The 2007 Western CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup Matches will be held at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility near Phoenix, Arizona on 20-28 October. This announcement reflects the fact that Creedmoor Sports Inc. and the CMP recently made a decision to move these fast-growing competitions from Camp Pendleton, California to the Arizona facility.

The 4th Western CMP Games will kick off with a GSM (Garand, Springfield, Military Rifle) Clinic on Saturday, 20 October. The half-day clinic is followed by three days of CMP Games shooting events. Competitors can fire with Garand, Springfield and Vintage Military Rifle Matches on 21-22 October and a special As-Issued M1 Garand EIC Match on 23 October. The CMP will host a barbecue for all competitors on Sunday evening, 21 October.

The Creedmoor Cup Matches begin with a highpower rifle clinic on Wednesday, 24 October, and then offer four days of matches for service rifles and NRA match rifles on 25-28 October. Members of the U. S. Army and U. S. Marine Corps Service Rifle Teams will be on hand to assist with the clinic and compete in the matches. The matches include a 50-shot practice match on Thursday, a 50-shot EIC/Match Rifle course on Friday, the 80-shot Creedmoor Cup Match on Saturday and a 4-person team match on Sunday. Creedmoor Sports will host a barbecue sponsored by Bushmaster Firearms and prize drawing with over $20,000 in prizes on Saturday, 27 October.

The Ben Avery Shooting Facility (formerly Black Canyon) is one of the largest and most complete range facilities in the U. S. It was selected as the venue for the 2007 CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup Matches because of its size, location near a major western city and interest in hosting this fast-growing major rifle competition. The Ben Avery Range hosted the 1970 World Shooting Championship and several national championships. It continues to host numerous regional and local competitions in a variety of shooting disciplines every year. The Arizona Game and Fish Department now operates the facility; it is the largest public shooting facility in the country.

Camp Pendleton, California had been the site for the previous Western Games and Creedmoor Cup Matches, but difficulties in assuring access to those ranges led Creedmoor Sports and the CMP to select the Ben Avery as the site for the 2007 matches.

On-line registration for both the CMP and Creedmoor Matches is now open. Click on http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/matchInfo.cgi?matchID=2516 to register. The official match program is posted at http://www.odcmp.com/Competitions/WesternGames.htm.The best way to find out more about these matches is to download and study the match program.

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