National Pistol Matches Close with Drama and New National Champions - As quick as the wind coming off of the water of Lake Erie, the first stage of the National Rifle and Pistol Matches at Camp Perry have drawn to a close. With the CMP National Trophy Pistol Matches, and the awards ceremony that followed, pistol shooters from all over the country departed Camp Perry and left it to the smallbore shooters who will gather here in the coming days…but not before new National Champion pistol shooters were crowned and trophies presented.

Pistol Competitor Killed in Tragic Accident
Returning Home from Camp Perry - In a community as large as the competitive shooting family that comes to the National Matches at Camp Perry every year, tragedies that strike one of their members are always hard to take.  On Wednesday, July 21st, Ken Saucier, a pistol shooter, Seattle Police Officer and father, died in a single-car accident in Northern Idaho .  Mr. Saucier was en route home to Seattle after attending the 2004 National Pistol Matches at Camp Perry.

Rimfire Sporter Story - For shooters new to the competition world, coming to Camp Perry can be daunting.  Many think that you have to be a potential national champion to compete here.  However, nothing could be farther from the truth.  To encourage more people to try target shooting and come to the National Matches, the CMP created the Rimfire Sporter Match in 2002.  On July 24th, 143 Rimfire Sporter shooters experienced why Camp Perry is considered one of the most challenging places to shoot in the United States – wind! 

Camp Perry Eagles Update - The pair of eagles that nest on Camp Perry have become well-known to the shooters who come to the National Matches.  Last year, the pair fledged two young eagles that frequently flew over the ranges and occasionally caused “cease fires” long enough for Camp Perry Range Operations staff to chase them out of harms way in the range impact areas.  The Camp Perry eagles hatched one new eaglet this year that was banded by Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife staff on May 28, 2004.  To see a series of photos and captions of the 2004 eagle banding at Camp Perry, click here.

Champion Marine Corps Marksman Launches 2nd Century of National Matches - Olympic silver medalist and many-time national champion Jim Hill was the guest of honor at the 2004 National Matches First Shot Ceremony on July 12 at Camp Perry, Ohio. Hill, a retired Marine, was invited by the CMP to be the First Shot Ceremony speaker and fire the ceremonial first shot that inaugurates each annual National Matches.

Nebraska 4-H Team Dominates Junior Olympic Sporter - The leading team in the 2004 National Junior Olympic Three-Position Air Rifle Championship was the Homestead 4-H Shooting Club from Beatrice Nebraska.  The Nebraska team’s rise to the top is part of a dramatic change in which parts of the country produce the best sporter class three-position air rifle shooters.  Just two or three years ago, most winning sporter juniors hailed came from the southeast U. S.  In the 2004 championship seven of the top eight individuals came from the Plains states of Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma and Minnesota, while only one came from a southern state, Louisiana .

Junior Olympic Precision Championship Heats Up in Corvette City - Bowling Green, Kentucky is best known for two things:  being the home of the Chevrolet Corvette and the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers.  On July 13th, it became the center of the most important junior three-position air rifle competition in the United States as the National Junior Olympic Three-Position Air Rifle Championships came to a close. 

Safari Club International Helps Many Youths Attend CMP El Paso Camp - Over 70 school-age campers attended the second CMP Junior Rifle Camp of the summer in El Paso, Texas. Many of those participating were able to do so due to the efforts of the local Paso Del Norte chapter of the Safari Club International who provided full scholarships for many campers in attendance.