Only accurate rifles are interesting
The primary emphasis of The Everyday Marksman is on your personal skill and capabilities, but I’m not blind to the importance of good and reliable equipment for your success. The articles here cover selecting, configuring, and using your gear.
You can’t escape the work, though.
The thing I want to you remember is that your equipment only has to be good enough to be reliable. After that, it’s all about what you are capable of achieving with it. Don’t fall into the trap, as I did, of looking for mechanical solutions to software problems.
/// Equipment Archive
Hammer-Fired vs Striker-Fired: A War on Two Fronts
There are several timeless debates in the firearms world: 9mm vs 45, Stoner vs Kalashnikov, 10.5" vs 12.5" AR-15's, Kydex vs leather, or Glock vs...everything. Some of these have settled, but others....well I don't think we'll ever get to a final answer. One of these debates is hammer-fired pistols against striker-fired. I'd like to put my own two cents out there.
Evaluating Your Gear for Real World Use
A series of recent events reminded me of the importance of actually checking your gear for fit, function, and purpose. It doesn't have to take long, and it pays dividends when you actually have to use your stuff for competition, personal defense, or worse. Unfortunately, many people just don't know where to start, so they begin and end with mounting pouches on their kit, snapping a few photos, and saying "Good enough!"
The Magazine Pouch Primer: Access, Security, and Ergonomics
In this article, we're diving in on the topic of magazine pouches. We'll go over my classification system, the tradeoffs between them, what you should prioritize based on your uses, and some basic rules for configuring your ammunition load.
The AR-15 Barrel Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need to Know
This post summarizes just about everything I've learned about rifle barrels in general, and specifically AR-15 Barrels. It's fair to say that the barrel is the heart of the gun, and the most important choice to make when configuring a rifle. There are a lot of considerations and tradeoffs to make when deciding on the "right" one for you, so let's dig in.
Do You Really Need That? A Better Gear Philosophy
Gear articles are among the most popular on the site, so it shouldn't surprise you that I get a lot of questions about what chest rig to buy, how to set up belts, or whether or not someone really needs a set of plates and night vision. When just starting out, an aspiring prepared citizen is easily overwhelmed by the myriad of choices out there, not to mention the cost of actually acquiring it all. To many, the simple answer is defaulting to how the military does it. That means dividing up your equipment into first line, second line, third ...
Marksman Live: How to Build Your Team
In this session of Marksman Live, I talked to Brent0331, Doc Larsen, and Les from Pegasus Tests about the structure and capability of your survival team in Scenario-X. We dug into posture, weapon selection, mindset, and more.
Deal With the Compromise: AR-15 Weight, Capability, and Balance
There's a question that I see pop up a lot in forums and social media: "How much should my AR-15 weigh?" The most popular answer is, "as light as you can make it." While pithy, such a response is still valid up to a point. While I can provide some firmer numbers, and I will, it's also important to consider the weight factor within a context of balancing other elements as well.
Exploring the Road to Handgun Mastery
In this session of Marksman Live, I talked with Josh Shaw of Green Ops Inc about handgun skills. Josh is a USPSA Grand Master and teaches courses for Green ops in the Northern Virginia Area. We cover the importance of handgun skills, misconceptions, gear selection, and a training plan to propel your success.
Modularity or Mediocrity? Sometimes You Just Need to do What You Like
This isn't really a review of the Sig P320, per se. Instead, it's a brief discussion about how it's unique modularity works, and the fact that I just really don't like this gun. But that's ok, because we live in the golden age of choices.
CZ P10 F Review: The Duty Handgun You Forgot About
This is my review of the CZ P10 F optics ready, which I purchased myself with the intent of turning it into a competition pistol. In all, it's a competent striker-fired pistol that shines with a 19+1 capacity, good aftermarket support, and pretty good trigger out of the box. So what else should you know?
How to Prepare for the Tactical Games with Mike and Pascale Green
The Tactical Games are part of a growing trend with combining physical fitness with marksmanship in competition. I've seen them talked about quite a bit over time, and I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Mike Green and his wife Pascale to talk about how the games started and what to look out four while you prepare.
We the People Holsters IWB Holster: Raw Truth Review
This is a review of an Inside the waistband (IWB) holster from We the People Holsters. They were kind of enough to send me this holster for review (as well as a pair of tactical leggings that Allison reviewed last week). The particular model I"m looking at is for my much-neglected FNS-9, and my thoughts are generally pretty good. Though I have one nitpick to make...
We the People Defender Leggings for Women: Raw Truth Review
In Allison's very first post for the site, she's reviewing a pair of women's tactical leggings by We The People Holsters. These have several unique features about them ideal for both concealed and open carry, and particularly for range events and tactical competition.
When to Use a BDC or MRAD Reticle?
In this podcast episode, I'm posted the edited down audio from my stream with Jeff Gurwitch and Ilya Koshkin. We focus on the best uses for BDC reticles against MRAD-based reticles at less than 500 yards.
Lessons Learned from Arklatex Multigun Match Part II: Equipment
In part two of the Arklatex Multigun Competition report, Alex dives deeper into the equipment he used throughout the match and the lessons he learned. Highlights include his British webbing, plate carrier, and piggybacked RMR on an ACOG.
How to Carry the Load: Marksman Live!
In Marksman Live session 004, I talked with Brent0331 all about various load carriage methods. Brent is a US Marine with a popular YouTube channel teaching basic infantry tactics, and the conversation wandered over a lot of topics. Enjoy!
