Ironman 3 Gun: First Junior Female Trooper

The Ironman 3 Gun match is a very hard high round count match that has been running since 2000.  The stages take up to seven minutes to complete, the minimum round count is around 1,000 over the course of 10 stages, and interesting physical challenges are incorporated into the stages.  These elements have brought out a different breed of competitor than you will find at many other 3 Gun Matches. Trooper Division was added in 2005 for those seeking an even greater challenge.  Equipment in Trooper is completely unlimited, but shooters must carry all their guns, gear, and ammo from stage to stage.  Substituting guns or repairing broken ones is not allowed unless the competitor carried it with them them whole time.  Shooters having to drop out for broken guns, running out of ammo, or injury is fairly common; there has never been a year where 100% of the Troopers finished the match.  In the 11 matches that have featured Trooper, only 2 female competitors have finished the match in this division, and no junior females even attempted it…that is until the 2015 match.  

Jessica Brown became the first female junior to complete the Ironman 3 Gun Match in Trooper division — she was 17 years old at the 2015 match.

Carrying enough shotgun shells for high round count stages is critical. Jessica is using the SSL Backbone from Carbon Arms and the Whiskey Two-Four “Reserve-Shoot” Chest Rig.

Jessica started competing when she was 14 years old, and first attended the Ironman match in 2013.  At the 2014 match after squadding with some Trooper Division competitors, she decided to attempt to be the first female junior shooter to complete the division in 2015.  With a year to prepare, shooting skill was not the only thing to work on.  Improving her physical fitness was necessary to be able to carry the load over 3 days and not be fatigued while shooting each stage.

Jessica did a variety of athletic training leading up to Ironman to improve her strengh and endurance.

Getting the right gear in place is another piece of the puzzle to doing well in Trooper, multiple companies worked with Jessica to help her accomplish this goal.  Primary sponsors includes KE Arms for rifle, MOA Precision for shotgun, Brethren Arms for Pistol Caliber Carbine (Troopers can use PCC instead of pistol), and Honor Point USA for her pack and bags.

Jessica using her KE Arms Shooting Team Rifle on Stage 4. Rifle targets at Ironman are engaged from 0-500 yards.

Blasting clays with the MOA Precision customized Stoeger M3000

Using a Pistol Caliber Carbine like this Brethren Arms BAP9 makes a lot of the shooting that would normally be done with pistol a lot easier.

Honor Point USA supplied Jessica with a custom pack specifically designed to carry the weight of all her ammo. Her load out started at 150 pounds, 25 pounds more than her body weight!

In the end Jessica completed the match in Trooper Division, placing 24th/33 competitors.  Simply finishing the match in Trooper can be viewed as a major accomplishment.  She also managed to best a number of other competitors that had larger size and strength on their side.  Definitely a job well done, there may be others that follow but Jessica will remain the first junior female to attempt the match in Trooper division and complete it on the first try!

Left to right: Jessica Brown (17), Ricky Marston (14), Russell Phagan (Author/Trooper Division founder), and 2015 division winner Wyatt Gibson (16).

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