Heavy Metal in USPSA 3-GGun

BY PATRICK KELLEY, TY-14401 G.I. bore cleaner mixed with the wet “Heavy Metal.” “War Gear.” “Big e has been here before: the heat of the jungle below. His comfort Medicine.” Terms coined by hard-case familiar sound of radio comes from the other two soldiers on drill instructors and former U.S. Presi- chatter squelched by the board, who like him have “seen the ele- dents. Between the three “vets” on Hwhine and staccato chop of phant,” and having that vision are car- board are two M14’s, three old the Huey’s turbine and rotor, the look rying bush experience and lots of warhorse G.I. 45’s and a short-barreled on the “new recruits’” faces as they “heavy metal.” Remington 870 with 00 buck on tap. clutch their M-16’s, and the smell of He can hear his gunny now, “Best gear,

November/December 2004 • FRONT SIGHT 61 would to defend adhere. However, it is possible to carry Jim Wall dusting a home and family that principle too far. Just as the low- clay with a pump gun. should the need recoil, relatively low-power arise. Large caliber, .223/5.56mm might not be powerful, battle- the optimal round for long-range fire- worthy firearms fights on the sands of Iraq, or for de- were the expected, feating cinder block and other building not the excepted. materials to get at a barricaded adver- While we may de- sary (witness the current grassroots bate the current rea- drive to the 6.8 SPC, Grendel, and soning behind this other power/range enhancements for principle, under- the M16), the heavy calibers find stand that the themselves at a disadvantage on the founders knew that short-and-quick. House clearing exer- major caliber guns cises with a full-size M14/M1A are hit harder and are much more difficult and demanding of more difficult to con- proper technique given the ’s trol, and were thus weight, blast, recoil, and length. rewarded with better best odds,” as the pilot pitches the scoring opportunities. This is the dri- How about our self-loading shot- Huey over the treetops to the LZ be- ving force behind the “Heavy Metal” guns? With the advent of porting, low. category found at many 3-Gun speed loaders, JP’s wicked winged 1100 compensator, mercury recoil re- Over the last five years, matches (a.k.a. “He Man”). ducers, back-boring, and lengthened USPSA/IPSC has drifted away from The principle of freestyle competi- forcing cones; we are about done one of the founding principles of our tion has brought forth many innova- right? In a word, no! In the current sport — that of recognizing major and tions in equipment and technique. To- rule book, any shotgun, 20 gauge or minor caliber firearms through scor- day, the equipment culminates in the larger is scored major. No power fac- ing. The “V” in D.V.C. if you will. We .38 Super family of thoroughbred race tor, no chronographing, just find (or must remember that our sport grew pistols and low-recoil, .223 caliber, reload) the softest shooting wimp from the tree of combat shooting, compensated race . It’s a valuable ammo you can, and choke tight. Un- where the idea was to use what you principle, and one to which we should less heavy steel targets are on the

TAURUS 24/7 continued from page 43. with the trigger return/reset mecha- to have a match-appropriate holster full-house defense load), but the gun nism wasn’t working properly. Dry-fir- available for this gun.) remained controllable throughout. ing the gun with the muzzle pointed up found the trigger failing to reset more At the range I ran a number of The now-repaired 9mm appeared than half the time. drills, including several shoot-on-the after a week, with the fail-to-reset move exercises. Despite the long trig- problem eliminated. I contacted Taurus, and within days ger, the 24/7 proved surprisingly a new sample gun appeared on my shootable while moving (a criticism of Press time closed in on me before I desk, this time a blued-steel .40 with DA revolvers) — despite my abun- had a chance to get much match expe- some extra magazines thrown in. Like dantly mediocre shooting skills. rience in with the gun, but if you’re the 9 before it, this one offered a pleas- looking for a Production gun that feels antly-predictable, LONG DAO trigger Magazines dropped away in a pos- a bit like a revolver, take a look at the pull, gauged at a revolver-like seven itive fashion, and reloads were rela- Taurus. Long-term reliability is still a pounds. tively easy. In one session I shot enough mystery, but the guns are affordable ammo through the gun to paint the (street prices in the $420 range) offer Blade-Tech was kind enough to muzzle blue with powder stains, burn- excellent practice opportunities thanks build us a custom holster for the gun, ing a variety of IPSC loads, steel loads, to their DAO design, and are backed by supported by two custom and some stout Speer Lawman 165’s. Taurus’ lifetime warrantee. pouches, giving me everything I Thankfully the problem with trigger needed to compete in Production Divi- reset did not re-surface, thought we Tell ‘em you saw it in Front Sight! sion. (Should you need a holster for a had two failures to feed early on. The Taurus, start here. They’re one of few Lawman load was a handful (being a

62 FRONT SIGHT • November/December 2004 course of fire, no worries, wimp ammo In deference to the law en- for all! Should not shotgun projectiles forcement community, there is a be subjected to the ways of the chrono? “practical” argument for low-re- The word on the street and the trend in coil slugs and buck in shotgun, but the USPSA rules points to the lowering it hinges mostly on over-penetra- of power factors. With USPSA pistol tion in an urban police setting. power factors dropped well below the Raise the issue of penetration of (tongue in cheek) wrist-twisting ex- cover, damage to vehicles, or re- pert-only 180 power factor, and the ri- tention of power-at-range (all use- fle power factor on its way down (with ful items in a war-fighting con- rumors of letting .223 make major), text), and again we find a “practi- what’s to become of the “V?” With the cal” argument for full-house loads. non-existent power factor for shotgun projectiles, we may soon be entertain- To that end, a new class, or di- ing the idea of water pistols and laser vision if you will, is quickly emerg- tag! May Colonel Cooper cover his ing within the ranks of 3-Gunners: ears! “Heavy Metal” division. To the best of my knowledge Pueblo P.D. USPSA isn’t alone in this. NRA Captain Eddie Rhodes coined the power factors are puny. ICORE’s are name and proposed some of the equally so. Let’s not even talk about equipment guidelines while calling Heavy Metal advocate Eddie Steel Challenge, much less PPC. Even for a return to our founding prin- Rhodes competing at a 3-Gun match in IDPA has found wimp-level power fac- ciples. Proponents of this revisiting Raton, N.M. tors to their liking, with three of the of our “combat” roots are looking “Heavy Metal” recognizes that four divisions ruled by guns firing mid- for a place to generate healthy compe- there is no easy way to balance the mer- range 9mm and .38 Special ammuni- tition while employing basic “patrol its of each power class, so it separates tion. Is that the “Full Charge Service car” or “home defense” gear, all while the types. One category for the low-re- Ammunition” described within its doc- employing full-power ammunition de- coil go-fast guns (which are extremely trine? livered from an appropriate platform.

November/December 2004 • FRONT SIGHT 63 lethal when used properly), and one heavy-metalists) Springfield category for the power tools — the Armory has set the rifle up with warfighters of old, refined and re- a “scout scope” mount placed forged for today. forward of the and af- fixed securely to the barrel, Based on the current major 3-Gun ready for the long eye relief matches and Captain Rhodes’ input, scope of your choice. You may here is what I hope “we” collectively find more accuracy within the adopt as “Heavy Metal” or “He-Man” AR platform, but the M1A was category: built as a .308 from the ground Rifle: Single optic or Iron sight. up and is the original U.S. bat- Minimum caliber .308. Minimum tle tested “war club” that lives 340-power factor. Magazine ca- up to the moniker very well in- pacity limited to 20 rounds. deed. Pat Kelley laying down lead with a Spring- Equipped with sling. Compen- Speaking of AR platforms, field M1A. sators limited to 1” wide by 3” Armalite, American Spirit and long. now Bushmaster offer .308 rifles all Michiguns offers a great custom fully suitable as manufactured. In the Browning BPS, complete with a milled- Pistol: Iron sights only. Minimum first quarter of 2005, DPMS will add to in a loading port to facilitate rapid re- 180-power factor. Maximum bar- this list the iron sight version of their loading from empty. While those are rel length 5.5”. No compensator. supremely accurate and affordable good, Mossberg makes a number of Secure holster suitable for duty use long range .308. Not to be left out is well-built pumps that should meet the and/or daily wear. To be worn on the FN-FAL platform of rifles. The needs of this new division right out of every stage during match. Maga- most prolific self-loading .308 in mili- the box! With 8-round magazine zine capacity limited to 8 rounds. tary use has proven itself in harm’s way tubes, synthetic stocks, sights, and a and would make a fine choice for the shell lifter that sits up-and-out-of-the- Shotgun: Pump Only. Iron sights Heavy Metal enthusiast. DSA and En- way during reloading, Mossberg’s of- only. Minimum 12 gauge. 520- terprise Arms offer excellent FAL- ferings are something to consider! power factor for shot and slugs. based rifles and carbines. You may No compensators, porting, etc. want to get under way with a less-ex- When selecting a pistol, the Heavy Magazine capacity limited to 8 pensive FN-FAL assembled from sur- Metal division is THE home for the rounds. Equipped with sling. No plus parts. single stack .45ACP 1911 with 8- box magazines or speed loaders, round flush fit magazines. But I feel we etc. As for shotguns we now have a ought to consider the 10mm Norma venue for the venerable pump. No, and the .357 Magnum with full power Will this new division take 3-Gun- not because they are more reliable as loads as a viable and real-world-effec- ning by storm? I doubt it, but it will al- they are not (mostly due to operator tive alternative to the .45ACP. Again, low for the use of Heavy Metal in a error), and pumps are certainly not powerful cartridges from appropriate competition setting and a return to the faster cycling (despite the myth), nor platforms are the rule of the day. The emphasis on POWER that some com- are they as easy to manage as a quality new 45 GAP equals and exceeds the petitors feel is currently overlooked. self-loader especially from awkward 45ACP so it too should be useful. The Limited-10 (and some Production) positions. But they are found on the real departure from standard USPSA 3- shooters just need an appropriate .308 job in all parts of the globe and in the Gunning is with holster selection and rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun to be right racks of most police cruisers here in the application. Competitors WILL wear at home with the self-imposed 8-round United States. the pistol throughout the competition magazine limits. on every stage, smo a secure holster While I believe most pump- suitable for duty use and or daily wear Ok, what guns and gear work well equipped Heavy-Metalists will make will be de rigueur. for Heavy Metal/ He-Man? use of the excellent Remington 870 (and for good reasons), I beat a differ- Please understand that this article is My personal choice for rifles feels ent drum, running the Winchester in no way intended to slight the com- like it was born for this division: 1300 Camp Defender. With a 22” bar- petitor who uses the latest in civilian ’s M1A Squad rifle. rel, screw-in chokes, rifle sights, and a firearms technology. What I am trying Accurate and completely reliable out of one-piece factory magazine tube that to do is drum up greater support and the box, sporting an 18” barrel with an holds 7 rounds, this pump gun is ready continuity of equipment for the effective compensator, a decent trigger, to play as produced sans the one round “Heavy Metal” division. Your feed- and good sights. Additionally (playing of capacity. Ned Christiansen of back is welcomed. right into the hands of the budding

64 FRONT SIGHT • November/December 2004