Welcome back to another marksman challenge. As a reminder, though this challenge started in August 2019, you are able to go back and accomplish it at any time. The Minuteman Marksman challenge takes inspiration from the Revolutionary War Veteran’s Association’s infamous “Redcoat Target” used during their excellent Appleseed events.
I shot an Appleseed back in 2014, and it was a fantastic experience for working on the raw fundamentals of marksmanship.
The Minuteman Challenge
Though I pay homage to the RWVA for this, I’m actually naming the challenge this way due to the time limit involved.
You must complete the challenge in one minute or less.
To set things up, you’re going to need the official target.
The rules are simple, really. Place the target at 25 yards and load a magazine with 20 rounds. Set a timer for 60 seconds. On start, you must fire five shots at each circle.
You may fire these shots from any position of your choice, and you do not have to perform a position change or reload to complete the challenge. Unless, of course, you live in a state that restricts your magazine capacity.
You may use an optic and sling for this. Also, the rifle may make contact with the ground- so monopoding with a magazine is allowed.
Each circle approximately represents a 20″ target scaled to 100, 200, 300, and 400 yards.
Completing The Challenge
As always, you must must post your score in the associated challenge thread in the forum. Here are the requirements for each level:
Level 1
To accomplish the Level 1 badge, each circle must be hit five times within 60 seconds. That averages out to one shot every three seconds.
Again, you may use a sling and optic if you choose
Level 2
To reach the Level 2 (Superior) badge, the same rules apply except that you must shoot the top target from the standing position. From there, you may transition to any second position you choose and finish the remainder of your shots.
Level 3
The Level 3 (Master) badge has all of the same requirements as Level 2, except that you must complete the challenge using iron sights.
No optics allowed to get the Level 3.
Providing Proof
As always, you must provide evidence of completing the challenge in order for it to be officially scored. I realize this challenge would be particularly easy to cheat on, so I’m trusting in the honor system here.
In order to be scored, you most post your results in the official scoring thread of the forum. In your post, you must include a picture of the target, the rifle, and your final time to completion.
Good Luck!
Of course, if there are any questions, feel free to ask them down in the comments. I look forward to seeing what you can accomplish!
Level 1 Challenge Winners
These community members have completed the Level 1 Minuteman Marksman Challenge
- xSquidGator
- AKM295
Awesome challenge.
One question for you, a hit qualifies as in the circle, not just the black dot?
I’m down regardless but Im making the most of time blastin’ holes if it’s just in the circle!
Yep, a hit qualifies as any portion of the circle including the outer border. The inner black dot is really just a consistent aiming point.
Outstanding challenge!! Factory ammo only or can re-loaders utilize their recipe of choice?
read though challenge very fast so will assume only sling supported hasty or loop sling options qualify. Going prone, loop sling iron sights all the way.
No restrictions on ammunition, use whatever you’d like! Regarding the sling, it’s totally up to you. If you are going for the base level badge from a single position, a looped up sling would be fine for the whole thing. If going for level 2 or higher, I’d probably be using a hasty sling followed by looped in my preferred position.
When I first started to read it I thought it was with a handgun LOL. I will give it a go next week.
I’d be very impressed if someone did this at 25 yards with a pistol, lol. But that does remind me that I need to get into some pistol challenges as well!
I think that some of your rifle challenges could be converted into pistol challenges by moving the distance to 5 or 7 yards.
Shhhhh, don’t spoil the plan….
I’m planning on emphasizing pistol next year
Quick clarification on shooting positions. The rules state we can shoot from any position. Specifically if we shoot from prone, would this require us to have magazine off the ground? The June challenge specifically called out against using the magazine as a monopod. Is that the case here as well or do we have leeway?
Running this in my head, I see myself shooting my first 5 rounds from standing and dropping to prone and gaining stability for those smaller targets by resting the mag on the ground. However, I don’t want to go against the spirit of the drill in favor of gamesmanship.
Good question, I’ll update to reflect.
Monopoding with the magazine is allowed
Do I have to shoot the top (large) circle first? Or can I start with the small circle and work my way up?
Good question, you may shoot the circles in any order- though the top one must be shot from the standing position if you want the level 2 or 3 badge
Gotcha, thanks!
What is the paper size of the target (outer dimensions)?
Hi Kanon, I sized it to print on a standard 8.5×11 piece of printer paper
Thank you…
This one looks fun!
Why not just sign up and attend an Appleseed shoot and try your luck on an actual Redcoat target! They’re held all over the country. You’ll learn marksmanship basics, standing, sitting and prone positions, proper sling usage and a great oral rendition of the battles of Lexington and Concord. Go to http://www.appleseedinfo.org
Will get on this asap
Awesome! Don’t forget to post results in the forum