Enthusiast Dreams Become Reality at Highly Anticipated           CMP Advanced Maintenance Clinic

By Ashley Brugnone, CMP Writer/Editor

Students in the Advanced Maintenance Clinic watched slideshows and videos as part of the learning portion of the class.

ANNISTON, AL – For 20 of the luckiest enthusiasts from around the country, June 4-6 was a dream come true. These rifle fanatics were the chosen ones – those who destiny selected to attend the highly sought after Advanced Maintenance Clinic, held in the new Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) Custom Shop in Anniston.

The Advanced Maintenance Clinic (AMC) is the first class offered by the CMP that allows hands-on training with the M1 Garand, teaching rifle function and preservation. During the class, students build their own Garand from CMP parts, under the direction of CMP’s expertly trained Custom Shop armorers.

During the “lab” portion of the class, students used spare parts to construct their new rifle.

Because of the popularity of the M1 Garands and the great lust from enthusiasts everywhere to add them to their collections, CMP anticipated the classes would be in high demand – but no one could have guessed just how much.

Registration for the class opened Nov. 25, 2013 at 9 a.m. through the CMP website. A surge of hopefuls logged onto the CMP’s Competition Tracker website and all classes and waitlists were completely filled within 30 minutes.

With the anxiety of making the list now over, the envied few that made it into the classes can now recount their stories of where they were during that fateful registration time, and laugh.  

“I was actually in school when I signed up – sitting in class,” said 18-year-old William Hill of Helena, AL, with a grin.

John McLean (standing), CMP Custom Shop manager, was one of the lead instructors of the AMC.

Not only was Hill lucky enough to actually make the roster into the class, he also just squeaked by the minimum entry age of 18. His dad also tried to sign up for the clinic, but wasn’t as fortunate as his son.

“He was pretty jealous,” said Hill. “This was a great experience. Everyone here made it really easy. I’m hoping to use my rifle in my next match.”

At 18, William Hill was the youngest participant in the June AMC session. One of the lucky few to make the cut, he managed to sign up for the class while sitting in school.

Rick School of Appleton, WI, was out hunting when registration for the class opened. He took his phone and used the infinite power of cellular data to sign up.

“I was in the tree with my cell phone in my hand, trying to connect with 4G,” he said. “I kept saying, ‘Come on! Come on!’ because I was having a hard time, even with 4G. But somehow I got in.”

David Giljam of Dowington, PA, didn’t make the cut at first – landing second on the waiting list. He thought his hopes of being able to construct his very own M1 Rifle were dashed until suddenly, April arrived, and he received the announcement that his name had been added to the list of students.

AMC participants built M1 Garand rifles from scratch – from the trigger to the stock.

“I just went, ‘Yesss,’” he said with a laugh. “I waited what felt like a better part of a year to get in. And it was definitely worth the wait. This was one of the best things I’ve done in my life.”

The Advanced Maintenance Clinic is an evolution of the standard M1 Maintenance class. The standard class is the beginning level, where students learn parts of the rifle and how to build it, without any actual rifle work. The AMC is more of the “lab” portion of the standard class – where participants truly dig into the parts and assemble a real, usable rifle.

A group of 20 students met in the CMP Custom Shop June 4-6 for the Advanced Maintenance Clinic for the opportunity to learn about and build their own M1 Garand.

The class is also a stem off of the CMP Custom Shop that opened in October 2013. A space where rifles are serviced and repaired, the shop’s purpose isn’t to draw in a large amount of revenue. Instead, it’s meant to be a service to those enthusiasts who have made CMP the strong organization it is today.

“That’s what this class is like. It’s just because,” said Mark Johnson, CMP deputy chief operating officer. “We care about our customer base and want to provide a good, quality service for them to keep our good relationship alive.”

Ryan Lindell (left) is the newest member of the CMP Custom Shop. Lindell was on hand to help with questions during the building process.

Students within the class need no previous gunsmith experience or an advanced knowledge of the M1. CMP’s specialized Custom Shop armorers, John McLean and Chris Hord, are the lead instructors of the class, while Ryan Lindell of the Custom Shop is also on hand to assist.

During the clinic, McLean and Hord touch on subjects such as component purpose and function, barrel installation, malfunctions and remedies, as well as accurizing techniques. The two use verbal presentations and video demonstrations before jumping into the handy work.  

“John’s a very good instructor, and Chris is very knowledgeable as well. They’re very well rounded,” said Johnson. “They certainly have the knowledge. There are people who have all the knowledge in the world but can’t teach – they can do both. They’re very good at what they do.”

Most students who participated in the AMC described the experience as one of the best of their life and one they won’t soon forget.

William Hunnicutt of Carrsville, VA, was very impressed with the instruction and assistance given by everyone during the clinic and stunned at the amount of information the class was able to absorb in such a small amount of time. Though most classes can often be described as cumbersome, this class was anything but that. 

“I was surprised how much we were able to learn in just two days,” said Hunnicutt. “It was really an amazing experience.”

Hunnicutt says he’s hoping to take the rifle he built back to his home and pass it down through his family for generations to come.

“Beginning with whichever lucky grandchild I choose,” he said with a laugh.

Chris Hord, CMP Custom Shop armorer, taught slideshow presentations and gave live demonstrations on M1 maintenance.

When all of the classwork is over, and all of the rifles have been built, the students take their craftsmanship to the CMP testing trailer to be fired. With a pull of the trigger, each student’s AMC experience ends with a bang – and it’s one they’ll never forget.

“My family has been all over the world. My son has been to China, Japan – my daughter in India, here and there. And I get to go to Anniston, Alabama,” said Mark Farrell of Albuquerque, NM, almost jokingly at first. Then, he thought about it more.

“But I wouldn’t trade any of their trips for this experience. I’ve finally got something on them.”

For more information on the CMP Advanced Maintenance Clinic, visit http://thecmp.org/Training/AMC.htm. To take a look inside of the classroom, scroll through photos of the AMC June 2014 photo album on http://cmp1.zenfolio.com/.