Ever wondered what it takes to become a Hornady Sponsored Shooter? Idaho-based Travis Gibson took up the sport at age 32, after a successful career in both motorcross and bull riding. Starting with The United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) in 2006, it didn’t take long to decide that 3-Gun matches would be his primary focus, and he was soon clocking up the wins. His other shooting disciplines include long range rifle, Steel Challenge Shooting Association (SCSA) and International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA).

You took up competitive shooting relatively late in life. Was there a specific person who taught you/introduced you to it?

My uncle actually introduced me to it in 1994, but I was busy racing motorcycles at the time and didn’t really have any interest in it. Ten years later, I was reintroduced to it by my father Mike who I had started working with. I shot a couple of pistol matches and had a good time, but really wasn’t “hooked”. I raced motorcycles for probably another year or so. Dad talked me into going to a pistol match with him again and I had a revelation. I remember it well… I was standing there soaking up the sun and he asked me, “What’s on your mind?” I said, “There is virtually no chance of me going home in an ambulance today.” That’s not always the case racing motorcycles. I sold the bike the next week and bought guns….

Did you start with a specific discipline?

I shot “action pistol” matches mostly. I’d shoot anything I could. Mostly it was USPSA, but I’d also shoot IDPA and SCSA whenever I could. The USPSA was great for breaking down stages and getting a “game plan” together.

Had you done any shooting before?

I’d always shot as a kid. Like most kids in the northwest, hunting and shooting was just something you did but I never shot any trap/skeet/sporting clays. Most of it was hunting rifles and 22s. Honestly, in my entire life I’d probably shot less than 1,000 rounds.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned from shooting?

I think the most valuable lesson I’ve learned through shooting is self-control and patience. Shooting is very different from all the other action sports I’ve been involved with. In shooting, you can literally do it as slow as you want and progressively get faster. That is definitely not the case in motocross, downhill ski racing or bull riding! With shooting, being able to slow things down until you hit every single target is a great advantage, but honestly, I’ve shot at a lot of targets where I just pulled the trigger and hoped for a hit! After practice, I learned that if I was patient and had self-control, the bullet would go exactly where I wanted it every single time as long as I did everything right.

What are your favorite three guns (handgun, rifle, shotgun), and why?

My favorite guns are my competition guns. I haven’t had many guns in my life that I really like… but these I do! I’m using an open division pistol chambered in 9mm with a Vortex Razor red dot built by Eddie Garcia at EMG Customs.

My rifle is a Colt Competition chambered in 5.56. It has an 18 inch Proof Research carbon fiber barrel with a rifle length gas system and a Surefire compensator. I’m running a lightened bolt carrier group from Rubber City Armory which helps it shoot very soft and with the black nitride coating, cleaning is a breeze. I’m using a Vortex Razor HD Gen II 1–6x24 for a scope mounted in a RAMP mount from Warne Scope Mounts with a Vortex Razor red dot as my offset site.

My shotgun is a Remington Versamax with an X Rail built by Mark Roth at RCI/X Rail. It also has a Vortex Razor red dot and with the X Rail, it holds 29 rounds of shot. That makes it perfect for going really fast and not having to stop to reload!

What’s your favored ammunition for your 3-Gun matches?

I’m currently using the 9mm Hornady American Gunner XTP+P ammo in my pistol. The little extra power really makes the compensator on my pistol work well so the gun shoots very flat and soft.

For my rifle, I use the steel cased 55gr Hollow Point on targets 200 yards and closer. For targets beyond 200 yards, I use the 75gr steel cased BTHP rounds. In “no wind” conditions, the 55gr bullets do great, but if it’s blowing at all, the 75gr bullets hold up a little better in the wind meaning I have less to hold off to compensate for it. Also, some matches have targets that don’t react well to light bullets so having the added energy of the heavier bullet really helps.

What piece of advice in regards to shooting would you pass on to your children?

At this point, I have nothing left to pass on to my son. He’s a better shooter than I’d ever hoped to be. My goal now is just to be in sight of where he finishes! All joking aside, the advice I’d like to give would be to know what the 2nd Amendment is all about and the sacrifices men and women have made and continue to make to ensure those rights. I’d tell them to do their homework regarding the subject and make informed decisions on their own without listening to the media.

You teach a lot — what other benefits/disciplines do children gain from shooting, apart from being able to shoot?

When it comes to competitive shooting there are a lot of benefits other than shooting well, but I’d have to say the main one would be self-discipline. Kids that want to get better have to practice. In most of the instances I’ve seen, it’s the kids who are managing their time and making sure they keep up on their schoolwork and chores while still finding time to practice. They must decide which is more important… playing a video game, “Snapchatting” or doing dry fire practice. Even if the kids don’t turn out to be world-class shooters, for the time they are involved with practical shooting, they are learning to manage their time and make good decisions on their own.

How long after you took up shooting did you start competing?

I took up shooting at a match, so I guess it was immediately! I literally hadn’t shot a pistol for about two years when I went to the first pistol match my dad invited me to. Taking up shooting was taking up shooting competitively.

You primary shooting discipline is the 3-Gun matches — why this particular challenge, and what makes a good 3-Gun competitor?

I chose 3-Gun as my primary focus as it requires the shooter to be proficient with all three guns. You might say a three gunner is a very well rounded shooter. A huge part of that is being proficient with a rifle at both close and long ranges. A good 3-Gun competitor may not be a Grand Master with a pistol (which is the highest classification one can achieve in USPSA), but he/she will fall into what I call the “very proficient” category. Most likely, they’ll be able to be in the top 20% of any pistol match in the nation. They are at the same level with their rifle and shotgun as well. I’ve often said that if I hadn’t divided my attention between three guns, I’d be a pretty darn good pistol shooter. Anyone who shoots 50,000 rounds a year of one single firearm is bound to pick up a trick or two!

You started out competing in USPSA, but switched to 3-Gun — why the change?

The typical answer from 3-Gunners who started shooting pistol matches is, “3 times the guns, 3 times the fun!” While that is true, I really liked the additional challenges you’d see at a typical 3-Gun match. It’s hard to explain, but I really just wanted to be good with all three platforms.

What is the most useful drill that you would recommend to people wishing to take part in 3-Gun matches?

That’s a really broad question! I guess I don’t have a single answer for that, so I’ll give you a rundown of what I did when I made the conscious decision to become a world-class 3-Gunner.

1. Shoot every single pistol match you can. If you can shoot a match every single weekend and drive less than two hours to it, do it.
2. When you’re not shooting a pistol match, do dry fire practice with your pistol.
3. Practice loading your shotgun… a lot.
4. Practice shooting long range targets with your rifle… a lot

Here is the breakdown I used when I first started shooting in percentages of practice time…

1. 30% long range rifle
2. 30% shotgun loading
3. 20% pistol dry fire
4. 20% everything else (close rifle, shotgun shooting, slug shooting, hand loading pistol and rifle ammo)

You also compete in long-rage rifle matches — do you reload your own ammunition for this?

I was reloading my own ammo when I shot 260 caliber, but I’ve since changed all my guns to 6.5 Creedmoor. I use the Hornady 140gr ELD Match or 140gr A-Max exclusively. I’m not patient enough to load ammo as good as I can get it from Hornady and I’d rather spend my time practicing than loading. Without fail, every lot of factory Hornady ammo I’ve ever shot has been ¾in MOA or better, with 90% of it being ½in MOA or better.

What rifle do you use for the long-range work?

For long range I’m using a gun built by Proof Research. It’s chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor and I’ve got a 26 inch carbon fiber wrapped barrel with a 1:8 inch twist rate. It’s got a Defiance action and an XLR Industries chassis. The trigger is a Timney Tactical that comes in right around 8oz. I’m using a Vortex Razor HD Gen II 4.5–27x56 for a scope.