Camp Perry USA – 2006 National Matches (CMP, NRA, OHNG)
HIGH POWER RIFLE - XC
By: David Waters

What an amazing experience!  From the time you leave Australia, you know you are going to have a hard time settling into what you are about to be part of, because the vibe you will experience at Camp Perry will take some time to become accustom to.

What is an Australian trip to Camp Perry about?

Every person goes to Camp Perry, for the National Matches, with expectations of what things would be like, or how things will run.  Many expectations will be lived up to, but in most cases they will be exceeded.

Upon arrival into Port Clinton, with Camp Perry just 8 miles north of town centre, you will notice that the National Matches are held in high regard with both the local businesses and community.  Welcome signs, flags, mock up miniature scale layouts of rifle ranges with miniature targets on home front laws, neon signs and bill boards covers the final miles to Perry with greetings such as “Welcome Back Shooters”.  Every person attending, from USA or abroad, has their emotions touched by this admiration welcome and respect from the locals.

As you approach the Ohio National Guard grounds (Camp Perry) entrance, where several guards are waiting to greet you, a strange feeling comes over you.  As an Australian, it is hard to know if you should be shouting with joy because you are about to enjoy the experience of match accuracy AR15’s and other target self loading rifles, or holding your breath trying to remain calm in case you may attract unwanted attention.  Finally, as you go past the final welcome sign, the old guard towers and mortar firing ground, you flash your ID to the guards, then say “G’day Mate, how’s it going?” before receiving a warm hand shake welcome with an “ah, you must be from Australia”.  “Yeh mate, good on ya”...and you are on your way.

You are immediately faced with the dilemma of what to do now.  Do we drive around this centre of shooting heaven, or park the car and walk the “touch’y feel’y” and money pit of commercial row (where you can buy anything you want for shooting)?  All men a boys, they love the toys, so first stop is to get amongst the hundreds of shooters wondering around the main area and hit the stores to touch, hold and play with the guns our government hate so much – for no good reason other than their desire to treat us, as law abiding sporting shooters, all as criminals.

Before the hour is up, you will have been approached by dozens of admiring hospitable locals asking all sorts of questions about you, your trip, your reasons for participating in this event, and explaining how pathetic the gun laws are in Australia.  Believe me, every American feels every pain we felt when we tell them about what our governments did to us in 1996, and since.  Pictures tell a thousand stories, and so to does an expression you will get from our fellow shooters abroad when you hurtfully explain what you, as a free Australian, had to surrender, give up, and try your hardest to forget (we never will).

Suddenly, you realise that hours have passed, and you are still to check-in to your accommodation.  Off to the beautiful club house for rego and keys.  Almost every shooter will ask where you are staying, because no doubt they want to share a beer with you, or swap something (shirts, hats, pins, flags, club patches, etc) at some stage.  Note for future years; never attend these events empty handed.

This year, like last year, we were fortunate enough to secure “modules” which consist of a basic 2 bed room, table, wardrobe and a simple bathroom.  This cost around US$65/night.  Split between 2 people, that is good value, but the size is about 15ft x 15ft, and this being your residence for 2 weeks, they are certainly a 1 person stop for the long distance traveller, so they do become a little expensive.  Other accommodation available is “the huts” which sleep 4 people at US$45/night.  Then there is the hotels, which are new and probably too expensive for the average Australian traveller, or the condo’s which are US$80/night, but come complete with fridge, TV, etc.

Module accommodation is comfortable for 1, and the air conditioner is a welcome accessory on the very hot and humid summer days, and nights.  It is hard to leave the door open for cooler night air as the mosquitoes are pretty thick in the air – however, the truck with the huge sprayer driving around the camp does a good job of keeping them to a tolerable level.

Day 1 for Chris and I had us off to “Wally World” – Wal-Mart.  Luggage limits set to only 32kg’s, it is hard to carry all your shooting gear AND all the basic necessities – cloths.  So Wally’s is a good place for socks, tissues, shampoo, soap, food and shorts.  Oh, and we split the cost of a fridge for our room to keep our breakfast milk, OJ and M&M’s cold.  Nup, no beer bought from Wally’s, even though they sell it, because it is cheaper to buy this stuff on base at the PX.  The PX doesn’t charge sales tax, so the amber fluid is bought from there each afternoon after your shooting is over.

After about 50 “bonzer cob” quotes to the locals, and requests for “the dunny” met with a stare of confusion, we headed for the car with our purchases.  The Fridge purchase was a hell of an experience.  We had most of our stuff still in the car, 3 trolleys worth of food, new supplies and stuff, so, oops, how are we had a problem of getting the fridge back to base.  The car was a small 4 banger, which I drove, and Chris was co-pilot.  We reclined the passenger seat and put the fridge in front.  Chris was stuck sitting in the back, behind the fridge, legs up to his chest, surrounded, and covered, with grocery bags and luggage.

As we head back to base, Chris in the back, fridge in the front, we were met with laughter at the guard gate.  “Gee, you Aussies are funny guys”.  After a few shakes of the head, we were off to our room to unpack and set up our carts and shooting equipment – ready for action.

Aubrey, DC (David Cornick, DVJ (David Vivian-Jones) and Greg Wilson rolled in a little later.  Fortunately, thanks to Aubrey’s negotiation skills, we were all grouped together, in “Camp Aus”.  Flags on our doors, over our windows, “Kangaroo’s next 25km” signs on the doors.  The Australians had arrived, and our US friends loved it.

Day 2, free day, so Chris and I went to Cabela’s for a shooting and sporting/hunting shopping spree.  Now, I am not about to run any marketing campaigns for this mob, but let me sum Cabela’s up in terms the average Australian Joe might be able to comprehend.  This place ONLY sells fishing, shooting and hunting gear.  That’s all.  Right?  OK!   This place is BIGGER than 3 Bunnings warehouses, and it is all under 1 roof.  But wait, that is not all.  This place has an indoor river, with a mountain covered in game animals in the hunting section.  Then, there is the walk-thru aquarium in the fishing section full of local fishable species.  So, to cut a long story short, 6 hours later, and a few funds lighter in the wallet, Chris and I finally decided it was time to head back to base.

The National Matches run for 6 weeks, and cover almost every type of shooting discipline in the US.  For High Power Rifle the National Matches are split into 2 competitions.  The first is run by the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP), and second run by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

CMP matches are for service rifle only, and are the most popular, seemingly because each day is a different match and a result is available at the end of each day.  The matches shot over the CMP week are the Presidents 100, National Trophy Individual (NTI), National Trophy Teams (NTT – 6 man), Hurst Doubles, and finally the big one, the National Trophy Infantry Teams (NTIT) known as Rattle Battle.

NRA matches start with The Rumbold 4 man team shoot offering a fantastic opportunity for practice and sighting before the prestigious 4 day individual starts – the National XC Championships.  The  NRA week also caters for all rifle classes, not just service rifle, so you will see match rifles with iron or optical sights all on the firing line together.  With US service rifles having leading barrels and heavily worked components, service rifles are just as accurate as match rifles – they just aren’t as easy to shoot for those, typically, with some sort of restriction (hand size, eye sight, etc).  Although the NRA does have service category trophies, the NRA Championships are basically given to the first person across the line (the highest score) irrespective of rifle class.

One thing you will notice is there seems to be NO barriers between age and gender.  In fact, some juniors win matches outright against a full strength field of experienced shooters.  And, no hand holding, they juniors know exactly what they are doing, and do it very well.  Most of them could teach us a thing or 2.

All Australians, irrespective of the results, had, again, an amazing experience.  We are welcomed, people offer us support when ever we needed it, the armed services were fantastic, and more importantly, we were made to feel at home.

We had some of the most powerful armed forces in the world give us help when ever we needed it.  The US Marines Rifle Team took us under their wing and gave us 2 shooters to Captain and Coach our teams during team shoots, etc.  US Army Marksmanship Unit gave us advice on conditions, ammo, positions, etc.  National Guard, NAVY, reserves etc rifle teams also gave us help, equipment, patches, etc.  All were terrific help, and won the hearts and souls of every Australian.  What a great country.

The stories, the lessons, the experiences, the fun could be talked about for hours, but nobody would believe it.  All shooters should try their best to get to this annual championship, no matter what the shooter level, as the enjoyment goes beyond the shooting, but it stems from the first hand experience you will have.

CAMP PERRY 2007 – START PLANNING NOW
There is little doubt that attending the National Matches at Camp Perry Ohio will be an experience one will never forget.  The main hurdle is making the commitment, and the retardant in that commitment is the unknown.  We now have over a dozen people that have experienced CP, many of those as late as this year, who will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have for planning your trip.

Costs to attend CP are relatively cheap, all things considered.  Assuming one visit the US to shoot the matches only, the trip should cost no more than A$5000.  If you are not equipped for a big shoot, with equipment such as scope, cart, coat, stand etc (and you will need these), then we have good contacts and experience over there to buy these things at minimum price (then you have them for life) or borrow most of it.  Comparing the price of this trip for 2 weeks of great shooting on the other side of the world, to a domestic holiday – it is VERY cheap.

Team AIHPA will organise accommodation and your trip itinerary with flight details/bookings and event registration.  All you need to do is let us know you will be part of the team for Perry and we will take care of the rest.  Some up singled out costs are entry fees (approx A$400), ammo requirements (approx A$500), flights (A$2500) and accommodation (A$200 deposit, A$700 balance).

We have contacts to sort you with rifles (AR15’s), so you can have the time of your life with a semi.  And, if you want to shoot the big banger M1 Garand’s, M14’s etc, then we can help you there also.  Why not experience shooters paradise, retail heaven, another culture, another event, another scale, another world...?  Your next trip won’t be your last!