World-Famous National Matches Return for 2013 Season

The Pistol Small Arms Firing School (SAFS) will be the first event of the National Matches, with registration beginning on July 7 and an M9 EIC Match to be fired on July 8. Pistol SAFS will include basic instruction and firing practice for new shooters, competition instruction and competition live firing.

An advanced pistol course will also be conducted on July 8 for further instruction and a question and answer panel with Pistol Champions. A Service Pistol Warm-Up Match will be fired by advanced pistol goers on July 9.

Rifle SAFS will begin with registration on July 26, followed by an M16 EIC Match on July 27-28. Rifle students will also receive basic instruction on firing practices and competition shooting before competing in the live M16 EIC Match.

The advanced rifle course will also be held July 27-28, with registration beginning July 26. Here, students will have the opportunity to receive even more instruction before competing in the M16 EIC Match.

The President’s 100 Pistol Match will be fired on July 14. The President’s Match has become a prestigious event, stemming from the time of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. Shooters will fire from distances of 50 and 25 yards – competitors over 20 must use a legal pistol, while juniors must use a .22 caliber standard smallbore pistol. The Top 100 competitors are designated the “President’s Hundred” and will receive medallions and certificates.

Also occurring on July 14 will be the National Trophy Individual (NTI) Pistol Match and the National Trophy Team (NTT) Pistol Match. These are also some of the most highly respected events during the National Matches. The NTI is an Excellence-in-Competition (EIC) match, meaning 10 percent of all of the Non-Distinguished competitors will earn EIC credit points.

Winners of the NTT compete for the five of the most valuable team trophies during Nationals: the Gold Cup Trophy to the winning NTT Pistol team, the Riding High Places Trophy for the best Junior team, the Oglethorpe Trophy for the best Civilian team, the American Indian Trophy for best Law Enforcement and the U.S. Coast Guard Memorial Trophy to the best Reserve Component. Teams consist of four shooters, with at least one qualifying as a “new shooter.” Law Enforcement and Junior teams are two-person teams.

For the 12th year, the National Matches with feature a Rimfire Sporter Match, being fired on July 21, with a Rimfire Sporter Clinic on July 20. The match gives shooters the opportunity to use smallbore sporter rifles in a recreation-oriented competition setting. Rifles used for this match may be semi-automatic or manually operated. Three different classes will be used to classify shooters: O-Class for open-sighted rifles, T-Class for telescopic rifles and Tactical.

CMP-USMC Junior Highpower Rifle Clinic will be held on July 26-28, with registration on July 25 & 26. The clinic is one of the most popular among youths. Those participating in the clinic must have some previous highpower competition experience.

Members of the U.S. Marine Corps Rifle Team will be on hand to instruct while those participating shoot from distances of 200, 300 and 600 yards. Shooters will fire a 50-shot National Match Course over two days, which can be used towards EIC points for those who have not earned previous points. Bushmaster Firearms will sponsor a pizza party at the end of the clinic.

The Advanced Remington-Bushmaster Highpower Clinic will also be held on July 26-28, with registration on July 25 & 26. The Advanced Clinic offers further instruction in service rifle techniques in parallel to the Junior Rifle Clinic. The experienced shooters of the Remington-Bushmaster Team will lead the clinics with classroom instruction, dry fire, drills and a shooter panel discussion. No live fire will be conducted during the clinic.

The President’s 100 Rifle Match will be fired on July 29. The course of fire includes shooting from distances of 200, 300 and 600 yards, with a Final for the top 20 shooters fired in the prone position from 600 yards. The winner of the President’s Rifle Match will receive a plaque and his or her name permanently engraved upon the President’s Rifle Trophy, housed at the CMP Headquarters at Camp Perry. The Top 100 will be named the “President’s Hundred.”

The National Trophy Individual Rifle Match will take place on July 30 on both Rodriguez and Viale Ranges. Shooters will fire from distances of 200, 300 and 600 yards. Range capacity for this match is 1,320 competitors, with squadding issued at time of check-in at Camp Perry. Winner of the match will receive his or her name engraved on the Daniel Boone Trophy, on display at CMP at Camp Perry, as well as a plaque. Eligible Non-Distinguished competitors will be able to earn EIC points from this match.

On July 31, the National Trophy Junior Team Match will be fired by two-person teams in four stages: 200 yards standing, 200 yards sitting or kneeling from standing, 300 yards prone from standing and 600 yards prone. Scores from this event can be used alongside scores combined from the President’s 100 and National Trophy Individual Matches towards a shot at the Deneke Trophy Aggregate honor. State or Club winners of the National Trophy Junior Team Match will receive their names engraved on the Freedom’s Fire Trophy and plaques. Bushmaster Firearms will also be providing monetary winnings to the top three overall teams.

The National Trophy Team Match (NTT) will be fired on Aug. 1, and the National Trophy Infantry Team Match (NTIT) will begin on Aug. 2. NTT competitors will be a six-person team vying for their names to be displayed on the National Trophy. In NTIT, only two civilian teams have ever won the overall Infantry Trophy – in 1930 and 2009. NTIT is known as the “rattle battle,” and is one of the most exciting matches for spectators to witness.

The Hearst Doubles Rifle Team Match will be making its seventh appearance at the National Matches on July 31 on the Viale Range. The two-person teams will fire the President’s 30-shot course of fire, with no sighters, from the 200, 300 and 600 yard points. The overall winning team will receive their names on the William Randolph Hearst Trophy.

Popular CMP Games events, such as the Vintage Sniper Rifle Team, M1 Carbine, Springfield/Vintage Military, and Garand matches will also be present at the National Matches. Vintage Sniper Rifle Team will take place on July 31, M1 Carbine on August 1, Springfield/Military on August 2 & 3 and Garand on August 3.

The CMP Air Gun events will take place for the fifth year at the world-class, 80-firing point indoor range at Camp Perry. Seven different competitions will be conducted, including air pistol, air rifle and National Match Air Rifle events. Sporter class rifles are available for loan for those who do not have their own air rifles. Creedmoor-AiR-15 NMAR rifles will also be available.

The 2013 National Matches at Camp Perry are sponsored by Colt, EyePal, Glock, Savage Arms, Remington, Lapua, Garand Collectors Association, Geissele Automatics, White Oak Armament, Criterion Barrels Inc., ArmaLite Inc., Krieger Barrels Inc. and Dupage Trading Company.

For a complete list of event descriptions, rules and regulations, visit the 2013 Program at http://www.thecmp.org/NM/13NMProgram_w.pdf. Registration info can also be found by logging on to http://www.thecmp.org/NM.htm.

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