March 25th and 26th 2015 I shot the Superstition Mountain Mystery 3 Gun Match with the match staff so I could do media coverage during the regular match March 27th-29th. Here are some of the interesting things I saw during the match.
Team Ergo Grip. Ergo Grip has a number of new accessories for Keymod and MLOK rail systems that they had on display at the match.
Patriot Ordnance Factory owner Frank DeSomma. With matching minuteman jerseys and truck, the POF team is definitely the most patriotic on the range.
Jay Carillo competing in Tac-Scope Division:
Sterling White competes in Tac-Limited division, which is the same as Tac-Scope but uses a single non-magnifying optic on rifle.
Tubes longer than the barrel are common, though competitors outside of Open Division can only start with 9 rounds loaded. If it is advantageous they will fill the tube all the way up after the buzzer goes off.
Open Division Shotguns
I saw a number of integrated X-Rail Benelli Shotguns at the match. These can only be used in Open Division due to their capacity. They have come a long way in the reliability department from when they were first introduced. All the guns I saw being shot at the match were running well.
RECOIL legal contributor, Jason Squires, with his integrated X-Rail. I asked Jason about his X-Rail, and he responded “I've got all the toys and none of the skill”. Jason is being a bit modest, as an average 3 Gun competitor his skill level is vastly above most of the shooting community. Competing against the best shooters in the country it is easy to underestimate one's own abilities.
The other side of Open Division shotguns are magazine fed models:
Paul Shanks has rebuilt his SAIGA-12 to the point that you may no longer consider it a Saiga-12. The magazine pictured holds 20 rounds, and has a 12 round mag attached to the side for fast reloads.
Author with chest rig of 8 round VEPR-12 Magazines. The VEPR-12 starts with 13 shells loaded, and a second 12 round mag coupled with the first.
I'm still using the VEPR-12 I reviewed back in Issue 12:
Heavy Metal Scope Division
Heavy Metal division requires the use of a .308 rifle, 12 gauge shotgun, and .45ACP Pistol.
That's some muzzle flash! John Brooks of KE Arms with his .308 rifle. John placed 3rd in Heavy Metal Scope
Scott McGregor of FNH-USA competing in Heavy Metal Scope with his SCAR-H, FN SLP, and FNX .45
Bad Luck
This was really bad luck for one competitor. On his first stage, first target array with rifle he had a catastrophic failure. He said it was reloads with once fired brass. We were unable to determine a specific cause on the range:
With over 390 competitors on the range it was hard to capture everything I wanted to. If you want to compete against the best competitors in the country, or simply spectate and watch them in action SMM3G is the match to go to.
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