PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) returned to the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, March 11-20, to host its annual Western CMP Games & CMP HP Matches. The 2022 event was the first time Western Games has been held since it was unexpectedly cut short back in March 2020 – welcoming 200 competitors back to the desert ranges.
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Western Games is a combination of specially designed vintage and modern rifle events, created by the CMP as a recreational getaway for marksmanship enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels. The event also features across-the-course HP (high-power) competitions that include a 4-Man Team Match, three days of 80 Shot Aggregate matches, and Excellence-In-Competition (EIC) Service Rifle matches, fired at the 200, 300, and 600-yard lines. Additionally, concluding 2400 Aggregate awards are determined from scores throughout the HP event.
New for 2022 and now joining the likes of other CMP Games events, Western Games has introduced a series of pistol matches, involving aggregate and individual events blended within the schedule to complement the long list of rifle opportunities.
Earning the first Overall Individual Pistol Aggregate honor at Western Games was Greg Abraham, 69, of Lake Crystal, Minnesota, with an accumulated score of 1283-30X. Abraham led both the Military & Police Service Pistol (379-7X) and 1911 As-Issued Pistol (372-10X) competitions during the event that helped lead him to the aggregate win.
Overtaking both the EIC Service Pistol and the .22 Rimfire Pistol EIC matches was CW03 Jordan Kramp, 41, of Yuma, Arizona. Kramp earned a score of 286-11X in the .22 Match and 283-9X in the Service Pistol event. Remarkably, Kramp also led all the 900 Aggregate matches: 864-28X in Center Fire, 869-22X in .45, and 872-35X in .22. By no surprise, his cumulative score of 2605-85X from the matches allowed him to claim the overall win in the Match Pistol 2700 Aggregate.
Outside of regular competition, an educational Pistol Marksmanship 101 Course was held that provided hands-on learning opportunities for participants in the classroom and on the range. The course was headed by CMP’s pistol coordinator and retired U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit member Jim Henderson and featured a true M9 EIC Match at its conclusion.
Winning the M9 event was George Carr, 55, of Castaic, California, with a score of 268-4X. For his win, Carr will earn EIC points toward a Distinguished Badge – the highest honor bestowed upon a competitor. A total of 30 points are needed overall to earn a badge.
Likewise, a Rifle Marksmanship 101 Course was held and included a M16 EIC Match. Winning the event was Benjamin White-Patarino, 32, of Longmont, Colorado, with a score of 387-10X. White-Patarino went on to earn the overall win in the Springfield Rifle Match as well as the Three-Gun Rifle Aggregate title.
Kyle Kirschenmann, 58, of Tellico Plains, Tennessee, led the Modern Military Match, while James Denovchek, 68, Tucson, Arizona, claimed the Vintage Military event. Bill Poole, 61, of Scottsdale, Arizona, overtook the Garand Match Course to round out the CMP’s traditional Garand/Springfield/Vintage and Modern Military (GSMM) events. Kirschenmann was also awarded the Overall Four-Gun Aggregate title firing an aggregate of 1120-27x.
In other CMP Games rifle matches, Richard Lane, 55, of Tucson, Arizona, was the high competitor of the Carbine Match, as LtCol Michael Johnson, 67, of Cedar City, Utah, claimed the O-Class, Robert Spurrier, 61, of Lakewood, Colorado, claimed the T-Class and Christopher Hook, 51, of Prescott, Arizona, claimed the TU Class in the Rimfire Sporter Rifle event. Also, the team Just in Time (Brandon DiBella and Dennis Caviness), was the leading duo of the Vintage Sniper manual rifle match.
Dominating the Highpower Rifle events at Western Games was James Fox, 36, of Albany, Oregon, who overtook the EIC Service Rifle Match Course (491-18X) and the 2400 Overall Aggregate (2369-104X). Fox was the high competitor during each of the three 80-Shot Match days and claimed 2400 Aggregate positional high scores in Standing Slow, Sitting Rapid, Prone Rapid and Prone Slow – which were all possible awarded positions of the event. Fox, a member of the CMP Gold highpower team, joined up with fellow members Sara Rozanski, Nick Till and Brian Williams to become the highest-scoring team overall in the 4-Man Rifle Match with a score of 1967-72X.
For a complete list of results of the 2022 Western Travel Games, visit https://ct.thecmp.org/2022westerngamesresults.
Photos of the event can be found on the CMP Zenfolio page: https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f452912566.
SAVE THE DATE: Dates for the 2023 Western CMP Games & CMP HP and Pistol Matches are set for March 10-19. Visit https://thecmp.org/cmp-matches/western-cmp-highpower-cmp-games-matches/ for additional information.
— By Ashley Brugnone, CMP Staff Writer
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.
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