Lessons from Camp Perry 2021 — Tips for Service Rifle Shooters
Hi-Lux Optics has created three videos of interest to across-the-course and service rifle competitors. The first video highlights the appeal of service rifle shooting, with comments from 2021 Camp Perry competitors. The second video offers five tips for new service rifle shooters. The third video focuses on the CMP matches at Camp Perry this past summer. If you have ever wanted to share the Camp Perry experience, this last video provides a great over-view of the event.
Four Reasons to Shoot Service Rifle
Service Rifle shooting is fun yet challenging. You need to develop skills with multiple positions and be able to make rapid wind calls. However, the modern AR-based service rifle is affordable and has relatively low recoil. Highly-customizable, modern service rifles can be fitted with adjustable stocks and optional magnified optics. Older military rifles, such as the M1A and M1 Garand, offer different challenges with heavier-recoiling cartridges, greater weights, and classic iron sights. Hi-Lux asked competitors at Camp Perry during CMP’s 2021 summer games what they enjoyed most about competition with service rifles and Military rifles such as the M1 Garand. The shooters’ responses had four key themes: Self-Improvement, Comradery, History (enjoying shooting rifles with heritage), and Challenge.
Five Tips for New Service Rifle Shooters
This summer at Camp Perry, Hi-Lux reporters asked competitors “What advice do you have for new shooters getting into service rifle?” The most common responses, explained below, were: Keep Learning, Don’t Quit, Stay Calm, Practice Fundamentals, and “Get Started!”. These tips will actually apply to a wide variety of shooting disciplines.
00:21 Keep Learning
Every shot you take is a learning experience. There are so many ways to learn — talk to fellow shooters, watch training videos, attend a training clinic such as those hosted at the CMP Regional Games. Don’t be afraid to ask, and never stop learning.
01:38 Don’t Quit
You may hit a performance plateau. Don’t let that stop you. The only way to get better is to continue moving forward. Persevere and continue your training off-season with dry-fire practice.
03:10 Stay Calm and Focused
Go into each shot with a clear and empty mind. While you’re up on the line, it’s just you and your rifle.
04:20 Practice Fundamentals
With the right mindset in place, practice will strengthen your fundamentals. Dry firing can reveal issues with follow-through and trigger pull that might not be noticeable under recoil. This is especially true with offhand shooting.
05:48 Get Started
You’re not too old to start a new discipline. There are many free clinics available, and many local ranges have regular service rifle competitions where you can hone your skills. Learn more about Service Rifle shooting clinics on the CMP website.
The 2021 National Matches at Camp Perry — Return of the Games
After cancellation in 2020 due to COVID, the CMP National Matches at Camp Perry returned in summer 2021 with a full selection of matches for pistol and rifle. This video showcases the unique experience that is Camp Perry — the leading venue for American marksmanship competition since 1907. The video covers different disciplines, including Service Rifle, M1 Garand matches, Vintage Sniper, and more.
History of Camp Perry
“In the year 1907 the machinery of the National Matches, now grown to immense proportions, was moved to the mammoth new range at Camp Perry.”
—James Drain, Arms and the Man, August 1911Federal legislation originally launched the National Matches. The 1903 legislation also established the National Matches, commissioned the National Trophy and provided funding to support the Matches. The National Matches have been held at Camp Perry since 1907. The range is located along the shores of Lake Erie in northern Ohio near Port Clinton. The site was first acquired in 1906, in response to the need for a larger facility for military training and the NRA’s shooting programs. In 1906 Gen. Ammon B. Crichfield, Adjutant General of Ohio, ordered construction of a new shooting facility on the shores of Lake Erie, 45 miles east of Toledo, Ohio. The original land for Camp Perry was purchased in 1906, and the reservation was named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the American naval commander who won the Battle of Put-in-Bay during the War of 1812.
On August 19, 1907, Cpl. L. B. Jarrett fired the first shot at the new Camp Perry Training Site. And that year, 1907, Camp Perry held its first National Pistol and Rifle Championship events. This location has hosted the annual National Matches ever since (though they were cancelled in 2020 due to COVID). Typically over 4,000 competitors attend the National Matches each year, making it the most popular shooting competition in the western hemisphere.
