Event 4: MGM Ironman

From giant slides, to zip lines, to funky firing positions, to round after round after round of ammunition fired, MGM's Ironman is a multi-gun competition unlike any other on earth. Win it, and most veteran competitors will consider you one of the toughest 3-gunners around. But to do so, you must fire well over 1,000 rounds of ammunition from every type of conceivable firing position: elevated, moving, crouching and more. You will shoot at sniper distances until your eyes grow weary, rip through CQB-type stages at a break-neck pace and pound away with shotgun slugs at extreme range until your shoulder aches. Do all of this without breaking you or your gear, and you just might just survive the MGM Ironman.

"We came up with the idea for the match because we like to shoot a lot," said MGM Targets company president and match founder Mike Gibson. "And we like all of our guns, and we like to shoot all of them every chance we get. Traditional 3-gun before this would be a format of three stages of pistol only, three stages of rifle only and three stages of shotgun only."

Going into its 11th year, the MGM Ironman forever blew the traditional concept of multi-gun matches out of the water. Today the Ironman is a grueling three-day marathon of spent brass in the Idaho desert where competitors shoot all three guns on each and every one of the Ironmanís 10 or more eight-minute stages. In a word, the Ironman is quite simply, intense.

"Most stages at any 3-gun in the country are over in less than two minutes, some in less than 40 seconds," Gibson said. "We have an eight-minute-per time on each stage. And fun and crazy stages. Google MGM Ironman 3-Gun. Shooting from the back of a moving pickup, shooting 32 birds launched from a trap house, shooting your pistol and shotgun while you are driving a golf cart, shooting your pistol while you are sliding down a 285-foot zip line, shooting your rifle from a 20-foot tower, shooting two match-furnished full-auto guns on a stage (in addition to the three guns that you brought with you), shooting bonus shots at 700 yards, honest to goodness home cooked meals included in the match fee, a surprise stage that includes a 200-yard run, shooting three pepper poppers in a row with a shotgun, each of which launches two clay birds 30-feet in the air (so you have six birds in the air all at once), shooting 75-100 slugs, out to 100 yards. Everyone will shoot at least 1,000 rounds at this match, assuming that they hit every target with the first shot."

Sounds nuts? Well don't feel bad, because even the most experienced and accomplished shooters in the world require a deep breath before jumping into the Ironman.

"A shooter asked Taran Butler (a veteran 3-gun competitor with several titles)  if he was coming back the next year," Gibson said. "Taran's reply: 'Hell no! After that match you have to buy three new guns!'"

However, you can expect Butler and other top-ranked shooters back at the Ironman, as well as numerous non-sponsored shooters that come back to Idaho each year for the most challenging course of fire in the shooting sports.

"Shooters either come back every year, or they never come back," Gibson said. "Of the 150 shooters that weíll have this year, probably 70 of them have shot this match a minimum of 7-8 times previously. There is no other shooting discipline that creates an adrenaline rush like 3-gun, and certainly not one that lasts for up to eight minutes non-stop."

A thrill to many recreational and high-level competitive shooters alike, the MGM Ironman is also turning some heads within the military community. Due to its unique setting, challenging course of fire, along with its unrelenting demand on both the human body and gear used to compete, some U.S. soldiers are finding correlations between the Ironman and combat, using MGMís brutal 3-gun event as a training evolution prior to upcoming deployments.

"Last year we had five soldiers from the U.S. Army 5th Special Forces Group, from Ft. Campbell, Ky., come out and compete," Gibson said. "The sergeant major is right now on his 11th deployment. They said this match was some of the best training they had ever had. This year, 13 guys from the Oregon National Guard, who are being deployed this Fall, are coming to shoot, using this match as one more component of their training. I donít think any of the other matches in the country are perceived to provide any significant training value to the military or law enforcement communities."

If it's a good enough test for the U.S. military, you can bet the Ironman is a worthy test of anyoneís shooting ability. But what sets this match apart is MGM's wicked idea of what a competitor must endure just to take that shot, all 1,000 of them.






 

Posted on 3/23/2010

Comments

Shooting the MGM is a real challenge. I was very fortunate to have help from others to prepare before my first Iron Man match. Now that I have shot it twice I know that it has made me a better instinct shooter.

By Terry Bowers on 6/13/2010

What an experience of a lifetime!  This was my first MGM Ironman and it won’t be my last.  I’m hooked.  I had the pleasure of shooting it with my two boys Dallin 16, and Hayden 15.  Not only did we shoot it but the three of us were honored to RO the match as well.  I can’t imagine a better way to spend a week off of work.  I’m thinking of selling the Parma Moon Dust that I collected from my guns on eBay as a way to pay for all the ammo I had to purchase for three shooters.
Words can’t express my gratitude to Andy Fink (Publisher of juniorshooters.net), Terry Bowers, and most of all Travis Gibson for their countless hours given to prepare the five junior shooters (Dallin & Hayden Hixson, Daniel Garcia, Corey Shaw, and Cody Lepper)
Craig Hixson

By Craig Hixson on 6/18/2010

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