Marksmanship

After some discussion with members of the community, I’m going to post up some new Marksman Challenges as well as prune some of the old ones. Today I’m releasing the Paper Plate Pistolero challenge, which is a fancy way of saying you need to keep 10 shots inside of 8 inches at 25 yards. Let’s dig into the details and the target.

Around the Everyday Marksman’s Discord server, we were commiserating over lack of range time and rusty skills. So we decided to set up an informal postal match just for fun, these are the rules.

I was recently turned on to a YouTube channel simply titled, “Konrad.” I’ve bookmarked it for future reference, but in light of the ongoing ammunition shortage and a renewed focus on “back to basics,” I wanted to share a few videos all about improving your standing position performance.

The results are in, and it was a squeaker! The Q4 postal match for 2020 ended last week. If you recall, it was a pistol-focused course of fire consisting of 25 shots between 3 yards and 25 yards. There was no timer, no positions, nor anything else. The event was a pure pistol marksmanship challenge against a small target.

If you’re anything like me, then the great ammo shortage of 2020 has been putting a significant damper on your range time. I have a healthy stash set aside, for sure, but the general turmoil I’m seeing out there makes me reluctant to start using it until there’s a ready replacement. So what do we do?

For the fourth quarter of 2020’s match, we’re taking a note from the bullseye pistol game with a few tweaks. As much as I like …

The squatting position, otherwise known as “Rice Paddy Prone,” isn’t as common as it once was. It is a moderate stability position that supports both elbows, making it more stable than kneeling yet keeping a high level of mobility.

These are the rules for the Q3 2020 Postal Match. We’re taking on a five-position course of fire at 25 yards on an official NRA target. Let’s get to it.

With this challenge, we introduce the new Everyday Marksman Postal Match series. What are postal matches, well I’m glad you asked. Think of them as friendly competitions you can do from home.

Jeff Cooper, in The Art of the Rifle, stated that the seated position is the most useful for hunters. Military shooters use it less because it’s neither as low as prone nor fast like squatting or kneeling.

Most field shooters, from big game hunters to military members, do not have the luxury of time to check distance, adjust sights, and take a precisely aimed shot. Knowing and using the point blank zero is a tool for helping with that.

Alex, AKA Diceman624, was the first to complete the Dry Practice Challenge and he did a fantastic job writing up an After Action Review for the community. We’re reposting it to the main blog today so you can learn alongside him.