol), then give the "Range is Clear" command so you can go down range to score/reset tgts. With rimfire, it is not good to drop the hammer on an empty chamber, so you might prefer to insert an ECI flag in the chamber instead. You do not have to follow IPSC commands but if you set up a system, it helps to prevent accidents.
2.) If you plan to have several participants, it might help to run the slower stages in a manner that allows several to shoot at the same time. i.e. the precision stages.
3.) Running with firearms needs to be done only if unloaded. Forward or lateral movement is only allowed with safety on, trigger out of guard and muzzle pointed downrange.
4.) AD's do happen, malfunctions happen, but if basic firearms safety measures are taken, the result is only bruises to the ego. Keep a 1st aid kit handy in case the worst did occur. If a shooter has a failure, brain fart, AD, jam, etc. Stop them and safely clear, fix the issue.
5.) I am not a fan of having a shooter running to the rear with his/her weapon during a stage. That is bad form. Always assume the worst and that he has forgotten to unload his weapon. Movement should be forward or lateral only during active part of the stage.
6.) Take advantage of uncomfortable or awkward shooting positions or stage designs that allow the shooter to choose from multiple shooting positions to solve the problem at hand. i.e. Shooting thru a pipe/tube, laying on an inclined surface, or leaning around a barricade. Shoot some of the pistol stage with strong and weak hand only grips.
Irish
