Military Match 3/14/2020

Hello all,

By this time next week, we’ll be finished with the first match of the season. There will be seven matches in total on March 21, April 18, May 16, June 20, July 18, August 15 and September 19. If you shoot all seven of the matches, your best 6 scores will count for your season total. Your total scores in the vintage modern rifle, modern pistol, vintage rifle and vintage pistols are added for grand slam season totals. The modern rifle match stands alone, it is not added into season totals except for modern rifle.

The first match will have award presentations for last year’s season winners sometime during the morning. Hopefully our Match Director Emeritus Jerry Paregine and Dennis Rutledge will be in attendance.

We’ll all have to sign new waivers before you shoot a match this year. You can download one (https://cherokeerodandgunclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CherokeeSpecialEventGUESTLiabilityWaiver.pdf) or use the one attached and have it pre-filled out before you arrive. Much easier to fill it out at home instead on a cold March morning with a stubby pencil on a clip board. I must have the waiver before you shoot. I’ve also attached a score sheet if you want to bring it filled out for the same reason.

Each day of shooting will consist of 5 matches, 3 before lunch and 2 afterwards. Registration starts at 8am, the safety briefing at 8:50 and shooting starts at 9. All matches are shot standing, unsupported. Rifle matches are shot at 100 yards with 1 string of 20 rounds in 25 minutes. Typically we require less than 15 minutes for everyone to finish. Pistol matches are shot at 25 yards, standing, unsupported in 2 strings of 10 shots with the line being cleared after the first string, going down range to score and paste or replace targets, a rest break and then the 2nd string of 10. The afternoon matches start after lunch around 11:30 and we’re typically finished by 1:30-2pm.

The cost is $5 per match or $20 for all 5. You may shoot any or all of the matches. I’ll try and work with you the best I can but we may be space limited. If you just want to shoot the afternoon vintage matches in the morning and there are shooting positions available, that is acceptable. I do try to keep rifles out of pistol matches to not distract pistol shooters with heavier reports and muzzle blasts, but if you want to shoot a pistol in a rifle match, that’s fine. You’ll have to put out two target stands so you can fire 10 shots at each target for scoring during the same 25 minutes. As long as space is available, it’s no problem to shoot vintage in modern and vice versa as long as you make sure the scores are in the right place on the score sheets. This makes sharing rifles and pistols easier because one person can shoot vintage in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

I’d recommend having at least 25 to 30 rounds of ammunition for each match. Although we only shoot 20 for score, it is helpful (to me anyway) to shoot a couple of fouling shots per match. If you’re shooting old mil-surp ammo, there may be a dead primer or two. It hurts losing up to 10 points per shot if all 20 rounds don’t go bang like they’re supposed to.

All fire arms shot as competitor must have been adopted by a country’s regular military including any army, air force, navy, marines and coast guards. You’re welcome to shoot a scoped deer rifle or 22LR as a participant if there is room on the firing line. Competitors have precedence over participants. The modern categories were adopted in 1948 or after which means to qualify as vintage, the weapon had to be adopted in 1947 or before.

It is permissible to shoot a vintage firearm in the modern categories without penalty. The firearms do not have to be in the issued caliber but they do have to be center fire in a military caliber. For example, a re-barrelled 8mm Mauser in 30-06 or .308 is fine. A 1911 in 9mm instead of 45ACP is allowable as long as it also meets the other qualifications for either the modern or vintage categories.

Safe hand loaded ammunition is also allowed, rounds do not have to be full power military issued ammunition, but you are welcome to shoot those if you want. I’d guess half of us use reduced charge rifle loads. Why beat yourself up with recoil for 100 yards if you don’t have to, we’re shooting for fun and bragging rights.

All matches are shot snow, rain or shine. I’ll have dry cleaning bags available to keep targets from melting on the stands during bad weather. Since Dennis Rutledge converted everything from cardboard to ?coraplast? target backers, we don’t have to worry about having to replace cardboard backers after they get wet. However, we won’t be going down range during lightning storms for safety. Bring an umbrella and other rain gear if you think you’ll need it.

Please check either Cherokee’s web site (https://cherokeerodandgunclub.com/) or face book page (https://www.facebook.com/CherokeeRodAndGunClub/) Saturday morning before you leave home to come to the range. Any last minute match changes will be posted by 7:15am before I leave for the range. I can post on face book after that, but I lose Cherokee’s web site and email distribution lists once I leave my PC.

The first match is the ‘vintage modern’ rifles since I can’t come up with a better name for them. These are rifles adopted for use by a country’s regular military without optics, free floated barrels and using mil spec triggers. Sniper and special forces only weapons don’t qualify. We keep this category because this was the state of art for militaries when the CRGC matches started and we want to be able to compare scores back to the start of the matches.

The next match is for modern rifles. These must have been adopted use by a country’s regular military. However optics up to 4.5x, free floated barrels and match triggers with at least a 3.5 pound trigger weight are allowed. This category matches the CMP high power rules if you’re interested in formal matches. If you have a variable power scope with a maximum power more than 4.5x, just turn it down to 4.5x or less before you start shooting your string.

Afterwards is the modern pistol match followed by a 30 minute lunch.

After lunch we begin the vintage matches starting with rifle followed by pistol.

Vintage pistols seem to be the stickiest category because the firearm used must be the way it was issued in 1947 or before. For example, firearms like the 1911 pistol have been issued, well, since 1911, but they weren’t issued with a wide front sight until after 1947. To qualify as vintage, they must have the narrow front sight, ~1/16 wide, instead of the modern front sight which is ~1/8″ wide.

If everything goes smoothly, we’ll be done by 2pm and I’ll have the scores posted and emailed by later in the evening.

We’ll being running the matches this year with all the competition safety rules in effect as always. Please review those before match attendance. Do NOT move or touch firearms when the range is cold and without match director permission – that includes bringing bagged firearms to/from the line to/from your car/rack. The match director has sole authority when firearms can be moved and will announce when firearms may be moved. If you’re unsure, ask.

Any firearm out of the bag is required to be unloaded, a safety flag, empty chamber indicator or whatever you want to call it inserted, detachable magazines removed and actions open. Flags will be available if you don’t have one. If you have a firearm in the rack, one on the back bench and one on the firing line, all three are required to be unloaded, actions open, have a flag inserted into the action and detachable magazines removed. When you move firearms, the muzzle should always be pointed up so that it never, ever sweeps a human. That includes from your car to the rack, rack to the firing point, car to firing point, etc. I know things get squirrelly taking the firearm out of the car, but once it’s out of the car, keep that muzzle up – even if bagged – hand guns included, not just rifles. All firearms on the firing benches should have the muzzles pointed down range. In the racks, muzzles up, flagged, actions open, no detachable magazines. On the back bench, in the bag with the muzzles pointed away from people. Think ahead how to rotate the firearm’s muzzle up, get it to where it needs to go and back down again without the muzzle sweeping a person.

When you are done firing whatever string we’re doing during a match, please remove detachable magazines, open the action, insert a flag, put the firearm down on the bench with the muzzle pointing down range and then move back behind the yellow line. I will patiently wait until everyone is behind the yellow line before I ask if everyone is finished or requires more time. I have all day and I’m not that worried about getting done faster, I’ll assume you need more time to complete your string of fire if you’re forward of the yellow line. Just saying.

We all need to do everything we can to ensure a safe shooting environment for our matches – just as we do every year.

If you have any questions about the match, please check https://cherokeerodandgunclub.com/military/ for more information. The rule book has not changed from 2019, so all the links and files on the page are good for this year. After reviewing that information, if you have any further questions, please ask me.

Thanks
Brian Sims, CRGC Military Match Director