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I wanted to let you know that your news letter is outstanding. A lot of really
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Thanks for the work you
do. We enjoy the CMP Newsletter and updates. Sincerely, W. Chessman
I enjoy reading the email and look forward to it every week.
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Having been a member of the Junior NRA during the late '50's where I
achieved the rating of Sharpshooter 6th Bar, I am honestly able to state that I
was pleasantly surprised and very pleased to see that you're still actively
pursuing today's youth to continue the interest of sport shooting (which I still
love). Thank you and warm regards.
Ted K., SCPO, USN Retired
Thank you for a great news letter.
J. B.
I shot high expert in the Marine Corps in the 60's with the venerable Garand and hope someday to own one again. I like reading TFS and their informative articles. Thanks for the excellent site.
Sincerely, Fred C.
I attended the Houston Gun Collectors January Show, and truthfully, the CMP display was the high point of the show for me. I'm still trying to decide about buying a Greek Collector Grade M-1 rifle (I have too many Garands already), but when all is said and done, I think the decision to take the CMP to such major gun shows is a real winner.
Larry S.
The First Shot is a well put together, informative on-line magazine. Kudos'
to the staff for the idea and content.
Col. Lance, USA-Ret.
PS Great revitalization and up grade of the old DCM.
Love these CMP Updates, faster than newsletters. Great info,
LTC Eaton, JROTC Lumberton H.S., Lumberton, N.C.
Hi,the Western CMP games sounds like a GREAT idea. I hope it works out as well as your matches do. I am hoping to shoot the Springfield Match along with the Garand Match this year. Again, I Thank all of you for being there for us shooters!
Warren W.
WONDERFUL IDEAS THESE WESTERN GARAND MATCHES , KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
JACK
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Shane M.
Great website! I especially like the story about what you did for the 200th Red Horse Flight. I saw some of their previous work while in the Middle East last year.
Paul D., Lt Col, IN ANG, BSC
I think it is great. Keep it up
Don E.
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SUMMER SHOOTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR JUNIORS
By Gary Anderson, DCM
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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.
Summers can be a time when juniors do extra training to improve their skills to be better prepared for the upcoming fall-winter shooting season. Summers are also a time to participate in one or more of the many Junior or open national championships that offer prestigious junior titles. As you read about special summer shooting opportunities that might interest you and your juniors, use the chart on page 12 to obtain dates and sources of more information about those activities. Note that many activities like the CMP Junior Rifle Camps and NRA National Junior Smallbore Camp always fill early and that some competitions have qualifying competitions that took place in the winter and spring months. In those cases, you need to add those events to your list of activities to plan in 2006.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
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| Juniors can compete for national championship honors! At the 2005 National Trophy Rifle Matches, 17-year-old Chris Atkins from Brunswick, Georgia became the first junior and only the second civilian in 30 years to win the President’s Rifle Match. He poses here with the President’s Rifle Trophy. |
Top junior shooters’ often focus their goals and annual training plans on national championships that take place during the summer. Some juniors go to these championships striving to make winning performances in competitions for open and junior national champion titles. Many others attend these championships because the best shooters are there and there is much to learn from them. Still others go because competing in national championships is always a great experience. National championships attract the best junior and senior shooters. They determine who the best shooters in the country are in competitions for prestigious trophies and titles that usually have fascinating histories and traditions. Almost every national shooting championship offers junior titles as well. Many offer reduced entry fees for juniors and have other program features designed to encourage more juniors to attend. Championships taking place in the summer that are of particular interest to junior shooters are:
USA Shooting National Championship. This is the national championship for Olympic and world championship shooting events in rifle, pistol, shotgun and running target. Every event offers both open or senior titles that juniors can and sometimes do win, plus junior titles that only juniors can win. The Olympic events include three-position and prone smallbore rifle, air rifle standing, air pistol, free and rapid fire pistol, running target and skeet, trap and double trap. Members of the U. S. National Team and U. S. National Development Team (national junior team) are selected at this competition. This year, members of the USA Shooting Team that will compete in the 2005 Confederation of the Americas Championship in Puerto Rico will be selected from the junior national championship results. Juniors who want to compete in collegiate shooting or who dream of some day making the Olympic team regard this as a must-attend championship.
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| The Wisconsin Rifle & Pistol Association Juniors traditionally are one of the stronger state junior highpower teams that compete in the National Trophy Rifle Matches each year. In 2004, the Wisconsin Juniors won the Junior Infantry Trophy with a score of 933. |
CMP National Trophy Rifle Matches. Juniors who compete in service rifle matches or who are interested in trying highpower rifle shooting will find plenty of reasons to attend these competitions at Camp Perry, Ohio. The National Trophy Matches offer opportunities for brand new highpower shooters as well as the best junior highpower shooters in the country. Experienced junior highpower shooters start the week by attending the popular USMC Junior Highpower Service Rifle Clinic. Junior shooters with no highpower competition experience begin their week at Camp Perry by attending the Rifle Small Arms Firing School taught by the U. S. Army Rifle Team.
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| The top six overall junior shooters in the National Trophy Rifle Matches at Camp Perry are named to the National Junior Team and have their names engraved on the prestigious Deneke Trophy. |
National Trophy service rifle competitions include the President’s Match, the National Trophy Individual Rifle Match, the Whistler Boy Junior Team Match, the National Trophy Team Match and the unique experience of the National Trophy Infantry Team Match. In 2004, over 300 junior service rifle shooters competed in the National Trophy Rifle Matches. Many state rifle and pistol associations train junior highpower teams to compete for the Whistler Boy Junior Highpower Trophy Match for two-person teams, for the Minuteman Trophy Team Match for six-person junior teams in the National Trophy Team Match and for the Junior Infantry Team Trophy awarded to the high junior team in the National Trophy Infantry Team Match. The most sought-after individual junior honors are winning a place on the National Junior Team as one of the overall top six junior shooters in the Colonel Bill Deneke Trophy Match.
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| Jamie Beyerle, a junior shooter from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, was the leading shooter in the 2004 NRA National Smallbore Championships at Camp Perry. Beyerle was second overall in the position championship and first in prone. |
NRA National Smallbore Rifle Championships. The NRA National Smallbore Rifle Position and Prone Championships are always popular competitions for juniors. As many as 40 percent of the 350 or so competitors who attend these traditional smallbore competitions are juniors. NRA smallbore championships offer juniors several daily events with junior competitors divided into classifications. Newer or less skilled competitors compete for awards in the Marksman, Sharpshooter and Expert classes. A major appeal of these competitions is that they are part of the National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio. Camp Perry is located in an enjoyable vacation area and features a commercial row lined with shooting equipment suppliers.
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| Christopher Jones from Battle Ground, Washington won the CMP’s Junior Pistol Trophy during the 2004 National Trophy Pistol Matches. Jones was also a firing member of the Washington State Pistol Service Pistol Team that placed second in the Oglethorpe Trophy state team competition at Camp Perry. Legendary pistol champion Bill Blankenship presented the junior trophy. |
CMP & NRA National Matches for Pistol. The three big summer competitions for junior pistol shooters are the USA Shooting National Championships, with competition in the Olympic pistol events, the NRA National Pistol Championship and the CMP National Trophy Pistol Matches. Juniors who shoot in the 2005 NRA National Pistol Championship again will have the option of firing the entire 2700 aggregate in a “Made in American Junior Championship Program” where junior pistol shooters must fire .22 caliber “made in America” pistols. CMP junior competitors fire .22 caliber pistols in the President’s Match, National Trophy Individual and National Trophy Team Matches. The Junior Team event is a two-person event. Juniors who compete in these events can fire any .22 caliber standard or sport pistol.
The CMP has two support programs that junior highpower rifle and smallbore shooters who are new to the National Matches can use to help offset travel and entry fee expenses in participating. Regulations and application information for the CMP Junior Highpower Support Program are on the CMP web site at http://www.odcmp.com/NM/JrHPSupport.htm. Juniors who shoot smallbore rifle and who have not attended the National Matches can win travel stipends in competitions administered by the CMP State Junior Directors. Information on the CMP Junior Smallbore Support Program is posted at http://www.odcmp.com/NM/JrSBSupport.htm.
JUNIOR SHOOTING CAMPS
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| CMP Junior Rifle Camps take place during the months of June and July. CMP camps host up to 50 juniors in training experiences that feature expert instruction and intensive practice with lots of individual hands-on coaching. |
One of the best possible ways for junior shooters to improve their competition scores is to attend a junior shooting camp. The CMP, NRA and USA Shooting all sponsor outstanding shooting camps led by instructors with impressive teaching and competition credentials. In addition, there are many regional and local camps that offer opportunities to learn and improve skills. Shooting camps typically last three to five days and let campers learn new or advanced shooting techniques from expert instructors and spend lots of time on the range practicing. Camps typically have counselors or coaches who are accomplished competitors and who provide lots of hands-on coaching during the range sessions. Almost all juniors who attend camps report significant improvements in their shooting scores.
CMP Junior Rifle Camps focus on three-position air rifle shooting. The camp director and chief instructor for the 2005 camps is U. S. Olympian and former National Rifle Coach Dan Durben. He will be joined by 2004 Paralympic Games silver medalist Dan Jordan, Head Counselor Sommer Wood and a staff of eight counselors who are all current college rifle team members. CMP camps always fill early.
The NRA conducts or sanctions a wide variety of camps that are organized by the NRA Education and Training Division or local organizations. The NRA features National Camps in rifle pistol and shotgun that offer advanced instruction and intensive training. The NRA National Junior Smallbore Camp, which takes place each summer at Camp Perry, is another camp that always fills early. Over the years, it has introduced hundreds of juniors to smallbore competition and the National Matches smallbore events.
There are also prestigious National Junior Olympic Camps in rifle, shotgun and sometimes in pistol that the top juniors aspire to attend. USA Shooting, as the Olympic national governing body, is the lead organization in these camps that take place at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, but the NRA also plays a supportive role in helping to organize these camps. This year, the CMP is cooperating with USA Shooting to offer:
NATIONAL JUNIOR INVITATIONAL COMPETITIONS
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| Jace Bures from Odell, Nebraska won the sporter class individual title at the 2004 Junior Olympic Position Air Rifle Championship and was second in the National Guard Bureau Championship. Bures’ team, the Homestead 4-H Shooting Club from Beatrice, Nebraska, won the team championship in both competitions. |
The summer shooting season is when most national junior invitationals have their final competitions. All but one of these championships have qualifying competitions in the winter and spring so it is important to plan well ahead to make it possible for your juniors to take advantage of the unique experiences these events offer. The one competition that is open to all interested juniors is the Daisy Air Gun Invitational. Junior air rifle and air pistol shooters who are still looking for an exciting competition challenge for this summer should consider this competition that takes place this summer at Bowling Green, Kentucky.
National Guard Bureau Junior Air Rifle Tournament. The National Guard runs a major postal competition during the months of January through March with sporter-class three-position air rifle and precision-class standing air rifle events. The top teams in both classes are invited to a national competition, which this year will take place at Bowling Green, Kentucky in late June. The winning precision team will receive a trip to Bisley, England to participate in the British National Championship. The winning sporter team receives four spaces in a 2006 CMP Junior Air Rifle Camp.
National 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational. This competition, which will take place this year in Columbia, Missouri, is open to 4-H Shooting Sports Clubs. Individual 4-H juniors are limited to participating in this national event for
only 1 year in a specific event/discipline, but may return in another shooting
discipline/events
. The Invitational features a variety of shooting sports events that are practiced by 4-H clubs including archery, silhouette rifle, air rifle, pistol and shotgun. One of the smallbore events on the 2005 program is the CMP Rimfire Sporter event.
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| The top three 4-H, Jaycee or other BB gun teams in each state are eligible to compete in the Annual International BB Gun Championship sponsored by Daisy Manufacturing and the U. S. Jaycees.
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Daisy/U. S. Jaycees International BB Gun Championship. For 4-H and other junior programs that practice BB gun shooting, this is the national championship. Teams must qualify in state competitions. The BB gun championship is for youth 15 and younger and often includes juniors as young as nine or ten. The competition includes a 100-point educational test and a 4x10 5-meter BB gun course of fire.
Daisy National Air Gun Open Championship. The Daisy air gun competition is the oldest youth air gun championship in the country. It is open to any school-age junior and has both team and individual events in sporter and precision air rifle, air pistol and air rifle running target. Many juniors got their first taste of national competition by entering this popular event.
National Junior Olympic Air Rifle Championship. USA Shooting and the National Three-Position Air Rifle Council sponsor this competition. It is the major national competition in three-position air rifle. Teams and individuals must qualify in Junior Olympic state championships in the winter or early spring. Competing teams must be either scholastic teams representing a single school or club teams where team members are regular participants in that club’s program. All-star teams are not permitted. Sporter and precision class team and individual titles won at this competition have become especially prestigious because almost all of the top junior shooters now try to qualify for this event. The 2005 championship will be at Bowling Green, Kentucky in July.
NRA Junior Air Gun Championship. The NRA also sponsors a major national air gun championship that now includes both three-position air rifle and air pistol. Teams that enter this competition may be all-star teams where team members are selected from different clubs or schools. This year’s competition will take place at Bloomington, Illinois in July.
American Legion Junior Air Rifle Championship. The last major junior competition of the summer is the American Legion National Air Rifle Championship that takes place every year in early August at Colorado Springs. A two-stage postal competition, which begins in the fall, is used to qualify the 40 individual juniors who participate in sporter or precision class three-position air rifle.
OTHER SUMMER ACTIVITIES
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The summer months can be a great time to do the extra training that makes the difference
in a young shooter’s rise to the top. |
Summer is a Time for Extra Practice. During the school year, when schoolwork and school activities take precedence and the time available for shooting practice is often limited, it is difficult to do enough training to accomplish especially challenging shooting goals. Even juniors who work in a full or part-time job typically have more time available to train during the summer. Some JROTC units and club teams make their ranges available for team members to train even after school is out. Juniors who own their own air rifles can easily set up a 10-meter range in a basement, garage or utility room. All that is required is a minimum clear distance of 35-38 feet in a location where outside entrance can be restricted. With a range at home, young shooters can train as much as they want. Devoting three to five hours a day to improving firing positions and techniques can pay huge dividends when the shooting season starts again in the fall.
Sometimes Summer is a Time for Taking a Break from Shooting. Anyone familiar with the principles of athletic training knows that rest is part of a sound sports training program. For most junior shooters, the shooting season begins in the fall shortly after school starts. If the fall, winter or spring was filled with lots of competitions and regular practice, a break might be beneficial. The best way to decide whether juniors are ready for more shooting during the summer is to evaluate their motivation to shoot. Are they eager to get back to the range and do more shooting? Are they excited about going to a big match? The answers to those questions will tell you whether your junior shooters are ready for a break this summer or are ready to take advantage of the many summer shooting opportunities available to them.
A GUIDE TO 2005 SUMMER SHOOTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR JUNIOR SHOOTERS
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