The Rocky Mountain 3-Gun Nationals (RM3G), is the best conventional 3-Gun match in the country due to use of geographical features in stage design, facilities, and stage difficulty. After some management problems during the 2006 match, JJ and Denise Johnson took over for 2007, and boy did they do a great job. This year's match made exemplary use of the natural terrain and geographical features of the NRA Whittington Center with complex and challenging stages that involved significant movement.
Stage 1. Pistol, Rifle. Starting with a slung rifle, engage 18 pistol targets while running up and around hill. Once finished with pistol targets, ground pistol and proceed to engage four rifle flash targets at 125 - 200 yards from both sides of a barricade. The key to this stage was to shoot the pistol targets efficiently, while on the move, and then not lose any time engaging the rifle targets.
Stage 2. Shotgun, Rifle, Pistol. With all three guns staged at two closely-separated shooting positions, engage the three targets for each weapon from each position. Pistol targets were large plates at 40-60 yards. Shotgun slug targets were at 75-100 yards. Rifle targets were flash targets at 300-400 yards. This stage had the most difficult shots of the entire match. The long-range rifle targets at 300-400 yards were targets on a flat field which made spotting misses to make corrections difficult. The shotgun slug plates at almost 100 yards were challenging for many. Most people could make the pistol shots, however, after getting rushed or flustered, there were a lot of shots that went low left. Many people timed out on this stage while shooting the long-range rifle targets. For time management, it made sense to shoot this stage starting with your "best" weapon and ending with your "worst"-- which meant, for most people: pistol, then shotgun, then rifle.
Stage 3. Rifle. Engage 12 close-range rifle targets while running down a trail in the woods. At the bottom, engage five long-range rifle targets (220-360 yards) from each of two bunkers. The bonus target at 495 yards could be hit once from either position for a -30 second bonus. The second of the long range rifle stages, the trail run in the beginning of this stage was not much but a distraction and a way to get your blood pumping. Most shooters could shoot all the close-range rifle targets on the move, on the way to the first bunker, in about 10-15 seconds. The crux of this stage was efficiently making hits on the long-range rifle targets, and then making the bonus at 495.
Stage 4. Shotgun. This bird-shot-only shotgun stage had 30 targets along a "V" shaped shooting area which required at least 60 yards of movement. Targets included two activated trap throwers and two activated bird flippers, along with a bunch of dropping steel plates and stationary birds. This stage involved a lot of loading, shooting on the move, and a few spots where the 9-round limit of Tactical left few alternatives to simply "standing and loading."
Stage 5. Pistol, Rifle. Engage seven close-range pistol targets while retreating to the staged rifle. From each of three boulders, engage four medium-range rifle targets (100-200 yards). Most people took the time to make sure they got good hits on the pistol targets, and then concentrated on making their rifle hits without wasting many rounds. A lot of time could be wasted with misses on the rifle targets.
Stage 6. Shotgun, Rifle. Start with a jungle run with 16 clays and three select slug shots (30-70 yards) covering about 60 yards. Next, ground the shotgun, run up the hill to retrieve the rifle and engage three medium-range rifle targets (100-200 yards) from each of three positions. This stage involved some shotgun planning, along with the complexity of select-loading three slugs. After a run up the final steep hill, which was challenging for shooters used to lower altitudes, the medium-range rifle targets provided yet anther an opportunity to waste time missing rifle targets.
Stage 7. Shotgun, Pistol. Starting with two medium-range slug shots on small but heavy plates (30-50 yards), proceed up the jungle run for about 40 yards engaging 18 clays, then finish off with several IPSC paper targets and a Texas Star for pistol. This was another tricky shotgun stage due to the need to shoot and load on the move, while not forgetting some of the bird placements. Many shooters' plans got screwed up from the start with misses on the slug plates.
Stage 8. Rifle, Pistol. From the start position and two additional shoot positions, engage three medium-range rifle targets (120-150 yards), while engaging about 18 close-range paper targets along the way. Then ground rifle, and engage a series of paper targets as visible, then finish with a stop plate. Total movement about 60 yards. This stage was pretty straightforward, but gave the shooter ample opportunity to waste time on rifle misses.
My 3-Gun gear has been pretty static for a few years. I shot in Tactical-Optics which the most popular division, and the one where I usually shoot. Since there is no power factor for pistol besides a 9x19 minimum caliber requirement, I shot my Benny Hill SV in 9x19, from a Blade-Tech belt holster and used two Comp-Tac mag pouches. My Benelli M1S90 Tactical also hasn't changed since I bought it in 2003. I shot IC choke at this match. I recently started using the Progressive Machine six-round shot-shell belt carriers, which work well, in addition to a 3GunGear bandoleer when I need more than 28 rounds. My rifle setup was mixed up a little bit compared to my normal gear due to last-minute changes. Since they were nice enough to give me a sponsor slot, I shot my Cavalry Arms MKII lower, the same setup I started using at the 2005 Tiger Valley 3-Gun Match (Trooper Class) and the 2005 MGM Ironman (Trooper Class). Due to a last minute barrel issue with my normal 3-Gun upper, fellow 3Gunner Jimmy Holdsworth loaned me his 18-inch upper, which uses a DPMS barrel inside the PRI float tube, and a Miculek brake. I threw on one of my TA11 ACOGs and called it good. For AR mag pouches, I now use the Blade-Tech molded Kydex holders. All my pouches and holders have the Tech-Lok attachment, which greatly simplifies belt setup.
Take a look at the full match results (here). In Tactical, the US Army Shooters Daniel Horner (T/O) and Robby Johnson (T/I) dominated. Looking at the stage points, it's clear that stage scores fell away from 100% very quickly, with very, very few shooters keeping the stage leaders in sight. At only 4th place Tactical, you're already seeing stage scores under 70%, which attests to state difficulty. At 10th place, stage scores around 50% are already showing up. Tate Moots took Heman-Scoped, while Kuan Watson took Heman-Iron. Don Bednorz took Open.
My realistic best-case scenario going into this match was a top-10 finish, and I just eeked in at 9th place Tactical. While the majority of my stages were so/so, and I know I could have shot them faster, I rocked stage five about 3.5 seconds behind Tony Holmes, and I shot stage 3 in 58 seconds (after the 30 second bonus), about 8 seconds behind Ty Gentry.
The prize table was excellent as usual. For a match with about 200 shooters, and 127 in Tactical, there were over 15 guns on the Tactical prize table, including 2 full-house JP rifles, seven complete Sabre Defence rifles, three uppers, at least five Springfield XD pistols, a 1911, and two Glock certificates.
In the five years since my first match (RM3G 2003), I've shot major matches all over the country. I can say, with confidence, that the Rocky Mountain 3-Gun Nationals at the NRAWC in Raton is the best conventional 3-Gun match in the country. If you can make only one big match a year, make it this one!
Cavalry Arms owner ShawnNealon finishes up the pistol targets before transitioning to rifle on Stage 5.
Nealon engages the first rifle targets on Stage 5.
Team Prozac shooter engages pistol targets, with rifle slung, on Stage 1.
A Team Prozac shooter engages the medium-range rifle targets on Stage 1.
Cavalry Arms shooter Zak Smith engages pistol targets on Stage 1.
Smith engages the medium-range rifle targets on Stage 1.
Nealon engages pistol targets on Stage 1, using a 18-inch DPMS.
Phagan engages long-range rifle targets on Stage 2. Slug targets are visible in the field.
Smith engages the long-range rifle targets on Stage 3.
Cavalry Arms shooter Russell Phagan engages the close-range rifle targets on Stage 3.
Phagan engages the long-range rifle targets on Stage 3.
Smith engages a stationary clay on Stage 4.
Phagan uses his Open-class Saiga 12-gauge to engage targets on the move on Stage 4.
A Team Prozac shooter uses his M1 Carbine to engage medium-range rifle targets on Stage 3.