It’s not about what you have, but what you find along the way.
Mike Moore, SERE Instructor
In this section, you’re looking at all of my articles, podcasts, and challenges related to survival and tactical skills. The more that you know how to do, the less pressure you feel to overload yourself with unnecessary equipment.

From knot tying to survival shelter construction and communications, the marksman’s tactical skillset is broad. I suggest picking a topic and diving deep into it to learn what you can, share it with others, and then work on the next skill in the chain.
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.
/// Skillset Archive
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?
Keep Your Gear Dry: Waterproofing Your Pack
I’d like to throw a shout out to a fellow blogger, and community member, who did a great writeup on waterproofing a pack. I’ve got a bit of experience here, but given his background I think it’s best to just hear it from his mouth.
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.
A Marksman’s Balance: Making Time for Things that Matter
Today’s episode has to do with the theme of the month within our community over at The Marksman’s Quarter: finding balance. I thought this was an appropriate topic because I just came off of a month-long break from writing or recording, and wanted to talk a little bit about what led to that hiatus and the things that have been on my mind.
From Here to the Edge of the World: Talking Radio Skills with NC Scout
Today we’re sitting down with NC Scout of Brushbeater and American Partisan to talk about radio communications. Scout comes from an Army Infantry scout background, with time served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He teaches a variety of martial skills to everyday folks, including radio communications.
Overnight Outdoor Challenge
This marksman challenge is about spending a night in the wilderness. What good are all of the knot tying, fire-making, and other outdoors skills if we don’t put them to use. Take this chance to get out there and enjoy a bit of nature.
The Everyday Knot Tying Challenge
This Marksman Challenge is all about the art of tying knots. I’ve long observed that experienced outdoorsmen learn to tie a few reliable knots extremely well, and use them for just about everything. Knowing knots also means you can carry less stuff. So let’s get on to the challenge.
Community Member Highlight: Graveyard Fields
This episode is another in our community member highlight series. Today we’re focusing on Justin “Graveyard” Fields, who is very active in the community and is himself a prolific blogger. Among other blogs he runs, he most recently set up Swift | Silent | Deadly, a blog focused on full-spectrum individual security.
In this interview, we talk a bit about how Justin got interested in writing about this particular set of topics as well as his thoughts on the lessons we should all be taking away from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sharpening the Edge: There’s Value in Competition
Life is full of competition. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, all of life is a giant competition for resources and reproduction. Entire species either prosper or go extinct on the macro level due to their collective abilities to compete in an ever-changing environment.
Nations, businesses, and people operate in a similar way. And so should you.