CAMP PERRY, OHIO - This year’s winner of the third annual M9 Excellence-in-Competition (EIC) Pistol Match was Ronald Maksout, 51, of Southfield, Michigan who fired an aggregate 268-4X to earn four introductory leg points that count towards the 30 points needed to earn the Distinguished Pistol Badge.

The M9 EIC Match was part of the Pistol Small Arms Firing School that started the previous day with classroom instruction and range practice. The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit in cooperation with other U.S. military services conducts the school. The match is fired with rack grade M9 pistols that are used in the Pistol SAFS. It is designed to introduce competitors to service pistol shooting with the current military sidearm and to encourage them to work toward achieving Distinguished status.

The top 10 percent of shooters in the match, who did not already have EIC credit points, earned points, 30 competitors in all. The match was shot by 365 shooters, 24 more than last year’s match.

“I was kind of shocked to get the message that I won it,” Maksout said afterward. “My son and I came here to participate in the Small Arms Firing School and have an opportunity to bond with each other for a couple of days,” he said.

“I ended up with the best of both,” Maksout added enthusiastically.

Maksout shot a 96-3X in slow fire, a 91-3X in timed fire and an 81-0X in rapid fire to win the match. He is a criminal research specialist with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a firearms instructor with the agency.

Formerly a member of the U.S. Customs National Pistol Team, Maksout shot in practical police combat matches for several years, but has never shot bull’s-eye pistol with regularity. He last fired with his team in 2003.

Maksout said, like others in his field, he cut his teeth on a .38 revolver, but transitioned to a 9mm semiautomatic as law enforcement migrated to it.

“My 15-year-old son and I came down to learn some new things and have fun,” Maksout said. “I was hoping to get points, but winning it was the furthest thing from my mind.”

“We had a blast. We learned new things from some of the best people teaching the small arms school – they are world class.”

Kate Schaumann, 52, of Cheyenne, Wyoming is a former U.S. Army shooter, having shot matches in the 1980s at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. She came to Camp Perry for the first time this year.

“It was a good time and I can see how valuable the school is for inexperienced shooters. The instruction is first class,” she said.

Her husband, U.S. Army Major Kirk Schaumann is currently serving in Iraq with the Corps of Engineers in Baghdad. Kate is a member of the Columbine Pistol & Rifle Club of Greeley, Colorado.

In his 12th year at Camp Perry, Steve Gibbons, 52, of Lewistown, Pennsylvania said the class reinforces past lessons. “I like to come back year after year because I always pick up something new,” he said.

“In this sport, repetition is good because hearing it a second and third time refreshes lessons from the past and keeps them in your mind,” Gibbons added.

Results from the M9 EIC Match can be downloaded at http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=3417.

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