Author Topic: 3-gun long gun advice...  (Read 4541 times)

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Offline burningsquirrels

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3-gun long gun advice...
« on: November 10, 2008, 09:28:17 AM »
hate to jack the other 3-gun shotun thread, felt better starting this new thread... but i ran across a rem 1100 26" 12ga with a 2-3/4" chamber for sale locally. would this be a good choice? i googled it up and it seems like people talk about them on the ipsc related forums but not as much as the far pricier benelli or other shotguns. locally i can get one for 300 with a synthetic stock, don't know the story behind it yet though. it looks pretty good though.

my situation: i was getting ready to buy an AR lower to have one 'just in case' so i could be ready to build/own my first centerfire long gun. i saw some rifle matches locally and figured it'd be good to start slowly putting one together. however, if 300 for this shotgun is a really good deal (seems like it based on gunbroker prices) i may just buy a stripped lower for now and reaaaalllly take my time on the AR, lol.

there's also a ruger mini-14 for $450 with a 185 prefix (1989 i believe) that feels pretty tight and is in pretty to very good condition.

i figure that whatever i do (like the 1100 and mini-14 now, or just the 1100)... if i don't build an AR now, i can always buy a stripped lower to build next year...

what do you guys think?

Offline Stuart

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2008, 09:33:02 AM »
don't do the mini...you'll end up doing an AR anyway...
the 1100 doesn't seem too bad as a base..1100 seem to need a little more maintenance..but do run really nice.

Offline burningsquirrels

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #2 on: November 10, 2008, 09:48:14 AM »
yeah... seems like AR is where everyone is at nowadays. i'm over at ar15.com trying to read stuff to see what i'll need to buy... everyone i shoot with keeps telling me that building one is the only way to go. i'm just dreading that $1k price tag, lol.

Offline Stuart

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #3 on: November 10, 2008, 10:00:30 AM »
depends what you go with...
for sure..get yourself a RRA or DPMS lower..
if you go optic..that's the price tag..
poke around brianenos...you sometimes can find pretty good deals there...

Offline burningsquirrels

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #4 on: November 10, 2008, 10:05:31 AM »
i would definitely stay in the limited division...

i was just double checking the uspsa shotgun rules... seems like all i would really "need" is a choate magazine extension tube so i can hold 9 in the gun.

call me stupid, but there's no real chrono or power factor for shotguns, other than being minimum 20 gauge, right? that's what i seem to be gathering from the rulebook.

Offline Stuart

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #5 on: November 10, 2008, 10:25:31 AM »
yeah..

usual targets are steel, clay birds and slugs on paper..

Offline burningsquirrels

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2008, 10:29:35 AM »
cool. sounds like even if i end up not really doing 3-gun, the seller appears to be a duck hunter - so there's always hunting season. :)

Offline phrozenlikwid

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2008, 12:49:39 PM »
Generally speaking...... Duck guns are some of the harder used shotguns in the hunting world.  I'd check it over pretty well before buying.

I love my 1100's, but admit I've never really built one up to go 3gunning.  I have shot a lot of clays and birds with mine, with few problems.  Like Eerw was saying, they require a little more maintenance (keep them kinda clean, and replace gas rings at first sign of trouble, or before anything important), but I think they are pretty decent scatterguns. 

And +1 on skipping the Mini-14.... those things suck.  You seem to be fairly mechanically inclined, so I imagine you would have no problems building an AR (they are really simple).  Watch AR15.com EE, and Benos for deals on parts, and go from there. 

Offline burningsquirrels

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #8 on: November 10, 2008, 12:58:40 PM »
what's "EE"?

yeah, i'll pass on the ruger. it's money that can go towards 3-gun shell holders and AR mag holsters, lol. not to mention ammo or a shotshell press.

Offline Stuart

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #9 on: November 10, 2008, 01:00:58 PM »
equipment exchange at AR15.com

Offline 3-gun

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #10 on: November 10, 2008, 04:05:40 PM »
You can build for under $1000.00,just shop around for parts. The good thing about building is you don't have a lot of left over parts. ;). Go ahead and get the lower and parts kit, shop around and find a used or like new barrel then add the rest. By the end of January you'll have a complete gun.  ;D
As for the 1100, see if you can get it for under $300.00---$250.00, 275.00?  Add a Nordic tube and 3-gun gear side saddle and you will be good to go.
Good luck!!

Offline burningsquirrels

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #11 on: November 10, 2008, 05:44:52 PM »
right now the main thing i'm looking for are lowers... the gun shops i go to don't have any, and understandably they don't have an ETA nor a price set for the lowers that are "expected" to arrive.

i think this will be my plan: my friend just got a wasr for kicks and he doesn't mind trying out 3-gun. no it's not the best rifle but not like we're competitive anyways. i'm going to try and get that 1100 shotgun and prep it for 3-gun. then he and i can share our long guns at matches. in the meanwhile, i'll try and buy a couple lowers and build them up slowly.

i'm going to try one more gun shop tomorrow afternoon that's supposed to have some where a friend of mine works.

i was over at del-tion here:

http://www.del-ton.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=RKT100

it seems like a good deal? i've been told by a couple guys it'll be good for my first AR build; just needs the +$80 upgrade to the RRA match trigger and a rear sight for the flat top upper. i'm still learning how these things go together though. i just need to see it in person once and then i'll be good, lol.

the shop has a brand new looking remington 11-48. i thought it would be awesome for $250. but then i googled it a few minutes ago and found they were a '49-'68 manufacture. lol. i haven't heard from the dude with the 1100 yet. :(

Offline burningsquirrels

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #12 on: November 18, 2008, 08:22:13 AM »
almost forgot to mention...

friday night i was talking to a friend at the shop during my nightly inventory check. we started talking about shotguns and how hard a time i was having finding a remington 1100, especially one in my budget.

well well, lo and behold, turns out he had a disassembled 11-87 at home that's been hanging for months! he recently refinished the receiver and barrel, and also refinished the stocks in a dark matte. i remember being at his house earlier this year and seeing it in one of his closets (drying rack lol).

he invited me over and i brought pizza and drinks. we hand cleaned and polished every part to a like new finish, and put a couple new parts on it too. i got to see how the gun goes together and gets broken down, and got a lesson in field stripping and how to work the gun right.

after a few hours we hit the range and the thing shoots like a dream! best of all, it was well under my cheapo budget... good thing too, because i started buying up the accessories and my wallet is a little sore, LOL!

well, with this shotgun and my friend's AK, looks like i'll be able to give 3-gun a try first saturdays of the month! woo-hoo!



it had an extension tube on it already, but it only held 7. so i already coughed up 45 bucks for the longer tube, which was the only one available off the shelf. already out for delivery is a choate charging handle and an oversized competition carrier latch button. next up will be some sort of sling and shell carrier for the side, and some FO sights.

how do i know if the sight is a press-fit or a screw-in? i don't see anything about the front sight that looks like it would take a wrench...

Offline 3-gun

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #13 on: November 19, 2008, 09:37:48 PM »
Good deal on the 11-87. Go with a 3-gun gear 8 round side-saddle, they make the best. The front site should unscrew. You can get a Hiviz at walmart that will have the right size screw. Don't worry to much about a sling or the charging handle,but you will need a E-Z loader button. ;)
Welcome to the world of 3-gun. ;D

Offline E.Shell

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Re: 3-gun long gun advice...
« Reply #14 on: November 21, 2008, 08:10:56 PM »
You might want to look into a barrel clamp to secure the end of the mag extension. There is a lot of stress on the threaded end of the original magazine tube and there are cases where the tube has been damaged by the unsupported weight of the mag extension.
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