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More than one time, John Simpson mentioned to me that you don't prepare for the test by practicing the test. It's a bit of a call out against shooters who think that the path to improvement is merely about faster times on their drill of preference. My observation is that a shooter's preferred "game" usually dictates what drills they care about. Bill Drills, classifiers, 1-5, dot torture, and many more track against defensive, competition, handgun, long gun, and other disciplines. These...

I've been seeing a question going around forums and social media for the last week or two. The gist of it is, "What would you suggest as a solid basic armory for a serious new gun owner?" The context usually a friend or young man coming of age into the world of firearms ownership and training. I've found the answers to be both entertaining and enlightening. You see the obvious bias of the authors and their personal preferences for using firearms. Some people veer towards the outdoors and...

I'm going to ruffle some feathers today. In fact, I'm highlighting something I've been doing poorly for years. While I was putting together the hierarchy of physical fitness for the Martial Marksman, I realized there was a need to do the same thing for firearms training and marksmanship. We tend to focus on the things we're already good at, or at least the things we most enjoy. For me, that tends to be scoped precision rifles and relatively long distances. That's fine for a general interest,...

I was reflecting on something Lanny Bassham wrote in his book, With Winning in Mind. It's something that I reference a lot, and definitely suggest giving it a read. When discussing selecting the right goal, Lanny says that you should pick something that you're willing to trade your life for. He doesn't mean that in the literal sense of dying for your goal. Rather, it's a figurative statement about giving up the life you lead now for the attainment of that goal. If it's not powerful enough,...

When I re-launched the Everyday Marksman site in 2018, I thought it was important to have a core topic area around Mindset. Inspired by the work of Lanny Bassham and others, it's important that I kept at least some focus on the idea of training the mind to perform just as much as practicing marksmanship and buying gear. Over time, many of the interviews I've done and books I've read also referenced the importance of mindset. I've gone as far as making sure that "mindset" is...

In the last episode, I discussed the Martial Marksman ideal and how it relates to the various topics I talk about here. One of the challenges that anyone going down this path quickly runs into is the fact that there is a lot of "stuff" to learn and practice. It's one thing for a professional soldier to do these things, but it's a very different beast for Everyday Marksmen like you and I. Military members have the benefit of government pockets paying for training, equipment, travel, and the...

Every year, I tend to focus in on a "theme" to pursue. Sometimes it's personally, sometimes it's got a bit more to do with the site. For most of 2022, the key phrase was "Minimum Capable Citizen." The idea was around a set of standards and baseline targets that I think any prepared citizen should strive for. Eventually, the idea fizzled out a bit when I felt like there wasn't much more to write. I'm not interested in "minimum." I believe we should strive for excellence, and minimum doesn't...

Note: Image credit for the cover photo goes to Run-N-Gun Nation, who took it at a recent Tactical Biathlon match at the Sawmill Complex I recently introduced the concept of aretê and agon. The former is an ancient Greek concept of excellence, typically demonstrated through contests (agon) of strength, skill, and combat. I've latched tightly to this concept and how it can help our community grow and become better citizens. To support that, I felt we needed some kind of standardized...

Today is a bit of a philosophical post. As I've been [slowly] working on the book, I keep circling around how to explain my "why." Being a history nerd, I recently came across the Ancient Greek concept of aretê, and I've latched on to it ever since. The point of today's post is to dive into this philosophy and some of the finer points around it. You'll be seeing a lot about this in the future. The concept will weave into many upcoming posts, but also appear across informational pages. In all...

A little while ago, John Simpson released an updated edition of his book, Foundations of Sniper Marksmanship. I did an update post as well as an interview, which drove home the idea of cheating in training is essentially stealing from yourself. Though I didn't publish it, John let me know that he had another book incoming- this one targeted at regular patrol rifles as opposed to preparing for police sniper school. The impetus for this book, Foundations of Patrol Rifle Marksmanship, is...

Somewhere during 2022, I was browsing social media discussions between strength coaches. The goal was to see what I might have been missing from the stuff that I was already "bought in" to doing. One coach, a gentleman named Paul Horn, mentioned that he had an upcoming book. I liked what he was saying, so I found his site and signed up to be notified when he released it. Later in the year, I received notifications that the book release was imminent, and I grabbed it on the first day it was...

Photography Note Credit to Run N Gun nation for the event photography in this one. He tours around the country helping RO and do action shots of these kinds of events. He told me I could use whatever I'd like for my write up, so I grabbed some great photos from his Flickr album of this event. Give him a follow on YouTube! Run N Gun Nation Okay, here we go. Preparing for this event, and others like it, has been a big topic so far...

I have been trying to think of a way to best illustrate the relationship between all of the various topics we discuss here at The Everyday Marksman. As part of an introduction in the book I've been [trying to] work on since the start of the year, I needed a way to illustrate why I advocate the "basics is best" approach so much. I think I've got it, and today I want to talk about it- and maybe get your thoughts as well. First, I want to establish the why. Every once and a while I come back...

If you listened only to the internet, you'd think that anyone not investing in the latest firearms tech will immediately die in the streets. Anything seen as obsolete is simply discounted and thought of as a quaint vestige of firearms history. I'd like to make the case otherwise, though. Old and "obsolete" weapons are still effective weapons, many of them proven through incredibly harsh conditions, and have several benefits to current day firearms enthusiasts that you might not have...

Today is more of a musing discussion with a bit of "life advice" flavor. The point is directly about shooting, health, and other important skills- but the implications affect just about everything. I want to talk about the power of accumulated effort and why so many people, including me at times, go wrong with it. As I'm writing my thoughts down to record them, I'm 113 days into the longest "cut" I've been on in my life. Back in November 2022, I went and had a DEXA scan done at a local gym...

Tactical biathlon cannot be explained, you just have to experience it for yourself. Dave A while back, I hosted a guest post from Erik about Tactical Biathlon competition. It's been a murmur of a topic in our own community, and a few folks have gotten out and started signing up for them. I'm planning on doing one at the end of April over in West Virginia, and the guys over at Waco Tactical Fitness (WTF) have built a name for themselves hosting events around Texas and...

Since last year, I've been trying to keep up the trend of reading a book per month. Recently, I worked through Coach Dan John's Never Let go: A Philosophy of Lifting, Living, and Learning. A model that Dan John likes to talk about is breaking up your training cycle into "Park Bench" and "Bus Bench" periods. While he's specifically talking about athletic training, the underlying philosophy applies to just about anything we talk about here at The Everyday Marksman. Defining the...

I was scrolling through Twitter the other day and noticed a phrase I'd never seen before but perfectly encapsulates where I think a lot has gone wrong. Weapon Outfitters, a shop I recommend a lot of the time and a killer photographer to boot, mentioned the phrase "Flex Culture" in the context of night vision and Instagram. The phrase has apparently been around for a while, but this was my first time seeing it and it's stuck with me every since. While there I noted that I’ve been in the...

Last year, in May of 2022, I talked about the idea of "tactical minimalism." The main idea is that on the path to becoming a capable marksman, there are many important skills and capabilities to learn a long the way. To be capable across a spectrum of skills, you need to spend the bulk of your time practicing a few high-impact basic items to the point of complete mastery. Mastering those few basics serves you better in the long term than knowing twenty variations of every shooting position....

Every year, I think it's important to pause and assess a few things about where I've been, where I'm at, and where I'm going. It's an opportunity to look over the goals that we, as a community, set and rate ourselves against them. This is also my chance to share some of the ideas I've got for the next year with The Everyday Marksman. The first time I did this was back in April 2021, with a bit of a fireside chat, if you will. I look back and snicker a bit, because that whole direction that...

If you cheat in training, you're stealing from yourself. John Simpson Tweet The very first podcast interview I ever did was with John Simpson. He's a veteran of Army Special Forces, sniper, author, and an encyclopedia of shooting knowledge. John is actually responsible for connecting me with many of my original interview guests, and I've been thankful ever since. Ever since that first conversation, we keep in touch from time to time and I always appreciate his...

I have avoided discussing suggestions about buying your first handgun for a long time. For the most part, it's because my passions trend towards rifles. In the grand scheme of conflict and "weapons of war," pistols are but a blip. Their low power, short range, and relatively difficult use make them nearly irrelevant for infantry combat. This doesn't make them useless, though. Handguns are primarily weapons of personal defense. They are a tool that's easy to keep with you at all times, and...

As you know, I've been thinking about prism optics a lot lately. As I'm gearing up to do a review and comparison of some of the options on the market, there were a lot of questions I didn't know the answer to. So I thought it made sense to ask an actual expert. This week I brought Ilya Koshkin, the Dark Lord of Optics, back on to the live stream to answer my questions (and those of the audience). We covered the basics of how a rifle scope works, what makes a prism scope slightly different,...