Minnesota 3-Gun Group is excited for this new year.  We are proud to continue our partnership with our 3 host clubs: St Cloud Area Practical Shooters Association, Minnetonka Game and Fish Club, and Forest Lake Sportsmen’s Club.  Our thanks goes out to Ross Rosenberg and Bill McCarthy of SCAPSA, Rich Kavanagh of MGFC, and Ron and Dawn Westberg of FLSC.  Our biggest thanks goes to all of you who have not just participated in the events, but also have stepped up to help with setting up for matches and with running the matches.   The best part of this volunteer sport of ours is the volunteers that step up.  We have more people coming out early to set up a 3-Gun match than any other matches.  This is our 4th year running and 3-gun in Minnesota is strong as ever.  We have quite a few things planned for this year.

MN3GG is once again running the Nordic Components Tactical Shotgun Championship at  the Forest Lake Sportsmen’s Club in June.  We are very proud that the match has become known as the “premier shotgun match” in the nation.  On-line registration for the match is opening February 1st at noon, and this match has filled to capacity in the past two years.  Last year, this match filled in less than 2 days.  We are expecting the same for this year so be ready to sign up as soon as registrations opens.  Watch our MN3GG website and Facebook as well as the match website and Facebook for more information.

Besides the Nordic Components Tactical Shotgun Championship, MN3GG has 9 local matches and 2 training events scheduled for 2015.  We have a match scheduled every month from March to November.  We will once again have the 3-Gun Intro / Skills Builder Course in April, followed up with an Advanced 3-Gun Skills Course in May.  We make it a point to keep these training events at a very low cost as compared to other training events offered out there.

New for this year is the MN3GG 3-Gun League.  The league rules are posted on our website.  But simply put, each competitor has to choose which division to compete in the league.  All 3-gun matches put on by MN3GG will qualify towards the total league standings (the November 2-Gun match does not count).  The match percentage from each match will be the score used in the league standings.  If all seven 3-gun matches planned for 2015 takes place, the best match percentage from 4 of the 7 matches (simple majority) will be used and accumulated to determine league placement.  We plan on giving out awards on the November 2-Gun match.

MN3GG will be at the Competitive Edge Shooting Expo put on by the Performance Body Works on January 11th.  We’ll have some guns and gear for new shooters to see, answer questions, and do some dry-firearms manipulations and handling.  We will also have registrations available for the 3-Gun Intro / Skills Builder and the Advanced 3-Gun Skills courses.

With the new year, every competitor will once again have to re-sign a MN3GG Waiver & Release Agreement.   And due to a couple of unfortunate events last year with forbidden ammunition used on steel targets, we are implementing a new “Ammunition and Steel Target Policy Agreement” that every competitor will have to sign to be able to participate in our events.  This agreement makes any one using ammunition forbidden by our rules financially responsible for any range materials damaged by the use of forbidden ammunition.  Everyone needs to understand that the steel targets we use are expensive.  Some are owned by MN3GG, some by our range partner, and some privately owned by persons who generously borrows them for all of us to use.  Everyone must know the type of ammunition they are using.  If it sticks to a magnet, do not bring it (not even if you intend to only use it on paper targets).

We look forward to an exciting new year and to shoot with all of you again.  Stay safe.

Jomar Villamor – jomar.mn3gg@gmail.com

Jay Schmitt – jay@mn3gungroup.org