Viale Range Gets Fresh Look - When you look back at your fondest Camp Perry memories, your time pulling pits comes to mind first, right?. OK, maybe not first, but any highpower shooter who ever spent time at Camp Perry certainly has a love-hate relationship with the pits and those old target carriers that have been there since Viale Range was first built in 1907. This coming year though, when your relay is called to the pits on Viale Range, things are going to look a lot different. No, your vision is not failing you; major changes are indeed in the works for the Viale pits.

Picture:  c. 2005 J.C. Marienthal

Becoming Double Distinguished Shooter Number 81 By Steve Huff - If you are a service rifle or pistol shooter there is one shooting goal that seems to rise above all of the rest. That is the coveted title of “Double Distinguished.” When you first start out as a young rifle or pistol shooter, you probably didn’t even know it exists. With more experience and many matches under your belt you finally become aware of this lofty goal. It usually starts out by someone pointing out a Double Distinguished shooter. Most shooters speak of Double Distinguished shooters with awe in their voices.

World's largest military marksmanship competition postponed in wake of Katrina - CAMP JOSEPH T. ROBINSON, Ark. - Due to the nationwide mobilization of military troops and equipment in support of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, a decision was made this week to postpone indefinitely the 2005 Winston P. Wilson National Championships. The Wilson Matches are a multi-service marksmanship competition conducted each year at Camp Robinson by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Unit. This would have been the 35th Wilson Matches.

CMP Employees Provide Small Comforts for Those Devastated by Katrina - When a tragedy such as Hurricane Katrina hits we, as Americans, are always generously willing to help. Disasters of this magnitude affect everyone, and for those fortunate enough to only have to experience it on television the intense desire to help only grows stronger.

The Distinguished Rifleman Badge,  How I earned it - Submitted By Dick Whiting - My quest for the Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge began in 1973 at Camp Perry during the Nationals, and ended in 1976 at Camp Perry again during the Nationals. In 1973, when I shot my first EIC match, I was squadded on target 89 on Viale, but during the Leg match I was resquadded to target 87. My third shot was a 10, but I shot it on target 89. I ended up 7 Xs out of the cut off. I never got over that, and have never understood why they keep changing targets on shooters during the Championships. But all in all, it was not too bad for a beginning Expert.

CMP State Junior Directors Attend Nationals - With its rich history and storied ranges, Camp Perry’s allure to competitive shooters neatly melds the traditional sense of family gatherings and the instinctive call of yearly migration. Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, shooters, coaches and volunteers flock to the instinctual beacons of those welcoming lighthouses and unmistakable water tower. But nowhere is the mixture of dedication and love of sport, which calls so poignantly, more present than among the ranks of the CMP State Junior Directors.

200th RED HORSE Welcomed Home in Grand Style - Family members, local community leaders, and area residents all came out on August 18, 2005 to welcome home the Air National Guard 200th RED HORSE Squadron who deployed for Iraq in early January of this year. The entire Squadron made it home safely after months of providing engineering and construction support for the U.S. forces and their allies in Iraq.  The 200th Red Horse Squadron is based at Camp Perry, home of the Civilian Marksmanship Program and National Matches.

A Summer Commemorated in Rich German Tradition - The oldest German shooting club was established in 1139, and with it many rich shooting traditions began. One of those traditions made its’ way into the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s 2005 Junior Three-Position Summer Camps for the first time. Dr. Dan Durben, CMP Camp Director, wanted to commemorate each of the camps with a traditional painted wooden target similar to the ones that hang in German shooting clubs still today.

2005 Summer Camps Bring New Faces and New Places - As usual, the summer of 2005 sent the Civilian Marksmanship Program on the road as the Junior Three-Position Summer Camp program traveled across the country to bring marksmanship instruction to youth. Again under the guidance of Dr. Dan Durben, the staff had many new faces among the counselor ranks but that didn’t slow anyone down as the summer got underway.

National Matches Play Host to Australian High Power Team - So you think you traveled a long way to get to Camp Perry this year, well try traveling half way across the world. That’s exactly what the Australian High Power Team, Aussie Roos, did for a chance to experience the U.S. National Matches. The team consisted of David Cornick, George Grivas, Aubrey Sonnenberg, David Vivian Jones, David Waters, and John Webber. All six shooters are ex-service men from Australia who were looking for the opportunity to shoot semi-automatic rifles, which have been banned in Australia since the government enforced strict gun bans in 1996.