3 Gun Action Shooter
Innocent beginnings.
Where did this all begin?
Like most kids in my home town, I was privileged to have been able to go “plinking” with my Dad on many weekends throughout the year. We lived in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in the small town of Hinton (69 Km from Jasper) where I was born. Those days, forests were quiet and we were surrounded by hundreds of kilometers of Crown Land. It was no problem to drive 20 minutes up the road, find a gravel road, travel down that and find some good shooting grounds. Our favorite weapon of choice was the Remington semi-automatic .22 with a ten shot magazine. Our game was to simply make a can dance. Dad would go first and shoot the can, I would track and follow up with another shot before the can stopped tumbling, and so on. We burned many an unforgettable hour sharing this simple pastime.
My Sister and I were introduced to shooting and firearms at a very early age. Most likely due to our rural area, surrounding geography, and my fathers’ farm boy upbringing. We were taught to respect firearms, we never pointed toy guns at folks after we learned what a real gun was. Respect was given ultimately to the firearm, then Dad. We progressed to hunting ruffed grouse in the forests with .22’s or .410 shotguns. I’ll never forget the first time I saw my Dad field dress a grouse...”See son, you just stand on the wings, grasp the legs and give it a tug, rip! Chicken breast with two wings all ready for the frying pan!
My mother and I took the Alberta Hunter’s Education Program in the late 80’s and we were determined to get our first big game kill. Later we tagged along on deer and moose hunts. Dad ended up getting the Moose that year, and left us “big white hunters” with the task of gutting the moose! What a guy. Later years the family fell on tougher times, Dad couldn’t afford to hunt any more and the fire arms went by the way side for cars and guitars for me. I always enjoyed shooting, but never had a reason to buy my own firearm at that point.
When did firearms come back in to your life?
Years went by, until one day my good buddy at work calls me and says “Hey Ken, I am taking a Firearms license course, you want to join me?” I say “sure what the heck, I love being qualified for anything”. So enter the PAL, and RPAL Canadian firearms safety courses. We learned how to ACT and PROVE our weapons safe, manipulate actions, and clear weapons. We learned ballistics and firearm safety in general. A few days later,we were certified! Hey, now I have a license to be able to purchase a handgun...cool! Well, with in a week of receiving the official certificates in the mail, my friend literally purchased 6 firearms! Granted, he lost his previous collection to a house fire, so he knew what he wanted. I on the other hand, sat on my laurels for a year or more and had no “real reason” to get a gun.
After my friend was re-established, he invited me to come and enjoy his firearms every now and then. We shot .22 pistols, 9mm, .45, and 44 magnum. What an incredible feeling it is to let loose a 44 magnum when accidentally having purchased Remington High Velocity Brass...The fire ball that discharges is truly something of Hades’ creation. We enjoyed a new camaraderie and eventually had a few more guys off and on coming from work to join in . This friend’s generosity has no end, we just supplied the ammo... All things coming at a price , however, this friend also had a sick obsession with pushing me to purchase a firearm...DO IT....DO IT.....YOU WON”T REGRET IT!!
Enter redneck work friend #2 - “Hey Ken I do this fun thing called 3 gun, you should come check it out some time”. I asked “what was it like?”. Well its like Call of Duty for Grown Ups, with the addictive nature of Methamphetamine; come out with some ammo, and we will show you.
OK, now I am INTRIGUED...
The Meet
What is 3 Gun?
Well, I finally lined up schedules to go to the next shoot. I was asked to bring a hundred rounds of .223, a box of 12g #6 shot, and a couple boxes of 9mm. What am I getting into here? Off to Wholesale Sports I go, happy and proudly hand over my RPAL to prove I can buy ammunition ( a significant day for me, as I had never purchased ammo from a regular sport store up until then.
Once at the Range, I quickly felt out of place. There are like twenty guys walking around in full camo, amour carriers, and pistols on their hips. Woah!! The Action Shooting Club books ranges for the day and reserves exclusive right to use. Its a busy environment, with a few guys belting out orders, and the rest of the group carrying them out. It was range set up time; and it was a full on construction zone. Pre made plywood walls, sledge hammers, cordless drills, 55 gallon drums, and target holders everywhere! I quickly found my sponsor and made myself as useful as i could. 10 am was the meet. We have a group meeting, explaining the safety rules, and going over any specific topics relating to the range rules or interests. At this time I am singled out as the new shooter, and stayed for some extra orientation.
What happened next?
Well, I went to pay my range fees, and ended up paying a match fee...wait a second I’M IN A CONTEST??? Oh I didn’t see that coming. Little did I know at the time, but every match is scored and recorded. So there I was, I just entered my first shooting competition! My heart rate raced, my face flushed and I followed my friend around like a little puppy dog all day. I have to say the whole community is very generous and understanding, however. I shared my friend’s CZ SP-01 Shadow and holster, and his vest for magazine storage. A few other guys offered their guns to me as well, if I wanted to try them out; such generosity.
I spent the first hour watching the way things worked; One guy on the range at a time, with a Range Officer (RO), RO has a timer that goes off, when this timer goes off, the shooter progresses to a series of targets. Now this is where it gets interesting, Shooter will start with pistol unloaded in the holster, and say a loaded AR15. The shooter will engage various paper bad guys, such as IPSC silhouettes, or steel targets that react when hit with a resounding clank. The shooter will shoot around obstacles, and barricades, always keeping the muzzle pointing down range. Not only is he transitioning between targets, he is also transitioning between points on the range, progressing forward through the “course”. Then the rifle will be made safe and “dumped”, and then the shooter is required to draw his/her pistol and load and continue through the remainder of the course with the pistol. Now the real kicker here is, this is all done while on the clock! Pressure!
The Moment
What can be expected?
KEN! You are up, grab your rifle, and your score sheet, let’s go! HUSTLE! It was time for me to shoot! I was filled with anxiety and fear of failing. I didn’t want to make a wrong move and get myself disqualified, nor make a fool out of myself. Well whatever, there I was, palms sweaty, and getting a crash course on AR15 operating controls...What the hell did I get myself into here? “Shooter, are you ready?” “Standby...” “BEEEEP” I Acquired the first target, put two in the center of the target, move to the next with two more, “hey this isn’t so bad...”, I kept shooting until a thunderous CLICK! Oh my god, mag change...OK, OK, drop mag, get another from vest, fumble, hands are shaking from adrenaline, shaking...My RO says”Breath buddy, it’s OK”, I breath, and relax a bit, the magazine goes in, I fumble for the bolt release, back in action....get through all the rifle stage, make empty and safe, and dump the rifle in the blue plastic “dump” barrel. Time to transition to pistol, draw, load ( I got this ,man I have been to range the previous weekend with my buddies, and have this gun nailed) BLAM, BLAM, things are coming together now. I’m settling in, and all of the sudden...”Shooter, If you are done, show clear and hammer down!”. “OK, holster your fire arm”, Range is Clear, good job”
I just finished my first ever stage in my first ever shooting match! My grin was ear to ear, as I scoured the ground looking for empty mags. As I made my way back to the staging area, I noticed that my anxiety was gone, and all that remained was an immense sense of joy, accomplishment and actually, a sense of calm. This all made perfect sense..THIS IS WHY I HAVE TO HAVE A GUN!
I finished the rest of the season, which was about three more shoots (one every two to three weeks. And enjoyed every minute. I finally found a hobby that challenged me, was fun, was a group event but without team obligations, and was just darn cool. It was true, you shoot 3gun once and you are hooked!
How has this affected you?
I immediately started talking hand guns with the guys at work, every chance I had. Which model, what caliber, what style. I went to a local range that rented pistols if you purchased their ammo, and was able to try a dozen different guns over as many weeks. I settled on a CZ SP-01 Shadow like my friend’s...it just fit me the best, and I shot it better, every time. Now to find one.
Fast forward a few months, and I ended up with a used a CZ SP-01 with Tritium night sights, a new Windam Weaponry AR-15, and a used Remington M887 Tactical pump shotgun! I don’t like to borrow, so I made some compromise between used and new, and found myself a fleet of guns that would take me through the following year without going crazy on the pocketbook. I purchased a range membership, and take my guns out and practice with them. I had to buy cases, cleaning tools, more ammo, a safe, etc…BTW, I have a philosophy that any sport nowadays costs at least 3000 dollars to get into. I’m not wrong here…this one cost me a little more.
The moral of this story is?
Two seasons, 14 matches, one division win (won a rifle for that) , a seventh in an invitational team shoot and a grande door prize later, life as a shooter is full steam ahead. I just purchased and installed a new fore-end on the AR, and added a Titan compensator to the muzzle, I have a plate carrier on order, and will pick up an armor plate for it when I am able. I built a blow out kit (range first aid kit) for my load out, and have another couple thousand rounds of ammo on order. I have a two day tactical pistol course coming up in the spring to take, and I will be taking my Black Badge course to become IPSC certified....and I am heavily involved with our shooting club, own two different range memberships, and don’t plan on looking back. Also, I get excited every time another Match comes up on the horizon, because I know when that day comes, I get to eat tactical peanuts (range day ritual), and shoot along side like minded, responsible citizens, who enjoy the sport as much as I do, and ultimately love blasting targets into smithereens! 