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
The Paper Plate Pistolero Challenge
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.
Knock Off Some Rust With a Postal Match
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.
How to Build Shooting Discipline with Standing, Despite the Panic
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 Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Training Course
I’ve got a bit of experience between training and competition, though not as much as I’d like. Still, I’ve learned a few things along the way and today we’re talking about some of the key lessons I wish I could go back and make sure I knew back at the beginning.
Here’s Your Postal Match Winners for Q42020
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.
Ammo Shortage? No Problem. Here’s a Solution
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?
Q4 2020 Postal Match: Bringing the Bull
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 …
Mike Green of Green Ops Tactical Talks About Adult Skills
Mike Green is a 15 year veteran of Special Operations who began a training company in Northern Virginia as a bit of a side gig. His school has since grown into quite the training operation spanning multiple states and categories of students. One of the things that stood out to me about Green Ops is their motto, “Why Should Your Training Be Less Special?”
The Marksman’s Trinity: Balance for New and Old Gun Owners
The theme of the month is all about balance, so here’s another one to think about. I thought about the elements that should go into decision making regarding everything we do, and I categorized everything into these three: safety, capability, and security.
As gun owners and firearms enthusiasts, we should always be mindful of keeping these things in balance.
Ammo Companies HATE this Substitute for 22LR Dry Fire
Sure, the headline was a little clickbaity, but I thought it was funny. Regular dry practice with your rifles and pistols is an important component to keeping up your skills. Done right, it dramatically cuts back on the amount of range time and ammo you need to spend while also greasing the groove of your fundamentals.
The trouble is that you’re not really supposed to dry fire a rimfire rifle, right?
Answering the Question: Why Good Marksmanship is Important
I don’t know why this question has been on my mind lately, but I’ve felt compelled to try and put words to my answer. Why is good marksmanship important? What do we get from learning and practicing it?
I think there’s an assumption within the gun world that everyone already knows that marksmanship is important. But I don’t think most people actually care.
A Marksman’s Guide to the Squatting Position
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.
