Second Trip to Nationals…

By Doug Harvey

North Pole - Ok. Last year I wrote a short note on my first experience going to the National Rifle Championships at Camp Perry Ohio. This is an update.

First though, to put things in context, here is a recap of the major events since I decided to take up High Power shooting….

October 2014: CMP Western Games in Phoenix, AZ

July 2015: National Rifle Championships, Camp Perry, Ohio

October 2015: CMP Western Games AND Western Creedmoor Cup Championships in Phoenix, AZ

May 2016: CMP Eastern Games AND Eastern Creedmoor Cup Championships at Camp Butner, NC

Which brings us up to the present…

Second time around, there are a few differences, equipment changes etc. I bought a new (and better) shooting jacket and glove. I changed out the rear sight aperture for a smaller one. On advice from Doug Albright, I used locktite on the set screw for the rear sight elevation (in AZ 2015 and NC 2016 the damn thing came loose and bottomed out, ruining my score during rapid fire).

On advice from a nice guy I met in Arizona (Tom Simonsen from MI), I joined the Garand Collector’s Association. It turns out GCA will pay your entry fees at Nationals for all events in which you shoot the M1 Garand as long as you either shoot in, or play a support role in one or more of the team events in which they shoot. They also provide Greek HXP ammo to shooters who are shooting their first team events with GCA at Nationals.

So, armed with better gear, more experience, and on a team, I went to Camp Perry again. It was an entirely new experience. Because I had a hard time in previous matches finding my gear on the ready line mixed in with several thousand shooters gear, I decided to hang a large blue and yellow ALASKA wind sock on my scope stand. This made my gear easy to locate. It also made me stand out in the crowd, with people flocking over and asking “Did you really come all the way from Alaska?” Since I started doing this in Arizona, by the time I got back to Camp Perry, people I had already met were on the lookout for me. In other words, I have friends now, which makes things more interesting. I have people to swap tech data with, people to grab dinner with, people to partner up and shoot with (Hearst Doubles).

I also was on a team. So I met even more people. I shot more events. By the time I was done, I shot six days in a row. I shot the President’s 100, the National Trophy Individual, the Hearst Doubles, the National Trophy Team Match, the National Trophy Infantry Team Match, and the John C. Garand Match.