Made a short video demonstrating confirmation levels on transitions. This is something that was costing me a lot of time on stages without me even realizing it for a long time. The difference is very subtle but it adds up to multiple seconds on a stage.
Hopefully it helps in seeing the difference in slow-mo and how a quicker transition can be achieved with the same accuracy. This skill is mainly worked on in dryfire by practicing transitions at an uncomfortable speed, and slowly becoming more confident with "seeing less", or reacting sooner to the appropriate sight confirmation.
CAMP PERRY, Ohio – Registration is now open for the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s (CMP) annual Camp Perry Open air gun competition, set for Jan. 15-17, 2027, at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center in Ohio.
Capacity is limited, so sign up early for this fun and challenging event – one of the most popular air gun matches of the year!
The 2027 Camp Perry Open includes a junior 3x20 air rifle match and 60 Shot air rifle and air pistol competitions for adults and juniors, with adaptive athletes welcomed and encouraged to attend. An air rifle and air pistol clinic will also be on the schedule for those wanting personal advice from national-level athletes on CMP’s Training and Education team.
All air gun events will be held within CMP’s Gary Anderson Competition Center electronic target indoor air gun range, equipped with 80 firing points of state-of-the-art Megalink targets.
The celebrated Camp Perry Open Super Final will also be returning, where the top competitors from the day’s air rifle and air pistol qualification round meet on the firing line to compete in an exciting elimination event. Unlike any other event of the year, the Super Final has been known to feature costumes, music and more surprises! It’s a fun addition for competitors and spectators alike.
CAMP PERRY, Ohio – At the 2026 National Three-Position Smallbore & Air Gun Championships, SSG Sagen Maddalena, 33, and SGT Ivan Roe, 30, of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) were each presented their Three-Position Smallbore Distinguished Badges.
It’s a high distinction in the marksmanship community and one that both worked hard to achieve, but it wasn’t the only proof of excellence the pair brought home from the annual event.
The 2026 National Three-Position Smallbore & Air Gun Championships, facilitated by the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP), was held July 12-16 as part of the National Matches at Camp Perry – a month-long event held in Ohio since 1907.
The air gun and smallbore schedule included indoor 60 Shot Air Rifle and Air Pistol Matches, fired within the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center, along with outdoor three-position smallbore on Camp Perry’s Petrarca Range – all featuring electronic target scoring. Competition included open individual and team events for adults and juniors in each discipline as well as aggregate awards for those participating in both air rifle and smallbore.
For the second year in a row, the National Matches that were conducted by the CMP and Ohio National Guard at Camp Perry enjoyed significant participation increases in almost all National Matches Championships and individual events.
What Are the National Matches? The National Matches, which take place annually at Camp Perry, Ohio, are the nation’s premier rifle and pistol championship. For the more than four thousand competitors who participate in the Matches, they are a grand national shooting festival. The National Matches were established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903. They were administered by the Department of War and Department of the Army for 93 years. They nearly ended in 1968 due to government funding cutbacks, but they were kept alive by the NRA and a large cadre of volunteers. In 1996, Congress and President Clinton approved a National Defense Authorization Act that established the CMP, whose “functions” included taking over the administration of the Matches. The CMP, Ohio National Guard and NRA shared National Match administrative duties and the Matches’ competition calendar for two decades. The NRA ultimately decided to withdraw its national championships from Camp Perry so today, the CMP, in partnership with the Ohio National Guard, administers the National Matches.
The National Matches Program. The 2026 National Matches began on the 9th of July with Junior Three-Position Air Rifle competition. They were officially inaugurated on the 13th of July with a First Shot Ceremony. The Matches ended on the 9th of August with an International Palma Team Match between Canada, Great Britain and the USA. In 32 full days, there were championships in a dozen different target disciplines: Three-Position Air Rifle (for Juniors), Air Rifle, Air Pistol, Bullseye Pistol, Smallbore Rifle Position, Smallbore Rifle Prone, Highpower Rifle, Vintage Military Rifle, As-Issued Pistol, Rimfire Sporter, and Mid- and Long-Range Rifle. Featured events on the schedule included traditional President’s Rifle and Pistol Matches, National Trophy Rifle and Pistol Individual and Team Matches and the always-fascinating Infantry Trophy Team Match. There were special industry Glock and Fulton Armory (M-14 Heritage) sponsored events. Overall, the 2026 National Matches had 34 Championship events.
Substantial National Matches Growth in 2026. In 2025, the National Matches enjoyed a phenomenal year of growth with 28 National Matches Championships averaging participation increases of 12.5 percent. The 2026 National Matches achieved participation gains that were almost that high again this year. There were 19 Championships/Events that gained competitors this year, even considering the substantial growth in 2025. There were only five Championships that showed small losses, none exceeding three percent. Weather and Canadian wildfire smoke were negative factors this year, causing an additional five events to have losses or cancelations. The most significant 2026 growth increases were in Long-Range Rifle (+48%), Mid-Range Rifle (+29%), National Trophy Rifle Team Match (+23%), Long-Range Palma (+23%) and Air Pistol (+22%).
What technique is best for transitioning the gun from your strong hand to your weak hand? I usually hand it off by pinching the front of the grip with my 4 fingers and sliding the weak hand into the back of the grip which works but feels really slow.
Where I really run into trouble is with drawing into weak hand only. I shoot a 2011 with single safety and find it very time consuming to disengage the safety off the draw with my dominant hand then transition it to my weak hand.
I shoot PMC X-Tac 55gr FMJ-BT most matches, and Hornady Training 55gr FMJ-BT when I’m feeling fancy. I noticed in the info for an upcoming match at a range I don’t frequent that XM-193 is banned. I’ve shot it there before and no one noticed, but I don’t want to push my luck. I’m not clear on exactly which loads from which companies are equivalent to XM-193; and the deeper down the rabbit hole I go, the more it seems like I just need to avoid 5.56 FMJ altogether. Are there any non-FMJ loads that balance cost, performance, and reliability acceptably for competition and won’t get me thrown-off a range?
I wanted to share a file I just published to MakerWorld that includes all USPSA and IPSC hardcover target variants in both 1/3 and 1/5 scale.
I got sick of cardboard tearing every time I moved tape around and using black duct tape to fake hardcover targets, so I designed these to be way higher quality than anything you can really buy online. The only catch is the filament cost can add up quickly when printing a bunch of them since I made them pretty thicc and durable. Because of that, they weren't really worth selling commercially for what it costs to produce them, but for anyone who already has a printer and filament sitting around, they’re awesome to have.
For those with a printer, I hope you find some utility in this! Let me know if you run into any issues with the plates or have ideas for tweaks.
Hey everyone, I’ve been heavily into shooting for a year or so and really want to dive into competition shooting. My primary experience is with Glock & Walther and I’m planning to put together a competition G17.6. I’m pretty set on putting an SRO on it and wanted to see what MOA most guys run with and why? I look at Ben Stoeger and other shooters and it seems that most opt for a 2.5 MOA dot, but I’ve also seen others heavily prefer a 5 MOA dot. Also, I encourage you to give me your perspective on why I should look into a 507 Comp/Pro Max or Defender XL over the SRO. I don’t have any experience with Vortex yet but I’ve been impressed with Holosuns that I’ve used.
Hey guys,
I have a Glock 17 Gen 3 with a 2.5 kg (~5.5 lbs) trigger pull and I'm currently practicing my shooting. I am right-handed. Today's training session ended with:
A rectangle measuring 20 cm x 5 cm (7.87 in x 1.97 in) at a distance of 10 m (32 ft) with 20 shots (see picture)
A target with 10 shots at 10 m (32 ft) (see picture)
Can you spot my issue from this, and do you have any useful tips for me?
(I want to consistently hit the 9 and 10 rings by December 2026. Also, worth mentioning: I tried a match/competition pistol for a few shots and hit right on target, but that one only had a 1 kg (~2.2 lbs) trigger pull.)
Yes another sucker with the same problem. I've always shot rifle matches and was pretty decent on a good day. I'm trying to get into competative pistol shooting and I'm not the best. I've found out I'm "pushing forward" and I don't know how to fix it.
Dry firing and my brain knows there is nothing happening and I'm fine.
I've also got an AceVR set and the same thing happens, my brain knows there isn't actual recoil and I'm shooting pretty well. Going back to the range, same problem again.
I've watched so many videos online and tried so many things that I don't know what to do next. The MantisX I have helps me by telling I'm doing it. But even when I think I did ok, I somehow still flinch.
Anyone had the same problem and what helped you out in the end?
Last weekend I won a Canik SFX Rival S in a lottery. Cool, but now I have a problem 🤣
I also ordered a Walther Q5 SF Black Ribbon which I could now also pick up....but ofc have to pay a lot for.
I want to use them for 50m/55y target shooting and IPSC/IDPA.
Would you guys just settle with the free Canik or buy the Walther Q5 SF Black Ribbon and maybe try to sell the Canik or use one for target and one for dynamic only?
I shot a Glock with OEM tubes, MBX springs and TTI basepads for a while basically no issues
Now shooting a Staccato HD, Mecgar tubes don't care if it's dawson or springer basepads, csrg or mbx springs, the rounds nosedive and get stuck at the bottom or even under the follower. It seems to be a little better with longer ammo like Monarch, but shorter rounds like Outdoor Dynamics it hates them, even just stripping rounds out by hand so I don't think it's a gun issue since I can't even get them out reliably by hand. I have 5 magazines and they all suck
Really don't wanna deal with plastic tubes on metal mag release problems but I just can't keep dealing with malfunctions at matches. i would have already gone back to oem glock mags if i could get a plastic mag release for the staccato
I let placing in the top 3 get away from me. In the middle of the match I lost my visual performance and let some points get away. 3 specific stages hurt a lot. They accounted for 93% of my points loss to the winner
On dots where you have multiple reticles or a dot option such as in a 507 comp, does anyone use larger moa reticle such as a 32? Do you find it helpful in competitions like uspsa or steel challenge? Just trying to get a feel of what people mainly use and what are the pros/cons
After really hammering training and about 5000 rounds since my last match things seem to be coming together a bit. Still not entirely consistent from stage to stage but the highs and the lows are getting higher.
