Canton McKinley Rifle & Pistol Club
|
|
|
|
“Perry Pop-Ups” by Frank Karl Fortunately, the wind was out of the south and to our backs, but the blue gray overcast sky continued to be threatening. An erratic mist was evolving into a serious damping of spirits and gun cases. The Canton McKinley Rifle & Pistol Club contingent was still two relays from the firing line and I wondered what I was doing here. “Here” was Camp Perry and I was getting ready to shoot my 40-round course of fire. I had not been to Perry since before 9-11. (Funny how so many things in life are now measured from that date). So when I got the e-mail that the Friends of Camp Perry were running their First Modified Qualification Course for pistol, I made plans to be there. The Friends of Camp Perry is an organization of volunteers with the mission “To promote the health and welfare of the soldiers and sailors at Camp Perry, and to preserve the heritage, history and traditions of Camp Perry.” You can find out more about them at www.friendsofcampperry.org. Camp Perry has a rich tradition, starting in 1903, of serving our country, our state, and our way of life. Even today, Perry continues training the National Guard and hosting many of the NRA National Pistol and Rifle Matches. Arriving at the main gate, I showed a picture ID to the sentry and he directed me to the Petrarca range. The ranges are named after men who heroically sacrificed their lives for the lives of their fellow solders during the Second World War. The Petrarca range was named after Frank J Petrarca from Cleveland, Ohio. Frank was a Private First Class in the army medical detachment, 145 Infantry. He died attempting to bring medical aid to a fellow solder on Horseshoe Hill in the Solomon Islands on July 31, 1943. You can find out more about the namesakes of the Perry ranges at http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-11341.html. Today, ten shooting positions stood facing the berm which blocked our view of Lake Erie. From each position, a computer-controlled pop-up target would rise and stand for five seconds unless you shot the target over. Each target was a green plastic shell of a generic three-foot tall soldier. This was going to be way too much fun! Each shooter stood at a firing point, received the course of fire from the control tower, loaded their weapon and stood ready. Keith Bailey (from ORPA) called all the matches and when he finished describing the course of fire he pushed the button and the computer took over. One or more targets stood for five seconds taunting you. It took only one hit to knock a target down, but without an audible clang from hitting steel and a delay between your hit and the computer responding, you had to evaluate your sight picture and decide if you had hit the target or not. Most of us double tapped a few to make sure. There were five seconds between the targets, but to complicate the situation, reloads had to be done on the fly. Jams, oh-sh*ts, dropped magazines and all the other gun problems also had to be solved on the clock. Marty Capito, Sandy and Paul Walters, my wife Karen and I comprised the CMRPC “delegation.” Marty’s wife, Maureen, came along to spur us on (“I have a camera and I’m not afraid to use it”) with encouragement and mild blackmail. Let me tell you what it was like. We were seated on cold aluminum bleachers in an open three-sided high bay shelter. The mist had increased, so we moved our gear and ourselves up a few rows in an effort to stay a little drier. Despite my Gore-Tex raincoat, vest and flannel shirt, the cold dampness was chilling but our excitement level was high and we wanted to shoot! As we sat there the south wind blew a thick foggy blanket in and our view of the targets disappeared. They were still visible from the firing line so the match continued. The five of us were all on the same relay so when it was our turn we told each other good luck and to have fun. I laid out my four 15-round Beretta magazines and watched Karen lay out her seven .45 ACP magazines. The rest of the gang was dispersed among the other shooters and I couldn’t see them. The fog was breaking so when the computer started we could easily see our targets. Holding the firearm locked out for so long (3 minutes, 20 seconds for 40 targets) created burning sensations in the shoulder joints, so most of us reverted to the high tuck hold between targets. This forced me to press the gun out into my preferred hold when the targets popped up. I used an aggressive isosceles hold that works well for me. I did a fast magazine change every 12 shots or so, regardless of the condition of the gun. I never count my shots so there was a risk to this -- I could have shot the gun dry. When done right this saves a few seconds as there is not the surprise of a locked slide followed by a reload. Targets that didn’t fall fast enough were doubled tapped in case the first shot was a miss. I thought I had enough magazines and ammo to double tap and leave a few rounds behind during the reloads. Still, by the time I got down to my last 15 round magazine, I was wondering if I had miscalculated. The tower surprised me when they announced the course of fire was over. That was fun and I wanted to do it again with my Glock! Now we just had to wait for the results. When the scores came in we got the news. Paul had a little trouble and shot a 28 while Sandy dropped one to end up with a very nice 39. Karen had to clear a feeding jam, but stayed in the fight and scored a 33. Marty and I, well, somewhere in the ORPA website (http://www.orpa.net) is everyone’s score so you can look us up if you want. But I will say, Marty can cover me any day while I reload. Considering the time it took to shoot, pick-up brass and give instructions, it took about 15 minutes for a relay. Ten shooters shot at a time, so about 40 shooters an hour were cranked out. They stopped squading people at relay 25. We never had a chance to shoot again. It’s easy to say the match was a big success! Unfortunately, with Camp Perry’s commitment to prepare our troops for active service (there was a squad of riflemen practicing next to us and down the way the shoot houses were packed with men and women training) the fun matches will be restricted. Still next spring, they are going to do it again. But we don’t have to wait that long because this fall there will be rifle fun match. I’ll see you there!! Frank Karl can be reached at salt154@sbcglobal.net. He’d like to hear about your shooting adventures. Click on a picture to make it full size.
|
|
Send mail to
webmaster@cantonmckinleyriflepistol.org with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
