Corcoran Leads Garand/Springfield Matches at Camp Perry in September

CAMP PERRY, Ohio – The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) hosted a fall Garand/Springfield/Vintage and Modern Military (GSMM) match on the electronic targets of Petrarca Range, located on the grounds of Camp Perry. The event, held Sept. 25, saw over 30 entries over the course of the day.

Winning both the Garand and Springfield match courses was Corcoran Tyson, 63, of Boones Mill, Virginia. He fired a score of 266-3X with the Garand, while his Springfield led him to an overall score of 286-4X.

Tyson has a long history of marksmanship competition that spans almost 50 years. He often shot in NBPRP (National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice) and National Rifle Association events – frequenting the Camp Perry National Matches from 1977 to 2002. He also shot on five championship RNDC four-man teams at Nationals, two six-man teams for Virginia State in the NBPRP matches in the 1980s and earned his Distinguished Rifleman Badge in 1982.

The GSMM features a mix of vintage and modern military rifle matches.

This year, while on vacation in September, he decided to make a quick stop for the Petrarca GSMM match – just one more go on the ranges of Camp Perry.

“Kind of a memory lane thing,” he said. “I went to see how much it has changed, and it has a lot.” 

It was on the grounds of Camp Perry in 1989 that he finished third overall in the Marine Corps Cup Match and fired a record score of 200-18X (300-yard rapid prone). He came back to win the match in 1992 with the same score, which still stands as record today. Also back in 1989, Tyson reached a score of 200-19X at 600 yards in the Crowell Trophy Match – a national record that stood nearly 20 years – on Target 37 of Camp Perry’s Rodriguez Range. He would go on to mark three wins in the match during his career.

The CMP’s GSMM Matches are offered throughout the year and are designed for both new and experienced competitors.

When he finished firing on Petrarca for the GSMM, he went back to firing point 37 and relived the record-setting day from three decades earlier, thinking back to the hundreds of spectators and fellow competitors who cheered on his achievement.

“I have tons of memories,” Tyson said. “I’ve met tons of people and had lots of victories [at Camp Perry].”

Though he stopped shooting competitively in 2002, he continues to dabble in vintage rifles and even some pistol. 

Petrarca Range at Camp Perry is open to the public every week and includes a line of electronic targets:

“Aging is hell,” he joked. “I have tons of stories from shooting in just about every state in the country, ended up with 27 Regional Championships over that time and shot against the best.”

“I’ll keep going till I drop,” he added.

Also earning high marks in the September Petrarca GSMM was Craig Downing, 57, of Strongsville, Ohio, who claimed the Vintage Military Match with a score of 255-3X. William Jackson, 64, of Sterling Heights, Michigan, topped the Modern Military competition with 252-0X.

See a complete list of results of the September GSMM on the CMP Competition Tracker page at  https://ct.thecmp.org/PetrarcaGSMSept21results. Photos are available for free download on CMP’s Zenfolio page at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/p724964191.

Guests are welcome to use Petrarca Range every Monday, by appointment only, during the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., through November. To learn more, visit https://thecmp.org/ranges/cmp-targets-at-petrarca-range/. To make an appointment on the firing line, please call (419) 635-2141, ext. 704.

More About Petrarca Range:

CMP Targets at Petrarca Range is powered by the Kongsberg Target Systems (KTS) of Norway. With the use of electronic targets, marksmen no longer need to walk downrange to change paper or use a scope to score – simply approach the firing line and watch shots instantly appear on monitors located at each firing point. For more information, visit the Petrarca Range page on the CMP website at http://thecmp.org/competitions/cmp-targets-at-petrarca-range/.

Where is Petrarca Range?

Petrarca Range is located at the Camp Perry Training Facility near the shores of Lake Erie, only six miles west of Port Clinton on State Route 2. Camp Perry’s entrance is marked by its signature stone towers and checkered water tower in the distance.

About KTS Electronic Targets:

KTS Electronic Targets work through the power of acoustics – “hearing” the shot and accurately determining its location. With extensive use by ranges in 30 nations for over 20 years by Kongsberg Target Systems and additional experience received in-house by the CMP, the accuracy and ease of these electronic targets make marksmanship even more enjoyable for every age and experience level.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto  www.TheCMP.org.