Editor's Note: Today's feature, from the Civilian Marksmanship Program, is the report from Gerald O’Keefe, CMP Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
CMP Competitors, Customers and Friends: I’ve just completed two years as the Chairman of the Board and CEO. It has been an exciting time for the CMP and certainly one filled with change. In this update, I’ll provide a high-level overview of where we are with our expansion plans, Programs, our Gun/Ammunition Sales, Talladega Marksmanship Park enhancements and other miscellaneous topics of interest. The staff and I will also do our best to answer questions and comments you might have on the information provided. On behalf of all the CMP, we thank you for your loyalty and support and hope to see you at our ranges, events and stores in the coming year.
CMP Officers/Key Staff: We’ve made many leadership changes over the past two years. I’d like to introduce/re-introduce the CMP leaders who keep all our programs aligned and moving forward. The CMP is a good-sized business and a very unique not-for-profit organization. The following leaders do a fantastic job in providing great programs, products and services:
Will Dantzler – Chief Information and Technology Officer
Chris Hord – Chief Product Officer
Fabian Lobera – Chief Financial Officer
Greg Raines – Chief Commercial Officer
Christie Sewell – Chief Programs Officer
Gary Anderson – Director Civilian Marksmanship, Emeritus
Jim Sumpter – Special Projects Officer
Shannon Hand – Assistant Chief Programs Officer
Programs.
CMP Footprint/Expansion Update: Many competitors/customers have questions about CMP expansion and especially how the CMP can better serve the shooting population in the Western U.S. As many of you know, we were looking at two possibilities.
The first was building a Talladega Marksmanship Park-like range in Payson, UT. The CMP Board recently voted to abandon this initiative when it became clear that the land transfer from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was not going to occur.
The second was to build a state-of-the-art indoor air gun and smallbore range in Columbia, MO, taking advantage of a gift of land and a facility there. The CMP Board also voted to walk-away from this project. While the gift was generous, the cost to convert what was formerly a warehouse building into a range proved to be an economic non-starter. However, it does appear that another shooting entity will take over this project, and the CMP will look to partner with them. We are looking to find a win-win out of this and to host air gun events in Columbia, MO, in the future.
So where does this leave us? The CMP Board’s view going forward is to leverage our resources via partnerships with existing or planned ranges in the Western U.S. and/or other locations where we have gaps. While not a completely exclusive approach, we’ll take the next six to 12 months to do the requisite analysis to determine options. We believe this will generally be a more effective and efficient way for us to further our mission to promote marksmanship. Of course, we’ll continue our existing full slate of Programs to include the National Matches, Travel Games, events/competitions at the Talladega Marksmanship Park, the CMP Bianchi Cup, all our air gun matches . . . More info follows on our upcoming Programs.
National Matches Electronic Targets: We are working through various procurement, scheduling, range infrastructure and other essential details with the intent to maximize electronic target use across all Highpower events and the Rimfire Sporter Rifle Match at the 2025 National Matches. Our longstanding experience with these targets has given us confidence in their accuracy and reliability, enhancing match efficiency and safety. We are also reorganizing the National Matches schedule to streamline eTarget use, making the competition experience more seamless and convenient for competitors.
National Matches Other Initiatives: While the National Matches competitions remain our priority and focus, we do plan on adding more social events in 2025. This includes more beach events/parties, including one during Highpower, plus movie nights and an enhanced swap-meet featuring a variety of food trucks. Our goal is to make the National Matches an unforgettable experience where competitors not only compete at historic Camp Perry, but they also enjoy the camaraderie, fun and festivities that make it a true gathering of our shooting community.
Other Programs Highlights:
Postal Matches – Our postal programs are officially kicking off for the new air rifle competition season, with over 10,000 entries anticipated across the JROTC, CMP and American Legion Postals. This represents a tremendous effort from our program staff as they manage the mailing, receipt and scoring of targets. Additionally, the Aces Postal program continues to thrive year-round.
Hosting more USA Shooting events – We’re excited that this December, CMP will host the USA Shooting Winter Air Gun Match at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center (GACCC). In addition, the Talladega Marksmanship Park will welcome the USA Shooting Junior Olympics in April and the USA Shooting National Championships in June. We’re looking forward to hosting these prestigious USA Shooting events and showcasing our facilities!
Smallbore Postal returns – We will be announcing the re-launch of the Smallbore Postal this December. This marks the return of a great competition opportunity for our smallbore athletes, allowing them to compete from their home ranges and join a nationwide event.
Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center (GACCC) – We’re expanding our schedule to increase public access and showcase our facilities to a broader audience. With these new hours, we hope to welcome more visitors, attract new participants and inspire future competitors. Our updated hours will be Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 12–8 and Thursdays from 9–3.
Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center (JLCCC): Starting January 2025, the JLCCC will have a junior shooting club similar to the GACCC. Athletes will practice once a week and have the March Monthly Match as the end of the season. This will help increase the skill of current youth athletes in the area as well as bring new, younger competitors into the sport of competitive shooting. Additionally, we are reaching out to the public via expos and local events to bring awareness to the JLCCC. Our hopes are to bring different groups such as businesses onto the range to experience fun and safe competition between colleagues and peers. We also allowed athletes to schedule an appointment to give them the opportunity to practice and receive coaching from former NCAA Coach and the current JLCCC Manager.
Laser Shot Simulators: Our indoor training simulators are now available at Camp Perry, Anniston and Talladega Marksmanship Park! The simulator software is programed with hundreds of virtual scenarios for training, competitions and entertainment events.
The simulators are designed for pistol, rifle and shotgun training, with simulated M1 Garands competition events currently in development. The simulators are fantastic training aides, allow for lots of repetition without the cost of ammo and frankly are just pretty fun. See more on our simulators at https://thecmp.org/ranges/cmp-competition-centers/indoor-marksmanship-simulator/.
CMP State Directors/Upcoming Conference: In January, the CMP will welcome its State Directors to Camp Perry for an inside look at current CMP initiatives through three days of demonstrations and presentations from our staff members. We hope the State Directors will be able to take the learned information and apply it to their own respective programs.
The CMP utilizes State Directors to provide leadership, coordination and resources for those interested in junior marksmanship activities. State Directors are always available to answer questions or to help you find opportunities in your area. View a list of our current State Directors and find contact information at https://thecmp.org/training-tech/state-director/.
Olympic Shooting Program: Congratulations to all shooting athletes from the 2024 Paris Olympics, including SGT Sagen Maddalena of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit who earned silver in Women’s 50m Smallbore Rifle! The United States earned six medals in Shooting overall.
We’ve known SGT Maddalena since she was a junior on the California Grizzlies highpower rifle team. As a Grizzly, she garnered several successes including the Freedom’s Fire Trophy as a member of the highest scoring team in the National Matches Junior Rifle Team Match in 2013. Maddalena went on to join the University of Alaska Fairbanks rifle team before heading to the Army. We are honored to announce that SGT Sagen Maddalena will be the 2025 First Shot Ceremony Speaker! This impactful ceremony kicks off the 2025 National Matches at Camp Perry, and I encourage you to make plans to attend on July 14 at 4:30 p.m.
Other Paris Olympians who have attended CMP events are SGT Ivan Roe (who attended CMP’s Junior Rifle Camps) and Women’s 25m Sport Pistol finalist Katelyn Abeln. Moreover, both have been involved with NCAA collegiate shooting programs.
Paralympians SSG Kevin Nguyen and SFC John Wayne Joss have also been involved with the CMP – further demonstrating the organization’s position as a positive gateway to higher opportunities for athletes of all backgrounds.
Junior World Champions: We’d like to offer additional congratulations to top finishers from the recent ISSF World Junior Championships: Emme Walrath, Katie Zaun, Jacob Wisman, Griffin Lake and Braden Peiser – all CMP alumni. Well done!
Gun/Ammunition Sales.
Surplus M1911 Sales: As many of you just saw, we recently provided a detailed update on the status of this operation via social media and the CMP Forum. In summary, we assess that the CMP is still several months from resuming the sale and transfer of M1911 Pistols. Throughout this process, CMP staff members worked tirelessly implementing strengthened M1911 operations – with an increased workforce dedicated to the distribution of these pistols, all while CMP armorers continue to inspect and prepare pistols for sale.
Round four orders will be fulfilled once sales resume; followed by new orders. We have a large quantity of pistols on hand and can fulfill all round four orders and many thousands more once we resume sales. As we indicated in the previous update, after round four we will proceed with an open and continuous order process (no more rounds) and fulfill orders on a first received-first fulfilled basis.
But, don’t send in new orders in yet. We will promulgate guidance once we have a better sense of when sales will resume. We also expect the two pistols/person per lifetime limit to remain in effect for the next year. While this restriction is not codified in the law, it is guidance from the Department of the Army. The CMP will review options with the Army later in FY25. Again, we apologize for the unexpected delays within our M1911 program and are eager to once again distribute these exceptional firearms.
Surplus Rifle Sales: We expect to have a full complement of rifle sales in FY25. While our inventory of rifles is diminished compared to prior years, we remain in a position to offer some great, historic rifles. These of course include the M1 Garand but we’ll sprinkle in other rifles where we can. For example, we do have a few hundred Krags remaining. If you are interested in one, I’d recommend you act quickly.
We are also working some new initiatives with rifle sales that we’ll roll out separately as the year progresses. Finally, we continue to work closely with the U.S. Gov’t to maximize chances of repatriating U.S. M1s and Carbines previously granted to certain foreign countries. We don’t control the outcome here for sure, but we are pursuing these opportunities as best we can. If anything breaks on this, we’ll be sure to let you know.
Commercial Ammunition Sales: The CMP recently reestablished our relationship with Creedmoor. We’ve ordered significant quantities of the following ammunition types and expect quarterly deliveries beginning later this quarter. The ammunition will be made available in our physical stores and our eStore (note – see the eStore para that follows next in this letter).
· 30-06 150 Gr
· 30-06 167 Gr
· .308WIN 167 Gr
CMP eStore: As many of you have noted, the CMP eStore has been deficient not only in terms of being a modern e-commerce platform but also in terms of the lack of items available for purchase. We are working diligently to address both issues. CMP recently added several ammunition options to our eStore, and we strive to become your destination for ammunition purchases. Check out our selection of ammunition, both commercial and surplus, at https://shop.thecmp.org/browse/Ammo.
Customers and competitors can also elevate their style and show support for CMP by purchasing and wearing our exclusive new line of clothing gear – visit https://shop.thecmp.org/browse/Clothing.
We will continue to add more products to the eStore over the coming months.
Upcoming Tent Sale in Anniston: Mark your calendars! Our Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center in Anniston, AL, will be hosting a Tent Sale, Nov. 7-9 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring many items not sold in stores or online! The sale will include ammo, clothing, marksmanship accessories and other miscellaneous items. Inside, the CMP South Store will have several rifles available for purchase. You won’t want to miss this opportunity!
CMP Custom Shop: The Custom Shop is in full swing and currently taking orders! Send in your vintage U.S. Military rifles to receive a variety of repairs, upgrades and other customizations – all serviced by our expertly trained armorers. See full instructions on using the CMP Custom Shop at https://thecmp.org/custom-shop/.
The Custom Shop is also building the Custom Shop (CS) Special Rifle. This Custom Shop Special M1 rifle is meticulously hand crafted to be competition-ready, fully meeting all “As-Issued” CMP standards. Assembled to perform as a one-to-two MOA (Minute of Angle) rifle, it offers the precision and accuracy demanded by competitive shooters. Learn more at https://thecmp.org/custom-shop/cs-special-rifle/.
Advanced Maintenance Classes: If you’d like to be your own gunsmith, the armorers within the Custom Shop will be hosting a series of Advanced Maintenance Classes in 2025. Those who attend the course will receive comprehensive, one-on-one instruction on building and maintaining an M1 Garand Rifle.
Because of the popularity of these classes, interested individuals will be entered into a drawing for enrollment. Learn more athttps://thecmp.org/training-tech/advanced-maintenance-class/.
Auction Site: The CMP Auction Site is available online for those enthusiasts in search of rare and unique finds. The site is free for users to register and bid on items. CMP has several interesting, upcoming items for bidding – including a triple serial number series and quadruple serial number series – look for these items to be highlighted in 2025.
We are now posting 15 new items each week. These items go live on our Auction Site every Monday and remain open for nearly two weeks. Currently, items are scheduled to close at midnight on Saturday morning. However, starting November 4, the schedule will change slightly: items will open on Mondays at 8 a.m. and close the next Saturday at 8 p.m.
Additionally, we are excited to announce a fundraiser auction listing that will go live on Nov. 18, featuring an M1D rifle paired with a telescope. All proceeds will benefit the National Infantry Museum Foundation in support of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Exhibit!
From parts to equipment to books and more, you never know what you might see! View all the current listings athttps://thecmp.org/cmp_sales/guns-on-auction/.
Talladega Marksmanship Park (TMP): The TMP remains the crown jewel in the CMP range enterprise, and we continue to enhance offerings at the park. Some highlights include:
Talladega Premier Expo: The Talladega Premier Expo, open to the public, is set for Nov. 2, 2024! The Expo will feature over 20 vendors exhibiting some of today’s latest products, scattered around the 500 acres of Talladega.
Along with previewing company displays, guests to the Expo with be able to gain hands-on range experience with firearms from reputable companies like GLOCK, Kimber Manufacturing and CMP’s exclusive Tisas pistols – available for purchase at the park.
Consumers may buy tickets to the Premier Expo online and learn more at https://thecmp.org/ranges/talladega-marksmanship-park/cmp-premier-shooting-expo/.
New Pistol Sales at the TMP: We’re excited to announce that Sig Sauer pistols are being sold at the Pro Shop within Talladega Marksmanship Park! The Shop is also stocked with CMP’s own Tisas Pistols within the park or online, with drop-shipping now available with a turnaround time of two weeks.
eScore: The new KTS software and range target system is now installed on TMP Ranges 1 and 2. While the most visible change is the ruggedized, wireless and touch-based monitor to include the monitor’s dynamic drop down menu with easy to access to relevant information (see picture) the eScore system is in fact a wholesale change of the range/target and control room software allowing for more efficient competitions. The eScore system was previously installed in Highpower targets at Camp Perry and will be featured more prominently at the National Matches in 2025. The KTS Journal is also available for competitors at https://cloud.kongsbergtargets.com/login.
New Action Bay Area: The Delta Bays Modification Project is complete. We now have a large overflow parking area for events on Range 5. The Project also includes a new shooting bay contained within that area that has seen heavy usage during two major USPSA events since September. New materials were used in the construction of the impact area which may represent a new future standard for all our berms at the TMP.
“Bianchi Style” Mover: The Bianchi Cup Mover Project is in the final stages and nearing completion. The prep work was completed earlier this month, with the concrete pad, knee wall, electrical and Star Link Satellite System in place. The track system was delivered on 10/25/24. The installation crew from Action Target will be on premises shortly to begin installation of the track system. ALMOST THERE! This target system will be made available to groups using the Action Pistol area of the TMP. We are also looking at options to host a Bianchi Cup style warm-up competition, but all this is in the preliminary planning stage.
Covered Shotgun Stands: Each of the stands on the Sporting Clays Loop are now upgraded to include covered stands constructed of heavier materials. They look great and enhance the overall experience.
Training Classes: Firearms safety and marksmanship training is fundamental to the CMP mission. Over the past year we’ve expanded our training offerings to include the following, and we encourage new and more experienced competitors to take advantage of these training opportunities:
Classroom Space: In addition to our classrooms in the main clubhouse, we recently converted a storage room located at the pavilion opposite the pistol range into a classroom. This new training room is heated/cooled, has seating for eight students, and has a flat screen TV mounted for power point presentations. While a small space, its proximity to the range makes it an ideal training venue for appropriately sized groups.
TMP Store Sales: As of this writing, we have over 200 surplus military rifles in stock and ready for sale, including the M1 and M1917 bolt action guns. We have ammunition for most every rifle and shotgun. We also plan to keep the store well stocked with guns and ammunition during the Talladega 600 coming up in Nov. As mentioned earlier in this report, on the commercial gun sales side, we have a new stock of Tisas 1911s and a fresh shipment of Sig handguns available for sale.
World Police and Fire Games: While still in the planning phase, we expect to host these games for law enforcement personnel and firefighters from around the world in late June/early July 2025. Birmingham, AL, is the host city for this Olympic-style competition with most of the shooting competitions to be held at the Talladega Marksmanship Park and the Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center. We’ expect well over 1,000 competitors for this event and are very excited to host the shooting component of these games.
Miscellaneous.
New Website Is Live: Over the past several months, CMP staff members have been working hard to update the navigation and design of our website! The updated version is now live, as of October 2024. Visit www.TheCMP.org to view the CMP website.
CMP Scholarship Program: If you have a high school senior athlete involved with marksmanship activities, be sure to look up how to earn a CMP Scholarship, ranging from one-time $1,000 scholarships to recurring $5,000 scholarships! In May, the CMP awarded over $300,000 in scholarships to junior marksmanship athletes. We’re excited to help the future of even more juniors in 2025 through this valuable initiative.
Applying is simple with our online portal. Deadline information to come, but feel free to browse all the details athttps://thecmp.org/youth/cmp-scholarship-program/.
New CMP Email: Do you have questions about CMP? We’ve launched a new email – hello@thecmp.org – that is available for all questions related to CMP. We’re here when you need us!
SHOT Show: The CMP will be a featured booth at SHOT Show, held in the Caesar’s Convention Center, Jan. 22-25, 2025, in Las Vegas. Visit our team at Booth #71050!
Upcoming CMP Events.
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.