Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactics recently sat down with Ryan Gresham on the Gun Talk Nation podcast to talk about ARC, competition shooting and why the AR-15 is the ideal platform to build skills on. Watch the full episode above or on YouTube.
The conversation covers a lot of ground, but a central theme runs through it: competition is the fastest way to find out what you actually know and what your gear actually does under pressure. Lamb argues the point bluntly—if you think competition has no application to tactical shooting, you’re wrong. He has been more nervous at a three-gun shoot-off than in combat, he says, and that pressure is exactly what makes match experience valuable. It forces shooters to manage adrenaline, execute fundamentals and handle their firearms safely in front of other people, all skills that transfer directly to defensive and tactical contexts.
Lamb frames ARC as the best entry point for AR-15 owners who have never shot a match. The program lets competitors show up with whatever they already own—even a rifle with nothing but iron sights—and run a course of fire that covers close-range targets where mechanical offset matters, mid-range barricade work that teaches supported positions and 100-yard shooting from prone. It’s structured enough to build real skills but accessible enough that a first-timer will not feel overwhelmed. Level One puts shooters on a line together in a low-pressure format. Level Two adds individual stages for those ready to push further.
The episode also highlights the community side of the program. Lamb describes showing up to a match in New Mexico where he did not know a single person in his squad and leaving two days later with 10 new friends—people he now sees regularly at other matches across the country. He talks about bringing his 12-year-old grandson Denver to competitions and watching the entire squad line up to congratulate the boy after a clean stage. The shooting community, Lamb says, is welcoming by nature, and ARC is designed to make that first experience as easy as possible.
For more information on NRA America’s Rifle Challenge, go to arc.nra.org.
