Motojunkie
Well-Known Fanatic
I shot a match today at Rio Salado Sportsman's Club today in Mesa, AZ. It was a 2-gun "entry level" 3-gun match. The purpose was to get those that wanted to try 3-gun a taste without having to shoot a shotgun. So it was rifle + either shotgun or pistol. Knowing that pistol is faster, I decided to shoot shotgun to get some trigger time in with it since I'm new to this.
I was shooting well, had a really decent time on my first stage shot, I think it was stage 3, which was rifle/shotgun. I shot the shotgun well, and shot too fast with my rifle which cost me some seconds. Even so, I did respectable.
Then we moved over to a all shotgun or pistol stage. This one was going well, until I was shooting a texas star and after the first hit, I got a failure to feed. In fact, it was a double feed with a shell in the chamber with one trying to go in behind. I attempted to clear it and was dead in the water. The extractor ripped a chunk of the rim off the case. It was very easy to tap out with a cleaning rod, so I know it wasn't stuck. I was pretty bummed...90 seconds in penalties for an ammo issue.
Moving to the next stage (which is all shotgun or pistol also), I was shooting pretty decent (for me). I'm getting toward the end of the stage and I feel the bolt not go forward again. I look in the chamber, sure enough, there it is again. Another rim ripped off. I was kinda irritated at this point. Started talking to my friends about it, and they asked what ammo I was shooting. Me: Winchester. Friend: It's not the bulk pack $h!t from wal-mart, is it? Me: Yep. Friend: The reason that stuff is called "Universal" is because it's "Universally $h!tty". Me: LOLOL.
Anyway, the moral to this story is - ask your friends what works and what doesn't when you get into a new shooting sport. (If they're already knowledgeable) And, NEVER trust crap ammo at a match.
All in total, I ended up with 13 failure to engage penalties, all due to ammo. That will certainly move you to the back of the pack in a hurry.
Anyway, thanks to the folks that organized and ran the match, they did a great job and it was super fun! (in spite of my issues)
I was shooting well, had a really decent time on my first stage shot, I think it was stage 3, which was rifle/shotgun. I shot the shotgun well, and shot too fast with my rifle which cost me some seconds. Even so, I did respectable.
Then we moved over to a all shotgun or pistol stage. This one was going well, until I was shooting a texas star and after the first hit, I got a failure to feed. In fact, it was a double feed with a shell in the chamber with one trying to go in behind. I attempted to clear it and was dead in the water. The extractor ripped a chunk of the rim off the case. It was very easy to tap out with a cleaning rod, so I know it wasn't stuck. I was pretty bummed...90 seconds in penalties for an ammo issue.
Moving to the next stage (which is all shotgun or pistol also), I was shooting pretty decent (for me). I'm getting toward the end of the stage and I feel the bolt not go forward again. I look in the chamber, sure enough, there it is again. Another rim ripped off. I was kinda irritated at this point. Started talking to my friends about it, and they asked what ammo I was shooting. Me: Winchester. Friend: It's not the bulk pack $h!t from wal-mart, is it? Me: Yep. Friend: The reason that stuff is called "Universal" is because it's "Universally $h!tty". Me: LOLOL.
Anyway, the moral to this story is - ask your friends what works and what doesn't when you get into a new shooting sport. (If they're already knowledgeable) And, NEVER trust crap ammo at a match.
All in total, I ended up with 13 failure to engage penalties, all due to ammo. That will certainly move you to the back of the pack in a hurry.
Anyway, thanks to the folks that organized and ran the match, they did a great job and it was super fun! (in spite of my issues)
