Pendleton hosts nationwide shooters for inaugural meet

[thedrifter]

Pendleton hosts nationwide shooters for inaugural meet
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification Number: 20031121181939
Story by Lance Cpl. Samuel Bard Valliere



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(Nov. 12, 2003) -- More than 100 high-powered rifle shooters gathered at Wilcox Range Nov. 12 through Sunday to participate in a new shooting competition -- one organizers hope will become an annual event of high-powered prestige.

The Creedmoor Cup match, sponsored by Creedmoor Sports and hosted by the Santa Margarita Gun Club, drew rifle enthusiasts from all over the country to Camp Pendleton with hopes of winning a piece of the $9,000 prize.

"This is probably the only match like it that's been put on where we have a very large purse," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Dennis W. DeMille, the officer-in-charge of the Marksmanship Training Branch here. "We have some of the best shooters from across the country. We enticed them with a huge purse and a match that was guaranteed not to be too slow and not to be too fast, but a good-paced match."

Shooters traveled from Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, Florida and Rhode Island to compete. One Coast Guardsman made the trip from Alaska to take part.

The match was the brainchild of Creedmoor Sports' Vice President Greg Kantorovich.

"We decided to have the Creedmoor Cup so that we could attract new and old shooters from across the United States to come out and visit Camp Pendleton and hopefully rival Camp Perry," Kantorovich said, referring the site of the National Rifle Association's National Outdoor Rifle and Pistol Championships. "We hope to one day get a match out here that will be the size of Camp Perry's."

According to DeMille, the NRA Nationals boasted upward of 1,500 competitors this year.

Contestants competed with either a match rifle or a service rifle. Service rifles include M-16A2 service rifles, M-14s and M-1 Garands. DeMille said match rifles use more technology and don't resemble the service rifles.

Norman G. Houle, of West Warwick, R.I., took first place in the match rifle category with a score of 793-31. Justin D. Skaret led the pack in service rifle with a score of 791-29.

The match took five months to plan.

"I had the idea for a long time and I talked to somebody at the Santa Margarita Gun Club," Kantorovich said. "When we were starting to work on dates, we wanted the spring. The range was only open in November and we decided to give it a shot."

DeMille hosted a shooting clinic Nov. 12 on basic firing positions. The clinic offered new and veteran shooters alike an opportunity to brush up on their skills.

"We had a shooter come out to the clinic who had never shot before," Kantorovich said. "He came in to Creedmoor a few days prior (to competition) and said, 'I'm not going to shoot this weekend. I don't know what's going on.' He did the clinic and came up to me right after and said, 'I'm shooting Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I love it.'"

Many rifle enthusiasts said they enjoyed the communal atmosphere of the competition as much as the prize money.

"I don't shoot competitively; I just shoot for the fun of it," said Ronald Freese, who came to Wilcox Range to observe the match. "As an old man, I enjoy getting out and communicating with the people and getting to see them and to talk to them. This is as much a social event as it is a shooting event."

For some, competitions are the only opportunities to see old friends.

"A lot of us have known each other for years," DeMille said. "I'm very good friends with the head coach of the Army team, he's a former Marine. I very rarely get to see him; as a matter of fact, I get to see him at the nationals and that's it."

Dubbing the inaugural event a success, Kantorovich has his sights set on big things for the Creedmoor Cup.

"Our goal is not just to bring shooters here to shoot, because you can go anywhere on a weekend and shoot," Kantorovich said. "Our goal is to maybe one day make this a weeklong thing where you bring the family and we can make this into a big Southern California family event."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2...74?opendocument

Sempers,

Roger

[Keith_Hixson]

$9,000 is just pocket change for a pro golfer.

Keith

[darrels joy]

"hopes of winning a piece of the $9,000 prize. " is not why they went. :re:

A piece of $9,000 will just help pay for the trip. The Lance Cpl. have known better when he wrote this or he's just a writer.