CAMP PERRY, OHIO – The CMP-US Army Marksmanship Unit’s Small Arms Firing School for rifle registered 690 basic and advanced students, 548 of which were first-time attendees, according to SFC Emil Praslick III, lead instructor of the 2010 Rifle SAFS.
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Nearly 700 participants registered for the 2010 Small Arms Firing School for rifle. Hough Auditorium was filled nearly to capacity during the USAMU’s classroom session for basic and advanced classes.
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The school, in existence since 1918, teaches civilians to safely and proficiently handle and fire small arms, such as the Army’s M16 service rifle and M9 service pistol. The program is mandated by Federal law to be conducted during the National Matches. The SAFS pistol program was conducted at the outset of the National Matches in July.
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The morning sun greeted competitors at 6:45 on Sunday, 31 July prior to firing of the M16 EIC Match.
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The school culminates in an Excellence-In-Competition Match which enables non-distinguished rifle shooters to earn four introductory “leg” points toward a Distinguished Rifleman Badge, considered a high level of achievement in shooting sports. Shooters must accumulate 30 leg points to receive Distinguished shooter status.
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Suzie Durochia, 26,
and Bobby Bannon, 27, of Columbus, Ohio await the next
string of fire while serving pit duty during SAFS
practice firing. |
This year’s winner of the M16 EIC match held Sunday, 1 August was Timothy Moore, 50, of Halifax, Virginia. Moore fired a 382-9X out of a possible 400 in the 40-shot match consisting of prone slow-fire, prone rapid-fire, sitting rapid-fire and standing slow-fire at a distance of 200 yards. Moore’s spread scores were 97-2X, 96-2X, 97-4X and 92-1X, respectively.
Just 62 shooters or 10 percent of the 618 non-distinguished shooters in the match earned introductory leg points. The cut-off score for this year’s match was 345-3X. This year 660 competitors fired the match, 42 of which previously earned introductory points or greater.
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SGT Christopher
Atkins, US Army Reserve, simulates the recoil of the M16
service rifle for a SAFS student as part of an
anticipation drill during firing line instruction. |
The SAFS rifle program and M16 EIC Match attract new and veteran shooters alike. Attendees are provided with outstanding instruction in the classroom by members of the US Army Marksmanship Unit shooting team and approximately two hours of highly-individualized instruction on the firing line by USAMU, regular Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, National Guard and Reserve shooting team members.
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SGT Sherri Jo Gallagher, center, was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in a ceremony prior to the start of SAFS in-class instruction on Saturday, 30 July.
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Prior to the beginning of this year’s classroom instruction and in front of a full house at the Hough Auditorium, Army Sgt. Maj. Martin Barreras announced the promotion of USAMU team member SPC Sherri Gallagher to the rank of Sergeant.
During the SAFS basic program, SFC Praslick discussed safe handling and the characteristics of the M16 service rifle, including clearing instructions and function. SPC Augustus Dunfey covered range procedures and operations, range commands and scoring.
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Students received
nearly two hours of interactive instruction on the
firing line which included dry-firing in all three
shooting positions, use of the web sling and operation
of the M16 service rifle. |
Before sending basic instruction students for individual instruction on Viale Range, SFC Praslick discussed the principles of shooting, sight alignment and what he considered most important – trigger control.
The advanced class learned about the effects of weather, particularly when competing at Camp Perry. Instructors gave tips on temperature and its effects on sight elevation and the changes wind makes on the travel of a bullet, the most from the mid-point of flight to the target. USAMU instructors also discussed organization of gear, use of data books and proper maintenance of equipment.
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Tod Stuckey enrolled his son Sean in the 2010 SAFS rifle school to give his son an opportunity to learn rifle basics from experts at Camp Perry.
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This year Tod Stuckey, 51, of Van Wert, Ohio, introduced his 11-year-old son Sean to SAFS rifle to provide him with formal rifle training. The youngster has already taken a liking to shooting his father’s 1903 Springfield and M1 Garand, but his dad said he wants to get Sean started on the right foot with SAFS.
“I’ve been here before, but I wanted Sean to learn about using the sling, learning about trigger control and positions,” he said.
Mike Mueller, 48, of Vermilion, Ohio, recently purchased an AR-15 rifle and enrolled in his first SAFS program to learn to shoot from the professionals.
“I’m having a great time and I’m learning a lot,” he said.
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Ryan Burch and Mike Mueller traded shooting stories on the firing line and on the shooter shuttle on Day I of SAFS Rifle.
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Mueller befriended Ryan Burch, 31, of Carleton, Michigan, on the firing line and the two shared stories on the shooter shuttle after position skills training and dry-firing on Viale Range on Day I. It was Burch’s second SAFS rifle appearance.
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Steve Sabin and his daughter Stephenie frequently shoot together. The Curtice, Ohio residents have also participated in Rimfire Sporter and SAFS Pistol.
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Steven Sabin, 51, of Curtice, Ohio, and his daughter Stephenie, 16, attended their second SAFS rifle class in 2010. Sabin said they are veterans of SAFS pistol and the Rimfire Sporter Match.
“It’s a lot of fun out here and we learn something new every time we come,” Sabin said.
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John Paul and Ian Brooks continued family tradition of rifle shooting at Camp Perry during SAFS rifle. John Paul represents the third generation of his family to shoot competitively, following in the footsteps of his father Ian and grandfather John Brooks.
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The Camp Perry excursion is a third generation experience for Ian Brooks, 48, and his son John Paul, 14, of Barrington, Illinois.
“My dad, John Brooks, was an avid shooter and he brought me here when I was John Paul’s age and now I’m continuing the Camp Perry tradition with my son,” Ian said.
“This has always been a special place for us because my dad was such a great mentor and he loved competitive shooting, especially at Camp Perry,” he continued.
Ian’s father, John Paul’s grandfather, died in 2002 and Ian subsequently returned his father’s ashes to Ohio.
“You could say firing point 71 is a special place for us because that was my dad’s age when he passed away,” Brooks said.
It was John Paul’s first SAFS and EIC Match experience and one the Brooks family plans to continue.
“My son loves it. We’re staying in the POW huts and he’s just eating it up,” he said. “It’s ironic – we’ve come full circle from when I was John Paul’s age ‘til now.”
For complete results of the SAFS EIC Match, log onto
http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=5690. To view photos of the event, log onto
http://cmp1.zenfolio.com/.
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