2026 LE Designated Marksman Conference & Competition

Law Enforcement Agencies are increasingly utilizing carbines equipped with magnified optics in dedicated overwatch roles, both as patrol designated marksman and as SWAT Snipers with SPRs.

Intent: The purpose of the LE DM Conference/Comp is to instill camaraderie, build professional relationships, and enhance tactics, techniques and procedures in the law enforcement scoped carbine community.

Day 1 will be a competitive gas-gun training event designed to hone and test skill through performance-induced stress. Training reduces novelty and builds mental maps for officers to follow during high stress, critical incidents. Well-trained officers and teams are more confident and less likely to commit tactical errors through poor decision making, which reduces agency liability.

Day 2 will be a conference with DM OIS debriefs from major agencies with formal DM programs, presentations from industry experts, a terminal ballistics/barrier live fire demo, our nationwide survey results, and a counter sniper/event overwatch training block.

Attendees and competitors must be active law enforcement officers.

Skills: Individual skills will be tested and evaluated. These include:

• • Rifle marksmanship:
    • Known/Unknown distance targets
    • Positional Shooting
    • Tripod employment
    • Close quarters engagement
  • Target detection/Observation
  • Trajectory Clearance
  • Decision making
  • Low-Percentage shots/Dirty Backgrounds

Equipment: Although every real-world engagement is an “open class gunfight”, this competition is designed to enhance ability with each officer’s issued equipment and events will be designed as such. Although many will discover inadequacies with their equipment during the event, that is yet another feature of this training format. There will be two classes: “Patrol” (5.56mm carbines using brass cased ammunition and a max of 10x magnification) and “Open” (Semi-auto rifles firing .308/6ARC/6MAX/6.5CM/NAS3 cased 5.56).

Round count and packing list will be sent to registered competitors. (Ammo may be shipped to BFR with your name/agency.)

• Range/Conference: Ben Franklin Range, 1130 Ridge Rd, Templeton, PA
• Dates: April 7-8, 2026, Tuesday – Wednesday
• Airport: Pittsburgh International Airport (18 miles from Hotel/Conference) 

• Hotel: Wingate by Wyndham Kittanning. Several campgrounds in area.