Three-gun shooting matches, in which a rifle, a shotgun and a handgun are employed on a variety of targets at a wide range of distances, are all about speed. Scoring is simple: The shooter who hits the most targets the fastest wins the match. Of the three guns a shooter uses, the rifle is often the most demanding. It must be able to double-tap multiple targets so close that they are left with greasy, black smears from the muzzle blast, and then without hesitation, transition to a precision target several hundred yards downrange.

The ideal 3-gun rifle has to be capable of speed and precision. It has to digest hundreds of rounds without a problem and deliver the last shot as accurately as the first. A top-tier 3-gun rifle must be as accurate as a sniper rifle and as lively as a CQB carbine. The rifle must balance like a shotgun, must be light enough for rapid target transitions, and for shooting moving targets, but it must also be able to disperse and dampen recoil for quick follow-up shots.

The best 3-gun competition rifle’s barrel must disperse heat well so it will maintain the same point of impact and retain its accuracy whether the bore is ice-cold or red-hot.The rifle’s trigger must be fast and precise for the rapid-fire stages. It can never double, and the shooter must be able to discern the reset. But the trigger must also be light and consistent for precision shooting.

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