The Everyday Marksman

I've got a bit of a confession to make, and it's embarrassing. I'm not all that great with pistols. I'm not a bad pistol shooter, per se. But on balance, my pistol shooting lags way behind my rifle shooting. I think that's a problem, so let's talk about why I'm going to fix it.

I've got a little bit of a bone to pick with how a lot of the shooting culture talks about drills. Much like weight lifting and gym bro culture, it seems a lot of shooters are more interested in flexing their egos than actually using drills as a way to improve. But how, exactly, should we approach that?

My recent post on establishing a fitness hierarchy made me realize that I need to do the same thing for marksmanship training. So here we are. Today I'm discussing my breakdown for prioritizing training distances and my reasoning for them.

Mindset is one of the core topics of The Everyday Marksman, and it's one of the four corners in our pyramid of performance, but I've never planted a flag in the ground about what exactly I mean by, "Mindset." So let's fix that.

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 cut it. In 2023, my goals turned personal, with a heavy focus on my health and fitness. Now, coming out of my annual break, I've settled on an idea that's worth exploring with you: the Martial Marksman. The philosophy and capabilities of the Martial Marksman is the focus of the book I've been working on. The book itself won't be ready for a while, I've still got more to do, but I'm happy to start talking about the ideas stemming from my effort so far. I credit the seed of the idea to two places: John Simpson's latest book, and Jeff Cooper. A Means to an End In my review of John's book, I quoted something that needs to be said again. Bold emphasis mine. The audience that this book is written for has already made the decision to deploy patrol rifles, so I don't need to talk you into it. They've picked the manufacturer and model of the rifle they'll use, so I don't need to sell you a particular product. And they've picked the ammunition design, so I don't need to make recommendations. The point is that you've got your patrol rifles and you want to know how to train with them. That's why you're reading this book now.Keep in mind that the type of marksmanship we'll be discussing here has nothing to do with shooting bull's-eyes for score or seeing who can shoot the smallest shot group. Those are fun sports and have their place, but always keep in mind that in patrol rifle training, shooting on the range is a means to an end and not the end in itself. John Simpson This sentiment is not new. Several of my previous guests said variations of the same thing. Time on the range and in competition is not wasted, so long as you're doing it with the right motivation. You must keep the end goal in mind. Your goal is building proficiency with the rifle and its employment. If your goal shifts to competing and winning as your primary purpose, then your training and practice change accordingly, often for the worse. Eventually, you're more "gamer" than "Martial Marksman." This was the first impetus. John put it clearly and concisely in a way that I could chew on ever since reading it. Now let's look at Jeff Cooper. A Good Shot Years ago, early in my marksmanship journey, I picked up a copy of The Art of the Rifle from the now defunct Paladin Press. Published in 1997, it predates my serious interest in shooting and marksmanship by nearly 20 years. Jeff opens the book discussing "The Queen" and about finding a why. Rather than summarize, I'm just going to quote some relevant excerpts. Personal weapons are what raised mankind out of the mud, and the rifle is the queen of personal weapons. The possession of a good rifle, as well as the skill to use it well, truly makes a man the monarch of all he surveys. It realizes the ancient dream of the Jovian thunderbolt, and as such it is the embodiment of personal power. For this reason, it exercises a curious influence over the minds of most men, and in its best examples it constitutes an object of affection unmatched by any other inanimate object The rifle is a weapon. Let there be no mistake about that. It is a tool of power, and thus dependent completely upon the moral stature of its user. It is equally useful in securing meat for the table, destroying groups of enemies on the battlefield, and resisting tyranny. In fact, it is the only means of resisting tyranny, because a citizenry armed with rifles simply cannot be tyrannized. The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles. While it is true that there exists in most nations a sport of rifle shooting, the formalization and specialization of target shooting competition has led its practitioners somewhat astray, in much the same way that the sporting practice of fencing has obscured the art of the sword. Probably the most serious obstacle to the popular understanding of riflecraft is the fact that rifle marksmanship is dependent entirely upon individual self-control, and self-control is out of fashion in the Age of the Common Man. I think each of us understands how these paragraphs apply to the world around us and our experiences. In the next chapter, Jeff defines what makes someone a "good shot." It's a definition I've remembered ever since reading it, and one I've been using more and more often. It used to adorn the wall of the classroom at Old Gunsite: A marksman is one who can make his weapon do what it was designed to do.An expert marksman is one who can hit anything he can see, under appropriate circumstances.A master marksman is one who can shoot up to his rifle. Defining the Martial Marksman Taken together, these two pieces of writing sent me down a rabbit hole that, over the last couple of months, solidified my theme for the coming year- and probably much longer. Let's get something big out of the way first. The Martial Marksman is an ideal to strive for. It is the embodiment of our why for training our minds and bodies for success at arms. Outside of select military units where this kind of thing is your profession and someone else pays for all of your training and logistics needs, the vast majority of marksmen simply have too many competing priorities for their finances and time. In other words, will never reach par excellence across all domains under the purview of the Martial Marksman simultaneously. We can only pursue them and achieve excellence in a few areas at a time. It is the practice that is most important. So, knowing that the Martial Marksman is an ideal rather than a physical "you have arrived" point in your personal journey, what characteristics define such an ideal? Let's break this down into our core Everyday Marksman topic areas. Mindset The Martial Marksman's mindset is focused on success at the task at hand and adept at handling stressful situations. He is confident in his abilities, without being arrogant, and demonstrates relentless self-control in all areas of life. In the style of Jack Donovan's tactical virtues, the mindset of the Martial Marksman covers all bases. He espouses courage, moral strength, sense of honor, and his mindset supports the development skills mastery with focus and tenacity. The question then becomes, how does an aspiring Martial Marksman develop these mental attributes? That is ultimately a series of articles for another day. I've dabbled in these areas before, particularly when it comes to winning mindsets and skills development, as well as a few thoughts on controlled adversity. I think there is room to go deeper, though. If I were to pick three core areas that build a Martial Marksman's mindset, it would be these: Controlled adversity: the Martial Marksman actively chooses to do the harder thing from time to time. That might be as simple as taking the stairs at work rather than the elevator, parking further away in a parking lot, or denying himself certain little pleasures and conveniences (camping without a tent, anyone?). Challenging exercise programs are their own version of controlled adversity, demanding that the lifter find the will to overcome the weight. Self-image building: a Martial Marksman routinely practices his skills and abilities, then actively seeks opportunities to test them against others in the agon. A Marksman will never outperform how he views himself, and so he must test himself to see where his skills truly lie. Remember, for the Martial Marksman, competition is a means to an end and not the end itself. Mindful practice: I don't necessarily mean meditation, though it wouldn't be a bad thing. The Martial Marksman is adept at keeping his mind focused on the here and now. When performing a task, such as a practice session, he quiets his mind of other things. Some activities, like a heavy bar on your back, outright require you to think about nothing else- which makes them useful for training this attribute as well as the physical. Tactical Fitness When it comes to physical capability, the Martial marksman is capable of handling any reasonable task thrown at him without becoming a liability. This does not mean that he is the strongest or the fastest. Only that he is strong and fast enough to succeed. Again, I've touched on some reasonable fitness standards to strive for and talked about the role of physical fitness in the Marksman's life- but there's still more to do. A marksman's level of physical fitness is a trailing indicator of his lifestyle choices and habits. This is a hard truth that I wish I understood better while I was on active duty and sometimes described as, "kinda heavy, but still moves really well." Along with marksmanship skill, fitness is one of those things that cannot be faked. There is no such thing as buying your way into good health or a high level of strength. You have either put in the time and consistency to make it happen as best you can within your circumstances, or you have not. For that reason, the pursuit of strength and fitness is also an incredible way to support a proper mindset. It requires that you regularly put yourself under controlled adversity. Success mandates focus and mindful practice, else you will not see results or may even become injured....

This is a philosophical one. For the last month or so, I've been obsessed with an Ancient Greek concept of excellence and how to apply it. Today's post is about presenting the core concepts and how I think it works within the construct of The Everyday Marksman. At a broader scale, this will weave throughout my work and form the bedrock what I want you to achieve.

This is both my review of a new book on strength training as well as an interview with the author. Over the last year, I've built up a library of strength and conditioning books, and I think I've settled on the one to suggest to just about everyone who wants to get started. Let's dig in.

Today I'm discussing a concept that's been brewing in the the back of my brain. While working on the book, I've needed a way to illustrate how different things we do relate to improving the whole and take use to new levels of performance. I think I've figured it out, and this is my first go at explaining it.