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High Power Team at
Camp Perry 2003 |
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National Trophy Team Match - N.J.
Gold: Front row: Kevin McPherson, Carl Leisinger, Don Phister, Angel
Rodriguez, Steve Sosley, Bob Bissett. Back row: Christopher Andreychak,
Gary Bissett, William Geissele, Ron Bissett. more
photos
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The 2003 National Matches at Camp Perry,
Ohio was another great year to get away and do what we guys love to do
most, shop! Yes, you heard that right! We save our nickels and dimes for
the once a year fling. The cornucopia of deals on commercial row at Camp
Perry always presents a challenge to stay within our fiscal “X”
ring. Every year there are deal(s) that cannot be by passed without the
ghost of Midas on your shoulder shouting, “buy, buy!” It may not be
gold, but it turns to a shooter’s gold when we touch it. This year the
trip to the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s (CMP) Mall of delights did
not disappoint. They were offering Winchester Mdl. 52 target rifles at
WalMart prices and the blue light special was flashing by the brand new
primed 308 Win. Caliber brass whether it be Federal commercial or Lake
City Military match, not to mention the .300 Win. Mag. unprimed new
brass for the unbelievable price of $.10 each. Of course for the long
range shooters CMP had Military match .308 (M118LR) loaded, new in the
tin, with the popular 175 gr. Sierra Match bullet for those who would
like to break out the M1A and shoot 1,000 yards. Of course, it’s also
that time of the year to catch up on the “gadgets” that will
catapult you instantly into the next higher class with little or no
practice. Of course, we all know it’s the shooter who shoots knee deep
in brass who is the one who brings home the medals on a consistent
basis.
I once had one of our team members wondering out loud what the good ole
days were like at Camp Perry, e.g., 1960s. I remarked “this is the
good ole days” with the bargains that CMP has placed before us. Just
be wise enough to take advantage of it while it lasts. I bet you thought
you would never read a shooting article with its opening paragraph about
guys and shopping. It’s just that part of the “guy thing” in
shooting that most people don’t appreciate. So, the next time your
male shooting partner is down and out, cheer him up by taking him on a
shopping fling to his favorite store to replenish his shooting supplies
for the up and coming competition season.
Now, let’s get on with the shooting results of the 2003 Nationals:
The New Jersey Gold team finished 5th in the Rumbold Team Match of 16
teams. The Rumbold Team Match is shot over the National Match Course at
200 yards to 600 yards and is a coached event. The high shooter on the
team was William Geissele with an outstanding score of 486-16 out of a
possible 500. Don Phister was close behind William with his 475-10!
The New Jersey Silver team finished 11th in the Rumbold Team Match. The
high shooter was the patriarch of the Bissett clan, Robert, with a
472-10X.
The New Jersey Gold team finished 32nd of 62 teams in the National
Infantry Trophy Team match with a total score of 779. This event begins
at 600 yards with 6 shooters firing at 8 silhouettes with as many rounds
you can fire for a period of 50 seconds. Six shooters, eight targets,
someone has to shoot at two targets; he is called the swing man. You
then advance to the 500-yard line and fire another rapid-fire session in
the prone position for another 50 seconds. Then if you still have rounds
left from the original 384 rounds, you will advance to the 300-yard line
and fire from the sitting position at a half silhouette for another 50
seconds. If you are unlucky enough to have any rounds left over, then
it’s to the 200-yard line to shoot the remainder in the standing
position. The Gold team had expended all their rounds at the 300-yard
line and did not have to shoot the 200-yard. line.
The New Jersey Gold team finished 60th of 73 teams in the National
Trophy Team match which is a six shooter event fired over the NMC
without the benefit of sighters but with a coach.
The Roumanian Trophy Team Match is fired at an aiming black that is
48" in diameter at 1,000 yards. Putting a bullet anywhere on the 6'
X 6' target on the first shot is always a challenge. Make sure your
elevation is correct and judge the wind correctly; you may get lucky and
land that bullet on the target. Then you make the proper adjustment to
get into the center. This year, the New Jersey Gold Team finished 2nd in
its class. The team consisted of the Bissett brothers, Ron and Gary, Don
Phister and Angel Rodriguez.
The Herrick Trophy Team Match is also fired at 1,000 yards and the
shooter has the option of using a scoped rifle. Nothing like a nice
piece of glass to see your target the wind mirage that tends to move
your bullet from it’s intended point of aim. This year the New Jersey
Gold Team finished 4th.
Some individuals, once they stepped away from the team events and
entered into the individual events, captured even more accolades. In the
1903 Springfield Match Walter Radomsky finished 17th of 540 shooters!
Walt missed his calling; he was born 50 years too soon. Another New
Jersey shooter who has master the Springfield rifle is Christopher
Andreychak who finished 98th of all those hundreds of shooters. This
match is fired at the 200-yard line in three stages, slow fire prone,
slow fire standing and prone rapid fire.
The next individual match and into the next era of rifles is the Garand
Match also fired at 200 yards in the same sequence as in the Springfield
Match. Those finishing high out of 1,236 shooters are: Phil Blacher 48th
with a 281-3X (out a possible 300), Gary Bissett 64th with a 280,
Christopher Andreychak 95th with a 277-7X, Ron Bissett 119th with a
275-7X and Carl Leisinger 125th with a 275-5X. This is fired with an
“as issued M1 Garand” and many shooters show up dressed in authentic
uniforms of WWII. I choose to dress in my own uniform of the day,
shorts, sandals and t-shirt. This match may be fired with any rifle used
in WWII. The guy next to me was firing an M1 Carbine. He told me that a
10 MPH wind blows his 110 grain .30 Cal. Carbine bullet out of the
aiming black at 200 yards; and you thought you had it bad with wind
problems.
Carl A. Leisinger, III, Captain, High
Power Rifle Team |
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