• SUBSCRIBE
Athlon Outdoors Supersite
Tactical Life Website
Ballistic Website
Personal Defense World Website
Skillsetmag Website
  • Guns
    • Handguns
      • Semi-Automatic Handguns
      • Revolvers
    • AR Pistols
    • AR Rifles
    • 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
      • 9mm
      • 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
      • Fixed Blade
      • Folding Knives
      • Tactical Knives
    • Less Lethal
    • Flashlights
    • Electronics
  • 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 Lifestyle
  • 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
    • AR Pistols
    • AR Rifles
    • 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
      • 9mm
      • 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
      • Fixed Blade
      • Folding Knives
      • Tactical Knives
    • Less Lethal
    • Flashlights
    • Electronics
  • 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 Lifestyle
  • 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
 
ENTER TO WIN: FREE GUN FRIDAY ft. Browning, Caldwell & Black Hills!

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

bond arms, bond arms derringer, bond arms derringers, Bond Arms snake slayer

10 of the Best Backcountry Pocket Pistols for Hunting, Self-Defense

13 Best Snub-Nose Revolvers for Concealed Carry [2023]

13 Best Snub-Nose Revolvers for Concealed Carry [2023]

300 Blackout vs 308, rifles, ammunition

300 Blackout vs 308 Win: Which Round Reigns Supreme in AR-15s?

Taurus Home Defender revolver in .410.

KA-BOOM: Here Comes the Taurus Judge Home Defender!

TRENDING

Galco KingTuk for Springfield XD-S

Galco KingTuk for Springfield XD-S Holster Review

DIY Silicon Carbide Coating Grip Step 5

8 Steps For DIY Silicon Carbide Coating Your Grip

Austin Proulx, wilson combat, bill wilson, Austin Proulx pro shooter, Austin Proulx idpa, idpa

Austin Proulx Interviews Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat

Daniel Defense SSP review lead

Daniel Defense SSP 5.56mm Rifle | Gun Review

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

Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle in American Sniper.

Reel Shooters: The Best Movie Snipers & a Few of the Worst

Fans of action and war movies would be forgiven for thinking that trained snipers carry their rifles disassembled in an...

RELATED POSTS

The Swampfox Warhorse 1-6x FFP LPVO.

The Swampfox Warhorse 1-6x FFP LPVO Riflescope

...

The September/October 2023 Issue of Tactical Life Magazine.

Tactical Life September/October 2023: Tactical Reload

...

The limited edition RISE Armament Topo Watchman rifle.

UPDATED: New RISE Armament Topo Watchman Limited-Edition

...

Load More

TRENDING

MeoTac 3-12x50 RD riflescope

MeoTac 3-12×50 RD: Meopta’s Newest Tactical Riflescope

Meopta's 34mm MeoTac 3-12x50 RD will meet the needs of armed forces, security details and tactical shooters.

Taurus Home Defender revolver in .410.

KA-BOOM: Here Comes the Taurus Judge Home Defender!

The home defense revolver just got swole. The new Taurus Judge Home Defender brings a beefed up new version...

10 .22 Pocket Pistols for Last-Ditch Self-Defense.

Best .22 Pistols for Self-Defense [2023]

When it comes to concealed carry, the clear defensive options are typically .380 ACP, 9mm, .45 ACP, 10mm, etc. However,...

13 Best Snub-Nose Revolvers for Concealed Carry [2023]

13 Best Snub-Nose Revolvers for Concealed Carry [2023]

Compact, ultra-reliable and ever-ready for close-range self-defense!

MOST POPULAR

The Mossberg MC2sc semi-auto pistol.

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

A thick veil of fog stood forever in front of me as I cruised down the highway at 6:30 in...

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

Police Sidearms: Handguns of America’s 10 Largest Departments

Law enforcement in the United States is in constant evolution and that includes various police sidearms. These days, law enforcement...

U.S. Secret Service adopts Glock G47

FIRST LOOK: Glock Just Very Quietly Unveiled the New Glock 47 Pistol

Tuesday afternoon we broke news that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection selected three Glock 9mm pistols as its new standard...

All the best new handguns seen at SHOT Show 2023.

21 Best New Handguns [2023]

The NSSF SHOT Show is the premier event to get your hands on new gear. It gives us a first...

VIDEO SERIES: AT THE READY | SEASON 2

MORE VIDEOS

The Streamlight SpeedLocker.

The Streamlight SpeedLocker Portable Locking Storage Container

The Swampfox Warhorse 1-6x FFP LPVO.

The Swampfox Warhorse 1-6x FFP LPVO Riflescope

HANDGUNS

The SK Customs Morelos.

SK Customs Morelos 1911 Heralds Generalissimo Jose Morelos

The Tisas Model 1911A1 Aviator

Tisas 1911A1 Aviator: Bringing Back the ‘Feel’ of the Original

The Sig Sauer P226 Zev.

The Sig Sauer P226 Zev Reviewed: Is It the Best P226 Ever?

The Girsan High Power Negotiator.

The Girsan Negotiator Series Gets a High Power Addition in 9mm

Taurus Home Defender revolver in .410.

KA-BOOM: Here Comes the Taurus Judge Home Defender!

holster, holsters, full-size pistol, full-size handgun, handgun, handguns, pistol, pistols

Practical Concealed Carry: How to Carry A Full-Size Pistol

RIFLES - click to see all

The limited edition RISE Armament Topo Watchman rifle.

UPDATED: New RISE Armament Topo Watchman Limited-Edition

The MDC “Trench Art” Classic AK-47 Rifle.

MDC “Trench Art” Classic AK-47 is Back with Limited Availability

Davidson's Ruger American Predator

Ready to Pounce: Ruger American Predator From Davidson’s

The Exclusive HKMR762A1 from Davidson's.

Davidson’s HK MR762A1 in 7.62mm Brings Exclusive Battle Rifle

AMMO - click to see all

Ammo Storage, Survival Ammo, long term ammo storage, Prepper

Best Methods for Long-Term Ammo Storage

6 .410 Ammo Options for Home and Personal Defense.

.410 Ammo for Home Defense [2023]

.44 Magnum dirty harry

Your Guide to the .44 Magnum Cartridge

The Escort PS Youth 20-gauge shotgun.

The Escort PS Youth Shotgun is Now Available in .410 Bore

The 2022 Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous event.

Rendezvous Roundup: Guns & Gear at Athlon’s Signature Event

fbi ammo testing protocol

Understanding FBI Ammo Testing Standards

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
    • AR Pistols
    • AR Rifles
    • 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
      • 9mm
      • 10mm
    • Rifle Ammo
      • .223
    • Shotgun Ammo
      • 12 Gauge
    • Rimfire Ammo
    • Reloading
  • Gear
    • Apparel
    • Ears & Eyes
      • Ears
      • Eyes
    • Storage
    • Tactical Gear
      • Body Armor
    • Knives
      • Fixed Blade
      • Folding Knives
      • Tactical Knives
    • Less Lethal
    • Flashlights
    • Electronics
  • 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 Lifestyle
  • 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" .