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| Day 1 of Competition: M1 Carbine National Match |
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| 0-Dark-Hundred for relay squadding and organizing our gear. |
We went for squadding early because we were all sharing my M1 Carbine in the match, and we did get all squadded in sequence on a single firing point. This proved to be disastrous. |
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| Sunrise over the neighboring Petrarca Range. |
The weather was awesome the entire time, maybe a little too nice at times. |
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| Smoke from the cannon salute for Colors at 07:30. My favorite event of the day... |
The M1 Carbine Match is shot at just 100 yards, with targets posted on large boards. There is no Pit Duty to pull targets in this format. |
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Yeah, we look silly with umbrellas, but it saves your butt to stay out of the direct sun out there. |
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| Our friend John Butcher (left) scoring targets. He ended up taking 5th place in this match! |
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| Kristof firing prone slow fire. The M1 Carbine is still functioning fine at this point, but I'll detail the catastrophic malfunction below... |
The Ohio National Guard can choose their two-weeks duty per year at Camp Perry National Matches, and it is a highly coveted slot to pull for that mandatory two weeks. And they do a fantastic job of range safety. |
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| Kristof firing prone slow fire. |
Kristof firing sitting rapid fire. I've never seen anyone get this low in the sitting rapid fire position. It is a huge advantage to get this low, since it is inherently more stable. |
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| Kristof firing prone slow fire. See just how low he gets here? Almost like a modified prone position, actually! |
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Kristof firing standing slow fire. Another classic position he attains. Check out the support he is providing by leaning into his shooting coat. |
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The M1 Carbine "catastrophe" mentioned above was this: My father Earl bought this Carbine back in about 1983, and since we bought it, it had the gas piston valve installed BACKWARDS! All these years, and thousands of rounds I have put through it, it worked flawlessly. It was right at the end of Kristof's last standing stage that it finally decided to hiccup and then afterwards it quit working. I was next up with it in the following relay, and it just stopped working. At one point I had two Marine Armorers and two CMP Armorers helping me, and they declared that it was totally not functioning, and I voluntarily DQ'd from competition. After tearing it down at the Armorer's Station they all scratched their heads and could not figure out how in the hell it actually functioned all those years with the piston valve installed backwards. |
| Interlude: My Father Earl Flies in and joins us at the huts for Day 2 |
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| Steve, Kristof and Earl shooting the shit outside of one of the modern Huts we were staying at. |
Two very silly facial expressions from both Kristof and Earl. |
| Day 2 of Competition: Springfield National Match - Model 1903 |
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| Earl and Kristof under the umbrellas. Again, it looks silly, but anyone who didn't have one WANTED one! |
Tony slinging up with his Springfield 1903-A3. |
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| Tony getting prepped for his 2-minute prep period with his 1903-A3. |
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| Kristof looked a little bit like a 1970's "retro" shooter, with his vintage 1970's shooting coat, the trucker hat, and the aviator shades. |
Seriously, if I converted this to black & white, or faded Kodachrome, he could slip right into a 1970's Camp Perry photograph. |
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| Here is Kristof in that awesome standing position, resting his back on his coat. |
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| Always better to rest your rifle on a stand than to put the muzzle right on your toe... |
Kristof and Steve with me on Pit Duty in the Springfield Match. |
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Day 3 of Competition: Garand National Match - Model M1
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| 0-Dark-Hundred for relay squadding, coffee and organizing our gear. |
Earl, Steve and Kristof. |
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| One of the several shooters to dress up in period uniforms, very accurately. |
We were in the pits on the first relay. This is Steve and Kristof scoring on prone rapid fire. |
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A nice group on my firing point. This is a 98-3X. |
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Tony slinging up for the M1 Garand National Match, prone slow fire. I shot my second bronze in this match. |
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| This is shot at 200 yards. |
I had no malfunctions, shot really well, and actually came within one point of a silver in this match. |
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| Check out that expended empty brass from my rifle, up at 12-o'clock! |
Here it is again: check out that expended empty brass from my rifle, up at 12-o'clock! |
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That is Tony on the left, and the towel on the neck is there for a serious purpose: to keep cool! It was very hot this day (Saturday). |
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| Kristof in his prep period before actual firing. You can see a sparrow in the top of the frame, right next to the steam from the nearby nuclear power station. |
Once again, really nice form that Kristof has. Very stable. |
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| Proving once again that there are women that shoot at these matches. Not enough, but hopefully more will over time. |
Kristof shooting standing slow fire. |
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This young woman is supporting her M1 Garand well behind the balance point, and I have no idea how she is doing it. She is either VERY strong or else she has a stock weight in her rear stock. |
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| Kristof once agin in his classic standing pose. |
Kristof, Steve and Earl at the Garand National Match banquet. It used to be a BBQ, and as you can see, it is nothing but snacks. We went to town and ate fish, shrimp and deep-fried mushrooms after this, until we got too full. |
Video:
Kristof's M1 Garand Rapid Fire (8MB WMV)
Rapid Fire Target View from the Pits (8MB WMV) |
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Day 4 of Competition: Springfield M1A National Match
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| This was my Dad's last day to watch the competitions, and I got relayed first, so that worked out well. |
Earl loved talking to all the different flavors of competitors, for sure. They are all entertaining, from all parts of the country. |
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| Tony doing some adjustments. |
Tony prepping on the M1A sitting rapid fire. See how much lower Kristof gets than me if you compare us? (see way above) |
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Kristof being silly on my command in our hut. This needs to be PhotoShopped into a really funny album cover. |
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Video:
Steve's Springfield M1A Rapid Fire Sitting (Two failures to feed, 7MB WMV)
Steve's Springfield M1A Rapid Fire Prone (Massive failure to feed, 7MB WMV) |
