Soldier Nails Perfect Score In High Power Shooting Event With Service Weapon
BY Herschel Smith
5 years, 5 months ago
The competitor, Sgt. Benjamin Cleland of Swanton, Ohio, pulled off the feat at the National Rifle Association’s 2019 Charlie Smart Memorial Regional in Oak Ridge, Tennessee on June 2, with a score of 800-34x. This means Cleland not only notched 80 back-to-back hits in the 10-ring but that 34 of those nailed the even smaller “X” ring at the target’s dead center. For reference, at 600 yards, the 10-ring measures 12 inches while the “X” is 6 inches.
[ … ]
The 80-shot course is fired in four stages. This begins by firing 20 rounds from 200 yards in a standing position, followed by 20 sitting/kneeling, rapid-fire rounds before delivering 20 rounds from a prone position at 300 yards. The final stage, at 600 yards, consists of a further 20 rounds. A perfect score is 800, or 10 points for each round in the 10 ring.
The previous high score with a service rifle was a 798 set by Marine Gunnery Sgt. Julia L. Watson.
Service rifles in the match are limited to M16s, M14s and M1 Garands with a maximum of a 4.5x power scope.
That’s 1-2 MOA shooting for 80 straight rounds, some of it rapid fire. That’s extremely consistent shooting. That’s something we should all be striving for.
On June 20, 2019 at 11:00 pm, Sam Helm said:
When did they start allowing optics? I quit shooting competitively when I couldn’t see so well anymore. Service Rifle was always IRON SIGHTS ONLY. Maybe I will take it up again. . .
On June 21, 2019 at 12:06 am, Georgiaboy61 said:
@ Sam Helm
When both the Army and Marine Corps started using 3.5-4x fixed power optics – usually ACOGs – as standard issue sights for recruits, the NRA/CMP Matches changed their rules to reflect this change. Took the powers-that-be some time, but the change got made. Have mixed emotions about it. Love irons, but just not as young as I used to be, so being able to use an optic is a plus for the over-forty set.
Regarding Sgt. Cleland’s feat – somewhere, someplace, George Farr’s ghost is smiling!
For those who don’t know, George Farr – an elderly grandfatherly figure in his sixties, walked on to the last day of the 1,000 yard competition at the National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio in 1921. Using a cut-in-half pair of old opera glasses as his “spotting scope,” and a Springfield M1903 bolt-action 30-06 rifle and issue ammunition available at the event, neither of which he’d even seen before, Farr took his place at the firing line and proceeded to reel off seventy-one bull’s-eyes in a row at 1,000 yards. No optical sights; just iron sights, his keen vision, and good marksmanship.
In those days, competitors were allowed two “sighters,” but Farr needed only one to get on target center/center. His total included his last (second) spotter, plus seventy more in the bull’s-eye before closing darkness forced him to stop.
When his string was finally over, Farr received a round of applause from the crowd of onlookers which had gathered, and the hat was passed for donations to buy the record-setting rifle for Farr. Farr passed into legend and today, his Springfield M1903 bolt-action is displayed in the National Firearms Museum. Each summer, at the National Matches, eligible civilians who score well-enough in the correct events are eligible for the Farr Trophy, named in his honor.
On June 21, 2019 at 7:25 am, Frank Clarke said:
I took my new AR-15 to an Appleseed and completely disgraced myself, first for being unable with my crummy vision to see both the sights and the target in rapid-enough succession to actually line things up, and then for being unable to get down into tortuous positions quick enough to make shots in the time allowed.
I had bought a 2-day admission on the (confirmed) assumption that I needed all the help i could get, and ditched day-2 because I couldn’t bend to put my shoes on that morning.
Youth is truly wasted on the young.
On June 21, 2019 at 10:36 am, Drake said:
His service rifle has a stainless barrel? Is he a designated marksman or sniper? Looks like an M16A4 with a custom stock, barrel, and muzzle-break.
On June 21, 2019 at 11:53 am, Georgiaboy61 said:
@ Frank Clarke
Re: “I had bought a 2-day admission on the (confirmed) assumption that I needed all the help i could get, and ditched day-2 because I couldn’t bend to put my shoes on that morning.”
Hey, hang tough and don’t give in! Older (over-fifty) folks can still git ‘er done; we just need to take better care of ourselves than the kids, and build-up/train for whatever it is we’re trying to do. Important to warm-up properly as well.
If you are at all like me, I neglected flexibility training for a long time, and had to pay my dues to get back my freedom of motion. But now that I have it back, I’m not surrendering it again w/o a fight!
In the end, if those traditional field positions prove to be too tough, I’d be very surprised if the instructors don’t know some modifications or substitutes for folks who have trouble with the standard ones. Can’t hurt to ask… and do some digging on your own. As the old saying went, there’s more than one way to skin a cat!
“Youth is truly wasted on the young.” You’ve sure got that right! Got the scars to prove it!
On June 23, 2019 at 10:34 am, revjen45 said:
I would love to have a go at Appleseed but arthritis makes those positions problematic. A back spasm in the middle of a string would really suck.