my first CMP garand/carbine match...

[shouldifail]

sunday, i had the humbling and educational experience of shooting in a CMP sanctioned garand/carbine match.
owning a carbine that i knew i could atleast hit paper with, i took that.

my 5 sighters were good windage wise, but my elevation was low about 8 inches... a little help from one of the other shooters and i was ready for the prone slow fire.
i shot an 89 on this rotation.
prone rapid fire i shot an 87.
sitting i shot my best with a 91.
however, when it came to off hand, my shots were EVERYWHERE!!!
just couldn't get settled into a rythm.
i picked up some helpful tips afterwards, but that didn't change the fact that i shot a 50.

so over all, i scored a 317 with 6x.

this was my first time ever shooting the CMP, let alone any sort of scored event since boy scout camp in the late 80's.
looking to improve next time for sure, and hopefully find a decent shooting jacket as well.


for anyone in the michigan area, check out www.semirifleclub.org
it's a junior club, but they let adults shoot in some of the matches.
VERY professional, VERY generous, and VERY nice folks.
i highly recommend it to anyone with a youngster looking to get into shooting.

 

[1KPerDay]

Cool... explain the scores for us competition shooting tyros. What's max score on each stage?

 

[cdrt]

Each stage is ten shots, each worth ten points for 100 total and an overall total of 400. Xs are tie breakers, so a perfect score would be 400-40X.

 

[nbkky71]

Outstanding shouldifail! CMP matches are quite fun and a good way to get into highpower shooting. Keep practicing and you'll be shooting expert scores before you know it!

Does this mean we'll see you up at Camp Perry in 2009?

 

[Blackfork]

Videos of rifle matches.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Blackfork6

Lots of videos of rifle matches, Garand shooting, et. on this channel.

You ought to shoot some more matches. They get better when the information flow starts slowing down and it's not all new stuff.

 

[1KPerDay]

I've watched many of your videos in the past, blackfork, and am subscribed. Excellent stuff.

 

[Nate C.]

A. Keep your sling tightened up when shooting offhand. If it is hanging loose from the previous stages and swinging in the breeze, that will throw you off.

B. If you anticipate shooting service rifle matches with any degree of regularity, the money invested in one a rigid canvas shooting jacket (available from Creedmore and numerous others I am sure) is money well spent.

C. Take your time on your offhand shots. Don't be afraid to bring the rifle to low ready to let your muscles relax.

Good luck and enjoy yourself!

 

[cdrt]

A. Keep your sling tightened up when shooting offhand. If it is hanging loose from the previous stages and swinging in the breeze, that will throw you off.

It would also get you DQ'd. From the CMP rule book:

(3) As-Issued M1 Carbines. Slings are not required, but when used, issue Carbine-type slings may only be used as a hasty sling (without arm loop, with arm wrapped around sling) in the prone, sitting or kneeling positions. In the standing position the sling, if attached, must be in the parade configuration and may not be used for support. This rule is not applicable when M1 Carbines are used in M1 Garand Matches.

 

[Mr White]

You did very well for your first match. Don't despair about your offhand score. Offhand is often referred to as awful hand for good reason. It takes a lot of practice to get good at offhand. I've been shooting high power matches for about 5 years and am just getting to where I can break 90 in offhand on a good day.

Your other scores are excellent. Keep in mind that you're shooting a 60 or so year old military rifle.

 

[shouldifail]

thanks for all the encouragement...hopefully next time i can do a little better.
i've got a pellet rifle similar in size and weight to the carbine. i think i will practice with that so i can get my breathing, stance and sight picture settled in a bit. (besides, i can do that in the back yard, and its darn near free!!!!)
also, i think a shooting jacket may help...as a t-shirt doesn't exactly provide the best "grip" between body parts.
in addition to that, i'm gonna work on getting myself locked in real well with the sling. there were times that it would slip and i would have to re-adjust between shots.

can anyone recommend any budget minded shooting supply stores?? i have a family to feed, so i can't justify spending $200 on a shooting jacket for occasional wear.
again, thanks for all the advice and kind words of encouragement.