Handgun Marksmanship

Training Aids

The training program described in Handgun Marksmanship makes extensive use of two training aids:

  • A marksman's target. The target that you use for marksmanship training makes a difference. The right target will facilitate learning; the wrong target will inhibit learning.
  • A target analysis spreadsheet. To assess shooting performance effectively, you need to compute measures of shooting performance. Some measures are hard to compute by hand, but they are easy to compute with a spreadsheet.

Software Requirements

The marksman's target is a PowerPoint file (targets.pptx), and the target analysis spreadsheet is an Excel file (target-analysis.xlsm). If you have Microsoft Office, you can use PowerPoint to print marksman's targets from targets.pptx; and you can use Excel to conduct target analyses with target-analysis.xlsm.

If you don’t have Microsoft Office, use LibreOffice. LibreOffice is a free office suite that you can download at libreoffice.org. LibreOffice includes an application called Impress, and you can print marksman's targets from targets.pptx with Impress. LibreOffice also includes an application called Calc, and you can use Calc to conduct target analyses with target-analysis.xlsm.

How to Get Training Aids

You can send these training aids to yourself via email. Or you can download the training aids directly to your computer. Choose an option. Then, follow instructions for the option you've chosen.



Send Training Aids Via Email

To receive training aids via email, enter your email address in the textbox below. Then, click the Send button.

Important: The target-analysis.xlsm file contains visual basic macros. By default, Microsoft blocks the macros, which prevents the spreadsheet from working correctly. To solve this problem, you need to unblock the macros (as described in the next section).

How to Unblock Macros

When you open the target analysis spreadsheet (target-analysis.xlsm) for the first time, you may see the following message:

Error message: Macros blocked Error message: Macros blocked

The "Learn More" button goes to an article that explains how to unblock the macros. Here is what you need to do:

  • Find the target-analyis.xlsm file in the File Manager.
  • Right-click on the target-analysis.xlsm file.
  • Choose Properties.
  • Check the Unblock checkbox on the General tab of the Properties dialog box.
Properties dialog box Properties dialog box

The Calculate button on the target analysis spreadsheet will not work unless the macros are unblocked. Therefore, it is important to check the "Unblock" option on the Properties dialog box.