Marksmanship Contest

In Celebration of the

END OF THE EVIL EMPIRE

October 24, 2015

At The
Shongum Sportsmen Association's
100 Yard Range

10:00am - 3:00pm

Lunch was included with all entries.

On December 8, 1991, the old Soviet Union ceased to exist. After 45 years, the Cold War was over and communism was beaten. The fall of the rest of the axis of evil was imminent and peace was at hand or so it seemed at the time. Unfortunately the expected Pax Americana did not usher in world peace and American soldiers, sailors, and marines continue to confront our nation's enemies who are well armed with Combloc weapons taken from the arsenals of Russia and other iron curtain countries.

While Combloc rifles and pistols are somewhat roughly made and for the most part lack refinements such as finely adjustable sights, they are none the less effective combat arms and in some cases capable of astounding accuracy. Various Combloc weapons particularly the ubiquitous Mosin Nagants have found their way to the United States as captured war trophies while others have been imported to satisfy the growing market of low budget arms collectors and Vintage Military Rifle (VMR) shooters.

An intrepid band of these elite Combloc rifle and pistol collectors, proudly represented by members of the New Jersey Arms Collectors Club (NJACC), gathered at the Shongum Sportsmen's Association (SSA) range on Saturday October 24, 2015 for the 16th Annual End of the Evil Empire Military Match. It was a day of comradeship, friendly competition, and fine dining sponsored jointly by the NJACC and SSA.

Entrants competing in the marksmanship contests were allowed to use only unmodified rifles and pistols with original sights as adopted by various Combloc countries. There were nine rifle and three handgun contests in the course of fire, structured to test the marksmanship skills of participants. In addition there were two special awards; Young Pioneer for young shooters under 18, and one for the highest scoring female shooter, named for one of the most successful Soviet woman snipers to survive the Great Patriotic War (WWII), Lyudmila Pavlichenko.

This year in a challenging departure from previous years, contest rules required that shooters fire 10 rounds in 2 minutes at targets placed at 100 yards. Participants brought some of their best Russian, Finnish, Chinese, and Warsaw Pact Mosin Nagants, Simonovs, and semi-automatic Kalashnikovs to compete for highly coveted trophies and medals from the former Soviet Union. Some truly noteworthy examples of these rifles included a pristine Remington made contract model 1891 Mosin Nagant made for Czarist Russia during WW I,a Polish Radom Wz 48 .22 training rifle, an immaculate Czechoslovakian VZ-58 brought back from Grenada, and several Russian and Yugoslavian made Simonov SKS Carbines in near mint condition. A number of deadlyMosin Nagant sniper rifles of the type used by Lyudmila Pavlichenko were also on the line. Unfortunately no one brought a Tokarev rifle this year and that contest award went unclaimed.

Rifle matches were efficiently conducted by Comrade Chairman of the Shooting Directorate, Stanislaus G. with the able assistance of Comrades Dave J. and Steve S.

The Rifle shooting contests commenced precisely at 10:00 AM and ended at 1:00 PM for lunch.

At the conclusion of the rifle contests, a stick to your ribs lunch of highly authentic Combloc-like fare was served in the clubhouse. On the menu was gourmet polish sausage with fried potato pierogies. These epicurean delights were prepared earlier in the morning by the NJACC's own Comrade Chef Tom, who also scored targets and tallied match results. For the somewhat more health conscious, kosher hot dogs, chocolate chip cookies, and ring dings were also on tap. All in all a hearty meal well suited for those resilient ex cold war warriors with cast iron like stomachs. Happily once again it would appear that all participating comrades survived lunch and will be able to compete again in future NJACC/ SSA matches.

The top score of the day (97-4X) was submitted by Comrade Paul in the Young Pioneer Instructor contest using a .22 Czechoslovakian ZKW 452 clone. The Lyudmila Pavlichenko Award went to Comrade Audry A. using a Mosin Nagant 91/30. Also notable was the fierce competition in both the Soviet Sniper and Kalashnikov Rifle contests that resulted in tie scores. Comrades Andy G. and Dionigi M. shared the coveted Soviet Sniper Award, and Comrades Andy G., Wieslaw P., and Rich H., each took home honors for the Kalashnikov Rifle Contest.

After lunch and the presentation of rifle match awards, the pistol matches commenced on the indoor range under the watchful eye of Comrade Range Officer Steve S. A variety of Combloc pistols were entered in these contests. Comrade Paul M. won the Bolschevic Pistol Match with a seldom seen Nagant 1895 Gas Seal Revolver. Two shooters used a Makarov semi-auto pistol in the Secret Police Match which was won by Comrade Dave T. with the top pistol score for the day (83) with his Czechoslovakian made CZ -52.