2025 Talladega D-Day Matches

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   I just finished setting up camp, my usual spot on the lake just to the west of the Talladega Marksmanship Park. The annual D-Day Matches begin tomorrow. I think this will be the 10th year of the D-Day Matches. 
I’ll shoot the same rifle and match lineup as last year.  Top to bottom:

1944 BSA No. 4 Mk I (T)
1944 Long Branch No. 4 Mk I/3
1942 Springfield M1 Garand
1943 Remington 1903A3

Wished these rifles could tell their story of where they have been. 

If I were to wager on the overall “3 Gun” winner, it will be my friend Keith. He deserves it.  He’s really worked hard these last several months. Will be tough keeping up with him. I’m hoping he sets a new match record and holds it for years to come. 

Tomorrow I’ll shoot the M1 and No. 4 in the vintage service rifle classes (the so called “CMP Games” matches). These are all the same course of fire,  ten record shots at 200 yards for each of three stages: prone slow fire, prone rapid fire and standing slow fire. 

Weather looking to be uncomfortable, high of 89 deg, likely humid, 50% chance of thunderstorms. 

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britrifles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404	Post Options Post Reply Quote britrifles Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: 2025 Talladega D-Day Matches Posted: June 05 2025 at 2:53pm
	I just finished setting up camp, my usual spot on the lake just to the west of the Talladega Marksmanship Park. The annual D-Day Matches begin tomorrow. I think this will be the 10th year of the D-Day Matches. I’ll shoot the same rifle and match lineup as last year. Top to bottom: 1944 BSA No. 4 Mk I (T) 1944 Long Branch No. 4 Mk I/3 1942 Springfield M1 Garand 1943 Remington 1903A3 Wished these rifles could tell their story of where they have been. If I were to wager on the overall “3 Gun” winner, it will be my friend Keith. He deserves it. He’s really worked hard these last several months. Will be tough keeping up with him. I’m hoping he sets a new match record and holds it for years to come. Tomorrow I’ll shoot the M1 and No. 4 in the vintage service rifle classes (the so called “CMP Games” matches). These are all the same course of fire, ten record shots at 200 yards for each of three stages: prone slow fire, prone rapid fire and standing slow fire. Weather looking to be uncomfortable, high of 89 deg, likely humid, 50% chance of thunderstorms.

Shamu Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 20510	Post Options Post Reply Quote Shamu Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 05 2025 at 5:58pm
	Good luck.
	Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)

britrifles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404	Post Options Post Reply Quote britrifles Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 05 2025 at 7:26pm
	Thanks Shamu. Actually, the matches started today, already had two relays for the Garand, Springfield and Vintage Military Rifle (GSM) matches this afternoon. Tomorrow there will be 4 more relays and on Saturday, 2 more for a total of 8 relays. The 54 firing point line looks nearly full for every relay so it looks like there will be a high turnout this year. That is good to see!

A square 10 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Special Member Donating Member Joined: December 12 2006 Location: MN , USA Status: Offline Points: 16997	Post Options Post Reply Quote A square 10 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 05 2025 at 7:54pm
	Good Luck , shoot well ,

Sapper740 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: July 15 2021 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 1737	Post Options Post Reply Quote Sapper740 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 06 2025 at 2:58am
	Good luck br, I know you'll do well!

Zed Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Special Member Donating Member Joined: May 01 2012 Location: France Status: Offline Points: 6460	Post Options Post Reply Quote Zed Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 06 2025 at 4:13am
	Best of luck Geoff, that sounds like a great event. I look forward to the report and results!
	It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!

britrifles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404	Post Options Post Reply Quote britrifles Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 06 2025 at 2:44pm
	Today I shot the M1 in the JC Garand Match and the No. 4 in the Vintage Military Rifle Match. Weather was hot and muggy. Temp got up to 91 degrees. With the humidity, it felt like over 100, borderline miserable, especially wearing a shooting coat. If not for the roof over the firing line, I’m sure some would have passed out, including me! Did fairly well with the M1 in prone slow and prone rapid, dropping one point going into the third stage, standing. I threw a 7 and an 8 in standing that cost me. So far, in second place of 118 shooters. I expect Keith to bump me down further when he shoots tomorrow. My performance with the No. 4 was disappointing. I was down 5 points from the two prone stages, and during standing, I flinched badly right when I pulled the trigger, shot was a miss, just below the 5 ring. I’ve not done that in years, and it really cost me. I’m out of the running for the 3 gun Aggragate. For some reason, I’ve been shooting poor scores in matches with the No. 4 for a while now. What ever it is, I hope it’s over soon. Tomorrow, I’ll shoot the 1903A3 in the Springfield Match, then No. 4(T) in the Vintage Sniper match on Sunday.

britrifles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404	Post Options Post Reply Quote britrifles Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 07 2025 at 11:20am
	Another scorcher today, feels like 102 deg F with humidity. Glad I was the first relay to shoot. A full line again today. This was the 7th and 8th relays for the D-Day GSM Matches. I shot the 1903A3. Started out well with a clean 100-6x in prone slow fire. Nice little group. Then, in the prep for prone rapid fire, the follower jammed at the bottom of the magazine while attempting to load the first five round clip. The armorer came to help, but couldn’t free the follower and the bottom cartridge. No alibis at these matches, so scored a 0 in the ten shot rapid fire stage. The next stage is standing off hand, which I thought about tapping out, but no, that did not seem sportsmanlike so shot it anyway, a decent score, 92-1x. No recovery from loosing 100 points in these matches, so there is always next year! There was 155 shooters in the JC Garand Match. Tomorrow is the Vintage Sniper Match, looking forward to it.

Shamu Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 20510	Post Options Post Reply Quote Shamu Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 07 2025 at 1:08pm
	Bummer! That's why I like detachable magazines though.
	Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)

britrifles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404	Post Options Post Reply Quote britrifles Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 07 2025 at 1:18pm
	Yup. There is a follower spring retaining tab riveted to the bottom of the follower to which the follower spring fits into. The small rivets sheared (or maybe spot welds, I didn’t look closely at it yet), which allowed the follower to roll sideways as I tried to push the cartridges into the magazine. Jammed up the works solid… In retrospect, I should have attempted to single feed the cartridges into the chamber, I would have got at least 5 good shots off. Oh well… The upshot is that I took third place and high senior score with the M1, set a new D-Day Match record for high senior. Almost half of the 155 shooters were seniors (age 60-69) and another 23 shooters in the grand senior (age 70+) category in the JC Garand match. That’s 98 shooters age 60+ out of 155 total competitors, goes to show what the age profile is in these matches! My friend Keith cross fired in the rapids with his M1, cost him second place in the 3 Gun Agg, he finished in 3rd place. It’s all about not screwing up….

Strangely Brown Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: April 05 2022 Location: Wiltshire Status: Offline Points: 645	Post Options Post Reply Quote Strangely Brown Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 07 2025 at 1:33pm
	Geoff, I do hope it's a good one for you this weekend.
	Mick

A square 10 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Special Member Donating Member Joined: December 12 2006 Location: MN , USA Status: Offline Points: 16997	Post Options Post Reply Quote A square 10 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 07 2025 at 6:42pm
	i too kope for a good one , you work at it hard enough to enjoy some satisfaction from it ,

Zed Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Special Member Donating Member Joined: May 01 2012 Location: France Status: Offline Points: 6460	Post Options Post Reply Quote Zed Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 09 2025 at 1:15pm
	Hi Geoff, looks like you had a mixed bag of fortune this weekend, despite some obviously great shooting. I hope the final match goes to plan!
	It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!

britrifles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404	Post Options Post Reply Quote britrifles Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 09 2025 at 3:16pm
	Thanks Shaun. I shot in the Vintage Sniper Match yesterday. Me with the No. 4 T and my sniper team partner with his 1903A1 USMC sniper rifle. The 300 yard stage was poor, a score of just 92-1x. We should be able to shoot a clean 100 with high X count on this target with a 7 inch 10 ring and 3 inch X ring. The 600 yard stage score was similar, 91-1x. The CBI barrel now has 590 rounds thru it, and it’s not getting better, in fact, it’s been on a gradual accuracy decline after about 300 rounds fired. It’s behaving just like a shot out barrel, first at 600 and now at 300 yds also. I will remove the barrel and return it to CBI. I’ll have to decide if I’m going to install the new Lothar Walther barrel or wait for the new CBI barrel. Regardless, I really enjoy these matches, I get to spend time with my friends, and it sure beats working! My new No. 1 priority will be to get this sniper rifle to shoot like it should, that means hold 2 MOA out to 600 yds.

Shamu Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 20510	Post Options Post Reply Quote Shamu Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 10 2025 at 10:42am
	That's disappointing. Hopefully they'll do right by you. Please keep us updated.
	Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)

Zed Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Special Member Donating Member Joined: May 01 2012 Location: France Status: Offline Points: 6460	Post Options Post Reply Quote Zed Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 11 2025 at 9:48am
	That's a shame about the Sniper match results. Have you checked the rifle over, to see if anything came loose etc? Could the high ambient temperature be throwing a banana into the equation? Seems odd that a new barrel would go off so quickly.
	It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!