Maybe I made a mistake when gearing up for 3-Gun. I probably should have looked at getting a shotgun first, because spending time shooting, reloading, and practicing with a shotgun seems to be the key in that sport, and more time would have been beneficial for me. Instead of going down that road, I ended up buying an AR first. First of all, AR's are cool, shooting them are fun, and I thought that Linda would really enjoy the AR, making my transition to 3-Gun that much easier. Before I jumped in to it, I wanted to go shoot an AR, something I had never done. I asked Tim Meyers if he had an AR, and his answer was something to the effect that he's a Texan, and an American, and therefore, "of course I have a few." With an overt challenge like that, how on earth could I not take up the call?
After shooting his AR, and really enjoying it, I decided to start looking around for an AR, I also spoke with some friends like Jay Carillo who suggested I wait for a new Armalite offering arriving in November. I ended up looking at big brands, building my own, before ultimately settling on a local "boutique" shop, Underground Tactical, who would work with me to build something that fit what I wanted to do, and would be distinctly mine. What they came up with was simply a work of art in my mind.
What they did for me was build a fabulous AR, cerakoted in Burnt Bronze, with an 18" barrel which should play very well for what I'm looking to do. It's well balanced, light, and being honest, I love the custom engravings on it that really say "Luke's Gun."
Optic was a big question for me, especially after talking to a few people who were suggesting a Vortex Razer VR6, or a similar Swarovski, both of which were in the $1200-$1600 price range, or nearly as much as the AR itself. Knowing that hitting what I'm aiming at, especially in the 300-600 yard range, it was going to be very important for me to not skimp on the optic, and that's when how expensive getting set-up for 3-Gun was going to be really hit home. After a local 3-Gun match, I saw a local ad, with someone who had picked up the Leupold VX6 1-6 Optic (list price $1199) and was looking to sell it. I made an offer, and we had a deal. It's not quite as good as the other two, but it's at the bare minimum I felt I needed, and it was significantly cheaper. Maybe down the road I change it, but for what I want to do, I think this made sense. Looking at it this way, essentially I can spend the difference on a couple thousand rounds of practice ammo, and that's going to be crucial for me right now.
After picking up my gun at the end of last week I took it out this past weekend to get the gun sighted in. Instead of Austin Rifle Club, I went out to Copperhead Creek to watch a little of the 3-Gun Nation match, and then head to the rifle range to get it done. The guys at Underground Tactical only made one mistake in set-up, they tightened up my mount too tight on the upper ring, and after a couple of shots the optic was bouncing around like crazy. Thankfully another shooter with a tool kit had what I needed, and I loosened up the upper ring, and was able to tighten the lower until it was completely stable.
The top group was my first effort at 100 yards, and after that three shot group, I made an adjustment on the optic, and put together the 2nd group, all in the bulls eye area. I can absolutely live with that kind of group, and I think it's smooth sailing ahead. The rifle, much like my CZ is more accurate as a gun than I am as a shooter. That's something I can live with.
Oh, and the trigger......I thought my CZ trigger was good, but my rifle trigger just smokes it. It's utterly amazing. It's short, crisp, with no take-up, and it was lightening fast to get on. This rifle is an absolute joy to shoot, and I can't wait to spend more time on the range with it. While I wait for 3-Gun, I may look at some tactical matches where I can shoot carbine and pistol.
Going forward, considering how much fun it was to shoot this gun, I'm going to get an NFA Trust done, and then build a suppressed SBR. Do I need a short barrel rifle, or a suppressed rifle? Hell no, but I'm in Texas, and I can have one, so yes, I absolutely want one! In addition, I'm hoping that Linda will get interested enough to want to give it a whirl as well. I'm not sure she'll ever love shotgun, but I think she'd really enjoy the AR.
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