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Western CMP Games Grow

By Gary Anderson, DCM
The newly combined 2005 Western CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup Matches took place on Camp Pendleton’s Wilcox Range with its picturesque backdrop of the Southern California coastal hills.
The 2nd Western CMP Games were completed at Camp Pendleton, California on 5-8 November. They featured more entries than the 1st Games, a dynamic new partnership with the Creedmoor Cup Matches, an experimental As-Issued U. S. Military Rifle EIC Match and more exciting government surplus rifle sales opportunities. The Games were co-hosted by the Santa Margarita Gun Club, which is based at Camp Pendleton. The four days of CMP events were followed by five days of Creedmoor Cup events that concluded on 13 November.

486 competitors, gun buyers and range officials from 28 different states signed up to participate in one or more phases of the 2005 Western CMP Games & Creedmoor Cup Matches that took place at Camp Pendleton, California on 5-13 November.
“CMP Games” is a CMP rifle competition program that offers accessible, recreation-oriented shooting opportunities at national, regional and club levels. CMP Games events include the John C. Garand Match, which was first offered at Camp Perry in 1998, the Springfield Rifle Match, the Vintage Military Rifle Match and the Rimfire Sporter Match for smallbore shooters. The CMP Games format emphasizes participation over winning and strives to have the real winners be all competitors who participate.

The 1st Western CMP Games were held at Camp Pendleton, California in May of this year. Subsequently, the CMP and Creedmoor Sports, sponsors of the Creedmoor Cup Matches, made the decision to combine the Western CMP Games with the Creedmoor Cup Matches that were already established as a major west coast highpower rifle competition. Since the Creedmoor Cup Matches, which had demonstrated their ability to draw on the very best highpower “across-the-course” rifle shooters, takes place in November during the week of the Marine Corps birthday and Veterans Day, this became the new time frame for both matches. Now two major west coast highpower rifle events have become a nine-day series of clinics and competitions that offer high quality experiences for every type of highpower shooter from raw beginner to national champion.

Gary Anderson, DCM, and Deborah Boyle, CMP Programs Manager, gave over 100 competitors an in-depth highpower clinic before the Western CMP Games matches began.
Events began on Saturday with a CMP Garand and Springfield Clinic attended by over 100 mostly new shooters. This clinic covered everything one needs to know to complete a Garand, Springfield or Vintage Military Rifle Match successfully. Clinic topics included safety, range procedures, the course of fire, how matches are conducted, the technique of firing accurate shots, the prone and standing positions, sight adjustment, scoring and pit pulling. The CMP plans to make this clinic available in CD or booklet format sometime next year.

The CMP Games part of the week featured two days where competitors had opportunities to shoot one Garand, Springfield or Vintage Military Rifle Match each day. 227 competitors fired these matches, compared with 198 who competed in May. In these matches, competitors must fire “as-issued” M1 Garand, M1903 Springfield or other U. S. or foreign military rifles from the same era. The course of fire starts in prone with five sighters and 10 record shots fired “slow fire,” that is, one round at a time. Next is a rapid fire prone stage where competitors stand and load, then must get into position, fire two or five shots, reload and finish firing the 10 shots in 80 seconds. The event concludes with a 10 shot standing slow fire stage.

Dave Jordan, President of the host Santa Margarita Gun Club, had the high score in the John C. Garand Match with a 286-6X.
All competitors who fire the M1 Garand or Springfield must fire issue ammo while foreign military rifle shooters may fire “any safe ammo.” The ammunition selected for this match was Greek .30-06 ammo (Pyrkal manufacture) that the CMP is now selling at $168.00 per case of 768 rounds plus s&h (check the CMP E-Store web site at http://www.odcmp.com/ammo.htm). Reports from competitors indicated that the ammo performed reliably and accurately.

The winner of the John C. Garand Match with a score of 286-6X was David Jordan from Escondido, California. Jordan, who is 66 years old, is the President of the Santa Margarita Gun Club that served as the host club for the matches.

Robert Noonan, Phoenix, Arizona, received a plaque for firing the high score in the Springfield Match from CMP Vice Chairperson Judy Legerski and CMP Director Gary Anderson.
Robert Noonan from Phoenix, Arizona won the Springfield Rifle Match with a score of 279-2X, while Edward Hotz from Costa Mesa, California won the Vintage Military Rifle Match with a score of 277-3X. Hotz used a Swiss K31 rifle with Swiss government surplus GP11 7.5x55m ammunition.  Complete results of all Western CMP Games events are posted on the CMP web site at http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi? matchID=958.

Edward Hotz, Costa Mesa, California, received a plaque for firing the high score in the Vintage Military Rifle Match.
CMP Games Achievement Medals with neck ribbons that were made just for the Western Games Matches were presented to all competitors who fired the requisite cut scores immediately after each day’s firing. Garand Match competitors won three gold, 21 silver and 30 bronze medals. Springfield competitors won three gold, six silver and five bronze medals. Vintage Military Rifle shooters took home two gold, one silver and four bronze medals.

A highlight of each day came at the end of firing when the CMP staff and volunteers laid out surplus M1 Garands, M1903 Springfields, M1917 Enfields and military surplus smallbores for inspection and tagging by potential customers.
One of the most active periods of each day occurred at the end of the competition when the CMP staff laid out a large selection of government surplus M1 Garand, M1903 Springfield, M1917 Enfield and Kimber .22 cal. rifles that competitors and potential customers could inspect and tag for purchase.

Ron Meyers from Grand Junction, Colorado won the experimental As-Issued U. S. Military Rifle EIC Match with a 385-8X score and earned his first rifle EIC credit points.
The fourth day of the CMP matches was dedicated to a new experimental match, an As-Issued U. S. Military Rifle EIC Match. This event is modeled after the M16 EIC Match that already is a successful and growing part of the National Matches schedule. Both matches are designed to introduce new shooters to the quest for the Distinguished Rifleman Badge. They offer “introductory legs” or 4 EIC credit points to the top ten percent of all competitors who have earned no previous EIC credit points. Like the M16 EIC Match, this event featured a 40-shot course of fire with a 10-shot rapid fire sitting series added to the prone-prone rapid-standing series of the Garand Match.

Theodore Tchang, LaJolla, California, was one of five shooters in the new As-Issued EIC Match who earned their first rifle EIC credit points that count towards the awarding of the Distinguished Rifleman Badge.
Ronald Meyers from Grand Junction, Colorado won the As-Issued EIC Match with a score of 386-8X. Meyers, who holds the Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge, reported that this was the first match he had ever actually won. 56 shooters fired in the match. There were 51 competitors who had no EIC points and were eligible to earn 4-point legs. Shooters who won their first rifle EIC credit points during the Western CMP Games were Meyers; Michael Myers, Chicago, Illinois; John Giles, Brea, California; John McLean III, Anniston, Alabama and Theodore Tchang, LaJolla, California.

The Western CMP Games were followed by the Creedmoor Cup Matches. A separate story on the winners in these high performance matches is posted on The First Shot On-Line at http://www.odcmp.org/1105/Creedmoor.asp. A large collection of photos from the Western CMP Games is posted at http://www.odcmp.com/Photos/05/Index.htm.

The next Western CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup Matches will take place at Camp Pendleton on 4-12 November 2006. Be sure to put this exciting event on your schedule.