One Point from Perfection…

 

The President's Rifle Match was inaugurated in 1894 to determine the "individual military rifle championship of the United States," and when the National Matches were established by an act of Congress in 1903, the Match became an integral part of the National Matches. Furthermore, beginning in 1919, competitors who placed in the top 100 are designated as the "President's 100," making the awarding of the President's 100 gold tab one of the most distinguished and recognized honors a shooter can ever attain. On Tuesday of the 2001 National Matches, Staff Sergeant Scott Threatt of the USMC Rifle Team took it to an even higher level, firing a 299 of 300 to set a National Match record in the President's 100. His first shot scored a 9, he made a minor adjustment and then shot 29 10's with 19x. For his near-perfect efforts, Threatt received an engraved M1 rifle (as shown below) and a place in history, for in the swirling winds of Camp Perry, he did something that no other shooter has done in the Match's 100+ years. Threatt, who enjoys coaching teens and has a son who recently has taken an interest in shooting, downplayed his accomplishment, especially the fact that his teammates kept passing by the CMP office window to admire his "prize." "We support each other," he said.

Sergeant Scott Threatt (in the yellow sweatshirt) with fellow competitors preparing for a match Threatt on line in the Saturday Rattle Battle