Camp Perry Report — The National President’s 100 Rifle Match
All Camp Perry photos courtesy Dennis Santiago.
Our friend Dennis Santiago is at Camp Perry this summer. Yesterday (7/17/17) he competed in the historic National President’s 100 Match. This is a huge event — this year, there were 1109 ranked competitors from throughout the nation, making this one of the biggest High Power events of the year.
The President’s 100 Rifle Match is richly steeped in history. This unique match was first held in 1878. Here’s the view from the line at 600 yards:
The 2017 President’s 100 Rifle Match was a tightly-fought affair, with the top five shooters separated by just three points. Justin Utley from Texas shot superbly to take the top position and President’s Rifle Trophy. The top 100 competitors overall in the President’s Rifle Match are designated as the President’s 100. They receive President’s 100 medallions and certificates. GET full match results. (Click Link then “Results” tab).
Top Five Shooters at 2017 National President’s 100 Match
1. Justin Utley (TX) 396-17X (Trophy Winner)
2. SFC Brandon Green (GA, USAMU) 394-20X
3. Robert Taylor II (CA) 394-11X
4. MAJ Samuel Freeman (NC, USAR), 393-23X
5. SGT Ben Cleland, (OH) 393-19X
President’s 100 Shoot Off! — The Top 20 shooters face off while everyone watches, wishing the best for every one of them. This is what attending a family gathering is for us.
Dennis Says Camp Perry is about Friendships as Well as Marksmanship
This is Dennis Santiago’s second year at Camp Perry. He will be competing in a number of events: “This will be my second year attending the National Matches at Camp Perry. It will be my first time navigating CMP week using a scoped service rifle. I hope to do well at the Oliver Hazard Perry, President’s 100, and National Trophy Individual (NTI). I will be shooting with the California Team again and one of my goals is to help our contingent do well in the team matches, the Infantry Trophy match aka ‘Rattle Battle’ in particular. I am also looking forward to shooting my M-1 Garand at Camp Perry[.]
But most of all, my goal is to spend time with as many of my friends as possible — the friends I’ve known and hang out with throughout the year, the ones I only see once a year at Camp Perry, and the many I’ve only conversed with on social media and will meet in person for the first time. More than anything, Camp Perry is where I come home to my shooting family. My mission is to celebrate my love of this sport with them.”
Origins of the President’s Match
The National Rifle Association’s President’s Match was instituted in 1878, as the American Military Rifle Championship Match. In 1884, the name was changed to the President’s Match for the Military Rifle Championship of the United States. It was fired at Creedmoor, New York until 1891. In 1895, it was reintroduced at Sea Girt, New Jersey. Today, the match is held at Camp Perry, Ohio.
The President’s Match was patterned after an event for British Volunteers called the Queen’s Match. That British competition was started in 1860 by Queen Victoria and the NRA of Great Britain to increase the ability of Britain’s marksmen following the Crimean War.
The tradition of making a letter from the President of the United States the first prize began in 1904 when President Theodore Roosevelt personally wrote a letter of congratulations to the winner, Private Howard Gensch of the New Jersey National Guard.
After a hiatus in the 1930s and 1940s, The President’s Match was reinstated in 1957 at the National Matches as “The President’s Hundred.” The 100 top-scoring competitors in the President’s Match were singled out for special recognition.
