I have been shooting, training, and training others a long time. I am not a top competitor at 3 Gun. However, I recognize 3 Gun as a shooting sport that is a lot of fun, especially for those who love to shoot. That must come first.

About 18 months ago, I decided it was high time for me to try my hand at 3 Gun. Life was good; I carved out some range time and found a friend to attend with me. He had some experience running matches, so he helped me kit up and learn some practice drills. We had a great time, even if he consistently smoked my stage times.

A few months ago, Federal Ammunition announced American Eagle Syntech—a new concept for range use. While there are many highly-developed loads for personal defense, seldom has much effort been expended in developing range ammunition. American Eagle Syntech is the first range-specific ammunition designed to reduce fouling and extend barrel life with a high-tech polymer bullet coating.

Some like golf; I prefer filling a page with words. Others like baseball, and I like the shooting sports. While IPSC and IDPA are interesting, 3 Gun is the one discipline that challenges shooters with all three firearms—the rifle, shotgun, and pistol. Shooters are good folks to spend time with, and keeping sharp with your shooting skills is important. If you want to win, you have to start somewhere. If you have shooting experience and good quality (but standard type) firearms, then you are good to go for 3 gun. If you have tactical firearms with optics then you are ready as well.

When it comes to rifle shooting, fast hits are what counts in hunting and personal defense scenarios. When sighting in the rifle from the benchrest, we have all of the time in the world. Recently, I sighted my personal M1A1 with Leatherwood scope in from the rest and enjoyed 1 MOA groups with Federal MSR Fusion ammunition. I cannot expect a fraction of this accuracy when firing off hand at the 100-yard line.

A shotgun is the most versatile firearm you’ll ever own. Contrary to what you might see on TV, shotguns do not magically hit every target, and the recoil is not—or at least does not have to be—so brutal that it will knock you off your feet. However, while versatile, not every shotgun is equally suited to every shooter or situation. With a little research and aforethought, you’ll be ready to choose a shotgun that will perform when needed and be comfortable to shoot. Here’s your guide to put you on the right path.

Dads come in all varieties, dad, father, papa, pop, the old man—and a host of names that would never be repeated to his face, but Father’s Day is his day, so why not make it special? Long gone are the days of another tie or a few implements for a grill. After all, would you give mom a new frying pan or a girdle for Mother’s Day? Of course not, but Father’s Day is probably the hardest gift giving day of the year, so The Shooter’s Log has made it easy by breaking gifts down into categories. Simply pick the category or categories that describe dad best and roll in strong with a gift you know dad will love and use.

Fast and accurate shooting with a handgun requires a stable shooting stance. The stance must allow for proper sight alignment, mobility, and recoil management. There are a number of stances that can do that, but there’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution—or is there?

Like many instructors, I prefer a student with no prior experience. Hopefully they have done their homework and understand how to manipulate the handgun, and load and unload it safely. However, if they have picked up bad habits and continue to exhibit these bad habits, there is some difficulty encountered during the class. I have to avoid terms like getting the student up to speed, because sometimes I have to slow them down.

The weekend began as a scope test—as well as a time to get better at long-range precision marksmanship—but ended up a test of multiple pieces of gear and people. As for the scope, it turned out to be a key element to unexpected long-range success, but not without challenging moments. The Bushnell Elite Tactical long range tactical scope (LRTS) series is just what the name implies. In this case, my optical partner was the LRTSi 3-12x44mm scope for a 3-day long-range shooting class requiring a milliradian reticle.

Marksmanship can make up for power, but the reverse is seldom true. In a gunfight, shot placement is everything. Unfortunately, when choosing a handgun for combat, we risk becoming too interested in absolute accuracy and forget combat accuracy. A fascination with firing small groups on the target, even in combat courses, is counter intuitive to true combat practice.

Sporting clays is quite possibly the ultimate shotgun sport, but also a discipline that a complete beginner can participate in and enjoy as much as the seasoned veteran.

Whether it is old eyes or just plain fun, reactive targets such as Birchwood Casey’s Dirty Bird line of splattering targets increase your shooting experiences. In furtherance of that goal, Birchwood Casey has introduced three new targets.

For many shooters, reloading is a fun, calming, and enjoyable pastime. It can also cause hair loss. I am not sure if there is a more frustrating undertaking than trying to build the perfect load. That being said, and all kidding aside, it does not take a rocket scientist.

After some 45 years of firearms training, begun in a simple setting under the watchful eye of my grandfather, one would think I would be approaching training burnout. But it isn’t so.

If you have never heard of or shot a TrackingPoint, well…you just don’t know what you are missing.

Multi-gun competitions are huge right now, and with big events like the ones in the 3-Gun Nation Pro Series,

Earlier this year, ArmaLite announced several new products to be released this year—including two models of competition rifles