by Art Merrill TGM Contributor
Spanish CETME
Basic SKS
Norinco MAK 90
In the same spirit of “run what ya brung” racing for the car and motorcycle enthusiasts, we all now have the opportunity to take our military style semi-auto rifles to the range for some amateur rifle competition. Whether factory, custom, military issue or even a home-built AR-15 from your own imagination, the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s Modern Military Rifle game is the place to take your favorite to meet and compete with others sharing your interest.
“We felt that there were a lot of great military style rifles gathering dust in the closets of America, so CMP created an opportunity to bring them out,” said Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) Marketing Director Steve Cooper.
“Many of the folks who shoot vintage rifle also own self-loaders like the M14, light-barreled M16/ AR-15, FN FALs and such that really don’t fit our vintage rifle format, but are still fun to shoot.” The Modern Military Rifle game is a natural outgrowth of CMP’s very successful “As-issued” games for vintage military rifles. In these games shooters bring out their M1 Garands, Springfields and foreign military bolt-action rifles to compete at 200 or 100 yards on bullseye targets. Modeled on Highpower Rifle competition, the games require shooting offhand (standing), sitting or kneeling and prone, and feature two timed rapid-fire stages where competitors must reload in mid-string. But unlike Highpower competition, rifles are not permitted to be “accurized” in any way—no lightened triggers, match sights or bedded actions; they must be as-issued to the military. It’s the KISS idea, intended to make the games fun, affordable to everyone and with a level playing field of marksmanship where no one has an equipment advantage.
A game for look-alikes What’s been missing from these games until now are categories for popular military style look-alike semi-autos, like the staggering numbers of US commercial AR-15 variants that makers are churning out today. In fact, because of the latter’s immense popularity, CMP has a separate category specifically for American-made AR platform rifles. But let’s back up a step and see how we got here.
The US Army’s office of the Director of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM) permanently closed its doors after nearly a hundred years of promoting civilian shooting of military arms. Under a government charter, CMP now has that responsibility. CMP still conducts very formal Highpower competitions in the style of DCM, but recognizing that Highpower has become a rather expensive sport, CMP devised the “As-issued” games to take advantage of the countless thousands—millions?—of military surplus rifles now in civilian hands while simultaneously attracting more shooters to the basic sport.
The “As-issued” games encourage shooters to bring whatever milsurp rifles they already own. To make sure apples are competing with apples and oranges with oranges, there are separate classifications for the M1 Garand, Springfield rifle, and the M1 Carbine. All foreign military bolt action rifles fall under the Vintage Military Rifle classification. The classifications have worked so well that last year CMP added the new Modern Military Rifle class.
So, what qualifies as a Modern Military Rifle? Basically, if it even looks military, it’s in. Yes, that includes your “Assault Rifle Ban” era Norinco MAK-90 with the wooden thumbhole stock. Yes, it includes your CETME. Yes, it includes the high end tactical AR- 15 swaddled in Picatinny rails you just ordered. Yes, it includes your semi-auto AK-47 clone. And of course it includes your SKS and your MAS 49/56 and your Hakim.
There are A and B categories under Modern Military Rifle.
Category A, as previously mentioned is for American-made AR platform rifles that fire only the .223 Rem/5.56 NATO cartridge.
Category B is for everything else.
The largest caliber allowed is 8mm, which permits just about everything except the larger calibers mounted on AR platforms.
Minimum trigger weight is 4.5 pounds, and maximum magazine capacity is 30 rounds (you won’t load more than eight rounds at a time during firing, anyway).
Other important points from the rule book are:
• Rifles must be standard production or as-issued rifles with no special accurizing or match conditioning.
• The exterior configuration of the rifle must be similar to that of the original military or militarytype rifle.
• Sights must be military-type, non-optical sights; back-up sights may be used. Adjustable apertures, interchangeable inserts or lens inserts of any type are prohibited.
• Buttstocks may be fixed or telescoping/collapsing; however, if the rifle has a telescoping/collapsing buttstock, it must be fixed so that its length of pull is not changed during an entire course of fire.
A caveat to the sights rule is that optical sights are permitted if the individual match program specifically says so. The rules leave a lot of latitude to include as many kinds of rifles as possible while trying to keep it realistically competitive and keep it safe.
Because the Modern Military Rifle game is brand new, we can expect to see it morph over time as more shooters get involved and work out any bugs with rule interpretations.
Cost comparison of Highpower and Modern Military Rifle competition
To compete even adequately well in Highpower competition requires the outlay of significant cash for gun and gear. Note that match fees for formal Highpower competition cost more than for MMR games and is fired out to 600 yards. For the latter MMR, you don’t really need expensive match grade ammo to shoot iron sights at 200 or 100
yards.
Highpower
AR-15 National Match rifle $1,300
Match trigger $240
Match grade sling $45
Glove $35
Spotting scope $200 (a low end model)
Scope stand $225
Shooting coat $250
Wheeled shooting stool $150
Mat $80
Magazines (4) $100
Ammo (70 rounds handloaded) $34 (about $70 for commercial match grade ammo)
Match fee $40
TOTAL: $2,799
MMR games
Modern Military Rifle $0 because you already own one
Piece of carpet to lay on $0
Surplus 5.56ammo (55 rounds) $25
Match fee $25
TOTAL: $50
Not required but nice-to-have: binoculars or spotting scope for when
it’s your turn to be scorekeeper.
For detailed info on “As-issued” Vintage Military Rifle competitions and gear, visit the author’s website at www.shootvmr.com.
