| |
| DATE: |
Saturday, November 12, 2016 |
| TIME: |
Longarms: 10:00am - 1:00pm
(Sight-in 9:30-10:30 )
Handguns: 2:15 - 3:45
|
| LOCATION: |
ANJRPC Cherry Ridge Range Vernon, NJ |
| PRIZES: |
Trophy to best in each contest |
| FIREARMS: |
Curios and Relics of the period -
Original Stocks and sights-Accurate reproductions true to originals accepted. |
| CONTESTS: |
All contests are 10 rounds in 2 Minutes at 100 Yards- any position including bench rest |
| SHOOT CHAIRMAN |
Stan Gurski . . .e-mail: GurskiLTC@aol.com |
In commemoration of the 100th Anniversay of the Battle of the Somme and in honor of the men and women
who served so valiantly to preserve our freedom in the "War to End All Wars", the New Jersey Arms
Collectors Club sponsored it's 18th annual Armistice Day Vintage Firearms Shoot on
Saturday November 12, 2016 at the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Club's Cherry Ridge Range
in Highland Lakes, NJ.
The Battle of the Somme took place in 1916 on the upper reaches of the River Somme in France and
lasted from July 1st until November 18th when both sides were fought out and winter weather arrived.
It was initially planned as a joint Anglo-French operation to break through the German lines and win the war.
As events turned out, the massive German attack launched on the French fortress of Verdun in
February 1916 significantly reduced the French contribution, and the Somme Offensive became a mainly
British show partly intended to divert the German forces from Verdun, where the French Army was being bled to death.
More than one million men were wounded or killed during those 141 days, making it one of the bloodiest battles in
human history. The first day of the Somme was also the costliest day in the history of the British army, which
suffered nearly 58,000 men killed or wounded. The Germans were not unscathed and suffered a loss in officers
and junior NCOs from which they never fully recovered.
The British troops on the Somme were a mixture of the pre-war regular army, and Kitchener's Army,
a force of volunteer recruits including many Pal's Battalions. The "Pals" of World War I were men
who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside
their friends and neighbors rather than being arbitrarily assigned to battalions.
Many of these Pal's battalions suffered heavy casualties during the Somme offensive. A notable example
was the Accrington Pals (11th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment) The Accrington Pals were
ordered to attack Serre, the most northerly part of the main assault, on the opening day of the battle. Of an
estimated 700 Accrington Pals who took part in the attack, 585 men were killed or wounded within the space of twenty minutes.
Also occurring in 1916 was the Easter Rising in Ireland. During Easter Week, rebel Irish leaders and their
followers staged an armed uprising in the city of Dublin in an attempt to overthrow British rule and create an
autonomous Irish republic. Although the rebellion failed, it galvanized a growing population of sympathizers
who would, in years to come, succeed in establishing an independent Irish state.
And for those too young to remember, Woodrow Wilson (Democrat) was re-elected President of the
United States in 1916 under the motto "He kept us out of war". Less than 6 months later America would
enter the war in Europe guaranteeing victory for the allies. The long shadows from that intervention still
haunt us today.
On Saturday November 12, 2016, a hardy band of stalwart WW I military arms collectors and dedicated
marksmen from all parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York braved the early morning cold and
gathered at the ANJRPC range at Highland Lakes, New Jersey for a day of friendly competition
sponsored by the NJACC.
Match participants brought highly collectible and prized examples of firearms used by the Allied and
Central Power nations in that long ago war to compete for trophies and the ephemeral glory by being
mentioned in this report.
Contest rules required shooters fire 10 rounds in 2 minutes at a standard SR21-C target placed at the 50 yard line.
This year there were thirteen (13) rifle contests in the course of fire with a new Great War Carbine match
added to allow participants to bring some of their more rare and seldom fired pieces. In addition there
were four (4) handgun events requiring the use of century old pistols with archaic sights that tested the
hawk like eyes and steady hands of the competitors.
A quick tour of the benches disclosed that competitors had brought a variety of U.S., British, French, German,
Russian, Turkish Type, and Italian rifles. There was a ultra rare Canadian marked P-14, and a
pristine Remington made Mosin Nagant model 1891, identical to those used by American troops involved in
the Siberian Intervention in 1918 after the Bolshevik Revolution. There was a plethora of
1917 US Enfields and 1903 Springfields. There were also several British Enfield P-14s, a nice
French-made Berthier Model 07/15, and a Lebel Model 1886/93, the first military repeater to use
a smokeless powder cartridge. There were also two unique early century semi automatic rifles entered
into the new contest for WWI carbines: a Remington Model 8 in .32 Remington, and a Winchester
Model 1907 in .351 Winchester. Both rifles were of the same type as purchased by the French for use
by aerial observers in the early days of the war.
The Rifle Matches commenced precisely at 10:00A under the joint supervision of an ANJRPC Range
Safety Officer Earl and Shoot Chairman Stan G.
Shoot Chairman Stan was ably assisted by Brian T. and Chris K. who provided the unheralded but
extremely valuable task of collecting and scoring targets thereby greatly expediting the match completion
and results process.
Despite the bone chilling cold, high scores were the order of the day making for some interesting competition.
Following a hearty lunch prepared for the participants by the NJACC's own Madame La'Chef Barbara
and Monsieur Le Chef, Tom P, the winners of the rifle events were announced by Shoot Chairman Stan,
with some highly notable achievements.
Top score recognition of the day went to Russ P. who used a 1917 US Enfield in the
Doughboy Event to score 100-5X and a P-14 in the Flanders Field Event to score
100-3X. Paul M. . produced the best group of the day using a Model 1891 Mauser to just
about shoot the center out of the target and win the Gallipoli Contest with a score a 100-5X.
An impressive score of 99-2X was also racked up by Steve D. in the Belleau Wood contest using a
Model 1903 Springfield.
Russ P. went home as the big winner of the day with four hard won trophies, followed by
Paul M. who won three contests including the inaugural Great War Carbine Event.
Ralph G. was the uncontested winner of the Vittorio Veneto contest and walked away with the
trophy shooting a folding bayonet Italian Carcano Model 1891 Moschetto Modello 91 da Cavalleria di
Bruschetta carbine.
The handgun events commenced on the pistol range after lunch under the direction of Shoot
Chairman Stan and ANJRPC Safetry Office Earl. Top honors went to Nick S. using a
S&W Model 1917 revolver in the Allied Revolver contest.
This year's Young Warrior Award went unclaimed as did the coveted Milunka Savic Award for the
highest scoring female shooter.
The Next NJACC Sponsored Event
known as the
"Historical Winter Firearms Shoot"
will be held on
January 14, 2017
at the
ANJRPC Cherry Ridge Range
For more information and flyer,
Please Click Here
Complete scores for all events follow:
|
| Click on the scores to see the winning target
|
| YOUNG WARRIOR | Any Contest, Youth Under 18 years old |
| No Entries |
|
|
| 1) DOUGHBOY | US Enfield, M1917 Rifle |
| Russ P |
US Enfield, M1917 |
100-5X |
| 2) BELLEAU WOOD | US Springfield 1903, Straight Stock, Open Sights |
| Steve D. |
'03 Springfield |
99-2X |
| 3) GALLIPOLI | Enfield Mark III, Lebel, 7.65 Mauser, Turk 93,03, Argentine Mauser |
| Paul M. |
1891 Mauser |
100-5X |
| 4) FLANDERS FIELDS | Canadian Ross, P14 Enfield |
| Russ P. |
P14 |
100-3X |
| 5) VITTORIO VENETO | Italian 1891, or any Italian WWI Longarm |
| Ralph G. |
Calvary '91 |
74 |
| 6) NORTH RUSSIA INTERVENTION | Mosin Nagant Infantry Rifle, Winchester '95 in 7.62-54R |
| Russ P. |
Mosin 1891 |
96-1X |
| 7) VERDUN | French Lebel, Bertier Rifles / Carbines in 8mm |
| Paul M |
Lebel 1896/93 |
98-3X |
| 8) IMPERIAL GERMAN INFANTRY | GEW '98, 88/05, Kar98 |
| John M |
GEW '98 |
94 |
| 9) ARAB REVOLT | Jap Type 30, 35, 38 rifles, Martini-Enfield 303, Lee-Medford
|
| No Entries |
|
|
| 10) BALKAN FRONT | Any Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian rifle not listed above and used in WWI |
| Orlando O. |
7mm Mauser 1895 |
74 |
11) GREAT WAR CARBINE
(New Event) | Winchester 07, Marlin 94, Remington 8, or Military Carbine |
| Paul M. |
Reminton '08 |
98-3X |
| 12) RIFLE WITH BAYONET | Any of Above w/Bayonet |
| Russ P. |
Ross 1905 |
95 |
| 18) TRENCH SNIPER | Any WWI Sniper w/Orig. Optics |
| No Entries |
|
|
HANDGUN CONTESTS
Outdoor Range @ 50' - Ten Shots Off-hand |
| WINNER |
HANDGUN |
SCORE |
| |
| 13) CENTRAL POWERS PISTOL | P08, C96, M12 |
| No Entries |
|
|
| 14) Allied Revolver | Webley, Colt, S&W in .45 ACP or .455 Webley, Nagant 95,
Lebel 92, Japanese Type 26, Italian Bodeo |
| Nick S. |
S&W M1917 |
94 |
| 15) Allied Auto | 1911 .45 ACP, .455, (No A1 Variants), Glisenti, Nambu Type-A |
| No Entries |
|
|
| 16) Stocked Pistol | Broomhandle Mauser, Artillery Luger(9mm, 7.63mm) |
| No Entries |
|
|
| 17) SMALL PISTOL | Browning 1900, 1903, 1910, Mauser 1914, Ruby Type, Colt 1903, 1908, Walther Model #4, Savage 1907 - Match Shot at 15' |
| No Entries |
|
|
|
2016 Armistice Day Scores
|
