Josh Botha showed up to his first precision rifle match with a blind-magazine .204 Ruger and no idea what he was doing. A decade later, he's a four-time Team Canada World Championship competitor, senior designer at MDT (Modular Driven Technologies), founder of the BC Precision Rifle League, and the man behind North Star Precision Training.

In this episode, Josh shares his journey from South Africa to England to BC, how archery led him into the precision rifle world, what it's really like inside MDT's culture, and the massive news about MDT acquiring Lone Peak Arms. We dig into the mental game of competitive shooting, the NRL Hunter format, wind reading, barriers to entry for new PRS shooters, the role of faith in business and life, and why one person stepping up can change everything.

🎁 This month we're giving away a SAI Mini Red Dot to an active Outpost listener - Silvercore Club members, activate the Outpost in your member portal to enter!

🔗 Connect with Josh:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jbotha_/  
• North Star Precision Training: [email protected] and https://www.instagram.com/northstarprecision/ 
• BC Precision Rifle League: https://www.instagram.com/bcprecisionrifle/
• MDT Sporting Goods: https://www.instagram.com/mdttac21/

Optics - https://armament.com/
Ammo - https://www.norma-ammunition.com/

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Silvercore Club - https://bit.ly/2RiREb4
Online Training - https://bit.ly/3nJKx7U
Other Training & Services - https://bit.ly/3vw6kSU
Merchandise - https://bit.ly/3ecyvk9
Blog Page - https://bit.ly/3nEHs8W 

Host Instagram - @Bader.Trav https://www.instagram.com/bader.trav
Silvercore Instagram - @SilvercoreOutdoors https://www.instagram.com/silvercoreoutdoors

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Timestamps:

0:00 Intro & SAI Mini Red Dot Giveaway

1:30 Meet Josh Botha: Competitive Shooter & MDT Designer

2:16 Knocking Over Josh's Rifle at a PRS Match

4:24 Growing Up in South Africa & Moving to England

7:00 Family Moves to Canada: Landing on Canada Day 2006

8:33 BC as the Best of South Africa and England Combined

10:00 From BCIT Mechanical Engineering to "Pretensioneer"

11:55 MDT's People-First Culture and Hiring Philosophy

13:16 MDT's Origin Story: From Rooster33 to Martin's Vision

14:28 MDT Acquires Lone Peak Arms: What It Means

16:50 Passion vs. Career: Drawing the Line

18:48 How Archery Led Josh Into Precision Rifle

21:00 First PRS Match: A .204 Ruger and No Idea

22:00 The BC Sniper Match & Why the PRS Community Is Different

27:00 PRS Attracts "Weird Gear Math Nerds" — And That's Great

28:00 The Mental Game: Almost All of It Is Mental Now

29:13 Conscious Competence to Subconscious Mastery

30:06 Wind Reading: The Great Equalizer

30:50 Barriers to Entry: Cost, Fear & PRS .22 Matches

33:50 Launching North Star Precision Training

37:00 Training Venues & The BC Long Range Problem

38:00 Biggest Mistakes New Precision Rifle Shooters Make

39:27 Dealing with Match Pressure & First-Stage Jitters

41:00 NRL Hunter: The Most Fun Match Format Explained

46:00 Gear vs. Skill: LRF Binos, Tripods & Weight Limits

48:03 MDT's Content & Media Strategy: Becoming a Media Company

52:00 Education as Marketing: Magpul, Glock & MDT

54:50 AI in the Firearms Industry: Spanish & French YouTube Channels

57:37 Suppressors: Will MDT Get In the Game?

59:00 Fighting for Suppressor Legalization in Canada

1:02:49 The Power of One Person to Create Change

1:07:55 Leveraging Mentors & Asking for Help

1:08:46 Faith at MDT: A Quiet But Real Foundation

1:11:05 Josh's Faith Journey & Losing His Mom

1:13:29 A Transformative Six Months: Growth Through Trials

1:16:27 What's Next: 4th World Championship & Rimfire in Lithuania

1:19:00 Building a World Championship Rimfire Rig

1:20:14 Product Design: When "Done" Meets "Perfect"

1:23:21 MDT's Most Popular Products (Magazines & Chamber Flags)

1:24:38 CAPRA: The Canadian Precision Rifle Association Board

1:26:39 Addressing Conflict of Interest Criticism

1:30:28 Growth of PRS in Canada: From 75 Members to National Teams

1:32:12 Where to Find Josh & Final Thoughts