On Target - Why I’m Here

There are some things in life that never really leave you.

For me, shooting is one of them.

I started competing when I was young, and before long, shooting had taken me well beyond the local range. I competed internationally as a teenager and young adult, learned from good coaches, spent countless hours on firing lines, and came to understand that marksmanship is about far more than simply putting a shot in the center of a target.

Then life changed, as it does.

There were years when competition was not at the center of my life. Family, work, responsibilities, and all the ordinary demands of adulthood took their turns. I never stopped being a shooter, but the rhythm was different.

And then, little by little, I found my way back.

The return was not part of some carefully planned comeback. It came through loss, grief, and a search for something familiar after my father - my coach and mentor - died. That story deserves its own telling, and it begins at Friendship.

These days, muzzleloading is where my heart is.

There is something about it that feels different from every other kind of shooting I have done. The history, the craftsmanship, the patience, the smell of black powder, the process of loading one careful shot at a time—it asks you to slow down and pay attention.

It connects the shooter to the rifle in a way I have always loved.

But I am also curious.

I shoot service rifle and small bore. I have been exploring trap and sporting clays. I have stepped into action pistol. Each discipline asks something different of the shooter, and I have discovered that being experienced in one kind of shooting does not mean there is nothing left to learn in another.

Quite the opposite.

That is part of why I am starting On Target.

This will be a place to write about marksmanship, competition, and the life built around them. Muzzleloading will always have a special place here, because it has a special place with me. But I also want room to follow the lessons that come from new disciplines, new challenges, new ranges, and new goals.

Some posts will be practical. Some will be about training, equipment, matches, or things I am trying to improve.

Some will be stories.

Some will be about the people you meet on a firing line, the places shooting takes you, the traditions worth preserving, and the small moments that stay with you long after the targets have been put away.

And some will probably have very little to do with score.

Because after enough years in this sport, you realize that the lessons do not always stay on the range.

Patience matters.

Preparation matters.

Confidence matters.

So does humility.

There are days when everything works. There are days when nothing does. There are shots you remember because they were perfect, and others you remember because they taught you something.

You learn to adjust.

You learn to start again.

You learn to keep going.

I think that is what interests me most now.

Not simply whether I can return to the shooter I once was, but who I might become if I keep learning.

So this is where I will keep track of that journey.

The old disciplines.

The new ones.

The good matches, the bad shots, the people, the road trips, the lessons, the traditions, and whatever happens next.

I hope you will meet me at the line.

Bye for now.