Discuss the when's and where's of the next range trip.
 #79900  by myopicvisionary
 
The dates for the 2013 CMP matches at Kimberton Fish & Game are:

APR 28
MAY 19
JUN 23
JUL 21
AUG 25
SEP 29
OCT 27
NOV 17

So, if you have an "as-issued" M1903 Springfield, M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, M1917 Enfield or a .30-40 Krag-Jorgenson you can compete. Relays are $25.00 and they supply the ammunition with the exception of .30-40.
 #79914  by NormH3
 
Hopefully they aren't outlawed before I get a chance to purchase one. Even if I never shoot it, it's on my bucket list to own.
 #81420  by myopicvisionary
 
May match date has been changed to May 26th.
 #84937  by myopicvisionary
 
April 28th, 2013

Kimberton Fish & Game Association. The first M1 Garand match for 2013. With perfect weather, I felt really ready for the match to start.

Stage 1: Slowfire prone, ten rounds in ten minutes.
Assuming a solid prone position, I single loaded the first round in the chamber and let the bolt close. The command to fire was given and the clock started ticking down. Immediately to my right, a pair of Garands rang out. The front sight wavered a bit as I drew up the slack in the trigger. Slowing my squeeze, the sight picture steadied and the rifle fired. Rolling slightly to my left, I peered through my spotting scope and saw a "10" at 12 o'clock. Elapsed time was 47 seconds, so I decided to keep that firing rate. The next round was loaded and again I went into my quiet talking to myself. The next shot broke cleanly and scored an "X" at 8 o'clock. As the clock wound down and the rounds grew fewer, I felt good through the whole stage.
After the time ran out and the line was cleared, we went forward to score. A 97 out of a possible 100 with two "X"s! This was the highest score for me in any stage to date!

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Stage 2: Rapidfire prone, ten rounds in eighty seconds with a reload.
Starting from a standing position, I loaded a clip of two rounds into my rifle and closed the bolt over the top round on an empty chamber. Upon the command to fire, everyone dropped to the ground to assume a prone firing position. As soon as both of my elbows hit the ground I chambered the first round and settled into position. The first round fired and it felt OK. When the second round discharged, the bolt locked open as the now empty en-bloc clip was ejected. I reloaded the rifle with a full clip of eight rounds. Pausing for a moment, I looked through my spoting scope didn't see any holes in the white. "Good enough for me" and I went to work sending the remaining eight bullets downrange in the fifty-eight seconds I had left. After time ran out, I looked through the scope again and saw some holes in the white. When the scoring was done, I had garnered an 88-1X. Three "8"s and a "7" orbited the bull. I have done better in the rapidfire before but I wasn't complaining.

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Stage 3: Slowfire standing without support, ten rounds in ten minutes.
Here it is; my personal nemesis, standing offhand. No slings allowed, just pick up your rifle and shoot. During the three minute prep period, I adjusted my position trying to get that sweet spot where the rifle would naturally lay on target. Just as I was set, the command to load was given. Sliding round #1 into the chamber, I sent the bolt home. The firing line was deemed ready and the command to fire was given. I shouldered the Garand and willed the front sight to steady. As the pressure on the trigger mounted, the sear broke and the rifle bucked against my shoulder. I thought the front sight looked a little high on the bull when the shot broke and I was right. Throught the scope, I could see a hole in the white just above the bull. At 12 o'clock, a hole was at the line just making a "9". The next two shots felt better and both went into the black. After that, two more in the black. Shots #6 & #7 both went high as a result of me rushing to get the shots off. Four minutes remained to fire three rounds. I rested my rifle for a full thirty seconds. Reloading the rifle, I shouldered it and found the sweet spot. The rifle fired and it felt good. There it was, a "10"! One minute, thirty-two seconds remained to get the last two rounds off. Round #9 was clearly rushed but I did not take time to look through the scope. I was keeping track of the time which was rapidly running out. The sight picture was waivering as I struggled to bring it to rest. I was aware that there was no other gunfire around me. I must be the last competitor on the line. From over my shoulder I could hear someone softly say "fifteen seconds". I nodded and dropped my rifle for a few seconds to wipe my eyes. Bringing my rifle back up I heard "five, four" as the sight settled and I tripped the trigger. It felt like crap. I did not bother to scope the target. It was pointless now, only the walk downrange remained. Getting to the target line, I looked to see where the last two shots went. A pair of "5"s, with one of them just barely in the line! Two shots costing me ten points... ouch. But I did manage to rack up a stage total of 80-0X. With half of the shots in the black; those "5"s hurt, but didn't ruin the day. Had they been at least a "7" and an "8" I would have broke the 270 point mark which is my goal. As it was, I garnered a 265-3X @ 88.33%. So I start the season just below last year's high average of 265.66 points @ 88.66%. Yeah, it's a good day.


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 #86683  by myopicvisionary
 
May 26th, 2013

Kimberton Fish & Game Association.
Stage 1: Slowfire prone, ten rounds in ten minutes.
I scored a 95-4X! two points off of last month's 97-2X.

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Stage 2: Rapid fire prone, ten rounds in 80 seconds.
87-1X, one point less than last month. Yeah, I rushed it.
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Stage 3: Slow fire standing offhand, ten rounds in ten minutes.
77-1X, 3 points down from last month. That miss at 3 o'clock killed it! So I finished with a 259-6X. A full six points down from the previous match.
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 #87223  by myopicvisionary
 
June 26th, 2013

Today's M1 match was better than last month's. There are no pictures because the battery in my camera died and my cell phone was in my car. While my slow fire prone did suffer a bit at 91-2X, it was still respectable. My rapid fire prone was also good with a 92-0X! But what really helped was my slow fire standing. Even with calling a few shots, I turned in an 80-0X! This gives me a total of 263-2X. So my average moves up again. I just need to do well next month to eliminate the poor score from last month.
 #88616  by myopicvisionary
 
Today’s CMP Garand match had great weather, clear and not overly hot. The first stage; slow fire prone, went smoothly with me using all of the allotted ten minutes for ten rounds. Score for record, a 93-1X out of a possible 100-10X. Image

The rapid fire stage had a glitch though. Ten rounds in eighty seconds. Starting in the standing position with two rounds loaded and the bolt closed on an empty chamber, the command to fire was given. I hit the ground and cycled the bolt to load the first round. The first two rounds scored well as I looked through my spotting scope briefly before loading the full clip of eight rounds into the rifle. The next five rounds went down range and then the bolt locked open as the clip with three live rounds ejected from my rifle! With just a handful of seconds remaining I picked up the two rounds I saw in front of me and single loaded and fired each one. I did not see where the last remaining round had landed and the clock ran out. One round unfired, ten potential points lost! With only nine holes in the target, I am rewarded with a meager 76-0X.
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Shaking off the turmoil of the rapid fire stage; I settled in for my personal nemesis, standing slow fire unsupported. Ten rounds in ten minutes without the benefit of a sling. The first shot went off and I knew I had pulled it high. An ”8’ at one o’clock. For the second shot, I forced myself to SQUEEZE the trigger. It sear break felt really good and I scoped the target seeing a nice hole in the “X” ring! The next six rounds went smoothly and “9”s and “10”s appeared in my spotting scope. Shot number nine was pulled left and it showed. Another “8” appeared at eight o’clock. With fifty-seven seconds left, I used fifty of them letting the sight picture settle as I took up the slack on the trigger. The rifle fired for the last time and a “10” appeared at one o’clock. A score of 92-1X! My total match aggregate was a 261-2X. With that one saved round not scoring, I was still happy with the total for the day.
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 #90254  by myopicvisionary
 
August 25th, 2013

Well, that didn’t go well.
The CMP match at Kimberton started out fine, but I screwed the pooch royally. The first stage; slow fire prone finished with a 92-1X. A good score but it could have been better had I not started lifting my head.


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The rapid fire stage; however, did not fare as well. Again, I kept lifting my head with poor results. The first two shots were both “10”s. But after reloading with a full clip of eight, I let my form get loose and I started lifting my head again. My tally for the stage was an 83-0X. Not a match breaker, but it meant that I had to shoot in the 90s on the last stage to stay competitive. I have done that in the past….once.

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Last stage… the dreaded slow fire standing without support.

Once again, I started out good and then fell off. The first round scored an”X”! The next a “10” followed by two ”9”s. And then I started lifting my head again. An “8”, a “7”, a “6” and three “5”s chronicled my death spiral. My rifle performed flawlessly; myself, like a tyro. But, I have several more matches to compete in for the rest of the season. Back to the practice range!


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