Here are the long-gun events we have scheduled this month at Rio Salado:


Tactical .22 Rifle Match: Tuesday September 9th & 23rd
Registration opens at 5pm, with first shots shortly thereafter. Location is the Smallbore Range right behind the Activity Center. The rules are simple: it's a straight time match with penalties for misses. Pretty much any .22 rifle is OK - the most popular guns are AR15-clones and Ruger 10/22s. We have two divisions: iron sight and optical sight. Our typical match format is practical run-n-gun style: one "long range" stage out to 100yards, and two shorter range hoser stages (one of them shot twice for 4 stages total). Check out this trailer and this Dillon Blue Press article for a flavor of what we do. This match is more fun than a barrel of monkeys... bring a bulk pack of cheap ammo (if you can find any) and you will leave with a smile a mile wide.

3-Gun (Multi-Gun) Match: Saturday September 13th
Registration runs 7am-8:30am (summer hours), with first shots at 7am. New shooters should come in time to attend the New Shooter Orientation at 7:30am before they shoot. We run this match under IMA rules. To get a feel for what to expect, check out these videos from our previous matches. Our usual format is 3 short-range rifle, shotgun and/or pistol stages, plus 1 long-range rifle stage. Bring 150 rounds of rifle ammo, 50 shotgun birdshot (#6 or smaller), and 50 rounds of pistol ammo - sometimes we throw in some shotgun slugs and/or buckshot, but I will post here if it's the case this month.

Tactical Shotgun and Pistol Caliber Carbine Match: Thursday September 18th
Registration starts at 4pm, with a new shooter orientation shortly thereafter. The match format is four practical scenario-based stages similar to what you would encounter at a 3-Gun match, except that you only need to bring one gun - you choose either shotgun or pistol caliber carbine. There will be separate divisions for shotgun (Open, Limited and Pump), centerfire carbine (Optic and Iron) and .22 rimfire carbine (Optic and Iron). Any tactical shotgun suitable for 3-gun competition will work well in this match, or you can shoot a pistol caliber carbine (straight walled pistol calibers only please) or even a .22LR rifle. Check out the match rules for more details.

Red Mountain Action Rifle Match: Sunday September 21st
This is a rifle-only match run over the same course of fire as is used for the Red Mountain Action PISTOL match in the morning. There will be 4 close-range (maximum 60 yards), high-speed/low-drag, run-n-gun stages. To see what a typical match setup looks like, view this YouTube video. Registration opens after the pistol match is done (~11am) with first shots at 12noon. There are divisions for rimfire rifle, centerfire rifle and pistol caliber carbine. Bring 150 rounds of ammo and plenty of water.


A few of you are already following us on Twitter (@RioSalado3Gun). Sign up to stay informed of all the latest match news. Alternatively, send me your email address by IM and I can have you added to our email list. Coming to your first match can be daunting, but rest assured you are completely welcome no matter your skill level or equipment - just take it easy and concentrate on being safe. If you have any questions, post them here. Anyone who wants me to walk them through their first match, stage by stage, send me an IM and I will be more than happy to do so.

REMINDER: Red Mountain Action Rifle match tomorrow at 12noon. Bring your AR15, a couple of mags,  plenty of ammo and a fast trigger finger