CMP Takes Small Arms Firing School on the Road to Regional Events

ARCADIA, Oklahoma – The CMP Games – Oklahoma marked the introduction of a few new rifle and pistol matches, but one of the most important introductions was the first CMP Small Arms Firing School (SAFS) held away from Camp Perry, Ohio.

Cris Stone, Vice Chairman of the CMP Board of Directors, welcomes Small Arms Firing School attendees at the Oklahoma City Gun Club.

Since the SAFS program officially began at the National Matches in the summer of 1920, it has been a coordinated production of the Director of Civilian Marksmanship, then a function of the Department of the U.S. Army and more recently the Civilian Marksmanship Program in concert with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit.

True to its mission of promoting firearm safety and marksmanship beyond Camp Perry at regional events like the CMP Games – Oklahoma, N. Carolina (Eastern Games) and Arizona (Western Games), the CMP is taking the SAFS program on the road as a component of those regional events.

About 50 competitors of varying degrees of shooting experience, from novice to Distinguished, attended the SAFS class in Oklahoma. The SAFS program originated as a test program in Iowa in the early 1900s and became a staple of the National Matches at Camp Perry starting in the summer of 1920.

Today the CMP has master rifle instructors across the country who have worked alongside the Army during SAFS programs at Camp Perry. The success of the SAFS class at Oklahoma affirmed that the program is road-worthy.

CMP Custom Shop Manager, John McLean discusses the importance of safe handling of all firearms. McLean and armorer Chris Hord provided technical support and armorer assistance throughout the CMP Games – Oklahoma.

At Oklahoma, the SAFS program began with a classroom instruction period led by CMP Custom Shop Manager, John McLean, CMP Armorer Chris Hord and GSM Master Instructors Don and Leon Rutherford, with several CMP instructors around the room in support.

Instruction covered safety, operation of the M16A2/AR15 rifle platform, sight alignment, sight picture, three-position shooting, sling adjustment, match conduct, scoring targets, pit duty and more. Like at Camp Perry, the timeline included instruction and dry-firing on the range followed by an introductory match.

Master rifle instructor Don Rutherford provides Andrew Timmons, of Wichita, Kansas, with position work and sling advice following the formal classroom session. Rain kept the SAFS instruction indoors and several shooters took advantage of the time by working individually with instructors.

Unfortunately, weather did not cooperate and heavy rain caused postponement of range activity until it could be rescheduled at the end of the week.

Plan “B” shifted a portion of the outdoor activity to the classroom floor where CMP instructors worked with students on dry-firing and position work in small groups in the OKC Gun Club clubhouse. Several class members stayed for the indoor session and continued their learning on shooting mats with simulated targets.

Gregg Eddings, of Dearing, Kansas, came to the CMP Games – Oklahoma to participate in the Garand match and to pick up knowledge from SAFS, the New Shooter Clinic and M1 Garand Maintenance Clinic.

When the match was fired on Friday afternoon, 5 April, the CMP provided all the rifles and .223 ammunition – the same AR15 rifles and ammo that are used at the Camp Perry SAFS at the National Matches. The match was fired at 200 yards with four stages – prone slow, prone rapid, sitting rapid and standing.

CMP Master Instructor, Will Smith, coaches Ian Kennedy, 13, of Norman, Oklahoma on finding his natural point of aim in the sitting position.

Those shooters with no Excellence-in-Competition points toward a Distinguished Rifleman Badge were eligible to win four introductory points in this special SAFS EIC match.

Gregg Eddings, 35, of Dearing, KS, a member of the Joplin Rifle and Pistol Club in Galena, KS, came to the CMP Games – Oklahoma to participate in the Garand-Springfield-Vintage Rifle series and to pick up knowledge from SAFS, the New Shooter Clinic and M1Garand Maintenance Clinic held later in the week.

“I enjoy hunting and fishing, and I think the M1 is a fun rifle to shoot,” Eddings said after getting some pointers from CMP Master Instructor Don Rutherford.

Doug Kennedy, of Norman, Oklahoma, gets some pointers on his sitting position. Kennedy and his son Ian attended the SAFS school to learn more about the process of shooting in a rifle competition.

Andrew Timmons, 45, of Wichita, KS, attended the SAFS class for similar reasons and also to compete in the EIC Service Rifle Match the next day. He finished sixth in the non-Distinguished rankings and just missed receiving EIC leg points.

“I think I got what I needed from this trip and got confirmation on some things I was concerned about,” Timmons said.

Ian Kennedy, 13, and his father Doug, 42, of Norman, OK, said they heard that the SAFS school was a good place to learn the basics of competitive shooting and how matches function. The Kennedys received some position tips from CMP master instructor Will Smith.

Don Rutherford gives Donna Berry, of Owasso, Oklahoma, some tips on improving her prone position by adjusting sling tension.

Randy Watson, 57, of Farmington, NM, drove 780 miles to attend the SAFS program and to participate in the GSM matches.

“I’m new to the AR platform, so I’m just looking to get better acquainted with the gun and pick up some tips,” he said.

Watson placed second (368-5X) in the SAFS EIC Special M16 match and earned his four introductory points. He also fired in the Garand-Springfield-Vintage Military 3-Gun series and finished 12th overall.

Randy Watson, of Farmington, NM, drove 780 miles to attend the SAFS program and to participate in the GSM matches. Watson placed second in the SAFS Special EIC M16 match and earned his four introductory points.

Greg Cook, 59, of Duncan, OK, was the overall match winner and also received his introductory EIC points, firing a score of 375-5X.

For more information and results from the CMP Games – Oklahoma, log onto http://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=match&task=edit&match=9640. To view photos from the event, log onto http://cmp1.zenfolio.com/.

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