Rifle Small Arms Firing students received instruction from members of the USAMU Service Rifle Team.

The annual Rifle Small Arms Firing School took place at Camp Perry on 28-29 July 2007. More than 500 students participated in the classroom instruction, which was followed by a practice firing on Camp Perry’s Viale Range.

The CMP administers the school and the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit conducts SAFS training, range practice and the M16 EIC Match that concludes the school. The USAMU, along with military coaches from other services, are outstanding, experienced instructors and they work hard to give SAFS students two full days of instruction, assistance and guidance. Most students are new to target shooting, but many experienced shooters come back to the school for several years. SAFS students do their firing with rack-grade U.S Military M16 rifles. 5.56 mm ammunition for the practice and competition is provided as well as a SAFS t-shirt, and certificate.

On the second day of the school, Sunday, 29 July, all students were able to fire an M16 EIC Match, with all firing at 200 yards on the SR target. Competitors fired five sighting shots and 10 shots for record slow-fire prone, with a 15 minute time limit. The second stage is rapid-fire prone, where they shoot 10 shots in 60 seconds and rapid-fire sitting, which also consists of 10 shots in 60 seconds. The final stage is slow-fire standing where participants fire 10 shots in 10 minutes. The winner of the M16 EIC Match was James Morris of Pinson, AL, who shot an overall score of 381-6X. Morris is a Sergeant with the Trussville (Alabama) Police Department. This was his first time to attend the matches at Camp Perry and only his sixth rifle match. Morris shot a 98-3X in Prone SF, 97-2X in Prone RF, a 92-0X in sitting, and an excellent 94-1X in standing position. Coming in second, and just two points behind, was Duane Rubendall of Sycamore, IL, who ended the match with an aggregate score of 379-11X. Rubendall also had a great day, scoring a near perfect 99-3X during Prone SF, a 95-3X for Prone RF, an excellent 98-4X in sitting position, and an 87-1X during standing. Chris Bradley of Northfield, VT took third place with an aggregate score of 374-6X.

The M16 EIC Match is a “Special EIC Match” where the top ten percent of all competitors who have not previously earned any EIC points receive 4-point “introductory” legs. A total of 47 shooters earned EIC credit points to start them on their quests to earn the prestigious Distinguished Rifleman Badge. The cut-off for 4-point introductory legs was 349-6X. Complete scores from the M16 EIC Match are posted at http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_eventAward.cgi?matchID=2113&eventID=4&awardID=1. Pictures can be downloaded at http://www.odcmp.com/Photos/07/RifleSAFS/index.htm.

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