08/21/2026
๐ง๐ช๐ข ๐ฆ๐ง๐จ๐๐๐ก๐ง๐ฆ.
๐ง๐ช๐ข ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ง ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฆ ๐ข๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ก๐๐.
๐ง๐ช๐ข ๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ง ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐-๐๐ก๐-๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ.
Last night, Mary Beth Williams and her husband Kevin came out for marksmanship training.
They originally contacted us because they wanted to attend our concealed carry class this Saturday, August 22nd.
As we do with everyone who registers for our concealed carry classes, we explained that there is a live-fire shooting qualification at the end of the class and recommended that anyone with little handgun experience, or anyone who is a little rusty, consider doing some marksmanship training with us beforehand.
Mary Beth decided that she and Kevin would take us up on that recommendation.
We're glad they did.
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When they arrived, we spent some time getting to know them and learning about their experience.
Kevin is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. He has experience with fi***rms, but told us that his experience with handguns was limited and that he had never really received formal instruction on handgun marksmanship.
Mary Beth had considerably less experience.
She told us that she first shot a fi***rm about two years ago and had only shot a couple of times since.
She also told us something we hear fairly often, particularly from people who are new to fi***rms.
When she had gone shooting in the past, someone else would load the fi***rm and basically handle everything for her. She would simply point the pistol and pull the trigger.
She wanted to change that.
She wanted to actually understand how to safely handle and operate a handgun, how to shoot it effectively, and what she would need to do if she ever needed to use one to defend herself.
Kevin was very happy that she was willing to get proper training.
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After discussing their experience and goals, we covered fi***rm safety and range safety.
Then we went outside.
Before we provide any formal marksmanship instruction, we have every student fire 10 rounds from 7 yards.
We do this for a very simple reason:
๐ช๐ ๐ช๐๐ก๐ง ๐ง๐ข ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ช ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ง ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ง.
It gives us a baseline.
It allows us to see what each student is doing naturally.
And it gives us an opportunity to identify habits or mistakes that may be affecting their accuracy.
Mary Beth's first target showed us that there was quite a bit for us to work on.
Her shots were spread out, and all of them were impacting high. As we watched her shoot, we could see that her grip was incorrect and that she was having problems with her trigger manipulation.
Kevin's first target was considerably tighter. His group was roughly 3โ4 inches, but it was consistently a couple of inches low and slightly right of the bullseye.
So although they were shooting the same fi***rm and the same course of fire, they had very different things that needed to be addressed.
And that's one of the reasons we believe individualized instruction is so important.
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We went back inside and got to work.
We covered the fundamentals of safe and effective handgun marksmanship.
Rather than simply explaining everything and expecting students to remember it, we demonstrate each fundamental, explain why it matters, and then work directly with each student to make sure they can actually apply it.
For Mary Beth, we worked on her grip, using the sights correctly, and trigger manipulation.
For Kevin, we identified some smaller issues with his grip and trigger manipulation and worked on correcting them.
We also used our indoor laser training simulator to evaluate their performance and reinforce what we had just taught.
Once we were satisfied with their progress, we went back outside.
Same distance.
Same 10-round exercise.
Then we compared the targets.
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๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐'๐ฆ ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ง
The difference was obvious.
Her first target was scattered, with every shot impacting high.
After training, all 10 shots were in the black.
Her shots were more consistent, and her overall group had tightened considerably.
But what Mary Beth told us afterward was even more important than what we saw on the target.
She said the training finally helped her understand how the sights, grip, and trigger all work together to affect accuracy.
She said she now has a much better understanding of what she's doing and what she needs to work on.
And she said something that we completely agree with:
Now she just needs to go practice.
Exactly.
Training can give you the knowledge and technique.
Practice is what turns that into a skill.
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๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ก'๐ฆ ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ง
Kevin's results were impressive for a different reason.
He was already shooting reasonably well when he arrived.
His first group was approximately 3โ4 inches.
After working on his grip and trigger manipulation, his second group was less than 1.5 inches in diameter.
Every shot landed within the 9-ring, low and just slightly left of center.
That's an exceptionally tight group.
Kevin told us that the work we did with his grip and trigger manipulation made the biggest difference for him.
And this is something we want people to understand about our marksmanship training:
๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐๐ข๐ก'๐ง ๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฃ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ก๐ฆ๐ง๐ฅ๐จ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก.
Kevin was already capable of passing the concealed carry shooting qualification when he walked through our doors.
He still improved.
And that's the point.
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In fact, both Mary Beth and Kevin were already capable of passing the North Carolina concealed carry shooting qualification before they trained with us.
They didn't come because they couldn't pass.
They came because they wanted to be better prepared.
Mary Beth left more comfortable, more knowledgeable, and more confident.
Kevin left with a significantly tighter shot group and a better understanding of the areas where he could continue improving.
๐ง๐๐๐ง'๐ฆ ๐ช๐๐๐ง ๐ช๐ ๐ช๐๐ก๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ง๐จ๐๐๐ก๐ง.
We don't want you to simply pass a qualification.
We want you to leave training better than when you arrived.
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๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ก๐ฆ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐๐ก๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ก'๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฆ.
We've trained people who had never touched a fi***rm before.
We've trained people who hadn't fired a handgun in decades.
We've trained military personnel and law enforcement officers.
We've trained experienced shooters.
We've even worked with competitive shooters.
Everyone comes to us with different experience, different strengths, and different things they need to improve.
๐ช๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐ช๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ฅ๐.
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And if you're taking our concealed carry class this Saturday - or any of our upcoming classes - we strongly recommend marksmanship training beforehand if you have little handgun experience or haven't shot in a while.
There is a live-fire qualification at the end of the concealed carry class.
A lot of people arrive for a concealed carry class worried about whether they're going to be able to pass it.
We've had students tell us they haven't fired a handgun in years.
We've even had students who had never touched a fi***rm before coming to us.
That anxiety can make an already long day much more difficult.
Getting some hands-on training beforehand allows you to walk into the concealed carry class with a better understanding of how to safely handle the fi***rm and what you need to do to shoot accurately.
And, to date, every student who has completed marksmanship training with us has subsequently passed our concealed carry live-fire qualification.
That includes students who had never touched a fi***rm before training with us.
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๐ช๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐ก๐๐๐.
โ๏ธ Handgun
โ๏ธ Am******on
โ๏ธ Targets
โ๏ธ Eye protection
โ๏ธ Hearing protection
โ๏ธ Indoor laser training simulator
โ๏ธ Personalized instruction
๐ฒ $100 per person, per session.
You don't need to own a handgun.
You don't need to buy am******on.
You don't need expensive equipment.
And you don't need to already be a good shooter.
If you're interested, send us a message.
Tell us about your experience, what you'd like to improve, and what you're hoping to accomplish.
We'll help you figure out where to start.
๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐๐ข๐ก'๐ง ๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ข๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐๐ก.
๐บ๐ธ American Marksmanship Academy L.L.C.
