Saturday Movies: CMP National Matches at Camp Perry 2024

The CMP National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio commence July 8, 2024 with 3P Air Rifle events. The Camp Perry matches are historic, having been held since 1907 at this location on the shores of Lake Erie. The 2024 First Shot Ceremony takes place Monday, July 15 on the grounds of Camp Perry. Air Force Academy shooting coach and former Olympian Launi Meili is the 2024 First Shot Speaker. Launi will address the crowd and make the traditional First Shot to officially open the National Matches.

For this week’s Saturday at the Movies, we offer seven videos from Camp Perry. These cover both rimfire and centerfire shooting, team matches (including the famous “Rattle Battle”), along with pistol shooting. If you’re heading to Camp Perry this summer, today’s video showcase provides an informative preview. And watch the video above for a great short preview of the event.

CMP National Matches at Camp Perry — Ranges, Events, Training

This 3-minute video above shows the Camp Perry ranges and shooting facilities and explains the programs scheduled, including training courses. The video also covers nearby accommodations and explains how to register for the National Matches on the CMP website.

NTIT Team Match — “Rattle Battle” at Camp Perry

The CMP’s National Trophy Infantry Team Match (NTIT) has been a staple at the National Matches since 1922. Also known as the “Rattle Battle,” the event is one of the most unique in the competitive rifling world — scoring is based on how many hits six-person teams can score on a bank of targets during a series of 50-second firing periods at four yardages.

Watch CMP ‘Rattle Battle’ Video — 50 Seconds of Rapid Fire…

Teams fire upon eight silhouette targets from 600, 500, 300 and 200 yards during successive 50-second periods. After each rapid-fire string, team members move forward (to the next-closest distance) carrying all equipment from firing line to firing line. The video shows the California Grizzlies, one of the top junior squads. The lead photo shows the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Team in action during the NTIT match. See more in USAR “Rattle Battle” Video.

Camp Perry M1 Garand Competition — Vintage Military Rifle

The John C. Garand match is a Camp Perry classic. Note the signature Garand clip in the air.

The CMP hosts the popular M1 Garand Match as well as the Springfield M1A Match. This writer’s father carried a Garand in WWII — reason enough for me to want one. But I also loved the look, feel, and heft of this classic American battle rifle. And the unique “Ping” of the ejected en-bloc clip is music to the ears of Garand fans. Some folks own an M1 Garand for the history, while others enjoy competing with this old war-horse. The CMP’s John C. Garand Match is one of the most popular events at Camp Perry every year. There are other vintage military rifle matches.

Rimfire Sporter Event Draws Hundreds of Competitors

If there is a single CMP event at Camp Perry every summer that draws the most competitors and offers the lowest cost of entry, that would be the annual Rimfire Sporter Match. This year’s match will be held on Saturday, July 13th at the Viale Range. There will also be a CMP Sporter Live-fire Training Clinic on Friday the 12th. One of the most popular annual Camp Perry events, the Rimfire Sporter Rifle match features .22 LR competition in open sights (O-Class), telescopic (T-Class) and tactical/unlimited (TU) classes, fired at 25 and 50 yards. A CMP Rimfire Clinic will be held prior to the match.

Each year, the Rimfire Sporter Match attracts hundreds of shooters to the shore of Lake Erie at Camp Perry. The CMP National Rimfire Sporter Rifle Match offers shooters a recreation-oriented competition where they use affordable, smallbore sporter rifles with either scopes or iron sights. All you need are a .22 LR rifle, sling, and ammo.

Service Rifle Matches — AR-Platform Rifles, Now with Optics

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.

Camp Perry Bullseye Pistol Competition

Camp Perry hosts the most prestigious annual trophy matches in our nation’s history. And in a venue renowned for service rifle matches, the sport of precision pistol is no less important, no less challenging, and no less respected. The National Trophy Pistol Matches are all about traditional handgunning — the stance, the intense concentration, and of course, the one-handed grip. It’s all unmistakable as the game of Bullseye Pistol. Every year there are 20+ match trophies for the top Bullseye Pistol shooters, both military and civilian. And the very best will claim National Match Trophies and receive the President’s 100 Tab.

CMP Camp Perry National Matches Registration Links

Click the links below to register for events at the 2024 National Matches. View other event info on the CMP website.

CMP 2024 National Matches Calendar

The 2024 CMP National Matches at Camp Perry officially commence Thursday July 11, 2024. The summer schedule concludes Saturday, August 10 with the Palma Match and awards. Here is the full CMP schedule (click to zoom):

NOTE: This CMP Calendar is hosted online in spreadsheet format. This allows you to increase display size, and also to search for specific words. CLICK HERE to view full spreadsheet calendar.

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 1911

Federal 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. 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. Typically over 4,000 competitors attend the National Matches each year, making it the most popular shooting competition in the western hemisphere.