Help

[tbierley]

I just entered my first CMP shoot. I need to know what type of gear I need bring with me. Other than gun and ammo.

[Adam Helmer]

tbierley,

Sir, I suggest you contact the CMP Match Director. I suggest you bring eye and ear protection and a ground cloth. Most CMP Matches sell ammo and have CMP rifles for competitor use. Did you ask the CMP Match Director this question?

Adam

[tbierley]

I have ear protection I was a tanker I can not hear as it is. And I have ammo.

[bob208]

a ground cloth. spotting scope with stand, a heavy coat for shooting a glove for the left hand if you are right handed. a note pad and pencils. a fold up stool. wide brim hat a box to carry it all and I liked to take a few bottles of vitamin water.

[tbierley]

Thanks guys.

[JWT]

Take some basic tools to address any issues with the gun.

What gun will you be using?

[country gent]

Rifle with 200 yd zero for it and known no wind zero, You can work from here alot easier. You didnt state what rifle caliber you are using. Come ups should be close to this 3 up from 200 yd zero for 300 and another 11-12 up for 600yds depending on load this is for 308 168 or 223 80 grn. A stool or small chair stool to sit on while scoring is nice. Stool is also handy to rest rifle on during offhand stage. at least 2 magazines for the rifle, rapid stages are loaded 2 and 8. Spotting scope and stand, the freeland style or one with a rod and short base work better than a tripod does. Binoculars will get you by allowing you to perform scoring duties. As said a coat and heavy glove for offhand, also a sweat shirt can be a help in deading recpoil over the day. Solid boots or shoes. Plenty of water as you will be out in the sun all day and dehydration will become an issue. Snacks that give an energy boost with out sugar, beef jerky is good. Sun screen and insect repellent. A shooting mat or ground cloth is a big plus as it keeps you off the ground. This can be an actual shooting mat ( nice as it has rubber areas to keep elbows from slipping) a old blanket or carpet remant will also work. A soft case with sling makes carrying the rifle from yard line to yardline easier. You want a sling on the rifle also as this is a big help sitting and prone, get rough settings before going to the match in the back yard or living room. A can of sight black spray is handy to cut glare from iron sights, a carbide smoker is better, a miners lamp does a great job. A billed hat and or other style with a all around brim to keep the sun off. A towel for wiping sweat and hands is handy. If possible attend a match as a spectator before the one you entered in and see what is used and how, also it will get you familiar with line commands and what is expected. This will give you much more information and insight than anything

[Scharfschuetze]

My list of equipment for CMP or the National Match course is is similar to Country Gent's and others lists:

1. Service rifle (M1, M1A or AR15) that is in compliance with Rule 3.3 of the CMP regulations
2. Shooting jacket with sweat shirt underneath
3. Padded left hand glove (right hand if your a lefty)
4. Sling. Leather US Model 1907 or the M1 (web or nylon) sling. 1907 sling in photo below
5. Cap with bill to shield your eyes in the sun, rain or snow
6. Carbide or spray sight black. Carbide is blacker and duller, but spray last longer in bad weather
7. Shooting stool with large center pouch and an empty brass bag to carry your rifle and stuff from 200 through 600 yards on the full NM course
8. Spotting scope with stand. It needs optics clear enough to see the mirage or refracted light between you and your target when at 300 and 600 yards. This will help with deflection corrections for your sight as well as to help you score when it's your relay's turn to do so
9. Score book with pencil to keep track of zeros for different ranges or ammo and to refine your shooting
10. Shooting mat for the prone positions (300 yard rapid fire and 600 yard slow fire)
11. Eye and ear protection as well as a clean cloth to clean your eye pro
12. Snacks and lunch with athletic drinks when it's hot or a thermos of hot beverage when it's cold
13. Cleaning kit with the proper military combo tool for the rifle you are shooting
14. Suntan cream for summer and cold weather/rain gear in inclement weather
15. Poncho to cover your gear and rifle if it rains or snows. Matches get shot in all weather conditions

Lots of guys carry other stuff, but this should be about your minimum list for an "over the course" match. If shooting at a club match at 100 yards from under cover, then your needs will be reduced.

Good luck at the shoot! For your first match, just watch what the other guys do and pay attention to the match director. Your first couple of matches will be a bit overwhelming, kind of like drinking from a fire hose, but you'll soon get in the routine. I hope that your first match is a reduced 100 yard match on scaled targets as they are much easier to learn at.

Jim Carmichael, the popular gun writer and author (Army rifle team member too) of the 60s and 70s wrote: "The National Match rifleman is the prince of marksmen." He wasn't far off either. No bench rest or support other than a sling as all shooting is done standing, sitting and prone. Shooting is from 100 yards (reduced) or from 200 through 600 yards on the full course of fire. You shoot in all weather conditions and you use aperture military sights to direct your fire. Trajectory and deflection (windage) corrections can be required from shot to shot depending on temperature, wind and light conditions. Master this course of fire and you will be an accomplished marksman.

[country gent]

Sounds like alot but heres the way to do this . Shooting stool carries ammo and all small gear. roll your shooting mat up semi tight. adjust spotting scope down close to stand on rod. Slide mat over stands rod. A small cooler for snacks and water. ( snacks and water can go in stool but if leaks everything is wet) my stool had 2 straps on it. wear coat un buttoned. Sling rifle case over one shoulder, rest mat on spotting scope on other shoulder and pick up stool and cooler in other hand. A small bunge cord to hold case sling in place can be handy also. ANother handy thing to have in the stool is a rain poncho and waterproof cover for gear if it rains.

[upnorthwis]

I bring a stopwatch. Use for slow fire stages to make sure you don't run out of time . And if you find you've got time you can wait out conditions. Open Bolt Indicator (OBI) is mandatory but they usually have some to use.

[tbierley]

I went to the shoot yesterday and had a ball good people and the CMP range is the **** the best range that I have been to I talked to a lot of people and they gave some pointers on what to get. Some if any one can go to new CMP range go.

[country gent]

You didnt Bump int Sarah Rosanski there did you?

[tbierley]

No I did not here this time.

[Scharfschuetze]

Tell us about it. Was it the 50 shot course or the 80 shot course of fire and was it reduced (100 yards) or the full course from 200 to 600 yards? Where was the range, perhaps I've shot there in the past.

Oh yeah, how'd you do?

[tbierley]

it was just a 200 yard course. with a 35 shot relay. It was my first time shooting a CMP match I shot my m1 garand and my 03 did not do real good with 03 peep sight too small for 52 year old eyes butt shot better with my Garand. my first relay with the m1 total score was 185 and the second relay with the 03 was 165. I'm looking for some good cast load data for the 03 with 1 55 grain and 180 grain lead bullets that or powder coated at this time I started dropping 38 grains of h4895 but how I have not shot them yet.

[tbierley]

the range was in Talladega it's the new range they had just built and it is a fantastic range.

[country gent]

what was the coarse of fire? Were these the vintage matches? 35 rounds is an odd number as normally a leg is 2 sighters 10 aat 200, 10 sitting at 200, 10 at 300, and 20 at 600 for total of 52 rounds. The prsidents match is 10 offhand at 200, 10 at 300 rapid prone, last is 200 at 600 for 30 rds fired. The regional NRA match is 2 shighters and 20 rds offhand 200 uds, 2 sighters and 2 10 shot groups rapid sitting at 200, next is 2 sighters and 2 10 shot groups at 300 rapid prone, last is 2 sighters and 20 shots slow prone at 600 yds. The short matches make each shot much more important as the lower scores leave much less room for mistakes. Curious what coarse of fire was for a 35 shot match.

[Scharfschuetze]

Yes, interesting number of rounds for the match. Most of the classic shooting courses of fire were based on 10 shot strings (both high power and 2700 style pistol). This made it easy to figure your averages for each stage of the course and of course for the total course of fire. As you will find out if you go on to shoot National Match, your NRA high power classification will depend on your average score from a couple of matches.

I've shot in 50, 80 and 100 shot events for CMP or NM rifle over the years.

Glad to hear they're still building rifle ranges! Many are falling by the way side due to urban sprawl. A few years ago, Washington State grandfathered all existing ranges with protection from law suits and closings. This sent a wave of howls and angst through the Seattle and Olympia liberal-progressives.

[Scharfschuetze]

Deleted. Double post for some reason.

[RustyMusket]

They guys covered all the required pieces....and be sure to have the proper OBI ...!! Also, when firing the semi auto's in rapid fire....hold the trigger back after firing...when you get the front sight back on target, release the trigger so you 'hear' the reset. In my early days, I lost 10 points on a couple of matches when my fat finger ''doubled'' because of failure to hold back for reset. And....focus on that front sight! In rapids, if your position is good, try to look at the target after first two shots..if you can see the holes, make wind adjustments if required...60 and 70 seconds is a long time. And finally, in slow fire at 200 or 600...remember that the wind blows in cycles....note the wind when the targets come up and by shot # 3, you should have an idea of how it is cycling...use your timer and use every second of that 20 allotted minutes! And one more thing...especially at 600...defocus your scope to 300 yards and watch the mirage....it will be more reliable as an indicator of wind than flags on most ranges with berms.