The Heavies
By Patrick E. Kelley
Heavy Metal, He-Man Iron, He-Man Scoped, Heavy Metal Scoped, Heavy Metal Limited, Heavy Metal Tactical, Tactical Optics Heavy: these are some of the many names hung on the two smallest divisions in 3-gun.
As a longtime competitor/proponent of the Iron division in its most original form, I’ll do my best not to display my bias for how these Heavy divisions should be conducted.
No matter the name, the rifle is the same: 308 Winchester / 7.62 mm Nato is the benchmark minimum. Any optic is permissible within the optic division, while Iron sights (with some matches OK’ing Red Dot or 1X optics) are required for the Iron (aka Limited) divisions. Rifle may be fitted with a muzzle brake or comp with the same 1”x 3” size restriction as the .223/5.56 rifles are in the Tactical Optics and Limited divisions. However, magazines for the Heavies will not exceed 20 rounds.
Shotguns for the Heavy divisions are most often restricted to pumps when shooting in the Iron divisions, whereas the soft shooting self-loaders may get the OK for the optic shooters. This is not set in stone as every match has its own idea of what the shooters should shoot in the Heavy divisions. I will say that 12-gauge is still the minimum floor. No comps, porting, optics or speedloading devices allowed. Only tubular magazine-style shotguns can play here, and most matches will hold you to starting with no more than nine total in the gun at the beginning of a stage.
While it has bounced around a few times, handguns are generally relegated to a pistol or revolver of .44 caliber or larger. Except when match directors want to let 40’s or 9mm’s play in HEAVY (Hmm … 9mm and heavy…not my kinda thinking, but hey I said I was not going to show my bias). Handgun capacity may be restricted to eight, and then again sometimes 10 rounds depending on the match. Again, no comps, dots or porting are allowed in Heavy Metal.
The Heavies, even in their many forms, offer up some unique challenges to the competitor. Chief among them is ammunition management. With only 20 rounds in your rifle and either eight or 10 in your handgun, putting bullets where they belong the first time is important. The Heavy division shooter must deal with more torque and recoil (at least from his rifle) than competitors the other divisions. If you are a “pump-gunner” (aka manly-man) then you will experience more recoil than any two self-loader shooters will over the course of a match. The greater effects of torque and recoil in the Heavy divisions make it more difficult to place shots well at speed, and that is the name of this game…no matter the name of the division.
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