It’s not only SFC Norman Anderson who is repeating as champion at the 2005 National Matches; John Friguglietti of Denver, NC won the Springfield Match for the second year in a row. In winning, he posted a new match record score of 293-9x, edging out Jimmy Barners’ record of 293-6x that has been the top score since it was fired in the first Springfield Match in 2002.
“I only started shooting two years ago and it was a friend of mine in the Marines, Richard Norman, who talked me into coming to Perry with him last year. I’m very thankful that he did,” said Friguglietti, who shoots a CMP 1903 A3 Smith-Corona rifle.
697 competitors fired in the Springfield Match, which requires that competitors fire a M1903 Springfield. CMP Achievement Medals were awarded at the end of the match to those who fired required scores. A score of 252-264 earned Bronze medals, a 265-273 earned Sliver, and a 274 or higher earned Gold. Match winner John Friguglietti was honored at the Saturday evening National Trophy Matches Festival Closing when he was presented with a CMP Trophy Plaque.
On the same day, 87 additional competitors fired in the Vintage Military Rifle Match. Competitors who fire on Springfield Match day can elect to shoot either a M1903 rifle in the Springfield Match or an “as-issued,” manually-operated foreign military rifle in the Vintage Military Rifle Match. Mark Looney from Springfield, Ohio won this match with a 285-8X total. Looney has been the dominant shooter in this match since its inaugural year, 2002. That year he fired a match record 290-8X to win. In 2003, he won with a 285-8X. Last year he was fourth when difficult, windy conditions kept all scores down.
All of the 784 competitors in the two matches were eligible to win a special M1903 Presentation Rifle that was beautifully crafted by Eric Pierce of the National Match Armory in Rendon, Texas (http://www.nationalmatcharmory.com/). To select the winner of this rifle, three competitors were drawn from each of the nine relays for an inspection of the rifles they used in the match to determine if the rifles were in compliance with CMP “as-issued” military rifle rules (CMP Rules 6.2.4 and 6.2.5, see http://www.odcmp.com/Competitions/Rulebook.pdf). One of the 27 rifles did not pass inspection. The rifle winner was drawn during the Saturday evening National Trophy Matches Festival. John Risley of Bonduel, Wisconsin, fired an excellent 279-7X score that placed 47th overall in the Springfield Match and earned him a gold achievement medal. More importantly in his case, his rifle passed inspection and he won the M1903 Presentation Rifle.
Complete results for Springfield, Vintage Military Rifle and all of the other National Trophy Rifle Matches events can be found at http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=827. Photos from the Springfield/Vintage Military Rifle Match are posted at http://www.odcmp.com/Photos/05/Springfield/index.htm.
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