By Ashley Brugnone, CMP Writer

TALLADEGA, Ala. – The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) held a Rimfire Sporter Match on Saturday, Aug. 24, at its own Talladega Marksmanship Park. The event was the first Monthly Rimfire Sporter Match to be held at the park, with more scheduled throughout the year.

The Rimfire Sporter Rifle Match offers shooters a recreation-oriented competition where they use .22 sporter rifles. Rifles may be manually operated or semi-automatic and are categorized into three classes: "O Class" for open-sighted rifles, "T-Class" for telescope sighted rifles and “TU Class” for tactical/unlimited class.

Winning the match in the T-Class was Grayson Ellis, 13, of Anniston, AL, with an impressive score of 594. Following in second was Devyn Chapman, 13, of Piedmont, AL, followed by Declan Patty, 14, of Jacksonville, AL, in third. The O-Class and Tactical/Unlimited Class were unrepresented.

Firing is held at 50 and 25 yards on a target with a 1.78" ten-ring and an 18" outer one-ring. The target is simple enough for a beginner to hit yet challenging enough that only one competitor in the history of the match has ever fired a perfect 600x600 score.

For the Course of Fire, participants begin at 50 yards with a sighting or practice series and then shoot 10 shots for record slow-fire in the prone position, followed by two, five-shot rapid-fire series. This is followed by 10 shots slow fire and two, five-shot rapid-fire series in the sitting or kneeling position. Targets are then placed at the 25-yard line where shooters conclude with 10 shots slow fire and two, five-shot rapid-fire series in the standing position.

The next Monthly Rimfire Sporter matches will be held in September and October and will also be on the schedule for CMP’s Talladega 600 in November.

Talladega has many upcoming exciting events in September, including the Alabama State Sporting Clay Championships, Sept. 13-15, the Alabama Steel Challenge State Championships, Sept. 12-15 and the Annual Glock Sport Shooting Foundation Match, Sept. 18-22. The public is welcome to come witness these events, and feel free to stay and take a tour of the grounds! There’s so much to see.

Keep an eye on more upcoming events at Talladega by visiting the CMP website at http://thecmp.org/competitions/talladega-marksmanship-park/.

About Talladega Marksmanship Park:

The CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park is a destination for firearm supporters and those intrigued by the sport, featuring exclusive CMP electronic targets and scoring monitors that can only be found at the 500-acre facility. The park is open to the public every week and regularly hosts rifle, pistol and shotgun events all year long.

Off of the firing line, the Club House holds a fully-stocked Pro Shop that includes an exclusive collection of rifles, ammunition, marksmanship accessories and CMP memorabilia.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org.