The CMP Garand Match began just four years ago in 1998. 334 shooters attended that first match, 784 fired in the 1999 match, 999 last year and an impressive 1,300 this year. For the competition’s first three years, an M1 Garand was awarded to the top shooter. Now, a new fixture has been added to the CMP's hall of trophies, a special honor for the winning rifleman of what has become the CMP's largest event at the National Matches.
Early this year, the Garand Collectors Association approached the CMP with the idea of creating a trophy for the newly established Garand Match. Their offer to provide the trophy was quickly accepted by the CMP.
The design concept for the trophy was kept simple, reflecting as much as possible the beauty and function of the M1 Garand Rifle. In fact, the wood of the trophy (solid walnut) was intentionally left unfinished as a tribute to the unfinished yet highly functional finish found on all original M1 rifles. The trophy shown here stands approximately 5 feet tall and weighs 150 pounds.
Financing for the trophy came from the members of the Garand Collectors Association, a not-for-profit organization made up of 3,000 members from all 50 states and several foreign countries.
On Saturday (as shown here), Brian Hunter of Huntsville, Alabama won the 2001 Garand Match with a score of 287-6X. Hunter became the first person in the short, four-year history of this event to win it twice. He took home engraved M1 rifles in 1999 and 2001, but this year he also became the first recipient of the Garand Collectors Association John C. Garand Trophy.
