The Springfield Armory and the M1A Match

The NRA/Springfield Armory M1A Match will take place tomorrow, August 3 at Camp Perry. This will be the second time that the match will be conducted and has already made its mark in history.

Arguably one of the most popular competitions at Camp Perry, the M1A Match was the first NRA competition to incorporate M1A rifles into the National Matches. The Springfield Armory is based out of Geneseo, Ill. and is currently selling merchandise in commercial row at Camp Perry.

I went to the store on Thursday and spoke with Mike, the facilities manager for the Springfield Armory. Mike has been visiting Camp Perry for about 25 years. His motivation for creating the M1A Match started when he saw a major transition from AR firearms into a dominance of M1A rifles. Competitors and avid firearms owners alike were becoming disappointed that there were no opportunities to shoot M1A’s competitively, said Mike. He then coordinated with the NRA and established the NRA/Springfield Armory M1A Match.

Mike was proud of the success and popularity of the match in its debut in 2007. Following the match, Mike was personally congratulated by NRA Executive Kayne Robinson on the success of the match. Kayne told Mike about the accomplishments that were made within the NRA. The NRA/Springfield Armory M1A Match wrote its spot in history since it introduced about 400 new competitive shooters to Camp Perry while also introducing people that were new to the sport of shooting entirely.

Last year, more than 600 people participated in the match. This year there are already 400 competitors that are registered, but Mike is hoping to see about 1,000 on the firing line.