• SUBSCRIBE TO MAGAZINES
Athlon Outdoors Supersite
Tactical Life Website
Ballistic Website
Personal Defense World Website
Skillsetmag Website
  • Guns
    • Handguns
      • Semi-Automatic Handguns
      • Revolvers
    • Rifles
      • Semi-Automatic Rifles
      • Lever Action
      • Bolt Action
    • Shotguns
    • Airguns
    • Custom Guns
      • Handgun Build
      • Rifle Build
      • Shotgun Build
    • Specialty Guns
  • Parts
    • Handgun Parts
    • Rifle Parts
  • Accessories
    • Optics & Sights
    • Lasers & Lights
    • Suppressors
    • Holsters
    • Slings
    • Shooting Rests
    • Targets
    • Maintenance & Tools
  • Ammo
    • Handgun Ammo
      • 10mm
    • Rifle Ammo
      • .223
    • Shotgun Ammo
      • 12 Gauge
    • Rimfire Ammo
    • Reloading
  • Gear
    • Apparel
    • Ears & Eyes
      • Ears
      • Eyes
        • Thermal Vision
        • Night Vision
    • Storage
    • Tactical Gear
      • Body Armor
    • Knives
      • Tactical Knives
    • Less Lethal
    • Flashlights
  • Lifestyle
    • Concealed Carry
    • Personal Defense
      • Self-Defense
      • Hand to Hand Combat
    • Home Defense
    • Sport Shooting
      • Hunting
      • Competition Shooting
    • Precision Shooting/Long Range Shooting
    • Training
      • Shooting 101
    • Survival
      • First Aid
    • Tactical & LE
    • Pop Culture
      • People
      • Rides
      • History
      • Military
  • News
    • New Products & Industry News
    • Gun Facts & Laws
    • Police News
    • Military News
    • Politics
  • VIDEOS
No Result
View All Result
Athlon Outdoors
  • Guns
    • Handguns
      • Semi-Automatic Handguns
      • Revolvers
    • Rifles
      • Semi-Automatic Rifles
      • Lever Action
      • Bolt Action
    • Shotguns
    • Airguns
    • Custom Guns
      • Handgun Build
      • Rifle Build
      • Shotgun Build
    • Specialty Guns
  • Parts
    • Handgun Parts
    • Rifle Parts
  • Accessories
    • Optics & Sights
    • Lasers & Lights
    • Suppressors
    • Holsters
    • Slings
    • Shooting Rests
    • Targets
    • Maintenance & Tools
  • Ammo
    • Handgun Ammo
      • 10mm
    • Rifle Ammo
      • .223
    • Shotgun Ammo
      • 12 Gauge
    • Rimfire Ammo
    • Reloading
  • Gear
    • Apparel
    • Ears & Eyes
      • Ears
      • Eyes
        • Thermal Vision
        • Night Vision
    • Storage
    • Tactical Gear
      • Body Armor
    • Knives
      • Tactical Knives
    • Less Lethal
    • Flashlights
  • Lifestyle
    • Concealed Carry
    • Personal Defense
      • Self-Defense
      • Hand to Hand Combat
    • Home Defense
    • Sport Shooting
      • Hunting
      • Competition Shooting
    • Precision Shooting/Long Range Shooting
    • Training
      • Shooting 101
    • Survival
      • First Aid
    • Tactical & LE
    • Pop Culture
      • People
      • Rides
      • History
      • Military
  • News
    • New Products & Industry News
    • Gun Facts & Laws
    • Police News
    • Military News
    • Politics
  • VIDEOS
No Result
View All Result
Athlon Outdoors Super Site
No Result
View All Result
  • TL
  • PDW
  • BM
  • Skillset
 
YOU MUST BE A VIP - WELCOME TO THE NEW ATHLON OUTDOORS SUPERSITE! We are excited you are here!!

Redl, Aim Fire: 10 Questions with Mark Redl

ShareTweetPin
Mark Redl Colt Competition Shooting reload

“… when you begin competing, don’t go for the win or glory, but enjoy yourself, be safe and learn.”

Doug LarsonbyDoug Larson
March 22, 2016
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Mark Redl Colt Competition Shooting course
“Competition forces you to learn how to manipulate your gun. If there’s a problem during a stage, you have to safely overcome it and think on your feet.”
Mark Redl Colt Competition Shooting reload
“… when you begin competing, don’t go for the win or glory, but enjoy yourself, be safe and learn.”
Mark Redl Colt Competition Shooting aim
Mark Redl, the IDPA King of New England, blazes through a course with his Colt Combat Elite 1911, which has fired well over 175,000 rounds.

The Team-Colt-sponsored competitive shooter and two-time International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) King of New England title holder, Mark Redl, was recently hired by Colt’s Manufacturing Company as its product manager for handguns. With more than 20 state and regional shooting competition wins over his eight-year professional shooting career, four of which have been shooting for the Colt team, he brings a level of practical and product knowledge to the job, that, according to Paul Spitale, Colt’s senior vice president of commercial business, “will help us usher in the next generation of Colt products.”

  • RELATED STORY: Redl: Colt’s Shooting King of New England
  • RELATED STORY: Colt’s Redl Victorious at ‘Live Free or Die’ IDPA Championship

To find out more about this competitor and now member of the Colt management team, Special Weapons was able to interrupt Redl’s busy schedule and ask him some questions about his shooting and his equipment.

Special Weapons: How long have you been shooting?

Mark Redl: I started in 1981 when I got my permit in New York State to carry concealed firearms. I then realized that I should probably learn how to use the gun properly, so I went to shooting schools run by people like Ken Hackathorn and John Farnam. After I started learning, I looked around for a way to stay proficient, and action shooting competition was the closest thing I could find.

SW: What mindset do you need for competition shooting?

MR: You have to have a positive attitude. I look at each stage as a match, so if I do badly on one stage, I put that out of my mind and move to the next stage. I’ve seen many people shoot a bad stage and then have a negative attitude during every stage after that. They end up having a terrible match.

SW: How often do you practice?

MR: Like most shooters today, I have a full-time job, but I’m lucky and I’m living the dream working for Colt. I’m very busy, but I try to practice with live fire three times a week. The rest of the week, I try to get in at least 20 minutes to half an hour of dry-fire practice. I think anybody who owns a gun should dry fire to learn how to manipulate the gun safely.

SW: What is your typical practice regimen when you go to the range?

MR: After working all day, I’ll pick one or two techniques like transitions or shooting on the move, and concentrate on those, shooting about 150 rounds. On weekends, I’ll shoot no more than 250 to 300 rounds each day, because when you shoot more than that, you start to get fatigued and then get sloppy. Like the old saying, “Perfect practice makes perfect,” not just “practice makes perfect.”

SW: What advice do you have for someone just starting out in the competitive shooting world?

MR: Most people don’t practice the fundamentals enough. In every one of my training sessions, I start and end shooting groups at 25 yards. That builds the fundamentals and also confirms that my gun is sighted in for 25 yards. I also tell people to watch a couple of matches to see how they’re run. Then, when you begin competing, don’t go for the win or glory, but enjoy yourself, be safe and learn.

SW: Are there any real-world benefits from competing that can be applied to self-defense?

MR: Absolutely. Everybody I know who shoots competitively is usually a safer gun handler. Competition forces you to learn how to manipulate your gun. If there’s a problem during a stage, you have to safely overcome it and think on your feet. It also gives you confidence that you can hit what you’re shooting at.

SW: What method of trigger manipulation do you use?

MR: I was taught to keep constant contact on the trigger. Of course, it depends on how close the target is. At 5 to 10 yards, I can be real aggressive on the trigger as long as I keep the sights aligned. With a 25-yard target, you’re going to slow down and press.

SW: It’s been reported that you’ve run over 170,000 rounds through your competition gun. Is that true?

MR: It’s now got 175,000 rounds through it, and those are just my practice rounds. I reload, so I keep the primer packages and know how many rounds I’ve shot. It’s actually the first Colt gun that I was given. All of my Colt guns are taken right off the production floor and are not Custom Shop guns. I run a Combat Elite Series 80 gun, and the only things I did after I got it were clean up the trigger and put a mag well on it. Otherwise, it’s a factory gun with a factory match barrel.

SW: Have you had to replace any parts on the pistol?

MR: I replaced the barrel because I shot it smooth. It had only about half an inch of rifling at the end, and I was starting to get flyers. I also replaced the firing pin because it mushroomed from all the dry firing. But it’s still got the same hammer and sear that Colt put in it when it was brand new.

SW: What maintenance procedures do you practice with that gun?

MR: I’m very religious about totally disassembling the gun before any big match to inspect and clean it. I change the recoil spring every 5,000 rounds and the mainspring every 10,000 rounds. Every year I change the sear spring and mag release springs.

Didn't find what you were looking for?

MOST POPULAR

All the best new handguns seen at SHOT Show 2023.

New for 2023: The 21 Best New Handguns Seen at SHOT Show

10 of the greatest pistol trainers and gunfighters

TOP 10: The Best Shooting Instructors & Gunfighters of All-Time

Police Sidearms, police duty pistols, Handguns, America's Largest Police Departments 2018

Police Sidearms: The Handguns of America’s 10 Largest Departments

Ruger LC Charger Left

NEW for 2023: Ruger LC Charger Brings 5.7x28mm to Pistol Line

TRENDING

Boeing T-X Aircraft reveal

Boeing T-X Aircraft Unveiled For US Air Force T-X Competition

Rocking Out: 9 New Rifle Offerings From Rock River Arms

Rocking Out: 9 New Rifle Offerings From Rock River Arms

Windham Weaponry Carbon Fiber SRC AR-15

Century Arms C39v2 rifle wall

Doomsday AK: Century Arms’ C39v2 Is Your SHTF Insurance

BROWSE BY BRAND

Skillset-Logo_yellow-153x47png
Ballistic_LOGO-217x47
CH-Logo_blue-153x47
T-L-SS-stack life-47x140
PDW_CCH_LOGO-300x101
PDW-2022-Sidebyside-logo 160x30-blk
GOW LOGO x101
AF_LOGO-184x47

SPOTLIGHT

The Blaser R8 Ultimate Carbon Rifle Series

Blaser R8 Ultimate Carbon: Lightweight Hunting Machine in .22-500

Blaser Group just announced the release of its latest rifle introductions. The Blaser R8 Ultimate Carbon bolt-action line adds...

RELATED POSTS

Tisas 1911 Raider

Tisas 1911 Raider: The MARSOC-Inspired Raider Tribute Pistol

...

The new Springfield Armory Saint Victor in tungsten grey finish.

Springfield Armory Adds SAINT Victor 5.56 in Tungsten Grey Finish

...

ZEV Technologies OZ9 V2 Elite pistols

ZEV Technologies OZ9 V2 Elite: Pistol Modularity Redefined

...

Load More

MOST POPULAR

All the best new handguns seen at SHOT Show 2023.

New for 2023: The 21 Best New Handguns Seen at SHOT Show

10 of the greatest pistol trainers and gunfighters

TOP 10: The Best Shooting Instructors & Gunfighters of All-Time

Police Sidearms, police duty pistols, Handguns, America's Largest Police Departments 2018

Police Sidearms: The Handguns of America’s 10 Largest Departments

TRENDING

All the best new handguns seen at SHOT Show 2023.

New for 2023: The 21 Best New Handguns Seen at SHOT Show

The Mossberg MC2sc semi-auto pistol.

12 Best Micro-Compact Handguns for Concealed Carry [2022]

Top 12 .50 BMG Rifles TW March 2015 lead

Top 12 .50 BMG Rifles [2022]

LONG RANGE PRECISION VIDEO SERIES

MORE VIDEOS

The Uzi and its long history in Hollywood movies.

Lights, Camera, Uzis: The History of Hollywood’s Uzi Love Affair

R. Lee Ermey as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman.

In His Own Words: How R. Lee Ermey Became Gunnery Sgt. Hartman

HANDGUNS

Tisas 1911 Raider

Tisas 1911 Raider: The MARSOC-Inspired Raider Tribute Pistol

ZEV Technologies OZ9 V2 Elite pistols

ZEV Technologies OZ9 V2 Elite: Pistol Modularity Redefined

The Beretta 92XI SAO.

Beretta Expands Its Popular 92 Line with the 92XI SAO

Ruger LC Charger Left

NEW for 2023: Ruger LC Charger Brings 5.7x28mm to Pistol Line

The CZ DWX Compact.

First Look: CZ DWX Compact Comes in a Concealed Carry Size

Otto Kron’s WWI Mauser HSc.

History: The Mauser HSc Recovered After a War Criminal’s Capture

RIFLES - click to see all

The Blaser R8 Ultimate Carbon Rifle Series

Blaser R8 Ultimate Carbon: Lightweight Hunting Machine in .22-500

Tisas 1911 Raider

Tisas 1911 Raider: The MARSOC-Inspired Raider Tribute Pistol

Weatherby Model 307 action and rifles.

Weatherby Model 307: First New Weatherby Action in 50+ Years

The new Springfield Armory Saint Victor in tungsten grey finish.

Springfield Armory Adds SAINT Victor 5.56 in Tungsten Grey Finish

AMMO - click to see all

Testing the effective range of the .410 for hunting and survival.

So Just How Far is the Effective .410 Range for Hunting & Survival?

Two new Henry lever-action rifles chamber the Remington 360 Buckhammer.

360 Buckhammer: Core-Lokt Ammo, Henry Levers & the BFR

Arsenal SAM7SF lead AK evergreen

Top 20 AK Rifles & Soviet Weapons

A collection of .45-70 loads for lever-action rifles.

Magnificent 7: Testing Seven of the Best .45-70 Cartridges

Back when the west was wild, coach guns were your best bet against unwanted threats.

Best Coach Guns: the Stow-N-Go Defenders You Want Riding Shotgun [2023]

We tested the performance on eight of the best 9mm defensive loads.

Top Dog 9s: We Tested 8 of the Best 9mm Self-Defense Rounds

Magazines Available Now! Subscribe today for Home Delivery!
FREE NEWSLETTERS! Subscribe!
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • CORPORATE
  • ADVERTISE
  • EDIT DESK
No Result
View All Result
  • Guns
    • Handguns
      • Semi-Automatic Handguns
      • Revolvers
    • Rifles
      • Semi-Automatic Rifles
      • Lever Action
      • Bolt Action
    • Shotguns
    • Airguns
    • Custom Guns
      • Handgun Build
      • Rifle Build
      • Shotgun Build
    • Specialty Guns
  • Parts
    • Handgun Parts
    • Rifle Parts
  • Accessories
    • Optics & Sights
    • Lasers & Lights
    • Suppressors
    • Holsters
    • Slings
    • Shooting Rests
    • Targets
    • Maintenance & Tools
  • Ammo
    • Handgun Ammo
      • 10mm
    • Rifle Ammo
      • .223
    • Shotgun Ammo
      • 12 Gauge
    • Rimfire Ammo
    • Reloading
  • Gear
    • Apparel
    • Ears & Eyes
      • Ears
      • Eyes
    • Storage
    • Tactical Gear
      • Body Armor
    • Knives
      • Tactical Knives
    • Less Lethal
    • Flashlights
  • Lifestyle
    • Concealed Carry
    • Personal Defense
      • Self-Defense
      • Hand to Hand Combat
    • Home Defense
    • Sport Shooting
      • Hunting
      • Competition Shooting
    • Precision Shooting/Long Range Shooting
    • Training
      • Shooting 101
    • Survival
      • First Aid
    • Tactical & LE
    • Pop Culture
      • People
      • Rides
      • History
      • Military
  • News
    • New Products & Industry News
    • Gun Facts & Laws
    • Police News
    • Military News
    • Politics
  • VIDEOS

© 2023 Athlon Outdoors - Premium Firearm product and industry news, reviews and magazines" .