Today has been a long time coming. As we've been exploring the idea of a minimum capable citizen, we had to eventually get to discussing rifle marksmanship standards.Pistol standards seemed a little easier by comparison, since most of us focus on concealed carry and personal defense situations. On the other hand, rifles can be used in so many ways that it seemed unfair to try and create one simple test to hold ourselves accountable for.In this post, I'm going to outline The Everyday Marksman minimum rifle skills challenge, and then walk through how I came up with it.Minimum Rifle Marksmanship Standards ChallengeAs with the handgun skills challenge, the rifle skills test is performed in two stages, each designed to test a different (but still related) set of skills.For both stages, you will need a current standard US Army zeroing target. Rite in the rain makes some really nice ones that you get in a pack of 100.I chose this target for two reasons. Firstly, if you've followed my articles on zeroing, I've already suggested purchasing this one before- so you might have a few laying around. Second, since it's covered in 1 MOA squares scaled for 25 meters, it makes measuring accuracy for the marksmanship standards test very easy.The important part of this target is the 4" black zone representing 16 MOA, the 3" ring representing 12 MOA, a 2" ring for 8 MOA ring, and 1" dotted ring (4 MOA) around the center diamond.You will need two targets placed at 25 meters. If you can't easily do 25 meters, then 25 yards is acceptable.Stage 1: The SnapshotI derived the snapshot test from the work of Jeff Cooper. It represents a "surprise shot" where a target suddenly presents itself. His version was two parts, with the first half consisting of a 4" circle at 25 yards and the second involving a 10" circle at 50 yards. The goal in either case was to hit the target in 1.5 seconds or less starting from a port arms position.We're only using the first portion of the test. Instead of port arms, we start at the low ready.To perform the snapshot test, you fire five shots at one target placed at 25 yards. You need a timer, preferably a shot timer with par time function, set to 1.5 seconds and a random start.Start at a low ready position, with the muzzle pointing down and the stock touching the firing shoulder. Upon start, raise the rifle, acquire a sight picture, and fire one shot anywhere into the 4" black zone of the target.If your shot was outside of the 1.5-second limit, then it does not count. A hit is any impact that breaks the outer edge of the black zone.Reset the timer and return to a low ready. Repeat this sequence until you have fired all five shots.If you placed all five shots into the black zone of the target, and all shots were within the time limit, then you have successfully completed the first marksmanship standardStage 2: Rifle Marksmanship FundamentalsIn the second stage, it's all about the fundamentals of marksmanship. For this portion, you will fire 10 shots at the target from three positions in 60 seconds or less. We will use the other target we posted up- the one we haven't shot at yet.Begin the stage from the low ready position. Upon start, fire three shots from the standing position. After the third shot, transition to the kneeling, squatting, or a href="https://www.everydaymarksman.