The Everyday Marksman

There's always value in pausing for a moment to think about your performance and evaluate where you stand. 2024 was an interesting year for many reasons. I hit several important personal milestones, but also fell behind in other areas. Along the way there were several unexpected challenges that added constraints to my time. Let's go through where I'm at on several aspects.

* Marksmanship & Firearms Skills

* Physical fitness

* Other Skills

* The Everyday Marksman

* Personal

I'll also give myself a grade on each category.

Marksmanship & Firearms Skills: Grade B

This year felt a bit unfocused. I entered 2024 without any particular shooting goals in mind, so I did the natural thing and started emphasizing gear and buying new guns. This started with the GHM9 project early in the year as an experiment with the PCC/SMG format. It's been interesting, and I'm glad to have gone down that path- but it ultimately felt a bit like I was doing something because I was bored.



A lot of it was the impulse to explore my own pontifications about marksmanship training zones. I've grown more and more focused on that 0-50 yard "critical zone" of skill. The PCC, as I've continued to find, is amazing for the job.

In July, I commented that I would begin the path to pistolero. The idea, again, was that 0-50 critical zone of skill. To support this, I bought a few more books focused on pistol shooting (which I have shamefully neglected), bought a 22 LR Mark IV pistol for additional inexpensive practice, attended an Appleseed Pistol Clinic, and set a baseline of competition performance by competing in a pistol match in December. Most of my range time in the second half of the year, sparse as it may have been, focused on pistol shooting as well.

To that end, I've also committed to "amping up" some of my existing pistols. My long-serving Beretta 92A1 is currently with Allegheny Arms & Gun Works in Pennsylvania getting the royal treatment, and I'm likely to send my 18 year old Springfield 1911 Loaded off to a gunsmith early next year to do their magic. The intention for both of these is to be my primary competition pistols in their respective divisions. This gives me the option to compete in Single Stack (1911), Carry Gun (CZ P07), Production (Beretta 92A1), Production Optics (CZ P10F), and Rimfire Optics (Mark IV)- or at least rough equivalents to these divisions. Yes, I know using four wildly different platforms with different operating mechanisms complicates training.

Oh well.

While I'm not unpracticed going into 2025, I would benefit from at least some form of regular practice sessions during the week. I'll figure that out soon.