Hindsight from The New Gun Week July 10, 1997
Long Tradition of the National Matches
by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor
The thousands of competitors who will journey this summer to the shores of Lake Erie to test their marksmanship in shoulder to shoulder competition against others among the nation's best pistol and rifle shooters will also be celebrating a long and honored tradition that is linked to American history.
The origins of the National Matches are tied to the original public purposes for the foundation of the National Rifle Association in 1871. Most people familiar with the origins of the NRA know that it was organized by former officers in the Northern Army and state guards who had been appalled by the lack of marksmanship skills and familiarity with firearms among the troops they commanded during the Civil War. What is less well-known is that the regular Army view of marksmanship in those days had not advanced much from the thinking of European armies at the time of the revolution. Indeed, no serious attempt to teach military recruits basic marksmanship was seriously undertaken by the military establishment until World War I. Until that time, the training of new recruits was largely limited to close-order drill, military discipline and very basic arms familiarization. Hence, there were few adequate ranges.'Black Jack' Pershing
In fact, even when General John Pershing urged the establishment of a program of riflery training for all soldiers, most general officers still had a hard time accepting the idea of individual soldiers being required to actually hit a target at which they aimed. Mass discharge of arms by soldiers in formation without regard to accurate placement of a shot was still the dominant military doctrine for infantry.
When the School of Musketry was finally established, it followed guidelines originally proposed by the NRA, and embodied in the programs of the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice.
The NRA officers, mostly former military men, has been pushing the idea of "scientific" marksmanship training for quite a while, and had hoped to demonstrate what skilled rifle shooters could do in major national and international competitions.
The early NRA match program started at the Creedmoor range on Long Island in October 1873. From the beginning, there had been a natural link to the National Guard and that's why the New York legislature enacted the Judd Bill in 1872, a measure that provided major state funding "to establish a rifle range and promote skill in marksmanship." This state money, when added to private funds, made possible the development of land given to the NRA at Creed's farm. That is where the first NRA national and international matches were held as hordes of interested spectators watched and the newspapers of the day applauded.
When financial and other difficulties made it impossible to continue the match program at Creedmoor, the support of the strong New Jersey Rifle Association led to their movement to that state's Sea Girt range in 1892. (Bear in mind that in the early days the NRA had few resources and limited membership, and was not a national organization in fact. That came later. In the early days, the NRA was dominated by New York City, New York and New Jersey Guardsmen and clubs.)National Board
In 1903, during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, Congress passed a bill that created the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice (NBPRP), established the concept of National Rifle and Pistol Matches, and provided funding for the transport of military personnel to such matches.
The first such National Matches were held at Fort Riley, KS, in 1904, and it was soon discovered that larger and better facilities—with a more hospitable climate—were needed.
As the strength and size of the NRA grew in the early years of this century, and as the NRA became more truly a national organization, the National Matches continued at Sea Girt. Starting in 1906, the American Revolver Association began holding part of their postal national matches at Sea Girt as well.
About that time several dynamic figures became involved in the NRA, among them Adjutant General of Ohio Ammon B. Critchfield. Critchfield had built an outstanding shooting program in the Ohio National Guard, and had pushed Buckeye teams from a lowly start in 1900 to leading positions in 1904 and '05. It was through Critchfield's efforts that the Ohio legislature in 1905 first appropriated $25,000 to acquire and develop a state guard range on land along the southwestern shore of Lake Erie which Critchfield had selected as an ideal site.
The National Matches were first booked for the new facility in Ohio in 1907. Camp Perry at that time had 150 rifle points, 4 for revolvers and 50 skirmishing positions. Shooting was still with military caliber rifles. Although there had always been some industry exhibits at the matches, the serious Commercial Row first appeared at the 1907 matches and has been a tradition ever since.
Of course, the National Matches were not held every year without interruption. War and other major problems caused some breaks in the program. But it has been largely uninterrupted since moving to Camp Perry.
Throughout its 19th century and early 20th century existence, the NRA had placed nearly all its emphasis on the improvement of military marksmanship. Affiliation with a military organization of some kind was almost required for membership in the NRA and participation in its matches. The match rifle events of the early days were almost always shot by members of National Guard units functioning as civilians. Regular military forces were also participating, and there developed a strong interservice rivalry.Civilians
As military acceptance of NRA marksmanship philosophy and methods became more widespread in the early 20th century, the NRA's program began to evolve so that it became more truly national and also satisfied the wider interests of the general citizenry and the police.
By the onset of the 1906 Sea Girt National Matches, a qualification event open to anyone who wished to compete was held. Each competitor was required to shoot the Krag rifle at 200, 300 and 500 yards—five rounds at each distance with a minimum score of 50 out of 75 needed to qualify. It was at this match that an established woman exhibition shooter, Elizabeth "Plinky" Topperwein, became the first woman in history to compete in an NRA match. She scored 61 points and got her Marksman Medal.
Rimfire .22 rifles also became part of the matches the same year, with the introduction of a special youth competition for boys under 18 years of age.
The introduction of regular smallbore competition as well as small arms firing schools were approved by the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and the Director of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM) for the 1919 National Matches, which were held at a new Navy range in New Jersey rather than Camp Perry. It was in the same year that manufacturers began producing magazine-fed .22 caliber rifles which would conform to the general match discipline.Pistol Programs
In 1919, the National Matches began to include standard pistol competitions limited to the Model 1911 .45 caliber pistol. These were further expanded later to include .22 caliber rimfire, centerfire and .45 caliber competitions, as well as an aggregate of all three.
The weather has always been a source of discussion at the National Matches, regardless of where they were held. Today some still complain about rain, wind, sun and mirage. But these are not new phenomenons. No matter where they take place, the weather is bound to change during a month-long program.
The changes in political weather have also been a factor. But in more recent years, opponents of guns and shooting have tried to shut down the National Match program by attempting to abolish funding for the DCM and the NBPRP. Even some military leaders have reverted to the early 19th century view of the value of marksmanship training.
However, through the efforts of the NRA and those in the military and government who appreciate the importance of the marksmanship program to both the military and civilian segments of society, the National Matches and Small Arms Firing Schools have endured. Now thousands, not just hundreds, participate in the National Matches, gaining marksmanship skills, responsibility, friendships and a sense of pride in accomplishment.
The history of the National Matches is a tribute to the long-standing, successful partnership involving the NBPRP, the NRA and DCM.
The New Gun Week is published three times a month by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) on the 1st, 10th, and 20th. Hindsight is a commentary written by SAF President and Gun Week Executive Editor Joseph P. Tartaro. This commentary may be reprinted so long as credit is given to the author and the publication. For more information or to subscribe, write Gun Week, PO Box 488, Buffalo, NY 14209, or call 716-885-6408 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, or inquire on Compuserve to John Krull, Production manager-JohnSAF@Compuserve.com or gunweeksaf@broadviewnet.netAlso, check out the New Gun Week at http://www.GunWeek.com