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The annual CMP Matches at Talladega were held over the last two weeks. From what I saw and heard, this had the highest turnout on record.
We had 12 relays on the line for the "Games Rifle" events: John C Garand Match 1903 Springfield Match (1903 or 1903a3) Vintage Military Rife Match ("foreign" military bolt action service rifle, I shoot the No. 4)
There were 128 competitors in the Games events, 47 of the 128 competitors shot all three of the above matches.
For those who may not know, the course of fire is the same for all three classes, all at 200 yards:
Prone Slow Fire - 5 sighters + 10 shots for record in 15 minutes, single loaded Prone Rapid Fire - 10 shots with a magazine reload (2+8 for M1 and 5+5 in bolt rifles) in 80 seconds Standing Slow Fire - 10 shots in 10 minutes, single loaded
I did not shoot the "black gun" this time, just the three Games events and also the Vintage Sniper match, both in the bolt action Pre-1954 class and the Vietnam era class. There is also an autoloading class (typically M1C or M1D).
As it seems to be the case over the last few years, I didn't shoot as well as I used to, I think I'm on the downhill side of this game! I missed 1st place in the M1 JCG Match by a single point (of 300 points "possible"). Ended up 3rd overall for the aggregate score of the three Games events (one point behind 2nd place). No significant issues this year (like cross-firing or rifle problems) but lost too many points in the standing stage.
Regardless, these are fun events and I don't plan on "retiring" any time soon...
For those in the US, do a search on-line for CMP Matches in your area. There must be hundreds of ranges that run these matches across the US. All CMP sanctioned matches are open to the public, you don't need to be a member at that range that hosts the matches.
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