A few weeks ago, Crimson Trace organized and sponsored the first ever night time 3-gun shoot. Featuring headlamps, night vision and IR goggles, and fully automatic weapons, it was a phenomenal experience.

Some of the world’s best shooters were there, including Katie Harris and Jansen Jones from Team Noveske, Jerry Miculek, and Army Marksman Unit shooter Daniel Horner. Honestly, I felt very much out of my league, but thankfully I filled a celebrity spot given to me by Iain Harrison (winner of Top Shot Season 1 who now works for Crimson Trace- thanks for paying it forward, Iain!). Seeing as this was only my second 3-gun match, and since my 3-gun rig wasn’t quite up to snuff, I was severely handicapped. I’ll review my gear in the next parts of this series.

The rifle I ran was a Noveske AR-15 outfitted with a Crimson Trace MVF-515 vertical foregrip with integrated flashlight and red laser system. Shooting with laser/light combo was a lot of fun, and we could rip through stages by simply placing the bright red dot on whatever we wanted to hit. I have a Trijicon ACOG w/ RMR scope which is simply amazing and worked well in a low light situation. I ran Dueck Defense Rapid Transition Sights as a backup companion, not knowing how well I’d adjust to my ACOG in the dark.

Noveske AR-15

Crimson Trace MVF-515 vertical foregrip. A bright 200 lumen LED light on the left, and a crisp red laser on the right.

A closer look at the Noveske. Sitting on top is a Trijicon ACOG 4×32 w/ RMR scope. Pure awesomeness.

View from the buttstock end of the rifle. The Dueck Defense RTS system allows the operator to quickly pivot the rifle 45 degrees to transition from medium-long range targets, to closer ones.

The match grade trigger is crisp and I feel like the Noveske is a natural extension of my body. I also got a chance to meet John Noveske and tell him how much I like his ARs. If you’ve never fired a Noveske, check it out, they are really great.

Shooting at night was a very different and challenging experience, and I felt like it was an equalizer since many shooters don’t shoot in the dark. I hope to have another opportunity like this again.

In the next post, I’ll chat a little more about what it was like being a total n00b in a new industry meeting all sorts of interesting people. I will also review my Remington 870 shotgun and go into some detail about why it hindered my performance.

Chris Cheng is History Channel’s Top Shot Season 4 champion. A self-taught amateur turned pro through his Top Shot win, Cheng very much still considers himself an amateur who parachuted into this new career. He shares his thoughts and experiences from the perspective of a newbie to the shooting community. www.TopShotChris.com.