M14 Match at Perry won by CT resident

On August 5, over 500 shooters vied for honors and $25,000 in cash and prizes at the first-ever NRA/Springfield Armory M1A Rifle Match at Camp Perry, Ohio. Held as part of the Centennial NRA National Rifle Championships, this was the first dedicated M1A match of its kind at Perry.

With $25,000 of awards up for grabs, thanks to Springfield Armory, the match drew large numbers of competitors and rekindled interest in the M14-style .308 rifles for match competition. (AR15-style “Black Rifles” currently dominate regular NRA Service Rifle matches.) The course of fire was five sighter shots and 50 shots for record at 300 yards using the new MR-65F target. Shots for record consisted of: 20 shots slow fire in the prone position; 10 shots rapid fire in the prone position; 10 shots rapid fire in the kneeling or sitting position; and 10 shots show fire in the standing position.

The match was shot under rainy skies, but competitors still shot some impressive scores. The overall Match Winner was Ryan Castonguay of New Hartford, Connecticut, a 17-year-old shooter. Despite the fact that he was relatively new to the Springfield M1A rifle, Castonguay took top match honors with a fine 463-8X score. David Chase of Tujunga, California, won the First Place Civilian title with a score of 447-8X, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Allen Spiker of Philomath, Oregon, took the Armed Services title with a 456-4X. U.S. Navy Lt. Commander Yvonne Lyda of Woodbridge, Virginia, was top female shooter with a 428-5X, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Albert Wood of Merrillan, Wisconsin, was top Senior with 446-6X, while Chad Kurgan of Murphys, California, took High Junior honors with his 434-4X.