When we started this company and gave it a name, Jeff and I both had visions of where it would go and what directions it would take. Last week, I got to participate in something that has been part of my vision since the beginning. For the second year in a row, and then again for 2009, 2010 & 2011, the CMP Eastern Games and Creedmoor Cup matches were held at Camp Bunter in Butner, NC just 60 miles from my home. This match is second in size only to Camp Perry. For 8 days, there was shooting. The Army and Marine Marksmanship units showed once again that they can shoot a modified M16 more accurate than you would think possible. From 600 yards, the top three shooters were decided by the number of "X's" they had because all three had a perfect score of 200. What does 600 yards look like?


And the white and black squares you see are the lane numbers. The targets are another 30 yards behind those and almost invisible in this picture. Here is the same picture taken at 6:30 am. You have to get up really early to get 200 shooters through a full High Power match that is shot at 200, 300 and 600 yards.





Here I am shooting off hand from 200 yards. For some reason, this is my strongest part of the match. I don't like the heavy shooting coats. I just like the balance of my M1A. I finished ahead of a lot of shooters with much higher rankings in this leg. It probably has something to do with my poor eyesight and using 308 in 10 mph + winds against mostly AR15 shooters.



Here I am proned out at 600 yards. The heavy 308 projectiles really helped me since I'm not good at reading the wind. Unfortunately, the Army and Marine shooters are very good at reading the wind and beat me by 25 points. Still, I was having the best time of my life when this picture was taken. Lucille was running like a top.



Here are the guys that really knew what they were doing.




Here are the competitors on the left side of the line. The military guys mostly shot on the right and on the first two relays. There are a total of four relays and the first two are reserved for High Masters and Masters. That means guys like me on relay 3 and 4 get to score the top shooters targets and see how close those 22 caliber holes are to each other. Some of it is amazing.



All and all, I'm just glad to be part of it. I'm glad to know that America's rich tradition of long range rifle shooting is not only alive, but expanding again. The games at Camp Perry are bigger and better than ever and now we have both Eastern and Western games.



The Western matches are in Arizona and I hope to be able to shoot them some day soon. If you like military styled rifles and you really want to see how to use them properly, find a High Power shooting club near you and go shoot it. Chances are, somebody there will have an M1 and 60 rounds of surplus 30.06 to loan you and you can even shoot. There are lots of competitions out there, and I hope one day that Live To Shoot can be a major sponsor of events like this. Right now, Creedmoor sports and the CMP are doing most of the work to get these matches up and running, provide officials, and give away lots of good prizes. Everything from $2000 spotting scopes to DCM legal AR15's were given away with most of the prizes going to the people who won them as door prizes, not for winning the matches. It is a great thing to be surrounded by so many good people who want the same thing as you. Just a chance to spend a nice day seeing how many holes they can put on target from as far away as possible. Look into it.

Great job Tim. Good to hear Lucille did her magic.

I love these matches I use to go to perry's along time ago when I was in boyscouts. I loved it then and I love it now, I need to start reloading so I can start to afford the shooting. Great pics looks like a great time.

the local club is now doing cmp shoots here, been thinking of trying one out.

Shooting the M1 against other M1 shooters is as much fun as I have ever had in the shooting sports. You will amaze yourself with what you can accomplish. You will also start rethinking your choice of optics over iron sights when you shoot a 4" group from 200 yards with a rifle made during WWII. And, you couldn't ask for a better bunch of shooters. If your gun breaks, someone will have an extra one. Jeff and I have an uncle who won the Arkansas State Rifle Championship once or twice. The first time he won, he and his top competitor shot on different relays because our uncle didn't own an M1 and had to borrow the one his competition was shooting. I don't think that guy was willing to loan our uncle the rifle the following year. There is nothing like getting beat by someone you don't know with your own rifle. But, that is part of the program when shooting CMP matches. The Creedmoor Cup was a true Hi Power match with Service Rifle and match rifle matches. The CMP had packed up their M1's and M1 Carbines and gone back to the south store by the time we shot the Cup. CMP matches and High Power matches are very similar, but not exactly the same. I love to shoot them both. Go to a match, borrow a rifle and shoot a relay or two. Whatever it takes, get out there and shoot. You won't regret it.

i dont have a garand (yet ) but i saw the posted rules, and id be able to shoot my ar in it. as long as there are no natl match sights on it (there isint)

they hold them once a mth, 2nd sunday.

next month might be nice enough to give me no excuse not to go!

I'm happy with my monthly gun club comp. mostly .22, but I'm hoping if I donate myself I can get them to put a 200yard range in so I can at least get a 200yard zero on some of my rifles. I cannot afford much else in comps as of yet. Looks fun though.

I know the trend in AR's is to make them small and light and then hang a bunch of lights, flip up sights and optics on them, but everyone should take the time to hold a 20" DCM legal gun. Those guns are better balanced and will amaze most shooters with their accuracy potential. I like a 16" gun as much as the next guy, but a good DCM legal AR just feels better. It feels like a real rifle and not a toy. I can't wait until we get the new Olympic Arms DCM Service Rifles in. I know of a few shooters who won't shoot rifle matches because the M1 is so big and shoots 30.06. I think they will get hooked when they shoot the AR15 Service Rifles. I highly recommend them.

I agree I can hit pretty well at 200 yards with a DCM ar, in a prone position. I can't get good hits when standing though not very good at that whole standing with Iron sights thing you know when you get used to scopes and collimaters and so on it takes away the ability to shoot irons very well. I'm good with pistols. It's all fun though I love it

im HORRIBLE with open sights.

the local club has a monthly competition i go to that i bring my mill rifles to.(not cmp) it works out well, all the mill rifles i have (fal, g3, ar, ect) that i cant use to hunt with (no semi auto in pa), i can get some use out of them, other than occasional plinking, and it lets me practice my iron sighting.

in getting better at it actually, i have a few certificates from hte course, i dont think im that good, i see alot of room for improvment, i thionk the main thing is ther eare alot of "weekend warriors" there, that arent really tht good, making me look better by proxy.

Its all relative. The key is you have to bring a buddy who is not quite as good as you so you have one guy you can beat. That's what my buddy Glenn is for. To make me look GOOD.

Actually, Glenn is probably a better shot. I think I have beaten him once or twice out of 7 or 8 matches, but those are the only matches I remember. The CMP East games weren't near as much fun this year because Glenn didn't make it out.

The key to iron sights is developing a reflex to break the shot when your front sight moves into place. You can't hold it perfectly still, but most people over think it to the point that they are either jerking the trigger or holding the rifle so long that they get tired and the motion gets exagerrated. You just have to put a dot on the wall and practice dry firing, over and over. I do well prone and I often shoot in the 80's offhand, but I need a lot of work when sitting. Which is strange, because I learned to shoot a rifle from the NRA sitting position. Sling tension can make a big difference when prone or sitting when using the M1 or M14. You have to practice to learn how the sling effects shot placement. That is the big advantage with an AR. The AR barrel is truly free floated and the sling tension doesn't have any effect on the barrel or shot placement. The good thing about the M1 is the CMP. The CMP has given me more 30.06 than I can remember. I love showing up to a CMP match and having them hand me 80 rounds to shoot a 50 round match. If you have a CMP club near you, it pays to get involved. Most CMP clubs also offer M1's as loaners for new shooters. The CMP website offers a ton of useful info. Once you shoot an M1, you will writing Glenn to get one rebuilt and personalized. They are addictive.

To bad I can't use my shooting stick in the comps I can get steady hits out to 300 yards with my ar and a shooting stick.