Veteran Shooters Share Knowledge with Young Shooters and Have Fun at Super Final Match at Camp Perry Open
By Steve Cooper, CMP Writer
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| National Rifle Coach David Johnson, left, and SSG Jason Parker share thoughts during the second relay of shooting on Day 1 of the Camp Perry Open 60-shot standing matches. |
CAMP PERRY, OHIO – Mid-season airgun
matches like the Camp Perry Open which was fired at the CMP
North Marksmanship Center 14-16, January, is a practice
match for some, a first-time event for others and the
biggest match ever for a few more. That mixture of
circumstances and emotions are what makes events like the
CPO so appealing.
Take open precision air rifle champion SFC Jason Parker for example. He certainly used the event as an opportunity to keep his game sharp in preparation for Olympic quota matches down the road but he also succeeded in his mission to promote the virtues of the US Army Marksmanship Unit. In good spirits, he also left the firing line Sunday to a chorus of jeers and taunts when he was eliminated early at a raucous Super Final match.
A two-time Olympian (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008) in 10-meter air rifle and 50-meter three-position smallbore rifle, Parker won the CPO 60-shot standing two-day aggregate event. But when his shooting gear came off, he and veritable Who’s Who of USAMU, Shooting USA and top collegiate air rifle competitors shared their knowledge with the younger shooters in a formal clinic on Saturday, between relays and in the hallways in a totally unselfish manner.
Who benefitted? Every shooter in attendance who was interested in improving themselves in the sport.
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| MacKenzie Martin checks the position of her rifle buttstock during the second day of shooting the standing 60 match. Two days earlier Martin turned in a record performance as she battled Amos Peck for the 3x20 championship. |
Just ask MacKenzie Martin, a 13-year-old from Fairhaven, Massachusetts who four years earlier wished to go hunting with her father Sid but only after her dad enrolled her in a hunter safety course at a local shooting club. It was there that she discovered competitive shooting. On Friday, 14 January, she reached her first-ever 3x20 precision air rifle final, in the number one slot. Just one errant shot, an eight in the final, cost her victory but in the process she set two new youth shooting records and raised her game exponentially.
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| Amos Peck, right, chats with his brother Clayton in the moments following his shoot-off victory over Matt Wallace to reach the final of the Day I AR60 matches. |
Martin was edged by nine-tenths of a point after 70 shots by Amos Peck, a 17-year-old high school senior from Leslie, Michigan who kept finding his way into the spotlight all weekend. A member of the Michigan State University Pistol and Rifle Club, Peck said afterward that he hadn’t shot in any three position matches since May 2010, but instead had been concentrating the standing 60. He made the most of his standing experience and grabbed the lead from Martin with the eighth shot and finished with 10.4 and 10.6 to seal the victory.
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| Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology student competitors-turned-fans cheer on their teammates participating in the CPO Super Final and Sunday, 16 January at the CMP North Marksmanship Center. |
The next day in precision air rifle 60, Peck fought his way into the final, defeating USA Shooting Team member Matt Wallace in a five-shot shoot-off for the eighth position. Ironically, Peck said he was wearing Wallace’s old shooting coat, pointing out the old stitching that showed the outline of Wallace’s name on the coat back.
“I guess I owe Matt thanks for helping me get this far,” Peck said.
National development rifle team coach David Johnson was on hand Saturday and Sunday to follow the progress of potential 2012 London Games team members and the new talent pool. Two Olympic quota slots in each discipline are allowed per country and final team selections must be made in December.
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| Fans from The Ohio State University rifle team jeer some of their Michigan counterparts on the firing line during the Super Final. OSU’s Amanda Furrer was the last shooter to be eliminated from competition. |
Johnson opened the clinic following the close of shooting of the first of two standing matches. USAMU, USA Shooting and top collegiate competitors broke younger shooters into small groups on the firing line and helped them with position, mental and physical preparation, equipment, tips and tricks. The clinic closed with a 20-shot practice match to allow shooters put to use some of their newly-gained knowledge.
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| University of Kentucky shooter Thomas Csenge glances away from his target momentarily during the Super Final. Csenge placed fourth in the event. |
At the conclusion of the second 60-shot standing match, CMP conducted a Super Final which started with the top 20 women and 20 men from the standing 60 competition. A 10-shot preliminary round whittled the group down to the top 10 women and 10 men, followed by noisy shot for shot elimination round which removed the two lowest score shooters. During the eliminations, spectators were encouraged to cheer and jeer while loud music was played over the range’s sound system.
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| CMP Director of Civilian Marksmanship, Emeritus awards the first place prize of $200 to SSG Hank Gray of the US Army Marksmanship Unit at the Camp Perry Open Super Final. |
The Super Final came down to The Ohio State University’s Amanda Furrer and veteran USAMU competitor SSG Hank Gray. Gray prevailed and took home the top prize money of $200. Furrer followed in second, winning $150 while former MIT standout Emily Houston and the University of Kentucky’s Thomas Csenge placed third and fourth respectively and were awarded $100 each.
For complete results of the Camp Perry Open, log onto http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=6225. To view photos from the event, log onto http://cmp1.zenfolio.com.