I have long had a tendency to tie marksmanship to morality. The essence of good marksmanship is self-control, and self-control is the essence of good citizenship. It is too easy to say that a good shot is automatically a good man, but it would be equally incorrect to ignore the connection.
Marksmanship is the heart of everything we do here. Through marksmanship, we learn and practice discipline, focus, and self-control. As one of my podcast guests once put it over a couple of beers, “Marksmanship is the American Martial Art.”
Here you will find all of my articles, podcasts, and marksman challenges relating to the study and practice of good marksmanship. If you’re specifically looking to learn the fundamentals, be sure to check out my article series on how to shoot a rifle. I’ll soon be working on a series for pistol marksmanship as well.
If you haven’t tested yourself against a Marksman Challenge, be sure to check one of them out and lets us know how you did over in the community forum.
/// Marksmanship Archive
Skill Building: It’s Dry Practice, Not Dry Fire
I am what you might call a “fan” of dry practice. I’ve written articles about it, extolled its virtues to my friends, and engaged in quite a lot of it. In 2019 I set out to do ten minutes of dry practice per day for the entire year. I did it, and I spent a little over 62 hours dry practicing, mostly with my EDC firearm.
How to Measure Precision: Or, Why Three-Shot Groups are Terrible
One of my current goals is getting more involved in precision shooting and competition. It shouldn’t be a surprise that precision has been on my mind a lot lately. As I’ve been doing more and more reading and research, I’ve come across a few interesting ways of thinking about things that I want to share with you.
The Truth About AR-15 Marketing
Podcast: Play in new window
Today’s episode is about the tactics of AR-15 marketing in particular, but what I’m saying applies just as much to all firearms and tactical marketing in general. The simple truth, albeit a harsh one, is that you are best served by ignoring the ads and influencers out there.
The Pistol Fundamentals Challenge
The PIstol Fundamentals Challenge is my variation on the classic Dot Torture popularized by Todd Green and Dave Blinder. It’s a 30-round challenge testing your ability to maintain accuracy across different circumstances while under time pressure.
Mental Marksmanship: Train the Mind, and the Rest Will Follow
Podcast: Play in new window
Linda Miller and Keith Cunningham are the authors of Secrets of Mental Marksmanship, How to fire Perfect Shots. They are accomplished shooters in both the civilian and military worlds, and today we are talking about developing the right mindset.
How to Breathe for Better 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 cost me a little bit of performance.
Loading Your Rifle with Ammo and Not Ego
Podcast: Play in new window
Russell Miller is a triple-distinguished competition shooter as well as a former special operations officer. He’s spent an enormous amount of time coaching snipers and precision shooters, and today he’s our guest on the show.
In this episode, we cover a lot of ground between the world of competition shooting and tactical precision marksmanship. Russ shared some very pointed criticism of US Army marksmanship training.
Some of the main topics I think you’ll enjoy focus on getting started in rifle competition, and establishing a balance between behaviors appropriate for competition versus defensive situations. Additionally, we spend a lot of time talking about the importance of consistent practice to build a foundation of skills that make good marksmanship instinctive.
The Minuteman Marksmanship Challenge
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.
Becoming a Sniper with John Simpson
Podcast: Play in new window
I recently interviewed John Simpson, a veritable encyclopedia of sniper knowledge. He has a long history with Special Forces and Police sniping, has written several books on the topic, and regularly teaches courses. In this interview, we cover John’s history as well as a variety of topics surrounding sniping.
Standing Position Tips and Crushing the Marksman Challenge
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.
The 4 MOA Rifle Fundamentals Challenge
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.
Terminal Ballistics: How Bullets Wound and Kill
In this article, we’re digging into terminal ballistics: the science of what happens when the bullet impacts a target. In particular, we’re going over the history of the research and what we know today about how bullets wound and kill a target.