Do you ever wonder how your leg match scores compare with top service rifle and pistol scores fired by shooters around the country? A new feature on CMP’s Competitor Tracker web page now makes it easy to see all the top scores fired by shooters in service rifle and pistol Excellence-in-Competition or “leg” matches. Lists of the top 100 leg match scores in pistol and rifle for the year are now available on the CMP web site.
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| The prestigious Distinguished Rifleman Badge is awarded to service rifle shooters who earn a total of 30 or more points in rifle EIC (“Leg”) matches.
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To see who made the top 100 for 2004 in both pistol and rifle, open http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi and then click on the year “2004” for either the “top EIC rifle scores” or the “top EIC pistol scores.”
Honors for firing the best service rifle EIC score in 2004 go to Konrad Powers of Carol Steam, Illinois. Powers fired an excellent 494-18X at the Des Moines Rifle & Revolver Club Regional EIC match in July. The 100th place score in 2004 was a 482-14X.
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| The Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge is awarded to military and civilian service pistol shooters who earn a total of 30 or more points in pistol EIC (“Leg”) matches.
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The top pistol EIC score last year was a 293-16X posted by James Henderson from Festus, Missouri at the Garrison Rifle & Revolver Regional EIC match on the 4th of July. The 100th place score was a 276-5X.
The Competitor Tracker EIC Top 100 lists include both Distinguished and Non-Distinguished shooters and show the status of the shooter on the day the score was fired. New 2005 Top 100 lists will be posted as soon as scores are reported from 2005 EIC matches. Shooters who fire outstanding scores in more than one leg match can make the list more than one time if their scores rank in the top 100. The purpose of these lists is not only to recognize the shooters with the best EIC match scores, but also to encourage more shooters, both Distinguished and Non-Distinguished, to compete in these matches.
EIC matches are especially important matches for experienced competitive shooters because that is where they can earn credit points that count towards the awarding of Distinguished Rifleman and Distinguished Pistol Shot Badges. In each EIC match, the top 10 percent of the Non-Distinguished shooters receive 10, 8 or 6 credit points, depending upon how they place. When a shooter has 30 points, the badge is awarded. Each year, Non-Distinguished shooters are limited to three EIC matches and the National Trophy Individual Match at Camp Perry, plus Non-Distinguished service rifle shooters can also fire in the M16 EIC match at Camp Perry.
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| Civilian shooters who earn Distinguished Badges now are recognized in special ceremonies conducted during the National Trophy Matches Award Ceremonies.
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The Distinguished Badge program began as an Army Distinguished Marksman program in 1884. Over the years, the program expanded to offer badges for service rifle and pistol. Each of the other services adopted Distinguished Badge programs and the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice made these prestigious badges available to civilians. A Distinguished International Shooters Badge was instituted in 1963. Distinguished Badges are coveted by shooters because while any shooter who works hard had the possibility of earning EIC points and a badge, it typically takes many years of hard work and several outstanding marksmanship performances to earn the badge.
The National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice acted as the governing body for the Distinguished Badge program through 1996. When Congress created the new Civilian Marksmanship Program in 1996, the CMP took over the responsibility for the program under authority granted to it in Title 36 U. S. Code.
If you want more information, the CMP Competition Tracker web page at http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi not only has links to the top 100 EIC listings, but it also offers lists of “Upcoming EIC Matches,” results from EIC matches that have been fired and comprehensive lists of all Distinguished shooters from 1884 to the present. |
