A federal law enacted in 1996 officially established the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety, better known as the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). In it, the law states that "... the corporation shall give priority to activities that benefit firearms safety, training, and competition for youth and that reach as many youth participants as possible." Today, one element of that mission is realized in the John C. Garand match held annually at Camp Perry. Watch our "American Rifleman Television" feature segment above, where we go into the details of the M1 Garand match and the background of the CMP.
"The CMP is just a great mission, you know, and it's a four-component mission with training programs, safety programs, competitions, to include the great national matches that we do at Camp Perry every summer and have been doing there for over a century," said Jerry O'Keefe, chairman and CEO, Civilian Marksmanship Program. "And then a focus on youth, right? A very deliberate focus on youth. And all four components of the mission are codified in our enabling legislation in 1996 that formed the CMP."
The John C. Garand Match at the CMP National Matches held annually at Camp Perry, Ohio, also honors the memory of John Cantius Garand, the inventor of the M1 rifle.
As part of its mission, the CMP offers for sale military surplus rifles out of the U.S. Army inventory. One of the most commonly available arms from the CMP is the M1 Garand. These rifles are refurbished by CMP armorers and offered for sale to the general public in order to further marksmanship, and the rifle's history and capability is honored in the annual Garand match.
"The Garand match honors John C. Garand, who invented, built, modified, and finally came up with the most effective battlefield implement ever devised. And so the M1 Garand rifle, it's at the core of the CMP in terms of what we do for sales and bringing in monies to support our programs," said Steve Cooper, training, education & marketing manager, Civilian Marksmanship Program. "The Army has a surplus of these M1 rifles from World War II. We refurbish them, if we can, and make them ready for sale to the general public. And people just absolutely love these rifles. And so this event really focuses on World War II rifles and specifically the M1 Garand rifle."
The Garand Match is just one of many competitions offered by the CMP, and many of the classes, clinics and competitions made available are oriented toward youth and inexperienced shooters looking to build their skills.
"What we'd like to see is, when we have new shooters come out here, we want them to feel comfortable, feel safe, and to enjoy the camaraderie and the spirit of these matches. It's just a great place for them to learn," Cooper said. "If they've got some experience, that's fine. If they're new to the sport, we want them to come out, feel good about what we're doing with them and shoot in a safe environment. and learn the courses of fire on an entry level."
From matches to classes to available surplus arms for purchase, the CMP offers a wide range of options for both new and experienced firearm enthusiasts.
"Hop online. You can get on our website at thecmp.org, and that will take you to absolutely everything in our world," Cooper said. "Marksmanship has been a sport or a tradition in this country for a long, long time. It's a tradition. And it's really important for us to continue that forward."
To watch complete segments of past episodes of American Rifleman TV, go to americanrifleman.org/artv. For all-new episodes of ARTV, tune in Wednesday nights to Outdoor Channel 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. EST.
