Connecticut’s new “convertible pistol” ban was supposed to take effect on October 1, 2026. Instead, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction only hours before the deadline, allowing Connecticut dealers to continue importing, advertising and selling affected Glock pistols.

That is a significant Second Amendment victory.

The Connecticut Glock ban attempted to punish ordinary semiautomatic pistols because a criminal might deliberately modify one with an illegal machine-gun conversion device. The government’s theory was essentially that a lawful Glock should be prohibited because somebody could combine it with an unlawful Glock switch.

Judge Kari A. Dooley concluded that the challenged provisions are likely unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.

The injunction does not end the lawsuit, and it does not legalize Glock switches. It prevents Connecticut from enforcing its new restrictions while the constitutional challenge continues.

What Happened to the Connecticut Glock Ban?

Connecticut enacted a law prohibiting the sale, importation, advertisement and offer for sale of certain “convertible pistols.”

The restrictions targeted semiautomatic handguns with a cruciform trigger bar that the state considered readily convertible into machine guns. Although the statutory language was broader than one manufacturer, Glock pistols were plainly the principal target.

The prohibition was scheduled to begin October 1, 2026. Violations could carry felony penalties, including as much as five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Glock, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, another manufacturer and a Connecticut firearms retailer challenged the law in federal court. On September 30, Judge Dooley granted preliminary relief, concluding that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their Second Amendment claim.

The Connecticut Glock injunction was issued shortly before the law’s effective date⁠, preventing an immediate disruption of lawful handgun sales.

Can Connecticut Gun Stores Still Sell Glock Pistols?

Yes. While the preliminary injunction remains effective, Connecticut businesses may continue lawfully importing, advertising, offering and selling Glock pistols covered by the challenged provisions.

That includes pistols manufactured on or after October 1, 2026, which the state intended to block from ordinary commercial sale.

Dealers should still follow every other applicable federal and Connecticut requirement. The injunction addresses the new convertible-pistol provisions; it does not erase Connecticut’s other handgun restrictions, permit requirements, magazine limits or transfer procedures.

Buyers should also recognize that a preliminary injunction is temporary judicial relief. The case continues, and the order could eventually be modified, overturned or replaced by a final judgment.

For now, however, the Connecticut Glock ban is blocked.

Are Glock Switches Legal Now?

No.

A Glock switch, auto sear or machine-gun conversion device remains heavily restricted under federal law. Installing one can transform a semiautomatic pistol into a machine gun for purposes of the National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act.

The injunction protects lawful pistols. It does not authorize illegal machine-gun conversions.

That distinction destroys much of the state’s public-relations argument.

Machine-gun conversion devices were already illegal. Possessing an unlawfully converted pistol was already illegal. Using one during a violent crime was already illegal.

Connecticut nevertheless chose to regulate the unmodified handgun owned by peaceful citizens.

Government frequently behaves as though adding another prohibition will finally persuade a criminal who ignored the previous twelve. The people most affected are dealers who follow the law and citizens who purchase firearms for home defense, concealed carry, competition and recreation.

Why Did the Judge Find a Second Amendment Problem?

The Supreme Court’s Bruen framework requires the government to justify a firearm restriction using the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.

The court first asks whether the Second Amendment’s plain text covers the conduct. If it does, the government must identify a sufficiently similar historical tradition supporting the restriction.

Connecticut faced an obvious problem: the prohibited pistols are ordinary semiautomatic handguns commonly possessed for lawful purposes.

The state was not merely prohibiting an attached machine-gun conversion device. It was restricting the commercial availability of unmodified pistols based on what somebody might later do with an illegal part, common tools and criminal intent.

According to reporting on the order, Judge Dooley found that Connecticut had not carried its historical burden and that the disputed provisions were likely unconstitutional.

That conclusion matters beyond Connecticut. If the government could ban a common handgun because it might be illegally altered, the same theory could threaten numerous pistols and rifles.

A firearm does not lose constitutional protection merely because a criminal can misuse tools.

What Is a “Convertible Pistol”?

Connecticut’s law described a convertible pistol as a semiautomatic handgun capable of being readily converted into a machine gun through installation or attachment of a pistol converter.

The law particularly targeted pistols employing a cruciform trigger bar. That component functions as part of the linkage between the trigger and firing mechanism and is associated with traditional Glock designs.

The statutory approach created several serious questions:

• What does “readily converted” mean?
• Which tools count as common household tools?
• Which Glock generations and models are covered?
• Would replacement internal parts change a pistol’s legal classification?
• How could a dealer confidently determine whether a newly manufactured pistol complied?
• Why should an unmodified handgun be blamed for an illegal device that is not attached to it?

Those are not abstract questions when an incorrect answer could become a felony.

Vague gun laws are especially dangerous because their uncertainty chills lawful conduct. Dealers stop stocking products, distributors stop shipping them and citizens avoid purchases—not because a court has found the conduct unlawful, but because nobody wants to become the government’s test case.

Does the Injunction Cover Every Connecticut Gun Owner?

The order blocks enforcement of the challenged provisions, but it should not be mistaken for a final nationwide ruling about every pistol-conversion law.

This case concerns Connecticut’s specific statute and defendants. Similar restrictions in New York, Maryland and other jurisdictions involve different language, effective dates and pending litigation.

Connecticut residents should continue watching:

• Further district-court proceedings
• Any appeal seeking to suspend or reverse the injunction
• Guidance from Connecticut firearms regulators
• Dealer and distributor policy changes
• Glock announcements concerning compliant or redesigned models
• Related challenges to “machine gun convertible pistol” laws in other states

The immediate result is straightforward: Connecticut’s October 1 sales prohibition did not take effect as planned.

What Does This Mean for Existing Glock Owners?

The blocked law primarily concerned importing, advertising, offering and selling covered pistols. It was not a general confiscation order directed at every existing Connecticut Glock owner.

Current owners should not interpret the injunction as permission to install a switch, auto sear or any other machine-gun conversion device. Those devices remain illegal for ordinary unlicensed possession under federal law.

Owners should also avoid relying on social-media summaries that claim either “Glocks are illegal in Connecticut” or “the judge legalized machine guns.” Both statements are nonsense.

The accurate summary is:

• Ordinary Glock pistols remain lawful subject to Connecticut’s other laws.
• The new convertible-pistol sales restrictions are presently blocked.
• Glock switches remain illegal.
• The constitutional lawsuit is still active.

Why This Case Matters Outside Connecticut

The Connecticut Glock lawsuit attacks a growing gun-control strategy: regulating a lawful firearm according to an illegal modification it does not contain.

That strategy reverses ordinary responsibility. Instead of punishing the individual who possesses an illegal conversion device, the government burdens millions of peaceful owners whose pistols remain completely semiautomatic.

The same logic could be applied far beyond Glock.

Numerous firearms can be illegally modified by somebody with sufficient knowledge, parts and determination. The existence of criminal alteration does not convert every unmodified firearm into contraband.

Handguns also sit at the center of the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that handguns are commonly chosen for lawful self-defense. A state cannot evade that protection by inventing a menacing new label for an ordinary pistol.

Calling a Glock a “machine gun convertible pistol” does not make it a machine gun. It makes it a semiautomatic pistol described by politicians who would prefer voters not notice the difference.

The Government Targeted the Wrong People

Violent criminals using illegal switches should be arrested and prosecuted. Dealers selling lawful pistols and citizens buying defensive handguns should be left alone.

That should not be controversial.

The Connecticut law instead threatened lawful businesses with felony penalties while pretending another prohibition would somehow influence criminals already willing to possess illegal machine guns.

Gun-control policy repeatedly places the largest burdens on the people most likely to obey it. That is not an accidental side effect. Restricting lawful ownership is the policy.

An armed citizen selecting a Glock 19 for concealed carry or a Glock 17 for home defense is not responsible for somebody else’s illegal conversion device. Private gun ownership remains an essential safeguard because government cannot guarantee protection when an attack begins.

Final Verdict

The Connecticut Glock ban is blocked, but the case is not over.

Judge Dooley’s preliminary injunction prevents enforcement of the new convertible-pistol restrictions while the lawsuit proceeds. Connecticut dealers may continue selling affected Glock pistols, and lawful buyers are not currently subject to the October 1 prohibition.

Glock switches remain illegal. Unlawfully converting a pistol remains illegal. None of that changed.

What changed is that Connecticut cannot presently ban ordinary semiautomatic handguns merely because a criminal might alter one with a prohibited device.

That is the correct result.

Punish the person who commits the crime. Seize the illegal conversion device. Prosecute unlawful machine-gun possession.

Leave the peaceful gun owner and his unmodified Glock alone.

GarandThumb.com was established on May 4, 2012, to document my experiences trying to become a better marksman.

Can 18-year-olds buy handguns now?

The Justice Department concluded on September 18, 2026, that the federal ban preventing licensed gun dealers from selling handguns to lawful adults between 18 and 20 years old is unconstitutional and cannot be criminally enforced.

That is a major victory for young-adult gun rights. It does not, however, guarantee that every 18-year-old can immediately buy a handgun from every FFL in every state.

The federal statutory language has not been repealed. State handgun age limits still apply. Buyers under 21 may still face an extended background check, and some gun stores may await updated ATF guidance before changing their policies.

Here is what the DOJ handgun decision actually means for 18-to-20-year-old gun buyers, ammunition sales, federal firearms licensees and Pennsylvania residents.

What Did DOJ Change About the Federal Handgun Age Limit?

Federal law traditionally prohibited a federally licensed firearms dealer from selling a handgun or handgun ammunition to anyone under 21.

An 18-year-old could buy a rifle or shotgun from an FFL, but not a handgun. Federal law also allowed certain lawful private handgun transfers to adults beginning at 18, depending on state law.

That created a ridiculous system in which a lawful 19-year-old could own a handgun but could not buy the same pistol from a licensed dealer conducting a federal background check.

The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel finally admitted that the federal handgun age restriction cannot be reconciled with the Second Amendment.

The complete DOJ opinion concerning young-adult handgun purchases⁠ concludes that 18-to-20-year-olds are members of “the people” protected by the Constitution. Handguns are common arms used for lawful self-defense, and the government failed to identify an adequate historical tradition of disarming lawful adults merely because they had not reached 21.

The Justice Department’s official September 18 announcement⁠ says 18 U.S.C. §§922(b)(1) and 922(c)(1) cannot be criminally enforced against dealers selling handguns to otherwise lawful adults ages 18 through 20.

Can an 18-Year-Old Buy a Handgun From an FFL Today?

Potentially, but the practical answer depends on the dealer, current ATF implementation and state law.

DOJ has declared that prosecuting an FFL for selling a handgun to an otherwise lawful 18-to-20-year-old would be unconstitutional. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is part of the Justice Department, so that conclusion carries enormous weight inside the federal executive branch.

However, the old ATF minimum-age guidance⁠ still states that an FFL may not sell a handgun or handgun ammunition to anyone under 21.

That contradiction will not inspire confidence at the average gun counter.

Until ATF publishes clear updated instructions, some dealers may complete handgun sales to lawful adults ages 18 through 20, while others may refuse the transaction or wait for additional guidance.

A young buyer should contact the dealer before traveling and ask:

• Does the store now sell handguns to lawful buyers ages 18 through 20?
• Has the dealer received updated ATF instructions?
• Will the transaction use the ordinary Form 4473 and NICS procedure?
• Does the state impose a separate handgun purchase age?
• Will the under-21 enhanced background check delay the transfer?

A constitutional right should not depend upon which compliance memo reached the gun store that morning, but that is where decades of badly written firearm law have left us.

Was the Under-21 Handgun Ban Repealed?

No. Congress has not repealed the federal handgun age-limit language.

The September 2026 DOJ decision is an Office of Legal Counsel opinion and executive-branch enforcement position. It is not a Supreme Court ruling, a nationwide injunction or a new federal statute.

The distinction matters:

• The disputed federal provisions remain printed in the United States Code.
• DOJ says they cannot constitutionally be enforced against otherwise lawful young adults buying handguns.
• Federal courts are not automatically bound by an OLC opinion.
• A future administration could attempt to reverse the position.
• State minimum-age laws remain separate and enforceable unless successfully challenged.

The immediate legal result is still important. A criminal restriction becomes largely useless when the department responsible for prosecution concludes that enforcing it would violate the Constitution.

Congress should remove the unconstitutional language instead of leaving another legal corpse inside the federal firearm code for bureaucrats to trip over.

Do Buyers Under 21 Still Face an Enhanced Background Check?

Yes, the separate enhanced background-check process for buyers under 21 may still apply.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act created additional records checks for firearm purchasers younger than 21. The system may examine available juvenile-justice and mental-health records and can delay a transfer for as long as ten business days.

The DOJ opinion addresses the age-based prohibition on dealer handgun sales contained in §§922(b)(1) and 922(c)(1). It does not announce that every federal provision affecting buyers under 21 has vanished.

An 18-to-20-year-old handgun buyer should still expect to:

• Complete ATF Form 4473
• Pass the applicable NICS background check
• Comply with the enhanced under-21 records-review process
• Satisfy state background-check and transfer requirements
• Comply with dealer policies while federal guidance develops

The decision means a lawful adult cannot be categorically denied a common defensive handgun merely because he is 18, 19 or 20. It does not exempt young buyers from the background checks applied by current law.

Can 18-Year-Olds Buy Handgun Ammunition?

DOJ’s announcement also addresses dealer sales of handgun ammunition to lawful adults ages 18 through 20.

Traditional federal policy prohibited an FFL from selling handgun ammunition to anyone under 21. Ammunition used in both rifles and handguns created additional confusion because the dealer sometimes had to determine the buyer’s intended use.

The DOJ decision undermines enforcement of that age-21 restriction against otherwise lawful young adults purchasing handgun ammunition.

Actual store policies may take time to change. Corporate retailers in particular may preserve a blanket age-21 rule as company policy even if federal prosecutors will no longer enforce the former statutory restriction.

A store may impose a policy stricter than federal law. That does not make the policy intelligent, fair or pro-Second Amendment.

Does the Decision Cover Frames, Receivers and Pistol-Grip Firearms?

Do not automatically assume it does.

Federal dealers traditionally treat a firearm frame, receiver and certain firearms classified as “other” as unavailable to buyers under 21 because those items are not completed rifles or shotguns.

The DOJ opinion specifically addresses young adults purchasing handguns and handgun ammunition under §§922(b)(1) and 922(c)(1). It should not be casually stretched into a claim that every firearm categorized as “other” is immediately available to an 18-year-old.

Buyers interested in stripped AR-15 receivers, pistol frames, Mossberg Shockwave-style firearms or other unusual classifications should wait for specific ATF guidance applicable to those products.

Firearm law is already full of traps created by definitions that contradict ordinary English. Guessing at how a new constitutional opinion applies to a stripped receiver is an excellent way to volunteer as an unpaid test case.

Can an 18-Year-Old Buy a Handgun in a Private Sale?

Federal law has long treated private handgun transfers differently from dealer sales.

An unlicensed person generally cannot transfer a handgun or handgun ammunition to someone the transferor knows or reasonably believes is under 18. State law may impose a higher minimum age, require dealer processing or prohibit private transfers.

Therefore, the federal minimum age for certain lawful private handgun transfers was already 18 rather than 21.

The absurdity was obvious: an 18-year-old could potentially acquire a handgun through a lawful private transaction but could not purchase one from an FFL with a federal license, permanent business records and a background-check system.

The federal government was steering young adults away from licensed dealers and pretending that was a safety policy.

Can an 18-Year-Old Buy a Handgun in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania generally prohibits firearm possession by people under 18, subject to exceptions listed in 18 Pa.C.S. §6110.1⁠. Lawful adults ages 18 through 20 are not covered by that general minor-possession prohibition.

Pennsylvania handgun transfers ordinarily must be processed by an FFL or county sheriff unless a statutory exception applies. The transaction includes state paperwork and a Pennsylvania Instant Check System background check.

The DOJ decision may remove the federal criminal-enforcement barrier that prevented an FFL from selling a handgun to a lawful Pennsylvania resident between 18 and 20. Actual dealer practice will depend on updated instructions and the dealer’s willingness to rely upon the DOJ opinion.

Pennsylvania’s concealed-carry age has not changed. The Pennsylvania State Police⁠ states that an applicant must be at least 21 to receive a License to Carry Firearms.

Buying or possessing a handgun is not the same legal question as carrying it concealed or transporting it in a vehicle. An 18-year-old should not read “DOJ handgun decision” and assume Pennsylvania’s carry restrictions disappeared with it.

Why the Federal Handgun Age Ban Was Unconstitutional

An 18-year-old is a legal adult.

He may vote, serve on a jury, sign contracts, enlist in the military and face adult criminal punishment. The government cannot logically claim that he is responsible enough to defend the country but too immature to buy an ordinary handgun for protecting his own home.

At the Founding, militia obligations commonly began at 18. Those young adults were expected to appear with arms.

The federal government failed to identify a comparable historical tradition of categorically preventing lawful 18-to-20-year-olds from acquiring common defensive weapons. That failure is fatal under the Supreme Court’s history-and-tradition test.

The age-21 dealer ban was ideological discrimination against young gun owners. It burdened the peaceful buyer while criminals ignored it, as criminals generally do with gun-control laws.

The need for self-defense does not begin on a person’s twenty-first birthday.

Police are not waiting inside every apartment, workplace or parking garage. An armed citizen may be the only person present when an attack begins. That is why private gun ownership and the good guy with a gun remain important regardless of how desperately anti-gun bigots try to mock the idea.

My article about the CDC restoring defensive-gun-use information⁠ explains why evidence of armed self-defense remains inconvenient to organizations selling civilian helplessness as public policy.

What Happens Next With the Under-21 Handgun Law?

Gun owners and dealers should watch for:

• Updated ATF minimum-age guidance
• Written instructions sent to federal firearms licensees
• Changes to Form 4473 instructions
• New dealer policies concerning handgun buyers under 21
• State lawsuits challenging separate age-21 purchase bans
• Litigation over ammunition, frames and receivers
• Congressional efforts to repeal the unconstitutional statutory language

Expect anti-gun states to defend their own restrictions even after the federal government acknowledged the constitutional problem.

Government rarely surrenders power merely because the Constitution says it should never have possessed that power.

Final Verdict

The September 2026 DOJ handgun decision is a real victory for lawful adults ages 18 through 20.

It does not eliminate background checks, state handgun age restrictions, Pennsylvania transfer requirements or the Commonwealth’s age-21 carry-license rule. It also does not guarantee that every gun dealer has immediately changed its policy.

It does establish that the federal government cannot constitutionally prosecute an FFL merely for selling a common defensive handgun to an otherwise lawful adult between 18 and 20.

An adult is an adult.

Government does not get to demand taxes, military service, jury duty and adult accountability from an 18-year-old while treating him like a child when he wants the means to defend his life.

GarandThumb.com was established on May 4, 2012, to document my experiences trying to become a better marksman.

August 31 marks the end of National Shooting Sports Month.

The guns will remain in the safe. The ammunition will remain stacked in the basement. The expensive optic will remain mounted on the rifle.

The question is whether any of us will be better shooters next month.

Gun owners spend an extraordinary amount of time discussing equipment. We compare triggers, barrels, pistols, optics, holsters, ammunition, slings and whatever accessory gun YouTube decided was indispensable this week.

Buying equipment is entertaining. Training exposes our mistakes.

That is why the first one is more popular.

If you genuinely want to improve your marksmanship, stop waiting for another gun, another accessory or a perfect Saturday at the range. Build a simple shooting practice routine you can repeat every week.

National Shooting Sports Month Is About Participation

The firearm industry created National Shooting Sports Month to encourage Americans to visit ranges, enter matches, introduce new shooters and participate in the shooting sports.

The 2026 theme was “Let Freedom Plink⁠,” timed to coincide with America’s 250th anniversary. A Senate resolution introduced July 30⁠ recognized August 2026 as National Shooting Sports Month and specifically acknowledged target shooting, hunting and competitive marksmanship as American traditions.

That is all good.

Firearm ownership is an individual right, not a government-created sporting privilege. Nobody needs to shoot a match, hunt a deer or obtain a politician’s approval before the Second Amendment protects his firearms.

But exercising a right and developing a skill are different things.

Owning a rifle makes you a rifle owner. Shooting it deliberately makes you a rifleman.

Stop Trying to Purchase Marksmanship

The gun industry survives by selling equipment, so every problem eventually receives a shopping-list solution.

Shots going low left? Buy a trigger.

Slow from the holster? Buy a different pistol.

Poor standing scores? Buy a jacket, glove, sling, weights and some carbon-fiber object whose function nobody can clearly explain.

Sometimes equipment genuinely is the problem. A rifle that will not group, an unreliable pistol, defective ammunition or a holster that interferes with a safe draw should be corrected.

Usually, however, the problem is attached to the gun.

I made this argument years ago in What Gear Do I Need to Be a Competitive Shooter? Nothing⁠. A Pelican case, fashionable range bag and rifle covered in expensive accessories are worth exactly zero points.

Skill comes from practice.

The shooter with an ordinary, reliable firearm he understands will generally outperform the collector who arrives with a different configuration every month and spends the entire range session adjusting it.

Pick useful equipment. Confirm that it works. Then leave it alone long enough to learn something.

Dry Fire Is Real Training

Dry fire is not a poor substitute for shooting. It is one of the most efficient ways to practice important elements of shooting without recoil, noise, ammunition expense or travel.

The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit describes dry firing as an integral part of its training drills⁠, particularly for reinforcing positions and sight pictures.

That should end the argument over whether dry fire “counts.”

It counts when it is performed correctly.

A useful dry-fire session can work on:

• Building a stable position.
• Establishing natural point of aim.
• Mounting the rifle consistently.
• Acquiring the sights.
• Controlling the trigger without disturbing the sight picture.
• Calling the shot.
• Repeating the same process.

The value is repetition without all the wasted time surrounding a live-fire range trip.

My SCATT trainer review⁠ described the biggest advantage plainly: more trigger time, more often. Instead of spending an hour driving, setting up and packing everything away, I could shoot a quick ten-shot string between work and dinner.

You do not need an electronic trainer to begin. A properly prepared firearm and an appropriate target can reveal plenty.

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your firearm. Remove all live ammunition from the training area, verify the firearm’s condition and use a safe backstop. If a particular firearm should not be repeatedly dry-fired without a snap cap, use the correct equipment.

Dry fire is valuable. Careless gun handling is not training.

Build a Shot Process You Can Repeat

Randomly pulling the trigger is not practice merely because bullets hit paper.

Effective practice begins with a defined process.

The CMP’s guidance on preparing for pistol EIC competition⁠ recommends developing a shot process and performing it the same way during dry fire and live fire.

That idea applies well beyond bullseye pistol.

A rifle shot process might include:

1. Establish the position.
2. Confirm natural point of aim.
3. Place the stock and cheek consistently.
4. Settle into the sights.
5. Apply pressure to the trigger.
6. Break the shot without disturbing the sight picture.
7. Follow through.
8. Call the shot.

Write it down if necessary.

The exact wording does not matter. Consistency does.

A shooter who changes his approach every shot cannot determine what caused the result. A repeatable process turns every shot into useful information.

Ten Focused Minutes Beat Two Aimless Hours

A practice routine does not need to dominate your life.

Start with ten focused minutes, three times per week.

For a Service Rifle shooter, that could mean ten carefully executed standing shots. Do not chase speed. Build the position, settle the sights, press the trigger and call every shot.

For a handgun owner, it could mean safe presentations from the holster, sight acquisition and trigger presses conducted under whatever rules govern the training location.

For a hunter, it could mean mounting the unloaded rifle from realistic field positions instead of practicing exclusively from a concrete bench.

The purpose is not to perform the maximum number of repetitions. The purpose is to perform correct repetitions and identify where the process breaks down.

Twenty sloppy trigger pulls teach you to perform twenty sloppy trigger pulls.

Ten deliberate ones may actually improve something.

Live Fire Should Confirm the Work

Dry fire cannot reproduce recoil, muzzle blast, ammunition performance or every pressure of a live range.

That is why live fire remains necessary.

But live fire should test specific skills instead of becoming recreational ammunition disposal.

Before arriving at the range, decide what you are practicing. Bring a notebook or record results on the target. Shoot groups. Call shots before looking at the score. Change one variable at a time.

If the shot appeared low at the moment the trigger broke and the hole is low, that is useful information.

If the shot looked perfect but landed somewhere else, investigate the position, ammunition, sights or rifle.

If every shot is fired as fast as possible at a giant silhouette from seven yards, the target may look satisfyingly abused while telling you almost nothing.

Fun shooting is allowed. Not every cartridge must produce a spreadsheet.

Just do not confuse making noise with building skill.

Competition Reveals What Casual Practice Hides

You do not need to be an elite shooter before entering a match.

That is backwards. Competition is part of how shooters improve.

A match forces you to follow commands, manage time, operate your equipment around other people and produce a score that cannot be explained away by showing everyone the one good target from last month.

The timer, scorecard and other competitors expose weaknesses that casual practice politely conceals.

CMP’s purpose under federal law⁠ includes instructing citizens in marksmanship and promoting firearms safety, training and competition. Its matches exist for ordinary citizens, not just military teams and national champions.

Show up with safe equipment and a willingness to learn.

Nobody begins as an expert. Plenty of people never begin because they are waiting to become one first.

Train With the Gun You Actually Depend On

A person who owns a handgun for self-defense should train with that handgun.

A hunter should practice from the positions he may use in the field.

A Service Rifle competitor should practice the actual course of fire.

This sounds obvious, yet shooters constantly avoid the difficult or inconvenient parts.

They practice from the bench because standing is frustrating. They shoot the full-size pistol because the carry gun is unpleasant. They fire slow groups because drawing, movement or time pressure exposes mistakes.

Practice should not consist exclusively of whatever already feels comfortable.

Work on the weakest safe, lawful and relevant part of your shooting. That is usually where the easiest improvement lives.

Introduce Someone New Without Being an Idiot

Growing the shooting sports matters.

A new shooter’s first range trip should not involve handing him the hardest-recoiling firearm available and recording his reaction for a YouTube clip.

That routine is not funny. It is lazy.

Start with safety, simple instructions, comfortable equipment and an achievable target. Let the new shooter succeed. Do not bury him under tactical jargon or attempt to demonstrate your magnificent authority over every gun-related subject.

The objective is to create another capable gun owner, hunter or competitive shooter—not another person who associates firearms with being embarrassed by an idiot.

Rights survive when people exercise them. Shooting traditions survive when experienced people pass them along.

September Is When the Real Work Starts

National Shooting Sports Month is useful because it directs attention toward ranges, clubs, training and competition.

But marksmanship does not operate on a promotional calendar.

When August ends, set a small training goal for September:

• Complete three short dry-fire sessions each week.
• Enter one local match.
• Introduce one responsible person to shooting.
• Learn one unfamiliar position.
• Record and analyze every live-fire group.
• Stop changing equipment for thirty days.

Do something measurable.

America does not need more gun owners who merely accumulate products and repeat opinions. It needs armed citizens who know their equipment, understand safety, practice marksmanship and can pass those skills to the next person.

Buy guns. Buy ammunition. Support ranges, clubs and American firearm manufacturers without apology.

Then train.

National Shooting Sports Month ends.

Your responsibility for being competent does not.