Title edit: Was “Help me do a QUICK AR build for 2 gun”


I’m planning on doing my first 2 gun in a week and a half. Planning on using the upper from my M&P Tactical, the one with the quad rail. I’m reading I should get a comp and adjustable gas block. Looking for suggestions on those. Might just use the A2 stock, so many choices there. I have a blue force padded sling and PA ACSS Griffin scope on the way. Any other suggestions welcome. Thanks.

get a 3 or 4 chamber brake and you must have a low mass BCG to reduce gun movement and you will be ready to go.

Who makes a good one that won’t break the bank?

brake




BCG

in stock

Thanks for that. I might order that brake and hold off on the BCG until something cheaper comes in stock. What about an adjustable gas block? Worth doing for my first match? I’m just trying to make the rifle a little more useable. Not trying to build a tier 1 pro setup.

if you use that brake it will cut down on the reacoil by about 50% and then the light weight bolt makes it feel about like zero recoil.  I would use the money saved on the adjustable gas block to get a light BCG sooner.  The gas block has to in installed and tested and tunned etc and you have not have enough time to get it all right before the match.  The brake and BCG will do the trick.

Also if the shots are all going to be 50 yards or less you will be faster with just a red dot on the rifle. If there will be shots 100+ yards then a 1-4 or 1-6 would be best.  Try and find out the course of fire as soon as possible.

I believe one stage will be 4-500 yards. Are there any other manufacturers or vendors for a lightweight BCG I could check?

the only one that is reasonable in price is the one at Brownells, lots of them for $250.  Its a shame that the $109 aim surplus are not in stock .  The BCG really helps a lot because its the only moving part during recoil.  lighter bolt lighter recoil.  a properly set up competition gun is just an absolute wonder to shoot.

UNPOPULAR OPINION


don't buy anything....

shoot the match first..... learn from it


shoot the next match without buying anything and use what you learned from the first match....

repeat until you have reached the point where your equipment is holding you back and not your skill.



my point is that you are going to learn as you improve what gear you like and what gear works for you..... I chased the gear dragon for several years changing things because I though the magic gear fairy was going to help my scores....

Truth is, I've seen guys with the best gear lose to the guy who knows his gear and how to use it...even when its basic M4 and a basic optic


and I have been shooting 2/3gun for about 7 years. Everything from majors like SMM3gun and Hard as Hell to local club stuff... skill with trump gear until you get to a certain level

shoot the match as is and see what everyone else is using and what suits you needs not everyone likes the same thing

Match was yesterday. Great fun, will be doing it again. I was able to hit steel at 475 yards. First time I’ve ever shot over 200.

Being new, I had a lot on my mind and didn’t get much info on others equipment. It seems like an 18” barrel with rifle length gas is the way to go. I am looking at this upper from PSA and would like some input on the chamber, twist rate, etc.
Attached File


I will be loading my own ammo. What’s a popular bullet?

Now I’m learning that an A2 barrel profile is less than ideal for what I want to do.

I only ever used 55 fmj.  1 to 2 matches a year had ranges beyond 200.  99.9% was 75 and under.

18" rifle gas hvy barrel was what I was looking into 10 years ago.  Never did purchase.  

16 or 20 Hvy barrel did everything I needed for my skill set.

trigger and scope  is where I would look for upgrades.

What this gentleman said is true. Have been shooting matches since 2018, including the major ones he mentioned like SMM3G, Hard as Hell, Tiger Valley, etc and I still have not ran into a situation where a gear limitation was the only thing holding me back. I’m sure there is a level where having a specialized rifle with all the competition tuning is important; worry about that when you get there.

Skill is paramount; beyond marksmanship, efficiency is key. Getting into a firing solution quickly is the most important thing to practice. Stage planning is also huge, especially if your stage designer likes memory games and tight shots around props.

I still get crushed by better shooters who will bring a simple red dot equipped carbine (even an AK!).

That being said, buy good stuff.

The biggest thing I can recommend is a good optic, ideally an LPVO. Even on a 30-50 yard stage, if the match director puts up targets where only the head is visible to avoid a no-shoot, 2-3x magnification is really nice. I don’t think LPVOs are slower than red dots, I think bad LPVOs are slower than bad red dots. I recommend buy once, cry once, get a Razor Gen 2 or 3, 1-6 or 1-10 as desired. I’m sure there are other good ones, but get something with a good eyebox and good quality glass.

After that, a quality trigger and muzzle brake will get you most of the way there.

Final note: do not reduce reliability in order to improve speed. It WILL bite you eventually. I once won PCC division at my local 2-gun match when two superior shooters had problems with their PCCs.

Oh, the second most important thing:

Get good with a handgun.

Long guns are easier to shoot well than handguns, so you will have to put in some effort. A few pistol classes, even if not competition specific, will take you far. Handgun training isn’t as sexy or fun as carbine training so a lot of people don’t do it as much, or they figure that all gunfights happen at 3 feet or something. So if you can rock the handgun portion of the stage, it will set you apart in the scores.

As for which handgun, I lean towards Glock for reliability and aftermarket. M&Ps are good too if you must have a safety lever. But get a quality striker fired, double stack 9mm. If you deviate from that, you better have a good reason (“I am already a USPSA GM with my Beretta 92” or “I absolutely hate a good credit score so I bought a Stacatto.”)

If your chosen division allows it, get a quality red dot. Red dots will not slow you down as long as your presentation is consistent - dry fire practice, which you need to do anyway, will fix this. If you can’t have a dot, at least upgrade the sights. I like fiber optic front, blacked out rear.

Get a Level 1 Safariland holster. It’s not slower and people DQ all the time for pistols flopping out of inferior holsters.

I have a red dot on my pistol, it’s a G17 sized Polymer80. I need to do more dry fire practice and get better with my presentation. Also need to look into a pistol class, that should probably be my next thing to do.

Shooting a “Super Steel” handgun match this weekend. Should be good practice.

Outstanding plan.

Looking at barrels from Balistic Advantage. This one is an 18” 223 Wylde gas length. Reviews are good, but that can be faked. Anyone have experience with them?

White Oak Armament has been my first shopping search for decades now. They have a wide variety of profiles to choose from. Their 3-Gun barrels come in three weights. They have a SPR profile and Predator profiles that are slightly heavier.

Ballistic Advantage barrels are very good. I have one in a 9mm AR that is surprisingly accurate even at distance, and I think my Aero .223 upper also has one.

my 3 gun rifle is very old school, built in 2005 before the first Ft Benning 3 gun match, which had targets out to 400+m...  RRA 16" mid length gas, 4x32 TA01 ACOG (low powered variables not common in those days) modified Miculek brake (opened up the rear wiper with the minimum diameter hole and thread the entire boss to clock it slightly to 1:00... Enidine hydraulic rifle length buffer and spring ... VietNam era A1 stock... RRA NM trigger.... KAC front grip to use as a mono pod... didn't use a sling after the first North Carolina Tactical matches I shot, but kept on in the shooting bag

it would shoot under 5" at 400m with S&B NATO head stamp 55grain... I shot a 12th place finish on the sniper stage in 2009 (62 years old), but for the Frostproof Area 6 matches 4 or so years later had switched to Australian Outback loaded 69 Sierra Match Kings for anything past 200m, and had switched to a TA31F red chevron

you got good information about shooting what you have... you don't need anything particularly tricky... I did not use an adjustable gas block as case lots of ammo varied in their velocity, and I wanted reliable function over dot shake... the adjustable blocks are pretty common now...get the best glass you can afford if you regularly shoot past 200m( the first year the Ft Benning match was running long and 3 of us traveling together were all shooting ACOGS with good light gathering ability...we volunteered to finish the stage after the sun set over the berm... we finished after 8 PM, and the targets were scored by tactical light... we didn't have a problem with target identification or hits ... a lot depends on what level match  you want to compete in....and at what distances your targets are at

for Steel Challenge rim fire rifle and rim fire pistol I shoot a Holosun 510sg

ARs are so 2021!

This.  Go with whatcha got, because until you start doing it all your decisions are wrong.  Like getting laid for the first time.  

This!
Then, an optic based on your area matches, and an actual decent trigger. Finally, really spend the time working on a good zero.