jblomenberg16
Grandmaster
This weekend I had the opportunity to participate in the National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio. For those familiar with the event, you know it is the pinnacle of markmanship competition for both military and civilians alike.
For those less familiar, here is a description of the match from the CMP website. National Matches
A few years ago I was bitten by the M1 Garand bug. After purchasing one and shooting it, I was in love, and determined to fire it at the National Match. A few buddies and I made good on that committment and participated in the John C. Garand Match on August 4th.
The experience was incredible, and is something every shooter, no matter how experienced, or inexperienced, should do at some point in their life. The event is very well organized, and as is typical of most firearms enthusiasts, is made up of some wonderful people. As noobies to the event, we weren't sure what to expect. Many people were very happy to help us determine where to go, and how to participate.
Our first day we partnered up with some of the "Battle Rattle" teams from the Garand Collectors Association. We were given the job of "Brass Rats" and were responsible for collecting spent cases and clips as the team progressed down the range through the various stages of the National Trophy Infantry Team match. I was lucky enough to be matched up with the top scoring team shooting the M1 Garand, the GCA Michiana team. While they were not able to effectively compete with the teams shooting the M16, they arguably held most true to the original intent of the course of fire, which was designed around an infantry squad of 6 soldiers and two team coaches firing 48 en bloc clips of M2 ball, for a total of 384 rounds.
After the teams completed the course of fire, we took our turn working the pits. This was by far the most unexpectedly exciting experience of the week. The pits consist of a catwalk behind an 8 foot tall berm, reenforced by concrete, steel pillars, and rail road ties. Behind this berm are the retractable target stands that the teams shoot at. I took a short video of what it sounded like during a stage of fire from 500yds. This was obviously my first time to be down range of several infantry squads firing in my direction. I can only imagine how terrifying this must be if those bullets are being aimed at you, and not targets about 6 feet over your head!
The sound is very unique...and almost sounds like someone set off a big string of firecrackers right above your head. The bullets make a distinct "crack" as they hit the carboard targets. It is worth noting that you really can't actually hear the sound of the shot being fired in the pits, and only hear a very slight whizz then very loud crack of the round over head as it impacts.
Saturday we shot in the afternoon portion of the John C. Garand match. We competed in the "as-issued" class, meaning our rifles were exactly as originally issued with stock USGI components.
The course of fire was 5 sighters from 200yds, prone, followed by 10 rounds of slow fire prone for record. The second stage is 10 rounds rapid fire prone, starting from standing. The final stage is 10rounds slow fire standing.
Those of you that have shot in an Appleseed will be fairly familier with these stages. The only difference is that you can't use a sling during the standing portion. That turned out to be crucial for my score.
The target scoring rings were as follows:
X - 3"
10 - 7"
9 - 13"
8 - 19"
7 - 25"
6 - 31"
5 - 37"
The X, 10, and 9 are black, the rest is a light brown paper color. So, when aiming you are looking at a 13" black circle. It is easily seen at 200 yds, but not easily hit by a novice like myself.
Rather than a command to "Fire" you would be commaned to "Load and Make Ready" and could commence firing when the targets popped up from behind the berm. Each lane was designated by the numbers down in front of the berm. I was shooting at target 95.
I was able to shoot a 187 - 1X (78-1, 79, 30 for the stages), which placed me as #1067 of 1112 total shooters. So, I wasn't last, but was a long way from the top. The overall winning score was a 291-6 (100-3, 98-2, 93-1) which was 2 shots off the record. I was pleased with the prone stages, but as you can see, struggled with the standing stage. I was consistently hitting low, and had only 5 scored hits of the 10 shots. I made and adjustment to my POA on shot 6 (had 1 hit and 4 misses to that point) and finished well. Should have done that sooner, but I will admit that the adrenaline was pumping and holding the rifle steady was tough. I know what I need to work on for next year!
For those less familiar, here is a description of the match from the CMP website. National Matches
A few years ago I was bitten by the M1 Garand bug. After purchasing one and shooting it, I was in love, and determined to fire it at the National Match. A few buddies and I made good on that committment and participated in the John C. Garand Match on August 4th.
The experience was incredible, and is something every shooter, no matter how experienced, or inexperienced, should do at some point in their life. The event is very well organized, and as is typical of most firearms enthusiasts, is made up of some wonderful people. As noobies to the event, we weren't sure what to expect. Many people were very happy to help us determine where to go, and how to participate.
Our first day we partnered up with some of the "Battle Rattle" teams from the Garand Collectors Association. We were given the job of "Brass Rats" and were responsible for collecting spent cases and clips as the team progressed down the range through the various stages of the National Trophy Infantry Team match. I was lucky enough to be matched up with the top scoring team shooting the M1 Garand, the GCA Michiana team. While they were not able to effectively compete with the teams shooting the M16, they arguably held most true to the original intent of the course of fire, which was designed around an infantry squad of 6 soldiers and two team coaches firing 48 en bloc clips of M2 ball, for a total of 384 rounds.
After the teams completed the course of fire, we took our turn working the pits. This was by far the most unexpectedly exciting experience of the week. The pits consist of a catwalk behind an 8 foot tall berm, reenforced by concrete, steel pillars, and rail road ties. Behind this berm are the retractable target stands that the teams shoot at. I took a short video of what it sounded like during a stage of fire from 500yds. This was obviously my first time to be down range of several infantry squads firing in my direction. I can only imagine how terrifying this must be if those bullets are being aimed at you, and not targets about 6 feet over your head!
The sound is very unique...and almost sounds like someone set off a big string of firecrackers right above your head. The bullets make a distinct "crack" as they hit the carboard targets. It is worth noting that you really can't actually hear the sound of the shot being fired in the pits, and only hear a very slight whizz then very loud crack of the round over head as it impacts.
Saturday we shot in the afternoon portion of the John C. Garand match. We competed in the "as-issued" class, meaning our rifles were exactly as originally issued with stock USGI components.
The course of fire was 5 sighters from 200yds, prone, followed by 10 rounds of slow fire prone for record. The second stage is 10 rounds rapid fire prone, starting from standing. The final stage is 10rounds slow fire standing.
Those of you that have shot in an Appleseed will be fairly familier with these stages. The only difference is that you can't use a sling during the standing portion. That turned out to be crucial for my score.
The target scoring rings were as follows:
X - 3"
10 - 7"
9 - 13"
8 - 19"
7 - 25"
6 - 31"
5 - 37"
The X, 10, and 9 are black, the rest is a light brown paper color. So, when aiming you are looking at a 13" black circle. It is easily seen at 200 yds, but not easily hit by a novice like myself.
Rather than a command to "Fire" you would be commaned to "Load and Make Ready" and could commence firing when the targets popped up from behind the berm. Each lane was designated by the numbers down in front of the berm. I was shooting at target 95.
I was able to shoot a 187 - 1X (78-1, 79, 30 for the stages), which placed me as #1067 of 1112 total shooters. So, I wasn't last, but was a long way from the top. The overall winning score was a 291-6 (100-3, 98-2, 93-1) which was 2 shots off the record. I was pleased with the prone stages, but as you can see, struggled with the standing stage. I was consistently hitting low, and had only 5 scored hits of the 10 shots. I made and adjustment to my POA on shot 6 (had 1 hit and 4 misses to that point) and finished well. Should have done that sooner, but I will admit that the adrenaline was pumping and holding the rifle steady was tough. I know what I need to work on for next year!
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