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...

When was the last time you learned to stop a serious bleed? If you're like most people, especially  outside of the tactical enthusiast community, that answer is probably a deafening, "Never."  At some point, everyone has probably heard the basics such as direct pressure, and knows that bandages & tourniquets are things. However, there's a significant difference between knowing that a thing exists and actually knowing how to use it in a real emergency.A while back, I talked to Doc Larsen...

Not long ago, during a podcast interview, Mike Green and I had a side tangent about getting a plate carrier set up for his wife. She competes in the Tactical Games, and went through several iterations of plate carrier, pouches, and other "stuff" before settling on something that worked for her. During that interview, he mentioned the phrase "Pre-Combat Inspections" (PCIs), and it stuck with me. My friend Justin at Swift Silent Deadly also recently wrote up some great articles on...

In the last episode, I discussed a hierarchy for buying equipment. At the lowest level was the fundamentals and everyday carry (EDC). The hierarchy worked it's way up from there to include a variety of patrolling, survival, observation, and combat equipment. Throughout the entire thing, I tied it to the importance of seeking training on how to use the equipment effectively.There's an important element that I did not discuss in that episode, though, and one that we're touching on today. This...

Gear articles are among the most popular on the site, so it shouldn't surprise you that I get a lot of questions about what chest rig to buy, how to set up belts, or whether or not someone really needs a set of plates and night vision. When just starting out, an aspiring prepared citizen is easily overwhelmed by the myriad of choices out there, not to mention the cost of actually acquiring it all.To many, the simple answer is defaulting to how the military does it. That means dividing up your...

In the last episode, I gave a more detailed breakdown of Scenario-X. I also touched on the idea of defensive conditions (DEFCONs) used by the US Government. In this episode, I want to build on that by talking through the importance of posture as both a tool of defense and diplomacy. A lot of people in the 2A world are too quick to talk about employing small unit tactics, rocking full battle rattle, and otherwise being on constant war footing. The truth, however, is that you are simply...

I think it's time we had a thorough talk about Scenario-X. It's been popping up in a lot of the conversations and interviews I've been having lately, and therefore it's important to lay some further groundwork for my imaginary disaster scenario. This is also because several of the upcoming episodes I'm going to publish involve aspects of this situation. If you aren't familiar at all, I first introduced Scenario-X when I started talking about load carriage. It is a fictional situation based...

As a general rule, I don't do the whole resolution thing at the start of every year. That doesn't mean I don't believe in evaluating where I'm at and setting some goals for the year.  Since we're now into 2022, I thought it was a good time to lay down my "big picture" priorities for myself this year, my reasoning for them, and at least some measure of a plan for making them happen. The plan part is important. To quote one of my prior commanders, "A goal without a plan is a hope, and...

I am not exactly sure when I first heard about the Tactical Games. Part of me thinks it was a random social media post by some dude that I follow. At first it sounded interesting, but way outside of what I was focused on. Over time, though, the noise has grown, with more and more people talking about it. I decided it was time to start asking questions. Luckily, one of the people I've seen posting a lot of images and thoughts was Mike Green, who I've interviewed once before. I sent him a...

This is the edited down audio podcast version of my recent stream with Jeff Gurwitch and Ilya Koshkin about reticles.In that edition of Marksman Live, the conversation covered a huge swathe of topics, and had a lengthy Q&A session at the end. In all, it was nearly two hours. This edited down version covers the highlights of the conversation and gets you the goods in a bit over 20 minutes. Keep it in your pocket for future reference! Keep in mind that the stream also included a lot...

Today's episode is a short discussion on something I hope becomes a recurring theme on the site. I had been mulling this topic over in my head a for a while, and when I fell behind on editing my latest interview with Mike Green, I decided to go ahead and explore this idea that fun is allowed. When I think back to all of my early experiences with shooting and firearms, the emotion that keeps coming up is, "This is fun!" The act of shooting and hitting targets is fun in of itself, and I'm...

In this special episode of The Everyday Marksman, i'm reposting the first half of a livestream I did with Ilya Koshkin on his YouTube channel last week. I stopped just short of the second half, where we started answering the questions from the audience. You'll just have to check out the stream itself (posted below) to see how that went. The topic of the day was a follow up from my recent talk with Jeff Gurwitch. In that episode, Jeff stated his belief that an LPVO with offset red dot sight...

In this episode I'm talking to Jeff Gurwitch again. He recently put up a video on his YouTube channel that caught my attention. Why? Well, because on the surface it contradicts my own advice of, "Let the mission dictate the configuration." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVLL6bCXIU4 As you get deeper into the interview, you'll find that Jeff and I aren't all that far off from one another. In fact, we both advocate for "general purpose" configuration for a rifle. As you make any...

Today i'm doing an after action review on my first precision rimfire match. I shot it on September 4th, 2021 at Peacemaker National Training Center in West Virginia. The PRS Rimfire match was sponsored by Lapua Ammunition (big shout out), and it was a great time. This journey started in the spring of 2020 when I interviewed Mike Keenan about getting started in PRS matches. I had wanted to do it for a long time, but didn't quite know where to start. About a month later, I wrote about the...

In this episode of the Everyday Marksman, I'm talking to Alex Sansone, better known as The Suited Shootist and operator of the blog and YouTube channel under the same name. Alex is a bit different than most of the other guests I've had on the show because he doesn't have the same military or high-level competition background as others. He's a regular citizen who happens to care about protecting himself and his family while looking good doing it.Related Links* The Suited Shootist blog* The...

This episode is an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA). I gathered questions from social media as well as the Discord server and handed them to Allison, who acts as the interviewer today. This episode has minimal editing and some adult language, so fair warning. Some of the major themes in these questions are my thoughts on reloading, alternate rifle s to the AR platform, load bearing equipment, shooting culture, and a few fun items about what I'm reading and watching. If you have any questions you...

I don't do musings posts very often, especially with the podcast. Current events this week have been a little wild with the stock market, and I've been watching from the sides. While I didn't partake in the Gamestop madness, I've certainly been entertained with the news articles and chatter on Reddit. During all of this, I realized that there is a common thread between the politics of gun control and what's been happening all week with retail investors. It's About Control The people of...

Therefore, since the world has still Much good, but much less good than ill, And while the sun and moon endure Luck’s a chance, but trouble’s sure, I’d face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good. A.E. Housman I spend a lot of time talking about the importance of training and competition. I've done a fair bit of both, though not as much as I'd like. Over time, I've thought about the advice I would give myself if I were able to go back to my very...

I really dislike new year's resolutions. Frankly, I think they are usually a big waste of time because the kinds of people who make them every year usually fail to have anything resembling a plan. And a goal without a plan is nothing more than a wish. And, if life hasn't taught you this yet, wishing doesn't usually work out. But in this episode, the first one of I'm touching on a topic that seems to perennially be the topic of resolutions: fitness. If you haven't been reading the site,...

I want to start off by talking about a moment at a class from several years ago. it was a cold Thursday afternoon in October, and I was standing over my rifle as it lay in the dirt. We were between drills and I was growing increasingly frustrated at its failure to feed malfunctions. It was at this point that the school's resident weapons guy strolled up behind me to look it over. Now, the primary cause of my issue was lubrication, but that's not the point of the story. The instructor,...

This episode is a bit of an audio guide version of my article on selecting AR-15 optics. It's a bit more off the cuff than usual, and you can probably tell that I get a bit excited about nerding out with this topic.  The principles I outline apply to just about any kind of optic regardless of the rifle, or handgun, that it mounts to. At the core, it's about understanding the role you are trying to fill and then selecting an appropriate solution within the bounds of your budget. Related...

Let's face it, 2020 has been a rough year. Just about every one of us has struggled through the twists and turns we've faced in the last 10 months. We all know, or have been affected by, job loss, mental frustration, isolation, ammo shortages, and more. I myself have faced burnout and even death in the family this year. To cap it all of is an election that we all knew would piss of half the country no matter the outcome. We still don't even know the results yet, and the way everything has...

Today I'm talking about my concept of the Minimum Capable Carbine. If you've been reading for a while, you might recognize this as my suggestion for your first AR-15. In truth, this episode is a chance for me to say things out loud that didn't come across very well in written format. Quick Summary I don't want to spend too much time here summarizing what I said because you might have already read it in my article on the topic. I'll be embedding this episode's player in that article as well....

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?" I like this because it speaks to a divide that often comes up in the shooting world, where everyday folks like you and I are not able to...