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To acknowledge those who consistently score well in the John C. Garand Match with As-Issued M1 Rifles at designated Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) competitions, the Garand Collectors Association (GCA) has designed a new GCA Master Marksman Program.
“The GCA is grateful to enjoy a cooperative association with the CMP, whose administrative efforts are essential in making this new award a reality,” the GCA said in a statement.
The GCA Master Marksman program is set to begin in January 2023. Like the CMP’s established Distinguished Badge Program, the new addition will work on an Achievement Award point system, based on performance at designated CMP events.
Points will be awarded based on cut scores and presented as gold (10 pts), silver (8 pts.) and bronze (6 pts) levels. Competitors must reach a total of 40 points overall, with one gold and one additional gold or silver required. All other points may be bronze or greater.
The first points to be awarded will be at the 2023 Western Games, held in Phoenix in March.
Annual events featuring GCA point competitions currently include:
- CMP Western Games (Arizona) – March 10-19, 2023
- CMP Eastern Games (North Carolina) – April 28-May 7, 2023
- CMP D-Day (Alabama) – June 6-11, 2023
- CMP National Matches (Ohio) – July 2023
- CMP New England Games (Vermont) – Sept. 16-24, 2023
- CMP Talladega 600 (Alabama) – November 2023
To participate, a competitor must be a current member of the GCA. Individuals may even join the day of the match through the GCA website in order to be considered a valid member.
Only As-Issued M1 Garands maybe used. Competition Rules for the John C. Garand Match (Course A: 30 rounds) will be followed as defined in the CMP Games Rifle and Pistol Competition Rulebook. Those who fire in re-entry events will only be able to use their highest score as points.
Outside of the Master Marksman Program, the GCA will continue to donate generous funds to the winners of the John C. Garand Matches as well as the semi-auto category of the Vintage Team Sniper Matches at major CMP competitions, regardless of GCA membership.
Questions on the new program? Contact CMP’s Christina Roguski at 419-635-2141 ext. 714 or croguski@thecmp.org.
About the GCA: Since its beginnings in 1986, the GCA and its members have worked diligently to expand knowledge on the M1 Garand, to preserve its history and to encourage and assist others in collecting the historical rifle. The GCA has also worked closely with the CMP since 2000 on sorting/grading M1 Garand rifles and encouraging competitive and recreational firearm safety. Learn more about the organization at https://thegca.org/.
— By Ashley Dugan, CMP Staff Writer
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.
Restricted 18+ in CA in compliance with CA State Assembly Bill 2571 prohibiting the marketing of firearms to minors in the State of CA.
Christine Elder
Civilian Marksmanship Program
Communications Manager
419-635-2141, ext. 711
Of all the semi-automatic shotgun lines produced by Benelli, its most successful and well known is the Super Black Eagle. In 2020, American Rifleman staff had the opportunity to visit the Benelli factory in Urbino, Italy, to see what goes into designing and machining the Super Black Eagle line, as well as the other projects the firm was working on.
A diagram showing the inner workings of the inertia-driven action used by Benelli shotguns.
The Super Black Eagle line of semi-automatic shotguns utilize Benelli’s well-known inertia-driven action design. This action style uses the rearward inertia from a fired shot to tension a spring inside the bolt, making it dwell in place for a short period of time before releasing and moving rearward to unlock. This system is both reliable, simple and produces a fairly smooth recoil impulse. This action works with all the common shell lengths and sizes without imparting extra stress into the user’s shoulder.
Firing a Benelli Super Black Eagle Shotgun on the range.
However, the tolerances required for the individual components of the action make them relatively difficult to manufacture, which is why Benelli has blended the latest in computer design and automated machining into its manufacturing processes. This allows components to be manufactured as uniformly as possible with an end product that can be expected to meet customer’s expectations of quality control.
The third iteration of the Super Black Eagle line, the Super Black Eagle 3.
In 2003, Benelli introduced the second generation of the line, the Super Black Eagle 2, which incorporates a ComforTech synthetic stock to help further reduce felt recoil and increase user comfort. Since then, the firm has also released the third generation of the line, the Super Black Eagle 3. Building off of the Super Black Eagle 2, the third version includes further enhancements to control layouts and easier loading, along with the second generation of the ComforTech stock.
A Benelli 828U over-under shotgun with the action opened.
To further enhance its product lines, Benelli spent a decade working on a new process for its manufacturing to increase the weatherproof qualities of its firearms. Known as the BE.S.T. treatment, a hybrid steel treatment process which produces a weatherproof and wear-resistant finish, the finish is proprietary to the firm. Other than the autoloaders, the Benelli 828U over-under shotgun line is also popular in the competition and sporting market. Benelli has also expanded its reach outside of the shotgun realm, producing other types of platforms like the Lupo bolt-action rifle. To learn more about Benelli, its history and its firearms, visit benelliusa.com.
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The RARE Sturmgewehr STG44
Following his stinging defeat in the 1912 election, President Theodore Roosevelt planned a trip to South America with a lecture tour and river expedition in the works.
On the trip he exchanged one river expedition meant as an enjoyable excursion for another that was far more dangerous. That trip, on the River of Doubt, veered into a fight to stay alive.
An engraved nickel and gold plated Smith & Wesson .38 Double Action 4th Model Bicycle revolver Roosevelt carried with him to South America and bestowed as a gift to an Argentine university president on his speaking tour is available in Rock Island Auction Company’s May 13-15 Premier Auction. Engraving on the short-barreled gun was done by master engraver L.D. Nimschke or his shop.
South America Tour
As one who enjoyed “the strenuous life,” Roosevelt, who was 55, wasn’t one to sit around and let his defeat to Woodrow Wilson gnaw at him. He accepted an invitation to South America for a series of lectures as well as a river tour to collect flora and fauna samples.
A friend, Rev. John Zahm, a Roman Catholic Priest who had traveled extensively in South America, invited Roosevelt on the expedition. An off-hand comment by a Brazilian official suggested an expedition of the unmapped River of Doubt that feeds into the Aripuanã River. The Aripuanã meets the Madeira River, the Amazon River’s largest tributary. The River of Doubt hadn’t been officially named since it had yet to be explored.
“I thought of making the trip a zoological one only, but in Rio de Janeiro I learned there was a chance of our doing a work of geographical importance,” Roosevelt later wrote.
Roosevelt, despite the risks, wanted to take on the River of Doubt. The director of the American Museum of Natural History, a sponsor of the original expedition, warned against the danger.
“If it is necessary for me to leave my bones in South America, I am quite ready to do so,” Roosevelt wrote.
Expedition Begins
Col. Candido Rondon was a veteran of the Amazon forest, a former military officer who led the effort to install telegraph lines through the jungle served as co-leader of the party. He was aware of the dangers faced by the expedition.
He and Roosevelt discussed what to expect, the former president wrote, “such as poisonous insects and the fevers they cause, dysentery, accidents in the rapids, and starvation!”
The expedition party traveled upriver by steamboat to a remote town where it began an overland trek to the River of Doubt. Several men fell ill and half of the pack animals died of exhaustion. Further complicating matters, it was discovered that the provisions were more for a cruise like Zahm had in mind than a tough river adventure. There was olive oil, tea, sweets and Rhine wine, but not enough necessities like dried food and salted meat.
Before setting off on the River of Doubt, the expeditionary team downsized due to the lack of proper supplies. In February, 1914, the party started out with the former president, his son, Kermit, Rondon and his assistant, a doctor, naturalist George Cherrie, and several porters. The number was 22.
Dangers of the Amazon
From the start, the expedition faced the threat of alligators, piranhas, and hostile natives. Roosevelt wrote of being overwhelmed by “torment and menace” from mosquitos and stinging flies.
A venomous coral snake nearly bit the former president who was saved by the thick leather of his boot. Still Roosevelt was captivated.
“It was interesting work, for no civilized man, no white man, had ever gone down or up this river or seen the country through which we were passing,” Roosevelt later wrote. “The lofty and matted forest rose like a green wall on either hand.”
Indigenous people, later learned to be hostile to outsiders and cannibalistic, were stalking the party. Rondon, the Brazilian, forbid anyone to go deep into the jungle after discovering his hunting dog shot with arrows.
River Rapids
By March the expedition faced treacherous rapids and had to decide whether to shoot through them or portage through the jungle. Several canoes were destroyed, causing delays as new ones had to be made. They were making about seven miles per day.
On one occasion, daring the rapids turned fatal. A canoe carrying Kermit Roosevelt and two other men was sucked into a whirlpool then sent over a 30-foot waterfall. Kermit and one of the men escaped. The third, a Brazilian, drowned.
Malaria and Murder
Men were overtaken by malaria, dysentery, and suffering as supplies ran low.
Roosevelt, attempting to rescue a canoe in a series of rapids, suffered a nasty gash on his leg. Easily treated in civilization, the wound quickly got infected, leaving the Rough Rider delirious from fever as high as 105 degrees and begging to be left behind. His son wouldn’t hear of it.
“There were a good many days, a good many mornings when I looked at Colonel Roosevelt and said to myself, he won’t be with us tonight,” naturalist George Cherrie later remembered. “And I would say the same in the evening, he can’t possibly live until morning.”
Cherrie would eventually be a veteran of 40 expeditions in his career and have several species, including a lizard, birds, and a pocket gopher named after him.
Eventually, on a muddy riverbank, the expedition’s doctor was forced to operate without any type of pain reliever for the former president. No matter, the doctor cut away the dead flesh and Roosevelt, who lost nearly 60 lbs. began to improve.
One night, a Brazilian porter was caught stealing food. He fatally shot the man who caught him and fled into the jungle. The party couldn’t find the fugitive and left him to his fate.
River Rescue
In April, the expedition started seeing signs of civilization. They recognized rubber trees tapped for their sap by Brazilian pioneers who had pushed into the jungle. Some of the pioneers were generous to the ragtag expedition and provided new canoes and food.
A relief party was spotted on April 26 at the confluence of the River of Doubt and Aripuanã River. The expedition had trekked more than 400 miles on the River of Doubt.
At his first opportunity, Roosevelt sent off a telegram to the Brazilian government declaring the expedition, “a hard and somewhat dangerous, but very successful trip.”
By the time Roosevelt returned to New York in May, 1914 he was strong enough to walk down the gangplank to meet well-wishers.
Addressing Naysayers
Roosevelt was met by critics about the extent of his role with the expedition, but a lecture tour of the United States and Europe quickly silenced them. The party brought back 2,000 species of birds and 500 mammals for the American Museum of Natural History.
The expedition took its toll on Roosevelt who suffered from recurring malaria for the rest of his life that he called “old Brazilian trouble.” He died in 1919 at the age of 60.
An expedition launched on the renamed River of Doubt, now Roosevelt River, in 1926 confirmed nearly everything the earlier expedition did. Rondon, as the leader of the first expedition, was responsible for naming the river and chose to name it after the 26th president.
Teddy Roosevelt Revolver
The engraved short-barrel Smith & Wesson .38 Double Action 4th Model Bicycle revolver, with its silver barrel and frame and gold-plated cylinder is an extreme rarity in Smith & Wesson collecting. The engraving is from the workshop of famed engraver L.D. Nimschke. These double action revolvers are rarer than their Safety Hammerless cousins, especially special order short-barrel versions so this is a nearly impossible to find Smith & Wesson model.
Heap on it being a gift from one of America’s most beloved presidents and the revolver’s value increases even further. The gun is accompanied by a statement of provenance in Spanish by the great-grandson of the original owner, Dr. Figueroa Alcorta. The statement says the revolver “was given to my great-grandfather Dr. Figueroa Alcorta when the ex-President of the United States of America, Theodore Roosevelt, visited the country in 1913.” Argentina is the country referred to in the statement, and in the statement the revolver is identified by serial number and short description of gold and silver plating and pearl grips as well as a description of the accompanying retailer box. Alcorta is a past president of the University of La Plata in Argentina so likely met the former president on his lecture tour ahead of the expedition. The history, rarity and provenance of this Smith & Wesson makes this an amazing and highly desirable piece of gun memorabilia.
Sources:
The Amazonian Expedition That Nearly Killed Theodore Roosevelt, by Evan Andrews, history.com
The River of Doubt, Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University
‘The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey,’ by Candice Millar
Regardless if you procured an outdated rifle from an older family member, via a gun-show purchase or through some other method, you hope the vintage shooting iron still hurtles projectiles downrange accurately. You may get lucky with that classic gun, but you also may struggle with it spitting bullets irregularly like a malfunctioning baseball pitching machine. You might address the issue via a gun shop visit or DIY gunsmithing. Additionally, consider these five upgrades as possible remedies for errant rounds.
Before you give your old friend a major makeover, do some research. Use the serial number, model number and other details of the rifle to determine its age. First, the firearm may be an actual antique, and if you have ever watched the PBS program “Antiques Roadshow,” you understand that modifying the character of an item typically decreases its value.
Second, older firearms were not manufactured with the same specifications as their counterparts today. Those older designs may not be up to the task when launching the higher pressures of modern ammunition. Risk of injury or even death could result in a mismatch. Seek out advice from the manufacturer and trusted firearm experts to determine whether your old rifle should return to the field or rest comfortably above the fireplace mantle.
Spring Cleaning
If given the green light to transform an elderly rifle, you can start easily with spring cleaning. Give that old firearm a good scrubdown from end to end. Whether the past owner neglected regular cleanings or simply put the rifle away after the last deer season without cleaning it, a good cleaning could remove performance-affecting gunk throughout.
Make sure the firearm is unloaded and then disassemble, with the help of manufacturer guidelines. This gives you access to all nooks and crannies containing crud. Clean from the breech end with the help of a bore guide as you push your cleaning rod toward the bore. Your goal is to remove all deep-seated copper fouling in the barrel. Repeat until your patches come out clean.
Using gunsmithing tools and solvents, clean the bolt, action, trigger assembly and any mechanisms that hold cartridges, including springs. Afterwards, lubricate lightly with rust prevention products and foul the barrel with one or two shots before assessing accuracy. Fouling removes traces of oil and cleaning solvents, plus it pads the rifling with copper and powder residue. If your rifle shoots accurately and you are happy, your improvements may be complete.
New Fuel
After your lawn mower sits all winter, a dose of new fuel helps spark it back to life. New ammunition could do the same for that older rifle, especially after a deep cleaning. Set aside any stockpiles of nostalgic ammunition that may have come with the rifle and explore the latest options. After establishing that your rifle can handle newer advancements in ammunition, research selections that are receiving kudos in articles, forums and blogs. A lot has changed since the original Peters deer hunting cartridges were last available. Technological boosts, such as Hornady’s revolutionary use of Doppler radar to aid bullet design, have led to projectiles that fly more accurately and expand with consistent results.
Handloading may be your thing, and it provides an environment where you can safely create your own recipe for accuracy success. Not only can you tailor loads to match the era of your rifle’s specifications, but you can also tweak them until a bullet flies to your objective.
Whether you test with factory updates or handloaded perfection, new ammunition can make an older rifle shine in performance.
Stock It
Rifles of yesteryear traditionally featured stocks crafted from wood. Some of these were elegant examples of artistic craftsmanship. Others might be held together with a firm wrapping of electrical tape. Unfortunately, the wood stock could be a major culprit in marginalizing your rifle’s precision usefulness.
With weather variables (humidity being the worst), wood could swell and apply pressure to the barrel or receiver, affecting accuracy. Fortunately, you have several easy fixes to the issue. The first fix is to glass- or pillar-bed the action along with free-floating the barrel. Order either kit from Brownells and do it yourself or find a gunsmith for the job. Before you chart this course, consider again the antiquity value of the rifle. This alteration could reduce its value with the “Pawn Stars” employees.
To protect vintage value, ditch this option and shop for a replacement stock. Technically advanced stock systems, crafted of a single component or layers of polymer, graphite and even Kevlar, provide a quality replacement for pressure issues. You can even peruse laminated wood options if you favor that feel. Plus, if you ever wish to sell your heirloom, simply swap back the stock and advertise it as original. Magpul, Hogue, Boyds and others manufacture stocks that are bedded and easy to install.
I See Clearly Now
Despite a reemerging spotlight on open-sight rifles, most of us rely on a riflescope to perfect our aim. Your rifle may have arrived with a scope on it, but evaluate the optic to see if it is better gifted or tossed. Improved glass and multilayer coatings, trajectory reticles, focusing abilities and first- and second-focal plane reticle choices can improve your aim.
Technologically advanced optics systems, like SIG Sauer’s Sierra3BDX system, Bluetooth communicate between the riflescope and the rangefinder to automatically adjust the reticle. The 1970s Weaver riflescope that tops your grandfather’s rifle cannot do that trick. While swapping scopes, consider upgrading hardware, including new rings and bases. If yesteryear tugs at your heart, save the old hardware and scope to restore that rifle to a past era when it completes your tour of duty.
Crisp and Clean
Lastly, like NASA, a clean launch ensures a good start to your mission. A new trigger can guarantee a good bullet launch. It is possible your earlier cleaning returned the trigger to a quality state or a gunsmith could tune the old trigger into a functioning mechanism with a sweet spot. Companies such as Timney and Geissele manufacture replacement trigger systems for a variety of firearms. Study up on an upgrade for your project rifle and consider having work completed by a competent gunsmith. A trigger needs to be adjusted according to manufacturer recommendations or you need to be responsible if you decide to set your trigger for a more sensitive release.
Many precision rifles have adjustable triggers from 1.5 to 4.5 pounds. A setting between 2.5 and 3.5 allows you to depress without jerking and keeps your rifle safe. This is critical, as a trigger adjusted too light could accidentally go off simply by slamming the bolt closed.
A rifle with senior-citizen status does not have to be sent to the display case. With some creative ingenuity, it can still play a major part in your future hunts.