Phillip Velayo

Phil will tell you he "accidentally became a sniper." He grew up playing video games, was a 4.0 student, and had never touched a rifle until he joined the Marine Corps at 18 years old. No hunting trips with dad, no shooting squirrels out of trees. Just a kid from a different world who happened to score high enough on his GT test and shoot well enough at boot camp to get screened for the Scout Sniper community.

He made it through the 5-day screener by being, in his words, "too stupid to quit." Not a physical specimen. Never ran faster than a 6:30 mile. His first attempt at Scout Sniper School in 2009? Dropped during land navigation. He came back, passed on his second attempt, and graduated High Shooter from every follow-on course. Ten years in the Marine Corps, serving in every role within the Scout Sniper community: Team Leader, Chief Scout, and finally Primary Marksmanship Instructor at 1st Marine Division Scout Sniper School.

He was nominated for Scout Sniper Instructor of the Year in 2016. After transitioning out in 2018, he brought that same obsessive approach to competitive shooting. He won the PRS Finale that year and went on to take the Rocky Mountain North Regional in the Precision Rifle Series and earn national recognition on the NRL Hunter circuit.

Today, Phil lives in Wyoming with his family, including a son born in January 2025. In August 2025, a house fire devastated his home. The precision rifle community rallied. The Recon Sniper Foundation organized a raffle, industry partners donated, and friends stepped up. That support meant everything.

He's a co-founder of The Cadre and is building Path to Precision, an online training program that takes you from beginner to competitor. He teaches the "why" behind every technique, not just the "how." If you understand why something works, you can diagnose your own shooting and fix problems before they become habits.