Marksmanship Contest

In Celebration of the

END OF THE EVIL EMPIRE

October 8, 2016

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.

There is no doubt that most Combloc rifles and pistols are somewhat roughly made and lack refinements such as finely adjustable sights, but they are none the less effective combat arms and in some cases capable of astounding accuracy. Their very crudeness and low cost is what makes them attractive to a number of collectors. Various Combloc weapons particularly the ubiquitous Mosin Nagants have found their way to the United States as captured war trophies or have been imported to satisfy the needs of frugal collectors and Vintage Military Rifle (VMR) shooters.

An intrepid cohort of 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 8, 2016 for the 17th annual End of the Evil Empire military match. It was a day of comradeship, friendly competition, and fine dining sponsored jointly by the SSA and the NJACC. This year in a departure from previous years, the match was fired from 75 yards because of work in progress on the 100 yard firing points.

Entrants competing in the marksmanship contests were only allowed to use completely unmodified Combloc rifles and pistols with original sights as adopted by various countries. There were nine rifle and three handgun contests in the course of fire, structured to test the keen eyes and steady marksmanship skills of participants. In addition there were two special awards; one for young shooters under 18, and one for the highest scoring female shooter, named for one of the most famous Soviet woman snipers who survived the Great Patriotic War (WWII), Lyudmila Pavlichenko. Of the nearly 2,000 woman snipers deployed by the Russians in 1943 only about 500 were still alive at the end of the war in 1945.

Participants brought some of their most treasured Russian, Finnish, Chinese, Czechoslovakian, Romanian, and other Warsaw Pact Mosin Nagants, Simonovs, and semi-automatic Kalashnikovs to compete for highly coveted trophies and the accclaim that goes with being mentioned in this report. One shooter brought an awesome Chinese made semi automatic Dragonov sniper rifle (Snayperskaya Vintovka sistem'y Dragunova obraz'tsa model 1963). These fairly uncommon rifles are rarely seen at the range and are always a magnet for Combloc shooters and collectors.

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

The start of the rifle shooting contests was initially delayed 10 minutes due to heavy ground fog on the firing line that cut down visibility to a mere 50 yards. After a short delay waiting for the sun to burn off the residual mist, the match commenced in earnest.

At the conclusion of the rifle contests, a lunch of hearty and authentic Combloc-like fare was served in the clubhouse. On the menu were gourmet hotdogs and polish kielbasa sausage with potato pierogies authentically deep fried in a light lard reduction sauce. These epicurean delights were prepared lovingly by the NJACC's own Comrade Szef Kuchni, Barbara F. All in all a fine Cold War meal well suited for those resilient ex cold war warriors with high capacity cast iron-like stomachs. This year, Comrade Barbara, in an innovative change from previous events, took the time to set up a table to present these delicacies in an eye catching catered style arrangement. A big thanks and special appreciation goes to Comrade Barbara for all her culinary efforts at these matches. In another notable departure from previous years, Comrade Steve S. provided authentic Russian music for a pleasant interlude during lunch. Among the old favorites heard were were the Volga Boatman, Plain Song, and the perenially popular War Dance. Another big thanks goes out to Comrade Steve for bringing this great Russian music to help liven up the day.

Target scoring was greatly facilitated by Pseudo Comsomols (Party apprentices) Chris K., Bryan T., and Peter M. Their help was invaluable in speeding the award presentations. Comrade Chairman of the Shooting Directorate, Stanislaus G's stalwart assistant Comrade Tom P. once again provided yeoman service by verifying target sores and tallying match results. No one would be better than Comrade Tom at providing this valuable service.

The top score of the day (99-5X) was submitted by Comrade Carl J. in the Mosin Nagant Rifle contest using a Mosin Nagant model 91/30. Comrade Andy G. also fired an outstanding score of 94-2X using a Romanian SKSin the Simonov Carbine contest and Comrade Audrey A. used a Mosin Nagant model 91/30to capture the coveted Lyudmila Pavlichenko Award. Overall top winners for the day were Comrades John M. and Andy G., who took home trophies for three contests each (see results).

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. Top pistol score of the day went to Comrade Dave T. in the Secret Police contest using a Czech CZ52.

All scores were double checked and certified by a higly reliable NJACC apparatchik to insure accuracy and are available along with the names of individual comrade contest winners and details and fliers for future matches on the NJACC website at: www.njacc.info.