Civilian marksmanship program promotes gun safety, produces skilled shooters

On a cool Sunday morning, the sun is burning the fog off Skellytown Road in North Huntingdon, and the dull crack of distant gunfire is the only thing interrupting the chatter of birds.

The shooting is coming from the White Oak Rod & Gun Club, where a small group gathered for the club’s monthly Civilian Marksmanship Program.

“It’s open to the public. Anyone can come down and shoot,” said range officer Chris Appel of Hempfield. “It’s open to kids as well. We have M1 carbines and AR-15s for kids to use.”

The Civilian Marksmanship Program has been in existence since 1903. It is a federally chartered gun safety program with an emphasis on youth. It began as a way to train everyday Americans in gun safety and marksmanship, then turned its focus toward young people after World War II.

“We get between three and 10 people each month,” said Brian Pritz of North Huntingdon, the club’s NRA secretary and CMP match director.

Participants can qualify for the opportunity to purchase government-surplus rifles such as the M1 Garand at CMP stores, one of which is in Port Clinton, Ohio.

They can also enter the CMP’s National Trophy Matches, held at Camp Perry in Ohio.

CMP participants from Western Pennsylvania have done the state proud: In 2015, Matthew Lovre of Penn Township won the President’s 100, an honor given to the top 100 shooters at the Camp Perry competitions, and set what was then a national record for his aggregate score during the President’s 100 Match Shoot Off.

In 2009, Hempfield graduate Lucas Boord won the National Rimfire Sporter Championship, one of the wide variety of CMP competitions held at Camp Perry.

At the White Oak club’s monthly CMP program, participants can opt for marksmanship practice at 100 or 200 yards, using four rounds to sight in their weapons, then firing 10 rapid-fire rounds and 10 slow-fire rounds while prone, followed by 10 rounds of hand slow firing.

The cost is $3 for the club’s 315 members and $5 for nonmembers. The club also offers the use of its M1 Garand rifles and ammunition for a $25 fee.

CMP shoots are at 9 a.m. on the second Sunday of each month, except for May, at the club’s range, 600 Skellytown Road, North Huntingdon.

“It instills lifelong values,” Pritz said. “Gun safety, what to do if you find a firearm, how to unload it, discipline, physics, meditation from relaxing your breathing before you shoot. You’re teaching younger kids stuff they won’t learn for another 10 years at school.”

For more on the White Oak Rod & Gun Club, see WORGC.org. For more on the CMP, see TheCMP.org.