2005 Rimfire Sporter Nationals Biggest So Far - One hundred eighty shooters, the highest number yet, stepped to the firing line for the fourth rendition of the CMP National Rimfire Sporter Match on Sunday, 24 July. The day started with rain, changed to calm, cloudy weather and finally ended with the strong winds. In addition to offering just about every kind of Camp Perry weather imaginable, the day featured a festival atmosphere where almost the entire CMP North staff came out to help run the match and serve a barbecue cookout at the end of the day. Many also took advantage of their visit to Camp Perry to check out the National Matches Commercial Row and the CMP Store.

USMC Team, Army Reservist and Civilian Take Top Honors in National Trophy Pistol Matches - The Gold Cup Trophy, which is awarded to the winning team in the National Trophy Team Match, is arguably the most prestigious team trophy in any U. S. pistol competition. In the National Trophy Team Match, each member of a four-person team fires a 9mm or .45 cal. service pistol over the 30-shot National Match Course. Team members fire in pairs, with two team members firing on the first relay and two on the second. Each four-person team must have one “new shooter” who has never fired in the National Trophy Team Match before.

Major General Wayt opens the 2005 National Matches - Major General Greg Wayt, the Adjutant General of the State of Ohio, was the First Shot Speaker and had the honor of firing the ceremonial first shot to open the 2005 National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio. The traditional First Shot Ceremony at Camp Perry took place on July 11th. Everyone in attendance enjoyed a colorful ceremony that benefited from the better side of Camp Perry weather, with the sun shining and a light breeze coming off of Lake Erie.

Nebraska’s Bures Shatters Record in Junior Olympic Sporter Competition - Jace Bures from tiny Odell, Nebraska (population 345) shattered the most prestigious sporter class national record on the books at the 2005 National Three-Position Air Rifle Championship. By the end of the competition, he not only won the individual sporter championship with a match record 1215 x 1300 score, but he established three new open national records.

Teams from Nebraska and Washington win 2005 National Guard Bureau Junior Air Rifle Tournament - The 23rd annual National Guard Bureau Junior Air Rifle Tournament took place at Western Kentucky University, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, 28-30 June 2005. A total of 136 teams (1013 individuals) participated in the State Championship Postal Competition of the tournament which took place in the months of December through March. The 10 highest qualifying sporter and 10 highest qualifying precision state champion teams in the State Championship Postal Competition, along with the Palmyra Junior Rifle Team and Homestead 4-H Shooting Club, winners in the 2004 Tournament, were invited to compete in the National Guard Bureau Junior Air Rifle Tournament.

Summer Shooting Opportunities for Juniors - Summers can be a special time for junior shooters. Without the time demands of school, summers offer more time for extra training as well as the travel necessary to compete in the most important championships of the year. The May-June 2004 issue of On the Mark reviewed shooting opportunities that were available to junior shooters last summer. This year, we will again looks at the many shooting opportunities that can make this summer a special time for junior shooters.

Sea Cadet Air Rifle Camp - A return to the basics was in store for the 2005 CMP three position summer camp program as the first marksmanship camp for the Navy’s Sea Cadets was held at Camp Perry at the end of June. Marksmanship has never been offered before in the Sea Cadet program so the two week camp was the first exposure to three position sporter air rifle for the 60 cadets participating.

Sea Cadet Air Rifle Camp:  A Coaches View - This is a fantastic Sea Cadet camp! There were sixty (60) sea cadets in the marksmanship camp, mostly from the midwest, but really from all over. I had eight sea cadets in my coaching unit from California, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. One of them had just come from LCDR Perez's recruit training in Florida.

First Shot Ceremony to Inaugurate 2005 National Matches - The Adjutant General of the State of Ohio, Major General Gregory Wayt, will be the guest of honor at the 2005 National Matches First Shot Ceremony. The First Shot Ceremony has become the traditional opening ceremony for the annual competitions at Camp Perry, Ohio that attract over 5,000 competitors and school students from all over the United States and several foreign countries.

Dan Jordan is UAF’s New Head Rifle Coach - A University of Alaska Fairbanks alumnus who earned All-American honors as a shooter is the new head rifle coach at UAF.  Dan Jordan, a 2001 UAF grad who was an All-American at UAF and won the silver medal in men's three-position rifle at the 2004 Paralympics, will replace Glenn Dubis, who led the UAF rifle team to two NCAA championships in three seasons.