By Art Merrill<\/a><\/p>\n S<\/span>o, you bought a vintage military bolt action rifle on the cheap and picked up enough mil-surp ammo to last through the next post-asteroid apocalypse. You\u2019ve put some rounds through it at the range and had some fun plinking at tin cans. Now what? Lean it in a closet corner and forget it? Hang it on a wall to collect dust?<\/p>\n No! Now you take it down to your local club range and join in on the fun and camaraderie of Vintage Military Rifle games! Why? It\u2019s a not-scary\/serious\/expensive pursuit, like some rifle matches<\/a>, but it will get you out to the range with like-minded people to enjoy some level-playing-field competition with historic military rifles.<\/p>\n A Vintage Military Rifle match is a competition in which shooters use only \u201cas-issued\u201d vintage military rifles. The matches are governed by the rules<\/a> created by the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP).<\/p>\n Then, what is a vintage military rifle? A vintage military rifle, or VMR, is one that was in general issue to any foreign country\u2019s armed forces. The U.S. Krag and M1917 rifles qualify, too.<\/p>\n One of the key factors in the rifle is that it must be in \u201cas-issued\u201d condition, meaning it can have no modifications intended to make it more accurate. Picture any magazine-fed foreign bolt-action military surplus rifle as handed to an infantryman since about 1888, and you\u2019re right on.<\/p>\n Some of the most commonly seen rifles at VMR matches include the cosmopolitan k98 Mauser<\/a>; Mosin-Nagant M91\/30 and M44; Swiss K31; Swedish Mausers M96 and M38; Enfield No.1 and No.4<\/a>; and the American M1917 \u201cEnfield.\u201d We also see Krags and the occasional Arisaka<\/a> or Carcano<\/a>. Sometimes an aficionado will bring out something more esoteric, like a Swiss Schmidt-Rubin 1896\/11 long rifle.<\/p>\n If one of these is your rifle, all you need now is 35 to 55 rounds of ammo to go compete. If you want to shoot better scores, a few accessories mentioned below will help, of course.<\/p>\n The \u201cas-issued\u201d aspect makes VMR matches more of a game than a serious competition. The \u201cas-issued\u201d rule means the game is a level playing field based on individual skill, not on how much one spent on creating an uber-accurate rifle. When everyone must shoot rifles lacking any accuracy tricks (\u201caccurizing\u201d) built into them, personal skill becomes the emphasis. Because the maximum distance from the 18\u2033 bullseye target is only 200 yards (and there are 100-yard targets for smaller club ranges), you don\u2019t need wind doping superpowers to be competitive, either.<\/p>\n And if ego is an issue, well, these old battle rifles were typically built to shoot only 4 or maybe 3 MOA with military ammo; no one is going to be punching itty-bitty groups. Just keeping all the shots in the 9\u2033 black area of the bullseye target is an achievement, and even that often requires the use of match grade ammo or careful handloads.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s clarify a point here. \u201cVintage Military Rifles\u201d is only one classification of rifles eligible for CMP\u2019s \u201cAs-Issued Military Rifles\u201d games.<\/p>\n There\u2019s one very awesome rifle missing from the VMR list, the U.S. M1903\/M1903A3 Springfield<\/a>. These Springfields\u2019 rear sights, adjustable for windage, makes them superior to the foreigners for \u201cAs-Issued\u201d competition because the latter universally lack such adjustment, so the \u201903s compete in their own classification.<\/p>\n The semi-automatic M1 Garand<\/a> and M1 Carbine<\/a> also have classifications in \u201cAs-Issued\u201d Military Rifle Matches. Plus, there\u2019s a Modern Military classification for the M1A<\/a>, SKS<\/a>, AR-15<\/a> and other post-World War II semi-automatic rifles.<\/p>\n The accompanying table below explains the classification system; for the moment understand that the game is actually called the \u201cAs-Issued Military Rifle Match,\u201d that \u201cVintage Military Rifles\u201d are the foreign bolt-action rifle classification, and that rifles compete only against rifles in their same classification. There\u2019s also a Vintage Military Sniper Rifle two-man team match fired at 300 and 600 yards, which brings out M1903A4s and M1941s, M1Cs and M1Ds, as well as scoped Mosin-Nagants and Mausers.<\/p>\n Note that the rifles listed for the \u201cAs-Issued Military Rifle Match\u201d include those listed among \u201cVintage Military Rifle Match\u201d rifles, thereby making all the eligible bolt-action rifles and the M1 Garand \u201cVintage Military Rifles\u201d in this context.\u00a0<\/p>\n Also know that the rules state the M1941 Johnson Rifle<\/a> and the M1 Carbine are eligible to shoot wherever the M1 Garand is eligible. The caveat here is that, because it fires essentially a pistol cartridge that cannot compete accurately at 200 yards, the M1 Carbine is fired only at 100 yards in CMP games.<\/p>\n Course of fire for all rifle classifications is the same, with all shooting being done at either 200 or 100 yards, and either 30 or 50 shots for score. Shooters first shoot five non-scoring \u201csighters\u201d to get their dope, then fire timed stages of offhand (standing), rapid fire sitting and slow fire prone \u2014 50-round matches add a rapid fire prone stage.<\/p>\n The rapid fire stages require firing five rounds, then reloading the magazine with five rounds and firing those, all within 70 or 80 seconds. Obviously then, chargers or stripper clips for rapid reloading are an important accessory. You\u2019ll shoot more comfortably with a mat or piece of carpet to lie on; a sling and a glove for your support hand will help, too.<\/p>\n Live The Armory Life.<\/strong> The latest content straight to your inbox plus an automatic entry to each of our monthly gun\u00a0giveaways!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n You\u2019ll learn a few more comforts and aids to better shooting when you attend your first match. You\u2019ll find everyone there helpful and full of friendly advice and information.<\/p>\n Shooting VMR games is kind of like participating in living history that\u2019s affordable to all of us. There is no other endeavor in which you and I can own a museum piece, a genuine working piece of history in our hands, and gather with others with similar interests to have some fun together.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s a VMR?<\/h2>\n
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No Tricks<\/h2>\n
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More Than Just VMR<\/h2>\n
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Classification System<\/h2>\n
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Shoot the Course<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nWhy Should I?<\/h2>\n