How 3-Gun Nation Makes it Easy to Get Involved in Competition

October 16, 2014 By G&A Online Editors

3-Gun Nation champion Rob Romero kneels in the mud to shoot around a barricade.

Getting involved in competitive shooting just became easier with 3-Gun Nation's online member's portal. Even if you've never shot in an organized match, you're only a few clicks away from getting started.

Inside 3-Gun Nation's member's portal, you'll find schedules of upcoming events, registration information, directories of 3-Gun Nation's more than 110 registered shooting clubs and an interactive leader board for the Pro, Lady Pro, Regional and Club Series.

With these resources, shooters can easily view and sign up to compete in future matches, as well as track their scores and overall rankings in relation to other competitors.

Sign Up and Load Up

The first thing you'll need to do is create an online account with 3-Gun Nation. This free process is fairly easy to complete and requires minimal personal information. Simply enter a first and last name, an email address and create a username and password.

Creating an online account with 3-Gun Nation is quick and easy, and it requires very little information.

This grants you access to 3-Gun Nation's shooting clubs, stages and event directories, as well as other site resources. However, if you want to compete in the 3-Gun Nation Club Series and Regional Championships or the Semi-Pro Series, then you'll have to register to compete with 3-Gun Nation, which you can do from four different locations once you have access to the site.

Registering for a basic annual membership costs $45 and allows you to compete in the Club Series and Regional Championships. There are also additional membership add-ons, depending upon which competitions you'd like to participate.

There are four different locations (highlighted) on the dashboard (left) where you can register to compete, including a drop-down menu (top right). Clicking on one of these options takes you to the page where you register (bottom right). A basic annual membership is $45, while a competition series add-on is an additional $25.

After creating an account, the member dashboard serves as the main hub for getting involved. From here you can view leader boards and upcoming events; look at your scores, classifications or profile page; see match events, members, clubs and stages that you've bookmarked; register to compete; or access one of the directories at the top of the page.

The dashboard on 3-Gun Nation is your starting point. The member services section at the top includes the Members, Clubs, Events and Stages directories. Beneath is an assortment of common links as well as the interactive leader board and list of upcoming events. The user's bookmarks (not shown) are also on the dashboard.

The leader board and upcoming events chart on the dashboard are interactive and allow you to select the series you're interested in (Pro, Lady Pro, Regional and Club) as well as the division (Open, Limited, Tactical Optics, Heavy Metal Irons, Heavy Metal Optics). The standings and list of upcoming events will automatically change based on your selections.

The directories are also particularly useful as they feature a number of filters that allow you to search for members, clubs and events that are most relevant to you. You can filter members alphabetically, by the series or division in which they compete, by the season in which they competed or by location. Clubs can be filtered alphabetically or by location, and stages can be filtered based on the distance required or the rounds needed to complete the stage. The events directory allows you to filter results by date, season, location, type of event and series.

With its filters and the ability to bookmark matches, the events directory is a powerful tool. Clicking on the details tab reveals registration info and the date, time and location of the match. If the match has been completed, you can also view the scores of competitors.

Once you've found an event you're interested in, you can click on it to see details such as registration info, date, time and location of the match (with an included map) and sometimes even a roster listing competitors and squad breakdowns. It's also helpful to bookmark events, specific clubs and members for future reference.

Another cool feature is the ability to build a customized profile and bio page, with built-in visibility features should you choose to make a public or private profile. Make you profile page interactive when you link up with social media sites and basic biographical information. You may also want to use this space to brag about your career achievements, show off new gear or provide any relevant sponsor information.

Your profile page (left) is where you and other members can view your bio, standings, scores and classifications. You can update your bio (right) with profile images, links to your social media sites, biographical information, career highlights, a list of the guns and gear you use in competition and sponsor information, which will all show up on your profile.

In addition to listing your bio information, your profile page is also where you and other members — if your page is public — can quickly view your standings, scores and classifications. As with the leader board on the dashboard, the standings are interactive and change based on which series and division you select. The scores tab provides a detailed match history broken down by season, while the classifications tab shows both current classifications for all divisions competed in as well as the shooter's classification history.

With 3-Gun Nation's online members' portal, the tools you need to find and register for competitions is literally at your fingertips.