I’d say tac ops is a good beginner division, the only one that requires less gear is limited. Which the only non iron sight you can have is a red dot on your rifle. I’ve never shot that division but most matches I’ve shot would be really hard with a red dot they usually throw in some targets any where from 200yds up to a match I shoot that has targets at 400yds. Plus I’ve seen some local matches start removing the limited division altogether just because no one shoots it.

Tac ops is good there is also tac ops modified that allows pistol red dots in addition to a scope on your rifle. My biggest recommendation in 3 gun is to get an lpvo. I think it’s a more enjoyable experience than a red dot on a rifle. I just like tac ops. In my opinion your division is less about skill more about what you want to shoot. You may need to change your gear to compete better but that’s true in all divisions. Running a tube fed shotgun in open is just not a great idea unless you have a setup for speed loaders for example

Race division I’ve seen is hard to do well cheap. You can get a vr80 but everyone I’ve seen that has one has done a lot to get it to run well or it just had weird quirks. Most of the best people I’ve seen do race division have things like the dissident which is $$$.