7th National Rimfire Sporter Match sets New Record - Sun and a light breeze chased away the morning rain as a record crop of shooters stepped to the firing line at the seventh annual CMP National Rimfire Sporter Match on Sunday, 20 July. Rimfire Sporter is an informal games match that introduces shooters to a course of fire akin to match competition yet conducted at a pace conducive to new shooters. The match is fired with off-the-rack bolt-action or semi-automatic .22 caliber rifles which bear no specialized target shooting equipment such as heavy fluted barrels, thumbhole stocks or match-grade sights and must meet weight and trigger-pull restrictions.

Henderson, Hemphill and USAMU’s Team Blue take top honors at the 2008 National Trophy Pistol Matches - This year marked the 117th anniversary of the National Trophy Pistol Matches, now sponsored by the Civilian Marksmanship Program. The matches, which trace back to roots in competitions promoted by US Department of War and US Congress in the late 1800s and early 1900, have been hosted at Camp Perry since 1907. Over 900 shooters participated in the 2008 National Trophy Pistol Matches phase which includes the Pistol Small Arms Firing School.

Top Pistol Shooters - Entering the service pistol events at the 2008 National Matches, three US Army Marksmanship Unit members held spots in the top five Civilian Marksmanship Program national rankings with two former military shooters in the mix.

Pistol Shooters win big with the CMP Handicap System - It doesn’t happen too often in sports, but sometimes the average competitor gets an opportunity to compete straight up with the perennial champs and bring home the prize.  With a little help from the CMP Handicap System, Ross Chesley, of East Grand Rapids, Michigan and Ron Hawkins, of Hanover, Massachusetts did just that in the President’s Pistol and National Trophy Individual matches, respectively, Sunday, 13 July.

30 Shooters earn 4-point legs in M9 EIC Match - 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.

NRA President John Sigler fires First Shot - Under a warm and cloudy sky on the western shore of Lake Erie, several hundred onlookers, including competitive shooters, officials and guests watched as keynote speaker John C. Sigler, president of the NRA, fired the ceremonial first shot to open the 2008 National Rifle & Pistol Trophy Matches during the traditional First Shot Ceremony on Monday, 7 July.

Pistol Small Arms Firing School - Taking knowledge to a higher level was the theme of this year’s Pistol Small Arms Firing School on 7-8 July, as 365 attendees and competitors benefited from outstanding firearms instruction and the opportunity to participate in the third annual M9 Excellence in Competition (EIC) match the next morning.

Camp Perry Air Gun Range Open and Active - The CMP’s Camp Perry Competition Center with its 80-point electronic target air gun range opened this month with a flurry of activity. Since use of the new range began on 9 June, CMP programs have already trained 276 junior shooters and 45 adult leaders or coaches there, while utilizing the assistance of 20 volunteer instructors and several CMP staff members to carry out four different training programs.