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3 Gun AR

TheBigCountry

Green Weenie
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Dec 9, 2013
    3,786
    5,239
    Build or Buy? Have the itch to try and get into 3 gun, and looking at building an AR (JP or myself) or picking up a Daniel V11 Pro or another factory ready rifle?

    Any advice?
     
    Build it. It will save you money and be exactly what you want. Only caveat is you have to know what you want. Barrel, low mass carrier, trigger, gas block etc, when built right they are amazing to shoot. Do your homework and you'll be much better off than buying off the shelf.
     
    I agree with the shooting a few matches idea. I shot my first few matches with a M4 style carbine with Aimpoint. Not perfect for sport. After that I built my own upper with Bravo Company, 18 inch barrel, long handguard and rifle gas length, and used my already comfortable lower. Perfect. Now I just switch back to my weekday gun on Sunday evening.
     
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    Another vote for build. Like others have said, you can build exactly what you want depending on your desires and budget. It's also very gratifying and fun to build an AR.
     
    I'd just get a factory gun in a configuration you like, that is high quality, reasonably light, etc.
    Tons of great setups from BCM in particular. With a KMR-A handguard and barrel lengths of all sorts, you have a ready to go option at a very reasonable price.
    Skills trump gear.
     
    I always wonder how many people that reply to these threads are actually avid 3 gunners...

    Anyone looking to get into 3-Gun isn't about to be vying for top spot at any significant level. The $$ saved on a reasonably priced, but still very high quality factory gun (e.g. BCM, Colt, Sionics, DD, etc.) vs a boutique gamer gun or custom build will pay for lots of ammo, a decent optic, mags, etc. to build skills and experience.

    I've shot 3 Gun and at the level I am at (pretty damn basic) I would not see any significant benefit with a JP or custom setup vs a "basic" BCM (BCM guns are not exactly basic, as they are actually very nice, but you get my point here).

    Lightweight bolt carriers, obscene muzzle brakes, very expensive stainless barrels, titanium this and that, it's all cool, but the juice is not worth the squeeze in my opinion, unless one is at a high enough level that they are outshooting and outrunning "basic" factory guns. How many people can honestly claim that?
     
    I wasn't necessarily replying to anything you said Benito, just thinking out loud, particularly about guys who definitely don't shoot competitively but never miss an opportunity to promote their favorite brands. The Armalite really is as close as I've seen any rifle in the affordable price range come to being 3 gun ready. The super lightweight fad seems to be dying out quickly, apparently people realized how skittish a centerfire equivalent of a Red Ryder is. I RO'd Josh Froelich a couple weeks ago and ended up fingering his rifle. Damn if that thing wasn't 13 pounds. I've been casually surveying all the pros I squad with and they seem to have a common distaste for the whole lightweight trend.
    I do wish companies would stop putting a brake on their standard rifle and calling it "the ultimate 3 gun machine!" though.
     
    With regard to the lightweight fad, I have a sexy sub 6.5lb "3 gun" style rifle. I shot it no better than my 9lb suppressed SCAR last time I went to an action comp. It was fun to build, but the weight or lack thereof made it such that I didn't ever notice how "smooth" the 18" rifle barrel shot.
     
    I'll chime in. For the record I'm a fairly experienced 3 gunner who's owned and built quite a few AR's. I'd say unless you have a lot of experience and really know what you want I'd steer you towards a factory purpose built rifle (such as JP like you mentioned). I see a lot of home built guns have issues generally related to poor parts selection or assembly...you won't have this problem with JP. Another big factor for me is confidence...if I lack confidence in my gear it throws off my mental game. If I'm shooting top shelf gear the only factor is me. The shooter will always be the biggest factor, i just prefer to eliminate my excuses. And lastly factory guns generally have much better resale value.
     
    Distance to target in comps you may attend and sights or optic class ?
    I shot a lot of three gun in the earlier days. Long shots were under 300 yds. those days. I liked and shot iron sight class with a Colt 20" govt. profile rifle. Loved it and did very well with it.