Marksmanship

One of the easily overlooked areas of good marksmanship is controlling your breathing. I really believe it’s one of those things that everyone knows they should get control of it, but good breath control becomes one of the first marksmanship fundamentals to go out the window as pressure mounts. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in the midst of a stage and didn’t even think about my breathing until after it was over. Of course, then I try to go backwards and wonder if I did it correctly anyway, or if I did it wrong and it ...

Welcome back to another Marksman Challenge. For this one, we're balancing speed and precision, while also giving a shout out to the guys at the Revolutionary War Veteran's Association (RWVA) for their excellent work in the Appleseed program.

The standing position is the most difficult to master for marksmanship. With the June challenge underway and such a tough accuracy standard, I wanted to ask around for some standing position tips to help you, and me to be honest, out with earning that badge. Let's dig into it.

This is the very first of the monthly Marksman Challenges. This is not a competition, but a way to test your own abilities and improve. The first challenge is all about the fundamentals of marksmanship.

On April 27th, 2019, I competed in the NRA's reborn America's Rifle Challenge at the Peacemaker National Training Center. In all, it was a very fun match and a great introduction to competitive action shooting. But I'm not without a few complaints along the way.

I competed in a lot of local outlaw matches for years before finally going to a “real” one. Excellence in Competition matches, or EIC, happen periodically at military bases all over the country. They follow CMP rules, with a few twists.

Shooting enthusiasts, especially new ones, tend to try and shortcut the mastery process. The truth is that a standard rifle is more than capable of all the precision a new shooter can muster.

Practicing rifle positions will take you far. You'll be able to get in and out of them quickly, build up a stable shooting platform, and even be an effective marksman. But getting good with your natural point of aim will make you even better.

Many view the notorious "chicken wing" as a defining trait of a newbie. Tactical instructors, and the enthusiasts who follow them, will all claim it's a surefire way to get your arm shot off in a fight. So why is it still so prominent?

The standing position is simultaneously the most common and least useful of the standard rifle positions. The thing is, outside of competition, if you need to use it then you need to use it right now!

Kneeling is a moderately stable position, being better than standing but not as good as sitting or prone. It's the go-to when mobility is the priority, though.

The prone position is the bread and butter of a skilled rifleman. It is the most stable position you can get using only your own body. When you attend any shooting school, you're going to spend a lot of time in the prone. But it's not without its limitations. Let's take a good look at the most classic of rifle shooting positions.