Juniors Take Advantage of Small Arms Firing School Experience

By Steve Cooper, CMP Marketing Manager

CAMP PERRY, OH – Junior rifle enthusiasts from across the country came out in record numbers for the rifle Small Arms Firing School during the 2013 National Matches, and for many it was their first competitive experience.

Of the nearly 800 attendees who participated in the SAFS basic and advanced classes, 649 returned the second day to fire the Excellence-In-Competition match, taking home a wealth of experience.

Junior competitor Robert McClain, 15, of Walkersville, WV, shot an outstanding 390-14X aggregate score out of a possible 400 and captured the high junior and high overall shooter awards. The young Mountaineer fired a perfect 100 slow fire prone stage, a 99 rapid prone, a 98 rapid sitting and a 93 in standing, coming within four points of tying the national record.
 

Robert McClain, 15, of Walkersville, WV, shot an outstanding 390-14X aggregate score out of a possible 400 and captured the high junior and high overall shooter awards in the Small Arms Firing School EIC Match.

Makayla Douthit, 15, of Walden, CO, placed second with a 388-10X and Jeremy Bogdany, 37, of Felton, PA, placed third with an aggregate score of 387-19X.  The match is fired using rifles and ammunition provided by the CMP.

The EIC match caps off a two-day SAFS program that teaches firearm safety, the operation of the AR-15 rifle, range safety & procedures, fundamentals of marksmanship and three-position shooting. Normally broken into basic and advanced sections, this year’s entire class received advanced instruction due to rainy weather during the morning of Day 1.

A U.S. Army National Guard instructor assists a junior shooter with his standing position during practical training period on the firing line on Viale Range at Camp Perry.

Typically, all students receive basic instruction in the Hough Auditorium and the basic group heads to the range for practical application with instructors. This year both groups stayed inside and were provided detailed instruction with emphasis on position work, zeroing, wind & weather and using a data book normally reserved for seasoned shooters.

Students in the basic SAFS class received a bonus thanks to morning rain on the first day. The basic group received the advanced portion of the class as a result.

Most participants had an opportunity to get position work done on the firing line in the afternoon, followed by 30 rounds of practice fire in each position. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm intervened, shortening the fourth relay and canceling practice for the fifth.

Matthew Nielson, 13, of Canfield, OH, and his 14-year-old brother Patrick joined their father Eric, 46, for their first SAFS rifle experience together. Eric, a U.S. Marine veteran, said he wanted to get back into the highpower sport now that his sons are old enough to participate.

The SAFS class was a good opportunity for friends to get together on the shooting range. From left, Don Duda, III, and his father Don, II, joined Patrick, Eric and Matthew Nielson at Camp Perry for this year’s class.

“It’s a lot of fun and this class is a great place for the boys to learn from the best,” he said. “Matthew and Patrick shoot some rimfire sporter at the Eastern Ohio Conservation Club, and we thought Camp Perry would be a great experience.”

The SAFS course is taught by the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit with assistance on the firing line from fellow military competitors and Civilian Marksmanship Program master instructors.

“We’ll be back next year to compete in rimfire sporter and we’ll do the SAFS class again – it was a lot of fun,” Nielson said.

Cierra Fletcher, 14, of Medina, OH, joined her grandmother, Cherie Grivna, on the SAFS firing line to rekindle some family marksmanship memories. Cherie said she worked with Cierra’s mother in the 1990’s at the SAFS school. The family shoots together at home at the South Cuyahoga Sportsmen’s Association.

“I liked it a lot,” Cierra said. “The instructor was really helpful and it was fun working on the targets in the pits too.”

Cherie Grivna, left, brought her granddaughter Cierra Fletcher, of Medina, Ohio to Camp Perry for a reunion of sorts. Grivna did the same for Cierra’s mom in the 1990s.

To view complete results of the CMP SAFS rifle EIC competition, log onto http://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=match&task=edit&tab=results&match=9827.  To browse photos of the event, log onto http://cmp1.zenfolio.com/.