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QSC 3-Gun Rules
1. General Conduct & Dispute Resolution
1.1 Eye protection is mandatory for participants, spectators & officials at the event site.
1.2 Ear protection is mandatory for participants, spectators & officials while on or near a stage.
1.3 No participants or spectators shall consume or be under the influence of alcohol or impairment causing drugs at the event site. Violators will be asked to leave the event with no refund or consideration.
1.4 Participants and spectators are expected to conduct themselves in a courteous and sportsman-like manner at all times. Any person who violates this rule may be ejected from the event site at the Match Director’s discretion with no refund.
1.5 A participant shall be disqualified from the event for unsportsmanlike conduct. Examples of unsportsmanlike conduct include:
1.5.1 Cheating, such as:
1.5.1.1 Intentionally altering a target prior to the target being scored to gain advantage or avoid a penalty.
1.5.1.2 Altering or falsifying score sheets.
1.5.1.3 Altering the configuration of firearms or equipment without permission of the Match Director.
1.5.2 Abusive behavior, such as:
1.5.2.1 Threatening or assaulting other participants or Event Officials.
1.5.2.2 Disruptive behavior likely to disturb, distract or coach other participants while they are shooting.
1.5.3 Willfully disregarding the instruction of any event official.
1.6 Range Officers tasked with running the stage shall make the initial call on scoring, penalties or a disqualification for that stage.
1.7 The final decision on all disqualifications, scoring challenges and reshoots will be made by the Match Director.
1.8 Any rule not explicitly covered by this document will be resolved with a ruling by the Match Director(s) or their designee. Rulings by the Match Director(s) or their designee will be final, and will serve as a precedent for the duration of the event.
1.9 Event Officials: The duties and terms of reference of Event Officials are defined as follows:
1.9.1 Range Officer – is the primary authority over all persons and activities in the designated courses of fire, and oversees the fair, correct and consistent application of these rules. The Range Officer issues range commands, oversees competitor compliance with the written stage briefing and closely monitors safe competitor action. The Range Officer also declares the time, scores and penalties achieved by each competitor and verifies that these are correctly recorded on the competitor’s score sheet.
1.9.2 Match Director – has overall authority over all persons and activities within the entire range, including range safety, the operation of all courses of fire and the application of these rules. The Match Director handles overall match administration, including squadding, scheduling, range construction, the coordination of all support staff and the provision of services. The Match Director’s authority and decisions will prevail with regard to all matters.
2. Safety
Any violation of a safety rule as found in Section 2 shall be grounds for a match disqualification.
2.1 All events will be run on cold ranges.
2.1.1 Participant’s firearms will remain unloaded at the event site except under the direction and immediate supervision of a Range Officer.
2.2 Firearms may only be handled and/or displayed in a designated safety area.
2.2.1 Safety areas will be clearly marked with signs or designated by event officials.
2.2.2 No firearm may be loaded in a safety area.
2.2.3 No ammunition (including dummy ammunition or snap caps) may be handled in a safety area.
2.2.4 No firearm may contain or have attached any ammo or simulated ammo of any kind in the safety area.
2.2.5 No stage may be declared clear until the shooter has unloaded and shown all firearms used on that stage to be clear, and then the “range is safe” call will be made by the Range Officer.
2.3 Firearms may be transported to, from and between stages only in the following conditions:
2.3.1 Handguns must be cased or holstered, de-cocked and with the magazine removed.
2.3.2 Rifles and shotguns must be cased, secured muzzle up or muzzle down in a stable gun cart/caddy, carried slung with the muzzle up or down or carried muzzle pointed toward the ground. Detachable magazines removed and the use of high-visibility empty chamber indicators are required, no exceptions.
2.4 A participant who causes an accidental discharge will be stopped by an Event Official as soon as possible, and shall be disqualified. Examples of accidental discharge include:
2.4.1 A shot, which travels over a backstop, a berm or in any other direction deemed by the Range Officer to be unsafe. Note that a participant who legitimately fires a shot at a target, which then travels in an unsafe direction, will not be disqualified.
2.4.2 A shot which strikes the ground within 10 feet of the participant, except when shooting at a target closer than 10 feet to the participant.
2.4.2.1 Exception - a shot which strikes the ground within 10 feet of the participant due to a “squib”.
2.4.2.2 In the case of a shot striking a prop where the projectile is deflected or does not continue to strike the ground, if the Range Officer determines that the projectile would have struck the ground within 10 feet of the participant had it not been deflected or stopped by the prop, the provisions of 2.4.2 shall apply.
2.4.3 A shot which occurs while loading, reloading or unloading any firearm.
2.4.4 A shot which occurs during remedial action in the case of a malfunction. Remedial action is defined as an action to clear a firearm malfunction or ammunition feeding device malfunction after it fails to fire.
2.4.4.1 A remedial action is complete once the firearm is capable of discharging a round.
2.4.5 A shot which occurs while transferring a firearm between hands.
2.4.6 A shot which occurs during movement, except while actually engaging targets.
2.5 A participant who performs an act of unsafe gun handling will be stopped by the Range Officer as soon as possible, and shall be disqualified. Examples of unsafe gun handling include:
2.5.1 Dropping a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, at any time after the ”Load and Make Ready” command and before the “Range Is Clear” command. A dropped firearm is defined as a firearm that hits the ground and the participant no longer has a hand grasping and in positive control of the firearm. Accessories attached to the firearm at the time of the dropped firearm are considered part of the firearm.
2.5.1.1 Dropping an unloaded firearm before the “Load and Make Ready” command or after the “Range Is Clear” command will not result in disqualification, provided the firearm is retrieved by a Range Officer.
2.5.2 Use of any unsafe ammunition as defined in Section 3.
2.5.3 An abandoned firearm is any firearm left in a designated container, in an undesignated location (on a table, on top of a barrel) or at a designated start position in any condition, unless the muzzle is breaking the 180- degree safety plane (see rule 2.5). Firearms may only be abandoned in one of the following conditions:
2.5.3.1 Loaded, safety fully engaged, in a manner designated by the written stage briefing, with muzzle pointed in the designated safe direction (muzzle pointed down toward the bottom of the grounding container).
2.5.3.2 Completely unloaded (no ammunition in the firearm), in a manner designated by the written stage briefing, with muzzle pointed in the designated safe direction. Safety does not have to be engaged.
2.5.3.3 Once a firearm is abandoned, it may not be retrieved and utilized in the course of fire regardless of circumstances. A firearm is considered abandoned once a participant no longer has positive control of the firearm.
2.5.4 Abandoning two firearms whether loaded or unloaded in the same location, e.g., putting a shotgun and rifle in the same abandonment container.
2.5.5 Re-holstering a handgun
2.5.5.1 Re-holstering of a firearm is prohibited even if the firearm is placed on safe. Re-holstering of a firearm shall be a match disqualification.
2.5.6 Unloading any firearm in an unsafe manner, or discharging a firearm while not legitimately engaging a target or in the direction of a target.
2.5.7 Allowing the muzzle of a firearm to break the 180-degree safety plane.
2.5.7.1 In the case of a participant facing downrange, the muzzle of a loaded handgun may point slightly uprange while drawing or re-holstering, so long as it does not point outside an imaginary circle of a three (3) foot radius from the participant’s feet.
2.5.7.2 In the case of an unloaded slung firearm, or unloaded holstered handgun the participant is not required to maintain the 180-degree rule until ammunition is placed into the firearm, i.e., magazine being inserted or rounds being loaded into the tube.
2.5.8 Engaging a steel target in an unsafe manner, such as by:
2.5.8.1 Engaging steel targets with handgun ammunition at a range of less than 26 feet.
2.5.8.2 Engaging steel targets with shotgun birdshot shot ammunition at a range of less than 26 feet.
2.5.8.3 Engaging steel targets with rifle ammunition at a range of less than 150 feet.
2.5.8.4 Engaging steel targets with shotgun slugs at a range of less than 150 feet.
2.5.8.5 Engaging a clay bird stand or steel target not specifically designated as a shotgun slug target with a slug is grounds for a match disqualification as well as assessed damages up to the full replacement value of the target.
2.5.9 Allowing the muzzle of a firearm to point at any part of the participant’s body during a course of fire (i.e. sweeping).
2.5.9.1 Exception - sweeping of the lower extremities (below the belt) while drawing or re-holstering a handgun, provided that the participant’s fingers are clearly outside of the trigger guard.
2.5.10 Using a tube-type shotgun speed-loading device without a primer relief cut.
2.5.11 Pointing a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, in any direction deemed by an event official to be unsafe.
2.5.12 Participants shall have the responsibility to ensure their firearm is in safe working condition at all times during the event. Mechanical breakage does not relieve the participant of the core responsibility for abandoning the firearm in an unsafe condition.
2.5.13 Failure to keep the finger outside the trigger guard during loading, reloading, clearing a malfunction, and unloading except while complying with the “Make Ready” or “Hammer Down” commands. This includes while moving except when the participant is actually aiming or shooting at targets.
3. Ammunition
3.1 Handgun ammunition shall be .355 in diameter (9mm parabellum) or larger, unless otherwise stipulated under equipment division rules.
3.2 Rifle ammunition shall be .223 Remington (5.56x45mmNATO) or larger, unless otherwise stipulated under equipment division rules.
3.2.1 Rifle ammunition containing any type of steel core or steel penetrator shall NOT be used during the match. Use of such will result in a DQ and the competitor will be assessed target replacement cost. Rifle ammunition may be checked at any time during the duration of the match by any match official.
3.3 Shotgun ammunition shall be 20 gauge or larger, unless otherwise stipulated under equipment division rules.
3.3.1 Birdshot must be no larger than #7 birdshot, and be made from lead or bismuth only. Iron/steel/tungsten birdshot is unsafe and prohibited.
4. Firearms
4.1 All firearms used by participants must be serviceable and safe. Event officials may inspect a participant’s firearms at any time to check they are functioning safely. If any firearm is declared unserviceable or unsafe by an event official, it must be withdrawn from the event until it is repaired to the satisfaction of the Match Director(s).
4.2 Firearms capable of fully automatic- or burst-fire (“machine guns”) may NOT be used during the event.
4.3 Participants must use the same firearms (handgun, rifle and shotgun) for the entire event.
4.3.1 If a participant's firearm becomes unserviceable, that participant may replace their firearm with another of a substantially similar model, caliber and sighting system only with the approval of the Match Director(s).
4.4 Participants MAY NOT reconfigure any firearm during the course of the event. Explicitly prohibited acts include changing caliber, barrel length, shotgun magazine tube length, sighting systems and/or stock style. Explicitly permitted acts include changing of chokes, installing or removing support devices (e.g., bipods), slings and other minor accessories (e.g., scope covers).
4.4.1 If a participant's firearm becomes unserviceable, that participant may repair that firearm with directly equivalent replacement parts. If replacement parts result in a significant change to the firearm configuration, then the repair must be approved by the Match Director(s).
4.5 Unless otherwise stipulated in the stage briefing, required firearms will begin the stage in the following ready conditions:
4.5.1 Handgun: Loaded to legal or designated capacity and holstered. In the case of single-action autos or double action autos with manual override safeties, the safety catch must be in the “safe” position. In the case of double-action only autos & revolvers, the hammer must be down/forward.
4.5.2 Rifle: Loaded to legal or designated capacity and held in the low ready or port arms position. Safety catch must be in the “safe” position.
4.5.3 Shotgun: Loaded to legal or designated capacity and held in the low ready or port arms position. Safety catch must be in the “safe” position.
4.5.4 Participants may not touch or hold any firearm loading device or ammunition after the “Standby” command and before the “Start Signal” (except for unavoidable touching with the lower arms).
4.5.5 Any firearm that the participant decides to be staged may be loaded up to division capacity with the chamber empty and the participant may choose not to engage the external manual safety.
4.5.6 In the event of a slung firearm at the start, the sling must be attached to the firearm and the sling must be touching a collar bone on the participant in such a manner that it will support the weight of the firearm without any other assistance.
5. Equipment Divisions
5.1 Participants will declare one equipment division at the beginning of the event.
5.1.1 Equipment divisions are: Open, Tactical Scope and Tactical Limited.
5.1.2 Failure to meet all of the equipment and ammunition requirements for the declared division shall result in the participant being placed into Open division. If the requirements of Open division are not met, the participant’s scores will be excluded from the final event results.
5.2 Open Division
5.2.1 Handgun holsters must safely retain the handgun during vigorous movement. The holster material must completely cover the trigger on all semiautomatic pistols. Revolver holsters must completely cover the trigger and the cylinder. The belt upon which the handgun holster is attached must be worn at waist level. Shoulder holsters and cross draw holsters are prohibited.
5.2.2 Handgun
5.2.2.1 Magazine length may not exceed 170mm.
5.2.3 Rifle
5.2.3.1 Supporting devices (e.g., bipods) are permitted, and may begin any stage folded or deployed at the participant’s discretion.
5.2.4 Shotgun
5.2.4.1 Speed loading devices and/or detachable box magazines are permitted.
5.2.4.2 Tubular speed loading devices must feature a primer relief cut.
5.3 Tactical Scope Division
5.3.1 Handgun holsters must safely retain the handgun during vigorous movement. The holster material must completely cover the trigger on all semiautomatic pistols. Revolver holsters must completely cover the trigger and the cylinder. The belt upon which the handgun holster is attached must be worn at waist level. Shoulder holsters and cross draw holsters are prohibited.
5.3.2 Handgun
5.3.3.1 Electronic sights, optical sights, extended sights, compensators, weight(s), or barrel porting are prohibited.
5.3.3.2 Magazines length may not exceed 170mm in the case of single column magazines, and may not exceed 140mm in the case of staggered column magazines.
5.3.3 Rifle
5.3.3.1 Not more than one (1) electronic or optical sight is permitted.
5.3.3.2 A supplemental magnifier may be used with the permitted optical sight provided the magnifier does not contain an aiming reticle and cannot be used as an aiming device by itself, and remains mounted in the same location on the rifle for the duration of the event. A participant may use the magnifier in either the magnified or unmagnified mode without restriction.
5.3.3.3 Supporting devices (e.g., bipods) are prohibited.
5.3.3.4 Compensators and muzzle brakes may not exceed 1 inch in diameter and 3 inches in length (as measured from the barrel muzzle to the end of the compensator).
5.3.3.5 A maximum of two magazines may be “coupled” together
5.3.4 Shotgun
5.3.4.1 Only tubular magazines are permitted.
5.3.4.2 Electronic or optical sights are prohibited.
5.3.4.3 Supporting devices (e.g., bipods) are prohibited.
5.3.4.4 Barrel devices designed/intended to reduce recoil or muzzle movement (e.g., compensators, barrel porting) are prohibited.
5.3.4.5 Speed loading devices and/or detachable box magazines are prohibited.
5.3.4.6 Magazine tube extensions are permitted.
5.4 Tactical Limited Division
5.4.1 Handgun holsters must be a practical/tactical carry style and must safely retain the handgun during vigorous movement. The holster material must completely cover the trigger on all semiautomatic pistols. Revolver holsters must completely cover the trigger and the cylinder. The belt upon which the handgun holster is attached must be worn at waist level. Shoulder holsters and cross draw holsters are prohibited.
5.4.2 Handgun
5.4.2.1 Electronic sights, optical sights, extended sights, compensators, weight(s) or barrel porting are prohibited.
5.4.2.2 Magazines length may not exceed 170mm in the case of single column magazines, and may not exceed 140mm in the case of staggered column magazines.
5.4.3 Rifle
5.4.3.1 Not more than one (1) non-magnified electronic or optical sight is permitted. Electronic or optical sights originally designed to be capable of any magnification (whether used or not) are prohibited.
5.4.3.2 Supporting devices (e.g., bipods) are prohibited.
5.4.3.3 Compensators and muzzle brakes may not exceed 1 inch in diameter and 3 inches in length (as measured from the barrel muzzle to the end of the compensator).
5.4.3.4 A maximum of two magazines may be “coupled” together
5.4.4 Shotgun
5.4.4.1 Only tubular magazines are permitted.
5.4.4.2 Electronic or optical sights are prohibited.
5.4.4.3 Supporting devices (e.g., bipods) are prohibited.
5.4.4.4 Barrel devices designed/intended to reduce recoil or muzzle movement (e.g., compensators, barrel porting) are prohibited.
5.4.4.5 Speed loading devices and/or detachable box magazines are prohibited.
5.4.4.6 Magazine tube extensions are permitted.
6. Scoring & Awards
6.1 Stage score will be based on straight time plus penalties.
6.1.1 Unless otherwise stipulated in the stage briefing, the participant must have one of the following:
6.1.1.1 One (1) hit in the upper A–zone or B-zone.
6.1.1.2 One (1) hit in the lower A-zone or 1 hit in the center 8” ring of the 3 Gun Nation targets.
6.1.1.3 Two (2) hits anywhere in the scoring area, in any combination of the C-zone and/or D-zone or two anywhere in the 17” scoring area of the 3GN target.
6.1.1.4 If a cardboard target is designated on the written stage briefing as a shotgun slug target only one (1) hit is required anywhere on a cardboard target with a shotgun slug.
6.1.2 All cardboard targets that are not neutralized will incur time penalties as follows:
6.1.2.1 One (1) hit in the C-zone, D-zone or the outer scoring area only = 10 second penalty (Failure to Neutralize).
6.1.2.2 No hits on target but target was engaged = 10 second penalty (Failure to Neutralize).
6.1.2.3 No hits on target and target was not engaged = 20 second penalty (Failure to Engage).
6.1.3 Only holes made by bullets/slugs/pellets will count for score/penalty. Evidence that the bullet made the hole must be present on the target (i.e. crown or grease ring/mark). Holes made by shrapnel, fragments, wads or flying debris will not count for score/penalty.
6.1.3.1 All cardboard targets are considered impenetrable and any hit as a result of a pass-through shot from one target to another will not be scored.
6.1.4 Knock-down targets (e.g., Pepper Poppers and Plates) must fall to score. Swinging/flashing targets must react in the manner described in the stage briefing. An event official may call hits.
6.1.5 Knock-down/swinging/flashing targets that do not fall/react will incur time penalties as follows:
6.1.5.1 Target did not fall/react, but target was engaged =10 second penalty (FTN / Miss).
6.1.5.2 Target did not fall/react and target was not engaged = 20 second penalty (FTE).
6.1.5.3 Long range steel target (as designated in the stage walk through) that does not react = 30 second penalty (Miss: Long Range Steel).
6.1.5.4 Long range steel target (as designated in the stage walk through) that does not react and target was not engaged = 40 second penalty (FTE: Long Range Steel).
6.1.6 Knock-down targets will be calibrated before the event begins.
6.1.7 Frangible targets (e.g., clay pigeons) must break by gunfire to score. A target with two or more pellet holes is considered “broken”.
6.1.8 Frangible targets that do not break will incur time penalties as follows:
6.1.8.1 Target did not break, but target was engaged = 10 second penalty (FTN / Miss).
6.1.8.2 Target did not break and target was not engaged = 20 second penalty (FTE).
6.1.8.3 Aerial target did not break, but was engaged = 5 second penalty (Miss on aerial).
6.1.8.4 Aerial target did not break and target was not engaged = 10 second penalty (FTE: aerial).
6.1.9 Scoring hits on designated “No Shoot” targets will incur a 10 second penalty per hit, up to a maximum of 2 hits per no-shoot. Steel “No Shoot” targets must fall to receive a penalty. Frangible “No Shoot” targets must break to receive a penalty.
6.1.10 Failure to follow the procedure in the stage briefing will result in a 20 second penalty. If a competitive advantage is deemed to have been gained, a 60 second procedural penalties may be applied. Occasionally the written stage briefing may stipulate procedurals on a “per shot” basis.
6.1.10.1 Failure to ground a firearm in a manner designated by the written stage briefing shall result in a 20 second procedural penalty per occurrence. Should the written stage briefing fail to designate, the default manner shall be handgun in a handgun bunker, and long guns in long gun bunkers if available, or on a table if no bunkers are available. Failure to designate in the written stage briefing shall never be an excuse to ground in an unsafe manner.
6.1.10.2 If it is determined by the Range Officer that a participant started a stage in a position other than the position stated in the stage description, a procedural penalty shall be applied and if the opinion of the Range Officer a competitive advantage was gained a 60 second procedural penalty shall be applied. Either penalty shall NOT be grounds for a reshoot.
6.1.11 Stage Not Fired (SNF) is a penalty of 500 seconds.
6.1.12 Unless clearly stated as being otherwise in the official stage briefing the maximum time for completing any stage will be 398 seconds. If a participant exceeds the stage time limit, they will be stopped by the Range Officer and the stage will be scored as shot with all applicable miss and FTE penalties.
6.1.13 The signing of a participant’s score sheet, by either the Range Officer or the participant shall not be a final act. The signing of a score sheet will not be relief from further penalties or disqualification should Match Officials deem it necessary.
6.1.13.1 In the event of electronic scoring, once the participant hits the save button, or instructs someone to do it, the scores are not subject to any other actions with the exception of 6.1.13 above.
7. Target Types
7.1 Cardboard targets, Generally USPSA Metric (silhouette) targets are pistol only. 3 Gun Nation (pizza box) Targets are rifle only. IPSC Classic (Turtle shell) Targets are optional, rifle or pistol. A change to this can sometimes be made in the written stage briefing and in that case the written stage briefing will overrule this for that stage.
7.2 Steel target color codes. White steel is pistol only. Orange steel is rifle only. Red steel is shotgun bird shot only. Black steel is shotgun Slug only.
7.3 Clay pigeons are shotgun bird shot only (unless they are in the clay star paddles of a Texas star then they are pistol targets).
Quinton Sportsmen’s Club
346 Jericho Road
Salem, NJ 08079