For the past 14 years, CCRC has hosted National Rifle Association and Civilian Marksmanship Program Highpower Rifle matches at Camp Lejeune’s Stone Bay Rifle Range. CCRC was started by the late AC Webster, an accomplished Prone Long Range shooter and U.S. Palma Team member, in 2009, after the previous club that ran matches on Stone Bay dissolved in the early 2000’s.
Typically, CCRC’s rifle matches are 600 or 1000 yard prone. Once a year, an Across the Course (XTC) event is conducted, typically around the Eastern Marine Corps Marksmanship Competition (formerly the Marines Eastern Division Matches). This year’s XTC match will be March 18-19. In addition to civilian adults and military service members, North Carolina’s primary junior marksmanship organization brings 10-15 juniors to shoot the match. These are 13-20 year old teenagers and young adults as NRA and CMP rules allow competitors to fire as juniors until the end of the year they turn 20, provided they are not on an adult team or in the military.
The prone events can be broken down into two major portions: sling supported or F-class. Sling supported is exactly that, a competitor is holding the rifle utilizing a sling, glove, and (normally) a shooting jacket. Sights can be either telescopic or irons, depending upon the type of rifle used. A Palma rifle, for instance, must utilize iron sights while an Any/Any rifle or Match rifle may use irons or a scope. F-class rifles forgo slings and utilize bipods or rests. The competitor still lays on the ground behind the rifle, but does not have to utilize slings, gloves or shooting jackets. F-class is 100% telescopic sighted rifles.
The CCRC prone events typically are three 20 round matches on a Saturday and two or three 20 round matches, depending upon what yard lines are being fired that weekend. Also, the prone events may have either unlimited sighters per event prior to record shots, or two sighters prior to record shots.
The Across the Course event is two matches, one each day. Saturday being an 800 aggregate score with 80 rounds fired for record at each of four stages. Immediately prior to record firing, competitors may fire two sighting shots for a total of 88 rounds. Sunday is an Excellence In Competition (EIC) “Leg” match. A 500 aggregate score with 50 rounds for record and no sighters, ie: competitors need to be very confident of their zeros and ammo/rifle combination.
The stages of fire for the 800 aggregate/88 round match are: 1.) Slow fire, 200 yards, standing position, two sighters and twenty rounds for record, in twenty-two minutes. 2.) Rapid fire, 200 yards, Sitting or Kneeling position, ten rounds fired in a time limit of 60 seconds, after a two shot sighter period. The 10 rounds must come from either a magazine of two, followed by a magazine of eight, OR two magazines of five rounds each. The competitor MUST do a reload during the string. This is done twice for twenty rounds for record. 3.) Rapid fire, Prone position at 300 yards, ten rounds fired in a time limit of 70 seconds after a two shot sighter period. The magazine loadout is the same as the 200 yard sitting/keeling event. 4.) Slow fire, 600 yards, prone position, two sighters and twenty rounds for record in a time limit of twenty-two minutes.
The 500 aggregate/50 round Leg match is similar, except for the lack of sighters and the 200 standing, 200 rapid, and 300 rapid fire stages are only ten rounds vs. twenty. The 600 yard stage is still 20 rounds. Leg matches are important for competitors who are attempting to get points toward their US Distinguished Rifleman badge. To get points, competitors must be in the top 10 percent of the non-Distinguished competitors at that match. Military servicemembers can also get points at a Leg match, however each branch of service has their own rules as to type of points and how many leg matches the servicemember may compete in each year.
Now, all the prone events are electronic targets. Competitors should bring a tablet or phone with them. They will link to the targets and show realtime shot impacts without having a person pull and mark each shot in the pits. The XTC events will still have personnel in the pits doing manual scoring.
While open to the public, any nonDoD affiliated persons must apply for an event pass aboard Camp Lejeune.
More information about CCRC matches and Camp Lejeune Base Pass procedures can be found on the website www.coastalcarolinarifleclub.org, the Coastal Carolina Rifle Club Facebook page, or emailing acwebster@mindspring.com.
Coastal Carolina Rifle Club 2023 Itinerary
March 18-19
800 aggregate XTC match Saturday, Excellence In Competition “Leg” match Sunday
March 25-26
3x1000 yard Saturday, 2x1000 yard Sunday
April 22-23
3x600 yard Saturday, 3x600 yard Sunday
May 13-14
3x1000 yard Saturday, 2x1000 yard Sunday
June 10-11
3x600 yard Saturday, 3x600 yard Sunday
September 9-10
3x600 yard Saturday, 3x600 yard Sunday
October 7-8
3x1000 yard Saturday, 2x1000 yard Sunday
November 11-12
3x600 yard Saturday, 2x600 yard + 600 yd two man team match Sunday
December 9-10
3x1000 Saturday, 2x1000 Sunday